There are many reasons why Lu Jiayi doesn't like the Yuan Dynasty . First, she is not familiar with the history of this era; second, this was an era of severe ethnic oppression.
However, even if Lu Jiayi is unwilling, Lu Yu will escort her to that era. Because his body needs to absorb the power of the Seven Emotions Tea to recover, Lu Jiayi is about to start a new time travel - a journey to find love.
This time, her luck was better, and she landed directly in Dadu. Lu Yu also knew that the ethnic conflicts in this era were very intense, so he placed Lu Jiayi in a remote alley where no one came and went. Dadu was Beijing during the Yuan Dynasty. It was now the 18th year of Zhiyuan, and the founding emperor Kublai Khan was still in power.
Lu Jiayi quickly opened the small bag she brought with her, put on the ancient costume she bought online, and then walked out of the alley.
"@#￥%..." A rough voice suddenly exploded, scaring Lu Jiayi. She turned around suddenly and saw a big man with a beard glaring at her. It turned out that a patrolling Mongolian soldier was blocked by her.
Lu Jiayi subconsciously looked around and saw that all the Han people were standing on both sides of the street, looking down at the ground obediently.
It's over! Lu Jiayi thought, dying before achieving success, this must be what she was like!
"Sir, I, I didn't mean it..." Lu Jiayi quickly took a few steps back, apologizing repeatedly.
"@#￥%@#￥%..." Unexpectedly, the leading soldier had a very bad temper. He took several steps closer to Lu Jiayi, and his hairy mouth opened and closed, saying words that Lu Jiayi could not understand at all.
Although she couldn't understand Mongolian, Lu Jiayi could feel the anger in the man's voice.
Sure enough, the man cursed for a while, and when he saw that Lu Jiayi had no reaction, he even pretended to hit her.
"ah!"
Lu Jiayi screamed and hugged her head in fear. Fortunately, the soldier's fist did not fall because someone stopped him.
Hearing the gentle female voice, Lu Jiayi took a curious look. The girl standing in front of her turned out to be a Han Chinese girl, with delicate features, bright makeup, and wrapped in silk and satin. She didn't look like the daughter of an ordinary family. She spoke fluent Mongolian, smiled apologetically, and stuffed something into the angry soldier's hand.
The soldier weighed the things in his hand and felt much better. He just glanced at Lu Jiayi with contempt.
Seeing this, the woman hurriedly pulled Lu Jiayi to bow to him, like two chickens pecking at rice. The soldier then spat on the ground with disdain and told his men to leave.
Lu Jiayi finally straightened up and looked at the group of swaggering Mongolian soldiers with some fear.
The woman next to her glanced at her and asked calmly, "Are you from out of town?"
Lu Jiayi nodded quickly.
"This place is much better than the remote countryside. This is under the rule of the Mongolian royal family, and the Han people have almost no status. Here, even if they are the lowest Mongolian soldiers, you have to treat them like your masters. So, you must be careful with what you say and do in the future, or you will lose your life by accident." The kind-hearted woman said a few words to Lu Jiayi and prepared to leave.
"Wait a minute!" Lu Jiayi stopped her and asked sincerely, "Sister, thank you for saving my life just now. What did you give to the Mongolian soldiers to make them so happy?"
The woman patiently explained, "Most Mongolian soldiers come from the bleak grasslands, and they are not as particular about food as we Han people. I happen to own a small teahouse, so I just gave them a bag of tea. The Mongolian soldiers were naturally happy to see the tea, because they don't usually get to eat such exquisite tea."
"Teahouse!" Lu Jiayi's eyes lit up and she immediately started pretending to be pitiful. "Sister, you are right. I am from another place. There was a flood in our place and everyone in the village died. I had no choice but to come to Dadu alone to seek refuge with distant relatives. Unexpectedly, I did not find my relatives and angered the Mongolian soldiers. I almost lost my life."
"How could this happen..." The woman was indeed kind-hearted. When she heard what Lu Jiayi said, her brows immediately frowned.
When Lu Jiayi saw that there was a chance, she squeezed out a tear from her eyes and said with a sob, "If you don't mind, I'm willing to be a little maid by your side and help you run your business. I don't ask for much, just a place to stay." As she spoke, she wiped her eyes with her sleeves, adding a bit of sadness to herself.
The woman completely softened her heart, sighed softly, and took Lu Jiayi's hand.
"Since you look so pitiful, just come back with me first."
YES!
Lu Jiayi was delighted in her heart, but on the outside she pretended to be so moved that she burst into tears, and almost wiped her sleeves with tears.
The woman who saved Lu Jiayi was named Chen Yuanzhu. Her father was a famous tea maker. She had learned about tea from her father since she was a child. After her parents passed away, she single-handedly supported her family's teahouse.
After Lu Jiayi came to Chen's Teahouse, she couldn't help but admire Chen Yuanzhu from the bottom of her heart. Although the scale of this teahouse is not large, it has very good business. Chen Yuanzhu is a little girl, but she has to take care of so many trivial matters in business. She is really capable.
She naturally settled down in Chen Yuanzhu's teahouse and learned how to do business from Chen Yuanzhu every day.
In the last time she traveled through time and space, Lu Jiayi met Wang Shishen, the key figure in the mission, right away. This time, the key figure was Ahama, the powerful official of the Yuan Dynasty. Unfortunately, Lu Jiayi did not travel through time and space to become a favored concubine, nor did she transform into a rich lady. Instead, she appeared directly on the streets of Dadu. Despite this, Lu Jiayi was not in a hurry at all, and even looked confident every day.
Because love is something that every ordinary person will experience. As long as you carefully observe the lovers or couples who come to buy tea, you may be able to find tea full of love.
"Sir, what can I do for you?" After a busy day, Lu Jiayi still entertained guests with a smile on her face.
"I, I... want the Qihong tea in your store to honor my mother..." The man who came was a tall Han boy with thick eyebrows and big eyes, and he looked very honest.
"Sir, you have a good eye! Qihong tea is the treasure of our teahouse. One liang only costs 350 coins. How much do you want to buy?" Lu Jiayi was even happier when she heard that the other party was here to buy Qihong tea. In her mind, every customer who came to buy Qihong tea was a potential key figure in this mission.
