Courtyard House: A System Connecting Two Worlds, Resources for the Nation

Compared to Sun San Niang, Zhao Pan'er accepted it much faster.

Especially when she heard the fat man admit that an old geezer in the house had invited them to deal with her, Zhao Pan'er couldn't help but sneer.

Once a person becomes an official, he does indeed change. Not only does his character become treacherous, but his methods also become much more ruthless.

If the two ladies were to be harassed by a group of ruffians on the street for too long, even if they later had to go to court against Ouyang Xu, it would be a huge stain on their lives and might even affect the judgment of the officials in court.

A group of ruffians were banging on Ouyang Xu's door and shouting insults. Zhao Pan'er and Sun San Niang, on the other hand, were freed up and went to a tea and snack shop to eat some tea and rest.

At this moment, Ouyang Xu in the room became even more distraught.

Previously, Zhao Pan'er and Sun San Niang were alright; although the woman's voice was rather shrill, there were only two of them, so they could ignore it.

But now, a group of hooligans are banging gongs and cursing.

Not only could Ouyang Xu in the room hear it clearly, but people on the next street could probably hear it too.

The newly appointed third-ranked scholar of the imperial court was blocked at his door by a ruffian servant who cursed him for not repaying his debts, saying that this was against all reason.

If any censor heard this, wouldn't he impeach him?

If the Gao family finds out, it will be a major disaster, bringing shame upon the family. Forget about a political career, they might even lose their lives.

If he were to appear in the official gazette later, Ouyang Xu might even be remembered for all time.

After all, although there have been many top three finishers in the imperial examinations throughout history, he is probably the only one who has been blocked at the gate and shouted at.

"Uncle De, didn't you say you had some plans? What were they?"

Ouyang Xu's lips were trembling; he had never experienced anything like this before.

Uncle De hesitated for a moment, then knelt down on the ground with a thud: "My lord, this old servant did not know that Zhao Pan'er could summon so many people. The thugs I arranged have probably already been driven away by them."

"Thugs?"

Ouyang Xu was dumbfounded. He was a dignified third-place scholar, yet his old servant had actually colluded with local thugs. It was an utter disgrace to his reputation!

"No, Uncle De, what you mean by 'all arranged' is just hiring thugs to harass Pan'er?"

Seeing Ouyang Xu's angry expression and slightly reddened eyes, Uncle De slapped himself twice across the face: "This old servant is incompetent, this old servant is incompetent, please punish me, master!"

Most of his teeth had already been knocked out when Chen Xiao slapped him.

Now, after being slapped twice more, another tooth loosened and almost fell out.

He instinctively pursed his lips, but to Ouyang Xu, it appeared as a smile with the corners of his mouth turned up, which immediately enraged the latter.

"You...you're still laughing? All you ever say is that this old servant is incompetent. Does that mean I have to do everything you say just because you say this old servant is incompetent?!"

Ouyang Xu was about to explode with anger, his chest heaving with rage, and his hand pointing at Uncle De was trembling.

"Does the Ouyang family owe you anything? We sent you to Qiantang to find Pan'er, telling you that my uncles had other arrangements, and you went to show off about the Gao family's arranged marriage? Now Pan'er has come all the way to Tokyo!"

"I asked you to deliver a gift to the teacher, but you insisted on adding the picture of the banquet to the package, making it impossible for me to agree to Pan'er's request. Now they're making such a scene outside the door!"

"Now look what's happened! You've actually teamed up with thugs in my name? Are you afraid I'll get too comfortable as the third-ranked scholar?"

"You're not just a loyal servant of the Ouyang family! You're clearly an ancestor of the Ouyang family! I have to kowtow to you!"

Seeing that Ouyang Xu's lips were still trembling after he finished speaking, Uncle De, without saying a word, began to slap himself repeatedly across the face, shouting, "This old servant is guilty! This old servant is guilty!"

Unfortunately, this time Ouyang Xu did not step forward to help him up, but instead turned around and went back into the inner room.

This old servant is incompetent, this old servant is guilty.

These two sentences sound like some kind of spell.

Whenever Uncle De makes a mistake, he brings up these two sentences, speaking as if he, Ouyang Xu, is mistreating his loyal servants!

Damn old man!

A clever person's meticulous planning is no match for a fool's sudden inspiration.

After resting for a while, Zhao Pan'er and Sun San Niang came out of the tea shop, just as Zhou Feng's carriage arrived at the entrance of the alley.

Just as he was about to get out of the car to greet Zhao Pan'er and the other woman, he saw several people approaching from a distance, the leader of whom was none other than Chi Yanei, dressed in fine clothes.

The ruffian servants, who had been threatened by Zhao Pan'er and her gang, were already hoarse from cursing. When they turned around, they happened to see their master's son and trembled in fright.

