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

As soon as he finished speaking, Manager Hu's legs went weak, and he almost fell to the ground if someone next to him hadn't caught him.

It's not that Lao Hu is timid, nor that he's unsophisticated.

The main thing is "beheading or hanging," those five words are just too terrifying!

Judging from the manners of this man in front of me, he is certainly qualified to enter the palace and meet the emperor. At that time, I will show him, Old Hu, some face in front of the emperor.

A mere merchant, can't be manipulated however one pleases?

"Master Zhou..."

"Um?"

Zhao Pan'er had barely opened her mouth when Zhou Feng glared at her, silencing her. After a long pause, she blushed and stammered, "Zhou...Young Master Zhou, today's events were because the bosses underestimated my half-veiled appearance, so...so I thought..."

Her voice grew softer and softer as she spoke.

Logically, Zhou Feng should have stood up for her and sought justice. However, as his fiancée, she stopped him, which was extremely rude from any perspective.

But that's just Zhao Pan'er's personality. Perhaps she's powerless in the face of powerful and influential people and officials who try to oppress others, but she wants to accomplish anything within her power on her own.

Just like when the owners of the Tea Soup Alley came to challenge her, she wanted to resolve the issue through a tea competition, rather than relying on Zhou Feng's power.

To put it bluntly, what she has always insisted on is not wanting to be anyone's appendage and wanting to live her own life.

Sun Sanniang secretly tugged at her sleeve, wanting to remind her, but Zhou Feng spoke first: "I understand. They were rude first today, but we can give them a chance. As long as they can beat you by half a point in the tea competition, I will let bygones be bygones."

In an instant, the shopkeepers in Tea Soup Alley were almost overjoyed and wept, crowding around Shopkeeper Hu.

"Manager Hu, you are one of the top experts in Tea Soup Alley. We can't afford to make a mistake now!"

"That's right! More than twenty of our lives are hanging by a thread with your belt; it all depends on this one move!"

"Stop talking! Manager Hu will definitely handle this tea competition perfectly..."

A group of people offered encouragement to Manager Hu, but he was sore and weak that he could barely stand, let alone compete in tea tasting.

He was, after all, just a merchant.

Zhou Feng's identity was enough to make him feel suffocated, and he also made such a big mistake by speaking recklessly. Expecting him to immediately act as if nothing happened and compete with Zhao Pan'er in tea is simply asking too much trouble!

But the shopkeepers of Tea Soup Alley didn't care about all that. When it came to tea ceremony skills, Shopkeeper Hu was truly the best, and none of them could surpass him.

Now that tea competitions involve one's own life and safety, naturally the person with the highest skill level should participate!

But seeing that Manager Hu seemed to have lost his soul, muttering incoherently, it was impossible to tell what he was saying. Meanwhile, the person with their face half-covered had almost finished preparing the tea-tasting utensils.

The one who already had a close relationship with Manager Hu gritted his teeth, opened his five fingers, and slapped Manager Hu across the face.

"Ouch!"

A cry of pain rang out, but it wasn't Manager Hu's scream; it came from the manager who had hit him.

His palm was already red and swollen, showing how hard the slap had been.

The shopkeeper, surnamed Hu, was already slightly overweight, and his entire face was covered with a palm print with five fingers spread apart, which looked extremely frightening.

"W-what's wrong?"

When Manager Hu regained consciousness, he felt a burning, swollen pain in his cheeks. But the people around him showed expressions of relief and shook him on the shoulders.

"Manager Hu! You mustn't be distracted again! Our esteemed guest said that if you can beat that Lady Zhao in the tea competition by even half a point, our offense will be forgiven!"

"real?"

Manager Hu's eyes lit up instantly, and he turned his gaze to Zhou Feng.

Zhou Feng, who was initially furious at his rude remarks, suddenly felt less hateful when he saw his swollen cheek with five clear finger marks on it, and silently nodded.

Anyway, this guy can't beat Zhao Pan'er in a tea competition, so it doesn't matter if we punish him later.

Not only should we crush him in terms of power, but we should also target his most proficient skill, the tea ceremony. This is what it means to kill someone by destroying their spirit!

A group of schoolchildren ran into the street shouting, "The shopkeepers from Tea Soup Alley are here, half-veiled, to challenge us! Everyone come and see!"

After the tables, chairs, benches, and tea sets were all set up, a few chairs were also placed on the side, and several regular customers recognized by Ban Zhe Mian and Tea Soup Lane were used as judges.

"Please take a seat, Your Excellency Celestial Master!"

The middle-aged man who claimed he could execute Manager Hu bowed slightly and gestured to Zhou Feng.

He was one of the regulars and was usually respected by others, but that respect was worthless in the face of Zhou Feng's status.

Zhou Feng waved his hand and said, "Today is a tea competition between the owners of these tea shops and Madam Zhao. My position makes it inconvenient for me to be fair, so I will not participate. Everyone should judge fairly."

In fact, although he had traveled to three worlds and drunk a lot of tea, he had never really learned the art of tea tasting.

Like a cow drinking water, he can say whether it tastes good or not, but he can't explain exactly how good it tastes or how to judge it.

Since that's the case, it's better to take a step back; it will make you appear fair and righteous.

As expected, everyone present bowed respectfully upon hearing Zhou Feng's words.

"Of course! We will certainly judge fairly!"

"I admire the noble character of the Celestial Master!"

...

A group of people took their seats as judges, flattering the judges.

Although Zhou Feng made it clear that they should judge fairly, the Celestial Master was standing right behind Zhao Pan'er and the others.

As long as Zhao Niangzi and the other party are not too far apart, they will definitely be biased towards each other.

"Gentlemen, tell me, what are the rules for tea competitions in Tokyo?"

Zhao Pan'er stood in the middle of the three women, looking calmly at the tea shop owners in front of her.

Even without Zhou Feng backing her up, she had absolute confidence in her tea ceremony skills.

Mr. Hu wanted to say something, but in just a short while, his entire left cheek was swollen beyond recognition, and even his teeth were loose.

Left with no other option, a shopkeeper next to him stepped forward and spoke up for him: "We're comparing three things: the color of the tea liquor, the watermarks, and the taste. Each shop will choose its own tea cake and water, and then these five regular customers will taste and evaluate it. It's a win-win-win situation for three and a lose-lose situation for two."

"Okay, let's do it your way, please."

Zhao Pan'er raised her hand to signal, and the two took their seats.

Manager Hu struck a pose, but as soon as he opened his mouth, a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. Helpless, he had to ask someone else to do it for him.

This caused those around to purse their lips simultaneously; tea competitions are, after all, serious matters, and joking around is unacceptable.