"So expensive..." The young man looked a little uneasy, and he stammered a few times before mustering up the courage to say, "I don't have that much money. Can you give me the tea on credit first? I will definitely pay you back in the future!"
"This..." Lu Jiayi was in a dilemma. In ancient times, tea was a luxury item, and there were few poor people who came to buy tea, so there were not many customers who bought on credit, and those who did were from wealthy families, and most of them would not run away from their payments. This boy was obviously from a poor family, and Lu Jiayi had no say in the matter.
"Everyone who comes is a guest. Since you still patronize our shop so late, I will give you some discount! 300 coins for one or two ounces, how about that?" Chen Yuanzhu walked out from the inner hall.
Lu Jiayi kept mumbling to herself, calculating in her mind. She had read a report online before, which said that the Han people in the Yuan Dynasty had to pay a head tax every year, and each person had to pay the equivalent of RMB 14 in silver every year, which meant that each Han person had to spend RMB 14 to buy his or her life from the Mongols. Chen's Teahouse's Qihong tea, by coincidence, was sold at exactly this price.
One or two ounces of Qi black tea is equivalent to a Han Chinese’s annual head tax, which can be said to be more valuable than a poor person’s life.
The preferential price offered by Chen Yuanzhu only removed a small amount of money. If this is the case, poor families will still find it difficult to afford it.
Sure enough, the boy's eyes flickered and his face turned pale.
"I... I don't have any money..." The young man was very embarrassed and stammered, "Please be kind, ladies, and give me some on credit! My mother is very ill, she wants to drink another sip of Qihong tea... Please, help me, this is my mother's last wish!"
Chen Yuanzhu was silent for a while after hearing this, then he sighed quietly, turned around and told Lu Jiayi: "Give him one or two taels of silver."
"Thank you, girl! " The young man was overjoyed and swore again and again, "I will definitely return the money to you!"
When Lu Jiayi heard Chen Yuanzhu's words, she immediately packed a pound of tea leaves for the boy. The boy took it with both hands and ran home happily.
Lu Jiayi suddenly remembered something and asked, "Sister, we forgot to ask his name. How are we going to ask him for the money in the future?"
Chen Yuanzhu looked at the figure of the young man and smiled: "Honesty is the way of a gentleman. I believe he will come back."
Chen Yuanzhu is kindhearted and believes in fate, but Lu Jiayi comes from the 21st century and has a different view on people and things. No matter what, she decides to help Chen Yuanzhu remember the debt.
However, a month passed unnoticed, and the boy never came to the teahouse again. Lu Jiayi felt like she had become the boss in "Kong Yiji", complaining about the customers who bought on credit every once in a while.
"Forget it, the bill has already been paid on credit, what else can we do?" Seeing Lu Jiayi looking indignant, Chen Yuanzhu couldn't help but touch her head and smiled.
Lu Jiayi grabbed Chen Yuanzhu's hand distressedly, looked into her haggard eyes, and said, "Sister, you work so hard to make tea, and you sell on credit to people who have no integrity. It would be strange if you don't lose money!"
Chen Yuanzhu had to look after the teahouse during the day and make tea at night. The production of Qihong tea was very complicated, so she often stayed up until midnight and her health gradually deteriorated. Although she pretended to be fine, Lu Jiayi could always see it from her brows. Chen Yuanzhu gave everything for the teahouse left by her father.
"Doing business is hard work. Little girl, do you still dream of making a fortune lying in bed every day?" Chen Yuanzhu withdrew her calloused hands and lectured Lu Jiayi.
At this moment, there was a commotion at the door of the store, and a Mongolian nobleman wearing a round hat walked into the store. He looked around with a pair of sharp eyes like a hawk, and his beard was neatly trimmed. As soon as he entered the door, he gave people an invisible pressure.
Lu Jiayi was stunned for a moment. Ever since she was entangled by Mongolian soldiers last time, she had a great fear of Mongolians. Chen Yuanzhu was very calm. She was swept by those sharp eyes and immediately went to meet them.
"Lord Ahama, welcome to our shop! What brings you here today?" Chen Yuanzhu walked up to the Mongolian nobleman and warmly invited him to sit down.
What! Ahama!
Lu Jiayi's eyes immediately widened and she followed happily.
She forgot all about the danger to her life and the Mongolian nobles! It seemed that her hard work for the past month was not in vain. She actually waited in Chen's Tea House and met the key figure in this time travel!
She ran behind Chen Yuanzhu and was about to show her courtesy to her boss, when suddenly, her peripheral vision was attracted by a servant beside Ahama.
"It's you!" Lu Jiayi shouted, "Hey, you still haven't paid us for the tea!"
The boy turned out to be the young man who had come to the teahouse to buy on credit a month ago! He was now dressed in a servant's uniform, bending over and following behind Ahama, with his brows lowered and his eyes submissive.
Ahema looked at the angry Lu Jiayi, took the tea leaves brewed by Chen Yuanzhu, tasted it slowly, and said with a smile: "Wang Zhuo, when did you owe money to that girl?"
"Your Excellency, a month ago, I bought a bag of Qihong tea on credit from this store." The young man named Wang Zhu answered while bending over, then glanced at Chen Yuanzhu, seeming a little embarrassed.
"I see!" Ahama laughed while leaning back in his chair, and said, "Now you work for me differently than before ! Come on, tell Miss Chen that you will be able to pay back the money for the tea soon, and ask Miss Chen to make you a cup of tea!"
"Miss Chen, I..." Wang Zhuo walked up to Chen Yuanzhu, but he didn't dare look directly into her beautiful eyes. He lowered his head and said, "I will definitely pay back the money for the tea. Please... give me a little more time..."
Chen Yuanzhu glanced at him, but didn't say anything. Instead, he turned around to make tea. Ahema looked at Chen Yuanzhu's pretty back, stroked his beard, and said, "Wang Zhuo, you have been in my mansion for ten days and a half months, so why can't you perform on stage? You should know that I bought you guys because I plan to open a stage in my mansion in the future, so that those Han people won't say that we Mongols only know how to fight and kill!"
"Master, the master who teaches us martial arts is in poor health and has not come to teach recently. However, I will definitely practice hard and will never let you down!" Wang Zhuo said respectfully.