What are you doing?

Chi Yanei's face was as black as charcoal. These ruffians, who in the entire capital city didn't know that they followed him, Chi Yanei?

Now that he's standing at someone else's doorstep like a watchdog, where does that leave Chi Yanei's face?

"Isn't this...isn't this just being a watchdog?"

The fat man said something timidly, which immediately made Chi Yanei grit his teeth in anger.

"They make you their watchdog, and you just obey? What if they told you to eat shit? Would you eat it?"

"Eat...eat it..."

Seeing his subordinates' subservient expressions, Chi Yanei became even angrier, but when he said "eat," he still made Chi Yanei take a step back, his face showing an expression of utter disgust.

"You...you really ate it?"

"No, she didn't allow it."

"Hey!"

Enraged, Chi Yanei laughed and grabbed his collar, pulling him outside: "Come on, come on, come with me, stop making a fool of yourself here."

"Young Master...Young Master, this won't do! We can't afford to offend that woman; they'll break people's arms!"

"Damn it, if I break someone's arm, I'll break your leg too!"

Chi Yanei kicked his subordinate in front of him, sending him tumbling. He glanced around angrily and happened to spot Zhao Pan'er and Sun San Niang walking towards him. His eyes lit up immediately.

"Come on, I'll take you to teach her a lesson!"

As he spoke, Chi Yanei led all the servants present, a dozen or so people, toward Zhao Pan'er.

Su Xiaoya immediately stepped in front of Zhao Pan'er and the other two women, her hand already reaching for the pistol on her lower back.

These dozen or so strong and burly hooligans were already running rampant on the streets, and wrestling and fighting were common occurrences for them.

If it were just her alone, controlling the distance between herself and the other party wouldn't be impossible to solve.

However, if they also have to protect Zhao Pan'er and Sun San Niang, the difficulty increases significantly.

Suddenly, a smile appeared on her face, and her expression relaxed considerably.

Out of the corner of her eye, she had already spotted Zhou Feng with Chen Xiao and the other two.

Her forte is technical skills. Now that Chen Xiao, Tie Jianguo, and Bai Lang are here, even if there were twice as many hooligans, it wouldn't make a difference.

"Hey! Zhao Pan'er! It's you again! Are you trying to cause trouble for this young master?!"

Seeing the young master Chi in front of her, accompanied by a dozen or so ruffians, Zhao Pan'er showed no fear whatsoever. Instead, she wore a disdainful expression: "What's wrong with me? You're bad at football, and you're bad at character. Am I the one who's going against you, or are you going against me?"

Upon hearing this, Chi Yanei was taken aback.

In the markets and neighborhoods of this capital city, even those who had passed the imperial examinations or the provincial examinations would have to show some respect to Chi Yanei.

Now, Zhao Pan'er, a mere woman, dares to speak to him like that?

"Get them! Arrest them!"

Unlike the events in the original story, Chi Yanei didn't try to reason with Zhao Pan'er or present the facts. Instead, he simply waved his hand and ordered his men to arrest them.

After all, he was still furious at this moment, so he couldn't care less about exchanging words with Zhao Pan'er.

Su Xiaoya clenched her fists, and Sun Sanniang raised her broom to protect Zhao Pan'er.

Before they could even make a move, a large foot kicked Chi Yanei from the side, sending him flying several meters away.

Immediately afterwards, Tie Jianguo waved his large, fan-like hand and slapped a ruffian servant to the ground.

Although Chen Xiao and Bai Lang were not as big as Tie Jianguo, they used joint locks and attacked the most painful spots on the human body.

The rascal servant who was knocked down by them cried out even louder than the one who was slapped down by Tie Jianguo.

Before the time it takes to drink a cup of tea is up, all of the dozen or so servants are lying on the ground crying and groaning.

"Who...who are you?"

Lying on the ground, Chi Yanei watched as Zhou Feng strolled over and stepped on his favorite fan. He wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, pointed at Zhou Feng, and asked.

"Is Madam Zhao alright?"

Zhou Feng didn't even look at him, but instead stood next to Zhao Pan'er. The latter took a step back without leaving a trace and gave a slight bow: "Thank you, Master Zhou. I am fine."

Just as Sun San Niang said, Zhou Feng's attitude towards her was far too obvious, which was also why Zhao Pan'er silently retreated.

Even Ouyang Xu, a top scholar, became arrogant and betrayed Zhao Pan'er.

How could Zhou Feng, whose status and position were certainly much higher than Ouyang Xu's, possibly accept Zhao Pan'er's bottom line?

On the matter of never becoming a concubine, Zhao Pan'er would not back down in the slightest.