As he was speaking, Chen Yuanzhu came over with a cup of fine Qihong tea, and handed the tea to Lu Jiayi after hearing what he said.
"We are a small business, and we cannot give people credit again and again. If you want to drink tea, you should pay off the money you paid last time!"
"This..." Wang Zhuo's face turned a little red, his body was hunched, and his fists were clenched tightly.
Seeing his expression, Chen Yuanzhu said coldly: "You have hands and feet, can't you even earn this little money? A Han man, can't you even compare to a little girl like me? You chose a slave's job, and you have disgraced your deceased mother!"
"you!"
After hearing this, Wang Zhu was so angry that he could no longer bear it. He grabbed the teacup from Lu Jiayi's hand and threw it to the ground. The splashing tea wet several people's shoes.
Bang! The teacup broke into pieces, attracting all the guests in the teahouse to look over here.
"Thirty years in the east, thirty years in the west. Don't underestimate me! Sooner or later I will pay back this money!" Wang Zhuo's eyes were red as he stared at Chen Yuanzhu.
Lu Jiayi was so frightened that she was stunned, and Chen Yuanzhu subconsciously took a step back.
Wang Zhuo's chest heaved violently like an angry lion.
Lu Jiayi was very scared, but couldn't help but walk to Chen Yuanzhu, worried that the other party would suddenly attack and hurt someone.
However, Wang Zhu just stared at Chen Yuanzhu for a while, then flicked his sleeves and walked out of the teahouse.
Ahama then reacted and shouted, "Wang Zhuo, you dog slave! What did you do just now? Come back here!" He chased after him cursing.
"Sister, are you okay?" Seeing that Chen Yuanzhu's shoes were wet by the scalding tea, Lu Jiayi hurriedly pulled her hand over to check other parts of her body.
Chen Yuanzhu shook his head and said nothing.
Lu Jiayi sighed. Just now, when Wang Zhuo smashed the cup, she clearly saw many bruises on his hands. He must have suffered a lot in the past month.
However, he finally chose to be a domestic slave of a Mongolian noble, and it was inevitable that Chen Yuanzhu would look down on him.
Ahama came for Qihong tea, but unfortunately, he forgot about it because of the disturbance caused by Wang Zhuo during the day. In the evening, someone from the mansion came to tell Chen Yuanzhu to pack two kilograms of high-quality Qihong tea and send it over, and to pick a nimble servant to go to the mansion to get the silver.
There were not many waiters in Chen's Teahouse. Chen Yuanzhu looked around and chose Lu Jiayi to do the delivery job.
At night, Lu Jiayi went out with tea. This time she had the opportunity to visit Ahama's mansion, which also gave her a chance to investigate. Unexpectedly, as soon as she reached the gate of the mansion, Lu Jiayi heard the sound of quarreling.
She walked forward quickly and saw a skinny, white-haired old man leading Wang Zhu to kneel outside the gate of Ahama's house. He pointed at Wang Zhu's nose and cursed him, and then pressed his head to apologize to Ahama.
"Sir, my son is ignorant. Please forgive him this time. I have already taught him a lesson. From now on, you can make him work like a slave and he will never dare to say a word!" The old man blinked his round little eyes. His nose was red from the cold, but his eyes kept looking at Ahama, who had a stern face, with a flattering look on his face.
Ahama put his hands behind his back and looked coldly at the two people in front of him.
"You rebellious son, why don't you kowtow to Lord Ahama and admit your mistake! Don't you think about it, your mother died, we couldn't even afford the burial expenses, it was Lord Ahama who helped us! Lord Ahama is the great benefactor of our family! You have angered your benefactor, why don't you apologize to him quickly!" Seeing this, the old man hurriedly scolded Wang Zhu.
But Wang Zhu acted as if he didn't hear anything. He knelt on the ground with his back straight. His body was covered with bruises, but he was still as stubborn as a bull. No matter how the old man beat and scolded him, he didn't utter a word.
Seeing that Wang Zhu ignored him, the old man slapped him on the head and almost roared: "Rebellious son! I have raised you for so many years, and in the end you want to piss me off to death?" Then, with a few more heavy blows, the seemingly frail old man knocked the tall and strong young man Wang Zhu to the ground.
Lu Jiayi stood not far away and witnessed it all. Her heart was beating fast, and she no longer had the thought of approaching Ahama. She turned around and ran to the side door of Ahama's mansion and handed the tea to the servant.
After receiving the money, Lu Jiayi quickly returned to the teahouse. Chen Yuanzhu saw that her face was very pale and her whole body was shaking, so she asked hurriedly, "What's wrong?"
"Sister!" Lu Jiayi looked at her, her lips pouted, and she felt sad.
Lu Jiayi told Chen Yuanzhu everything she had seen in Ahama's mansion, and finally said: "It's all my fault. He told me last time that the family situation was very difficult, and I shouldn't have been thinking about those few hundred coins all the time. But I really didn't expect that he would have such a father..."
Chen Yuanzhu was speechless for a moment, and only said softly: "Don't blame yourself, I am also wrong in this matter. Don't despise the poor young man, but I only saw that he was willing to be a slave, and did not think about his helplessness. Instead, I forced him to pay back the debt."
"Then...if he comes to the teahouse again, should we be nicer to him?" Lu Jiayi asked cautiously.
Chen Yuanzhu glanced at her and couldn't help but smile: "Okay."
Wang Zhuo is here.
A month had passed since his last riot in the teahouse, and he seemed a little restrained when facing Lu Jiayi and Chen Yuanzhu again. Lu Jiayi noticed that his face and body were covered with new and old wounds, and asked first, "Master Wang, what do you want?"
"I..." Wang Zhu was surprised by Lu Jiayi's attitude, but slowly calmed down and lowered his voice, "Lord Ahama ordered me to buy Qihong tea."
"Okay, please wait a moment!" Lu Jiayi was about to pack tea leaves when she saw Chen Yuanzhu coming over with bags of tea leaves.
"Jia Yi, Lord Ahama is our frequent visitor. From now on, whenever they send people to buy tea, I will be the one to receive them personally." Chen Yuanzhu gave the order and then personally handed the tea to Wang Zhuo.
"Here is a pound of the best Qihong tea, a total of five taels and six cents of silver."
Wang Zhu took the tea leaves with both hands, then took out some silver from his pocket and handed it over. Chen Yuanzhu asked Lu Jiayi to give him the change and then handed it to Wang Zhu.
Wang Zhuo raised his head, glanced at the silver in her hand, then looked at Chen Yuanzhu steadily, and said in a firm tone: "Miss Chen, I will definitely pay back the money I owed you last time. I promise that it must be clean money earned with my own hands."
Chen Yuanzhu looked at him, and seemed to be infected by those pure black eyes. She couldn't help but feel warm in her heart and nodded: "Okay, I'll wait for you."
After hearing her answer, Wang Zhuo finally felt relieved. He took the money, lowered his head, blushed, and quickly ran away.
Lu Jiayi followed Chen Yuanzhu's line of sight and saw the young man running away like the wind. She couldn't help but ask, "I wonder what his next plan is?"
Chen Yuanzhu also followed Lu Jiayi's example and leaned on the counter, supporting her chin with one hand. Like a little girl, she looked at Wang Zhu's gradually receding back, a smile on her lips.
She said: "I don't know why, but I always feel that he will definitely do what he promised me."
Huh? Lu Jiayi turned her head to look at her. The sunlight coming in from outside hit Chen Yuanzhu's face, as if she was covered with a layer of golden gauze.
The lotus is born in clear water, naturally without any decoration. She is in her prime, but unfortunately she can only guard the teahouse left by her father alone. Thinking of this, Lu Jiayi also felt sad for Chen Yuanzhu.
After that day, Wang Zhu seemed to have gained Ahama's trust and was often sent by the palace to buy tea. The scars on his body gradually became less.
After several visits, the three gradually became familiar with each other. Lu Jiayi learned that Wang Zhuo's mother was originally the daughter of a wealthy family, but unfortunately she married a husband who only knew how to spend his days drinking and partying. After a few years, the family's situation fell into a slump. Mrs. Wang only gave birth to one son, Wang Zhuo. After her death, his father was still the same, eating, drinking, whoring and gambling outside every day, and the burden of the family fell on Wang Zhuo alone.
Wang Zhuo was from a poor family, had not been to school for many days, and had only the strength of his body. Unfortunately, the Mongols had taken control of the Central Plains and were trying their best to suppress the power of the Han people. Wang Zhuo had a lot of strength but could not find a job. Later, his old father, who was hollowed out by alcohol and sex, met a steward in Ahama's mansion, who allowed Wang Zhuo to enter Ahama's mansion.
The scenery of the north is covered with snow.
Unconsciously, Lu Jiayi has lived in the capital of the Yuan Dynasty for more than three months. This is her first time to celebrate the New Year in a stranger's home. Although she knows that the time in the different time and space is different from the real time, she is still a little sad and begins to miss her home far away in the 21st century.
Wang Zhuo sneaked out of the mansion and saw Lu Jiayi looking unhappy, so he suggested, "The Lantern Festival is coming in a few days, let me invite you guys out to play!"
"Really?" After all, she was a teenage girl, and when she heard that she could go out and play, Lu Jiayi's eyes suddenly lit up.
"You look so excited. Okay, on the Lantern Festival, let's close the teahouse and go out to play together!" Chen Yuanzhu pinched Lu Jiayi's nose and said with a smile, "And by the way, let's see if I can help you find a husband that's right for you, little girl!"
"Ah!" Lu Jiayi blushed and shook her head quickly, "Who wants a husband? I don't want to get married!"
Chen Yuanzhu was amused by her and couldn't stop laughing, but she didn't notice that there was a pair of pure black eyes beside her, quietly looking at her.
The Shangyuan Festival is the Lantern Festival of the 21st century. In ancient times it was also known as Yuanxiao and Lantern Festival.
On this day, after eating Lantern Festival dumplings at home, people go out to watch lanterns and guess lantern riddles on the street, which is very lively. At the same time, the Lantern Festival is also considered the traditional Chinese Valentine's Day, so there is a poem like "The moon is on the treetops, and people make appointments after dusk".
Wang Zhuo took Lu Jiayi and Chen Yuanzhu to look at the lanterns, and then they stopped in front of a lantern riddle. Seeing that there were so many people in front of this lantern riddle, Lu Jiayi wanted to join in the fun, so she squeezed into the crowd and carefully identified the words on the lantern .
"Miss Chen, where do you want to go?" Seeing Lu Jiayi walking away, Wang Zhuo moved closer to Chen Yuanzhu.
Chen Yuanzhu shook her head and said with a smile: "I was just accompanying Jiayi out for a stroll."
"Miss Chen!" Wang Zhu took something out of his arms, held it with both hands, and handed it to Chen Yuanzhu. "I have been saving for a while, and I can finally pay back the tea money I paid a few months ago."
Chen Yuanzhu was stunned for a moment, then slowly smiled.
Wang Zhuo looked at her smiling face, lost in thought for a moment, and murmured, "Miss Chen, I...thank you for believing in me."
"You don't need to thank me, because you are an honest person." Chen Yuanzhu joked, "But, didn't your father find out that you hid the money secretly?"
Wang Zhu shook his head and said, "He, he doesn't know..."
Chen Yuanzhu took the money from him, and suddenly clenched his hand, tightly grasping Wang Zhuo's hand. His face changed, and he asked hurriedly: "What's going on with these bubbles? Why are there so many?"
Under the dim light, the palms of the hands were covered with blisters, some of which had already broken, and some were swollen, which was horrible to look at. If you didn't look closely, it would be difficult to see.
"Oh! No, it's okay..." Wang Zhu panicked and quickly pulled his hand away. "I accidentally got burned a few days ago. I'm fine now, really."
"Tell me the truth!" Chen Yuanzhu's eyes became sharp. "Do you think you can fool me with this excuse?"
Wang Zhuo was shocked and lowered his head. He was silent for a while, and the bright lights radiated infinite brilliance between the two of them. Wang Zhuo mustered up his courage, looked straight into Chen Yuanzhu's eyes, and said, "I promised you that I would repay your kindness with clean money, so I went out to find some work. I swear, this is all clean money I earned with my own hands, you can rest assured..."