Regardless of whether the other party is a prince or a high-ranking official, if she cannot be his legal wife, she would rather remain unmarried for life.

Zhou Feng's lips twitched. He also noticed Zhao Pan'er's actions and had some guesses in his mind, but he didn't say anything.

He can't just rush to say he can marry her before she's even given a clear answer, can he?

Wouldn't that be considered forced marriage?

Lying to the side, watching Zhou Feng and Zhao Pan'er interact, Chi Yanei's hatred intensified. He gritted his teeth and spoke again: "I am Chi Yanei, the head of more than ten guilds in Tokyo, including those dealing in silk, medicine, fur, rice, and shipping. Who exactly are you?"

Hearing him still shouting, Zhou Feng turned around to look at him, but Chi Pan was so frightened that he involuntarily crawled away a little.

"Me? I am a courtier in the Chonghe Hall, bestowed with a gold belt, and in charge of the Jinxiao Yuqing Prefecture. Everyone calls me the Celestial Master."

"Celestial Master? You're a Taoist priest?"

Upon hearing Zhou Feng's words, Chi Yanei actually breathed a sigh of relief.

In this city of Tokyo, he was not afraid of peddlers, laborers, monks, or Taoist priests; the only ones he could not afford to offend were the officials and their families.

But he didn't notice that after Zhou Feng announced his name and title, the subordinate behind him turned pale with fright.

"Young Master...Young Master, we can't afford to offend this person!"

Despite the excruciating pain, the subordinate crawled to Chi Pan's side and whispered something to him.

"He's just a Taoist priest? What's there about him that I, this young master, can't afford to offend?"

Chi Pan stared fiercely at Zhou Feng's face. He had never been beaten so badly in his life.

It's true that these ruffian servants weren't skilled enough, but that doesn't matter. Chi Pan may not have much else, but he has plenty of money!

If we offer a larger reward and recruit dozens or even hundreds of martial arts figures, surely we can take down this guy?

I'll definitely get my revenge for this humiliation someday.

The subordinate had followed Chi Pan for many years, and Chi Pan usually managed the relationships between him and others. Seeing his master's expression, he knew that Chi Pan was up to no good, so he quickly tugged at his arm.

"Young Master, only high-ranking officials are qualified to wear that gold belt; we can't afford to offend such people!"

Don't be fooled by how aggressive Chi Yanei and Gu Qianfan seem in the original story; it's because they're childhood friends.

If we're really talking about relationships, he's just a mere merchant. Facing Xiao Qinyan's son, the latter only needs to say a word to make him lose everything.

Even though the Song Dynasty valued merchants, the class barriers of scholars, farmers, artisans, and merchants were not easily broken down.

"You lot, continue knocking on the door as Zhao Niangzi instructed! Zhao Niangzi, how about we go out for a simple meal together?"

"Alright, alright! You may leave now, sir. We will certainly handle this task perfectly!"

Before Chi Yanei could even speak, his ruffian servants had already agreed.

Although this group of people usually bully and harass others on the streets, they are also very perceptive.

If you encounter someone you can't afford to offend, then just admit defeat and make your stance clear. The key is to admit your mistakes quickly, and others won't hold it against you.

"Then thank you very much, Master Zhou!"

Zhao Pan'er hesitated for a few seconds, then nodded.

After all, they have received so much care from Zhou Feng over the years, it would be too heartless to not even give them this much face.

To appease Zhao Pan'er, Zhou Feng specially sent someone to bring Song Yinzhang over as well. They found a well-known restaurant in Tokyo, and the four of them sat by the window on the second floor, which was quite elegant.

"We three sisters are so grateful to Mr. Zhou for taking care of us all this time!"

As the food was served and the wine glasses were filled, Zhao Pan'er was the first to stand up and toast Zhou Feng.

Sun San Niang and Song Yin Zhang quickly followed suit, bowed, offered a toast, and drank it all in one gulp.

After accepting the thanks without hesitation, Zhou Feng raised his hand in a gesture of respect: "No need to say more, it's just my duty."

The fermented wines of the Song Dynasty, whether made from grains like yellow wine and rice wine, or from fruits like grape wine, all tasted quite good and were the most suitable for people at that time.

After all, for thousands of years, from the pre-Qin period to the Tang and Song dynasties, the people of China have loved low-alcohol fermented wines that are sweet and mellow.

At this time, spirits already existed, but historical records describe them as having a sweet and spicy taste, being extremely hot, and highly poisonous.

The word "poison" vividly reflects the ancient people's intolerance of strong liquor.

Therefore, distilling spirits was a very difficult way to make money in ancient times.

On the contrary, Zhou Feng, who came from a thousand years in the future, was extremely adaptable to this mellow sweet wine.