"Stop talking." Chen Yuanzhu couldn't help but interrupt him, "You are a very good person, I... I am very touched."
She also looked at Wang Zhuo. The two of them stared at each other quietly, and before they knew it, a blush appeared on their faces.
"I guessed it! I guessed it! Sister, did you see it?" Lu Jiayi squeezed out of the crowd and instantly broke the silence between Chen Yuanzhu and Wang Zhu.
Chen Yuanzhu was the first to come to his senses. He covered his face with his sleeves unnaturally, coughed lightly, and said, "Oh, are you so smart?"
"Of course!" Lu Jiayi said proudly.
"Miss Chen, Miss Lu, I have some extra money. What would you like to eat? I'll treat you." Wang Zhu asked with a smile.
Lu Jiayi patted her belly and said distressedly, "I ate too much Yuanxiao before going out, and it's a bit greasy."
"Then...I want a string of candied haws!" said Chen Yuanzhu.
"Okay, I'll go buy it right away!"
After a while, Wang Zhuo came back with a string of candied haws.
"Thank you." Chen Yuanzhu took the candied haws, let Lu Jiayi take a bite first, and then took another one herself.
"Sister!" Lu Jiayi muttered while chewing a candied haws, "Young Master Wang finally offered to treat us, but you only asked for a string of candied haws. Isn't that too cheap for him?"
"But I like eating candied haws the most," said Chen Yuanzhu. "When I was a child, I often cried. Whenever I cried, my parents would buy candied haws to comfort me. Unfortunately, they passed away very early. When I grew up, every time I saw candied haws, I couldn't help but think of them."
"So that's how it is..." Lu Jiayi saw a hint of sadness in Chen Yuanzhu's eyes and couldn't help but restrain her playful mood.
"Miss Chen, do you think this is a good idea?" Wang Zhuo felt a little pain in his heart when he saw her sad, and he couldn't help but comfort her. "If you encounter something unhappy in the future, tell me and I will buy you a candied haws. This agreement will be valid forever!"
Chen Yuanzhu couldn't help laughing when she saw his serious look. Lu Jiayi also laughed, and then all three of them laughed. While they were joking, Wang Zhu heard a soft reply.
"OK."
After that night, the friendship between the three was officially established.
Wang Zhuo still came to Chen's Teahouse frequently, sometimes to run errands for Ahama, and sometimes just to come and see the two girls.
Chen Yuanzhu said that Ahema was a big customer of the teahouse and she packed all the tea herself. Gradually, Lu Jiayi discovered that whenever Wang Zhu appeared, Chen Yuanzhu spent more time talking to him than selling tea.
"Hehe, there's hope!" Lu Jiayi smiled slyly.
As soon as Chen Yuanzhu entered the room, she saw Lu Jiayi's silly smile and couldn't help but pat her: "What kind of sweet dream are you having in broad daylight?"
Lu Jiayi stuck her head out of the store and asked, "Where's Wang Zhuo? Is he gone?"
"He came to buy tea, and of course he went back after buying it." Chen Yuanzhu frowned.
“Hehe! Sister, are you guys...that,that…” Lu Jiayi came over with ill intentions.
"what are you talking about?"
"I mean, Wang Zhu likes my sister!" Lu Jiayi rolled her hands into a small trumpet and whispered in Chen Yuanzhu's ear.
"You little brat!" Chen Yuanzhu tapped Lu Jiayi's forehead but did not answer her question. Instead, he seemed to be lost in thought.
"Jiayi, I might..."
"Miss Chen!" A female voice with a seductive smile suddenly sounded outside the door, and then a colorful winter melon squeezed in.
"Happy event is coming!" The short and fat matchmaker Zhang always wears the most gorgeous makeup, giving people a feeling of joy. She twisted her waist and stepped into Chen's teahouse, grabbed Chen Yuanzhu's hand, looked at it and touched it, with a mysterious smile on her face.
"Mother Zhang, where do you want to sell my sister to?" Seeing this, Lu Jiayi squeezed in between the two people without any hesitation and pried Matchmaker Zhang's hand away from Chen Yuanzhu.
"Oh, look at what you said... Let me ask you, did Lord Ahama come to order a batch of tea today?"
"Today there are more than usual." Chen Yuanzhu nodded.
"You don't know, do you?" Matchmaker Zhang said with a wink, "The Han concubine that Lord Ahama took in two years ago was unlucky. She died of illness last night! I came here to tell Miss Chen a piece of good news. Lord Ahama has already chosen you!"
What?
Chen Yuanzhu's face turned pale and his body swayed.
"What did you say?" Lu Jiayi seemed to have heard a bolt from the blue. She hurriedly grabbed Matchmaker Zhang's hand and asked repeatedly, "Are you saying that Lord Ahama... wants to take my sister as a concubine?"
"My news is accurate!" Matchmaker Zhang said proudly, "According to me, Lord Ahama will come to your house in person within two days! When the time comes, you can ask me, Matchmaker Zhang, to arrange it. Don't forget it! I will ensure that you can sit in the sedan chair of that lord smoothly..."
Matchmaker Zhang was still enthusiastically selling something, but Chen Yuanzhu could no longer hear her. She stood there, as if she were in an ice cellar, with figures of people constantly flashing before her eyes.
Lu Jiayi quickly sent Matchmaker Zhang out, and when she turned around, she saw Chen Yuanzhu standing there like a stone statue, motionless.
"elder sister……"
"Like someone..." Chen Yuanzhu raised her head, looked at Lu Jiayi and smiled, and said softly, "Don't say this again in the future."
Seven days later, Ahama came to Chen's Teahouse with the betrothal gifts.
As usual, he ordered a pot of the best Qihong tea and sat at the middle table. Chen Yuanzhu and Lu Jiayi were beside him, and even their breathing was a little slower than usual.
Ahama looked around the teahouse, his hawk-like eyes emitting a soft light, as if in admiration.
"Miss Chen is smart and capable, better than many men. I'm afraid there's not a second person like you among ten thousand Han people." Ahama's eyes fell on Chen Yuanzhu, and he restrained his tone, "However, Han women should not show their faces all day long. Staying at home to take care of your husband and children is what women should do most, isn't it?"
He stood up, walked to Chen Yuanzhu, pressed lightly on her fair arm, and then walked away.
Everything has been explained clearly, and the rest is up to Chen Yuanzhu to choose. But can she really choose?
Lu Jiayi was anxious. She ran to the store door and looked out desperately, cursing, "Where's Wang Zhu? Where has he been these days? Is he dead or something?"
Chen Yuanzhu was very calm. She sat down in the same position as Ahama just now, staring at the unfinished bowl of tea on the table, lost in thought.
Lu Jiayi was so anxious that she kept asking people about Wang Zhuo's whereabouts. It was not until the evening when the sun set that the honest boy hurried over from outside the city.
"What happened?" Wang Zhuo looked at the deserted teahouse and had a bad feeling in his heart.
"Why did you come back just now?" Lu Jiayi was about to cry. She recounted everything that had happened in the past few days, and then said in a pleading tone, "You must think of a way! Otherwise, my sister's life will be ruined!"
Wang Zhu's heart sank and he hurried to Chen Yuanzhu. Looking at her silence, he felt filled with guilt.
"I'm sorry, Miss Chen! My father passed away a few days ago. I went back to my hometown and buried him on the ancestral grave mountain." Wang Zhuo's voice lowered, "It's all my fault. I made you suffer."
Chen Yuanzhu finally raised her head, glanced at him, and said calmly: "Why are you blaming yourself? I didn't suffer. It's all because of Jiayi's child. She's worried about me when nothing happened."
As she spoke, she smiled and said to herself, "Getting married is not a painful thing..."
Wang Zhu looked at her in surprise, and suddenly held her hands. He seemed to have an urge in his heart that he had to say at this moment. He looked at Chen Yuanzhu with his eyes fixed, and asked word by word: "Miss Chen, are you willing to give up everything and live with me in a beautiful place? We can hide our identities and no one can find us..."
Chen Yuanzhu stared at him in a daze, and suddenly pulled back her hand in panic, as if she had been quite frightened.
"What are you talking about?" Chen Yuanzhu said with a cold face, as if a little angry, "How could I give up this teahouse and run away with you? My father left this teahouse to me in the hope that I could live a good life with my own efforts. Now, Lord Ahama has given me a chance. I don't have to get up early every day to make tea! He is a minister valued by the Khan. If I follow him, there will be endless glory and wealth waiting for me in the future. What other unrealistic hopes do I have ..."
"Sister, what are you talking about?" Lu Jiayi asked in surprise.
"You...what you said...is it true?" Wang Zhuo looked unconvinced, but he had a glimmer of expectation in his heart, expecting Chen Yuanzhu to smile and tell him that what he said just now was all a lie.
"Of course it's true." Chen Yuanzhu seemed unwilling to continue to tangle with him. She stood up and looked at the teahouse she had worked hard to run for several years. She said, "I grew up in this teahouse and made a lot of money from it. It's impossible for me to live a life with only green mountains and clear water. Don't you understand? I'm not the kind of woman you imagine."
After saying that, Chen Yuanzhu turned around and walked into the back hall without looking back.
Wang Zhuo looked at her back as she left, feeling as if he had been hit by a bolt of lightning. He didn't even have the strength to walk.
Lu Jiayi watched him turn around like a puppet and leave the teahouse step by step, and her heart ached.
She quickly caught up with Chen Yuanzhu, grabbed her sleeve, and said unwillingly: "Sister, what you just said was all false, right? My eyes can't be wrong, you obviously know that Wang Zhu likes you, and you like him too! Why... why are you like this..."
Chen Yuanzhu pulled back her sleeves, looked at Lu Jiayi with strange eyes, and said in the tone she usually used to teach her: "First, you haven't even met someone who makes your heart beat, how do you know what true love is? Second, your eyes are indeed wrong. I don't like Wang Zhu. Everything I said just now is true. I am willing to marry Lord Ahama. I don't want to live alone in such a hard way! And..."
"I will announce the disbanding of the teahouse tomorrow, so you'd better find a place to go as soon as possible."
"What..." Lu Jiayi looked at Chen Yuanzhu as if she didn't know her. Chen's Teahouse was the hard work of Chen Yuanzhu's father, and she was actually planning to disband it?
"Do two more things for me. Help me find Zhang the matchmaker tomorrow. In return, I will pay you your wages for the past few months. After tomorrow, don't come back."
Chen Yuanzhu sighed and said calmly: "Jiayi, our fate is over."
Lu Jiayi walked out of Chen's Teahouse dejectedly, holding a can of tea and a letter.
Matchmaker Zhang's happy voice echoed in the teahouse. During the days of preparation for the wedding, Chen Yuanzhu only allowed Matchmaker Zhang to accompany her. Lu Jiayi hugged the tea can, sobbing softly, and went to find Wang Zhu. The tea can contained Qihong tea that Chen Yuanzhu personally roasted. She asked Lu Jiayi to pass it to Wang Zhu, whom she had met by chance, and also a letter, as a final farewell.
Chen Yuanzhu said that after she gets married, she will cut off all ties with the past, so she will never see them again.
What Lu Jiayi didn't expect was that Wang Zhuo actually left Ahama's mansion early this morning. He couldn't bear to watch the person he loved marry his master, so he chose to leave.
Lu Jiayi had no choice but to ask someone for Wang Zhuo's hometown address, rented a horse, and hurried to catch up.
Lu Jiayi had never ridden a horse before, and encountered many problems along the way. She didn't dare to think that she could catch up with Wang Zhu at this speed, but she didn't expect that she would see a familiar figure in the evening of the third day.
It was a simple teahouse. Wang Zhuo sat there, staring at the endless mountain road in a trance, looking extremely lonely. Lu Jiayi caught up with him, panting, and rolled off the horse.
Wang Zhu heard the noise, turned around, and was surprised to find that the person coming was Lu Jiayi.
"Miss Lu, why are you here?" He hurriedly helped the dusty Lu Jiayi up.
"I finally found you!" Lu Jiayi half-bent over, muttering breathlessly, "Of course, of course I'm here to see you off!"
Wang Zhuo subconsciously looked behind her and asked, "Are you here alone?"
"What do you think?" Lu Jiayi took out a letter from her bosom and slapped it into his hand, saying angrily, "See, now even I've been kicked out by my sister!"
Wang Zhuo's eyes suddenly flashed with deep despair. He silently took the envelope, returned to his previous seat and sat down. Numbly, he took out the letter and slowly unfolded it on the tea table.
"I keep walking and walking, and I am separated from you forever. We are thousands of miles apart, each on the other side of the sky."
After reading the first few lines, Wang Zhuo's body began to tremble uncontrollably. He picked up the letter and read it eagerly. Seeing that his face was not right, Lu Jiayi quickly came forward and asked, "What's wrong?"
"When you read this letter, I may no longer be alive. The days with you and Jiayi are the happiest time of my life. Jiayi brought me the most sincere friendship, and you made me understand what it means to be moved and what it means to like someone.
"When I first met you, I said some unpleasant things. But in fact, I didn't think so in my heart. You and Jiayi both know that my father is a tea maker, but you don't know that my mother was once an actor. So, I never looked down on you. Ten years ago, my mother was a famous actress in Dadu. She was favored by a man who was rising in the court. My mother was unwilling to give in, and she committed suicide by jumping into a well on a rainy night. My father was so shocked that he died of anger soon after.
"Perhaps because I am the daughter of a businessman and have seen the vicissitudes of life since childhood, I did not succumb to fate. I supported my father's teahouse alone, dreaming of expanding the business and dreaming of being seen by that gentleman one day. Until last year, I finally achieved my goal. That gentleman began to come to my teahouse frequently to order tea. Every time, I would personally put a little chronic poison in the tea, and then look forward to the day when he would die of the poison.
"I didn't expect that I still couldn't escape the fate's trick. Ten years later, that master took a fancy to me again and wanted to marry me back to his mansion as a concubine. I didn't wait for his poison to take effect, but I waited for the red dress that killed my mother. However, I am not my mother, and I will never succumb to fate. This time, let me put on the wedding dress that my mother wore, and help her stab the dagger into that man's heart."
The letter paper fell lightly to the ground, and Wang Zhu rushed towards Dadu like a madman.
Lu Jiayi was horrified. Looking at his departing back, she guessed that something bad must have happened.
But it was too late.
Lu Jiayi and Wang Zhuo traveled for a day and a night without eating or sleeping, and finally returned to Dadu. However, what awaited them was an ending more painful than death.
There was a corpse hanging on the city gate, the beautiful face was wrapped in a bloody wedding dress and quickly withered in the wind.
All the Han people who came and went did not dare to stay for even a moment, as if the next tragedy would happen to them.
“Miss Chen! Miss Chen!” Wang Zhu rolled off his horse and ran towards the city gate, shouting heartbreakingly, “Miss Chen… Yuanzhu! Yuanzhu!”
Lu Jiayi tried her best to stop him, and pulled him to a secluded place with all her strength, while shouting: "Don't go over there! You will be caught!"
Suddenly, Wang Zhuo hit a stone and fell heavily to the ground with Lu Jiayi. Wang Zhuo got up from the ground, but was grabbed by Lu Jiayi. She couldn't help but yelled: "Is there any point in you going to die now? If you die like this, Sister Chen's spirit in heaven will not rest in peace!"
Wang Zhuo was shocked, then slowly squatted on the ground. He held his head with both hands and cried silently.
Lu Jiayi stood up and looked at the bride sleeping in the wind. Her tears flowed down her cheeks and hit the ground like heavy hammers.
She never thought that Chen Yuanzhu's heart was so deep, nor did she think that she would be so cruel to herself. She was such a gentle and kind woman, but her character was so determined to die.
It felt like a piece of my heart was broken, and I lost a lot in an instant.
After nightfall, Lu Jiayi counted all the money and property on the two men, and then handed it all over to the city gate officer on duty.
"Sir, please! Let me take her back to my hometown and bury her!" Lu Jiayi trembled, clasped her hands together, and kept bowing to the city gate officer.
"Alright, alright, take her away quickly! I won't be infected with bad luck here!" The city gate officer waved his hand and had someone put down Chen Yuanzhu's body. He said impatiently, "This Han girl is really overestimating her own abilities. She actually dared to assassinate Lord Ahama on his wedding night. She is simply courting death!"
The man cursed and returned to his patrol position reluctantly.
With a bang, the corpse fell heavily from a height.
Lu Jiayi immediately closed her eyes, unable to bear to look. When she mustered up the courage to open her eyes, there was already a person standing next to the corpse.
Wang Zhu squatted down, put Chen Yuanzhu on his back, and then disappeared into the night.
Lu Jiayi followed him to the desolate suburbs. The two walked in silence for a long time and finally stopped in front of a dug pit.
Lu Jiayi helped put Chen Yuanzhu down from Wang Zhuo's back, and Wang Zhuo carefully held Chen Yuanzhu in his arms. Lu Jiayi stood aside, watching the two , her nose sour, and she couldn't help but say, "Let's bury my sister."
Wang Zhuo acted as if he didn't hear anything. He reached out his hand and gently stroked Chen Yuanzhu's purple face, over and over again, as if she could still feel him.
After a long while, Wang Zhuo spoke in a hoarse voice: "Miss Lu, I want to ask you a favor."
"You say." Lu Jiayi's voice was filled with tears.
"I want to marry Miss Chen." Wang Zhuo said softly, "When she was alive, I missed her. Now she is finally staying in my arms obediently, and I don't want to miss this opportunity again."
"But..." Lu Jiayi stopped talking halfway, feeling such pain in her heart. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes and choked up and said one word: "Okay."
Wang Zhuo held the sleeping Chen Yuanzhu in his arms, looked up at the dim moonlight in the sky, took her cold hand, and placed his palm against it.
"The heavens, the earth, the mountains and the rivers are my witnesses, the clear wind and the bright moon are my witnesses. Today, I, Wang Zhuo, marry Chen Yuanzhu as my wife. In this life, I will never let you down."
Lu Jiayi's vision was blurred by tears and she turned her face away quietly.
After witnessing their simple wedding, Lu Jiayi helped Wang Zhuo bury Chen Yuanzhu. After covering her body with the last handful of dirt, Lu Jiayi sat down dejectedly on the ground. Wang Zhuo found a wooden sign, sat under the moonlight, and carved something on it with a stone.
Lu Jiayi looked at him, blinked hard, and finally fell asleep from exhaustion.
The next day, Lu Jiayi woke up in a daze and found that Wang Zhu was no longer nearby. She looked around and saw a simple tombstone on the grave that had been erected last night.
"Tomb of Wang Zhuo and Chen Yuanzhu"
In front of the grave was the tea can that Chen Yuanzhu gave to Lu Jiayi.
Lu Jiayi shuddered and woke up completely.
She thought of the TV series she watched at home before she traveled through time. In the story, the villain Ahama eventually died at the hands of a military officer. Now, Lu Jiayi looked at the tombstone written by Wang Zhuo and felt that it explained something.
"Sister, you won't be alone anymore." Lu Jiayi stroked the wooden sign, tears quietly flowing down her face.
She picked up the tea can and ran into Dadu with stumbling steps. She went to Ahama's residence to inquire and found that Wang Zhuo, who sang martial arts opera, was back again.
This time, Lu Jiayi did not try to stop him, because she knew that she could not change the destined ending. Instead, she took the teapot and stayed in an inn, waiting patiently.
Until one day, there was a commotion in the imperial city. People were saying that someone had tricked Ahama into the palace with a false order and then hit him to death with a hammer. The offender was caught on the spot and beaten to death, almost turning into a pool of meat paste.
On the street, this horrific news was spreading rapidly, while Lu Jiayi sat in the inn, holding the tea can and crying in despair.
A few days later, when things had calmed down, she took great pains to find the murderer's body that was dumped in the wild, wrapped it in a mat, and carried it out of the city.

Tomb of Wang Zhuo and Chen Yuanzhu

Wang Zhuo's wish was finally fulfilled, both before his death and after his death.
Lu Jiayi knelt in front of the grave and opened the can of tea.
"Sister, brother-in-law, I'm going back. If I had known that this can of tea full of love would need to be exchanged for the lives of both of you, perhaps I would not have come here..."
However, I am here and the ending cannot be changed.
There are so many infatuated people in this world. Even if she wrote down their stories, how many people would care?
The world is unpredictable , and in the end, only you know the joys and sorrows.
"Qihong tea is hot in nature, so the first brew only takes one minute."
In the living room, a voice came faintly from the air. The person had long silver hair, closed his eyes, and his translucent body floated in the air, meditating quietly.
Lu Jiayi came back to her senses, quickly picked up the teapot, poured the tea into the cup, and began to wash the cup.
Seeing her careless movements, Lu Yu finally couldn't help but open his eyes, sighed, and said, "You've been hiding this small bag of tea for a few days. Today you finally took it out and brewed it for me to drink. Why do you still look so sick?"
Hearing this, Lu Jiayi lowered her head and said sullenly, "I buried the tea can in the graves of Sister Chen and Brother-in-law Wang, and only brought back a small bag of tea leaves. Every time I see these tea leaves, I can't help but think of them..."
As she spoke, she felt a dull pain in her heart and her nose started to feel sore again.
"Humph." Lu Yu sneered and said in an indifferent tone, "You are too emotional. I advise you not to invest too much emotion in people from other time and space, otherwise you will inevitably hurt yourself in the end."
"But, for me, people in every time and space have lived and died. I can feel their joy, anger, sorrow and happiness. I will miss them forever. I can't stay completely out of them." Lu Jiayi defended.
Lu Yu ignored her and just shook his head gently.
Seeing his condescending attitude, Lu Jiayi suddenly got angry and asked loudly, "Hey, you've lived for so many years, has your heart always been cold? Don't you have anyone you miss or things you can't forget?"
Lu Yu tilted his head and thought for a while, then shook his head: "No."
"You!" Lu Jiayi was so angry that she couldn't help but throw a cup at him in mid-air, "You are such a cold-blooded ghost! I don't want you to be my ancestor spirit, no!"
With that, she ran into the room and slammed the door.
Lu Yu smiled, then frowned. Can people still freely choose their own birth?
This Lu Jiayi is indeed a willful and silly girl.

Tea flavor tips (from Baidu Encyclopedia):
Qimen Black Tea: A famous black tea boutique, referred to as Qimen Black Tea, is produced in Qimen County in the Huangshan branch area in the southwest of Anhui Province, China. The local tea varieties are high-yield and high-quality, planted in fertile red and yellow soil, and the climate is mild, with sufficient rainfall and moderate sunshine, so the raw leaves are tender and rich in water-soluble substances. The best quality is harvested in August. Qimen Black Tea has tight and uniform strips, beautiful front seedlings, and dark and moist color (commonly known as "Baoguang"); the internal quality is fresh and fragrant with the aroma of honey, and the top-grade tea contains the fragrance of orchids (known as "Qimen Fragrance"), which is rich and lasting; the soup color is bright red, the taste is sweet and mellow, and the bottom of the leaves (the tea residue after soaking) is bright red. Drinking it plain can best appreciate the timeless aroma of Qimen Black Tea, and it will not lose its fragrance even if fresh milk is added. It is the best choice for drinking black tea in spring, and it is also suitable for afternoon tea and bedtime tea. Qimen tea has been famous since the Tang Dynasty. According to historical records, before the reign of Emperor Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty, black tea was not produced here, but green tea was produced here. The production method was similar to that of Lu'an tea, so it was once called "Anlu". In the first year of Emperor Guangxu, Yu Ganchen, a native of Yi County, returned to his hometown from Fujian to do business and founded a tea shop. Qimen then changed to black tea and became a rising star. It has a history of more than 100 years. Qimen tea leaves are tight, thin and long, and the soup color is bright red. In particular, its aroma is similar to fruity aroma, and it also has the fragrance of orchids, which is fresh and lasting. It can be brewed alone or mixed with milk. Jiangxi's "Fuliang Gongfu Black Tea" from the Qimen tea area is the best among the "Qihong" and is famous for its "high fragrance, mellow taste, beautiful shape and bright color".