Chapter 100: The Unexpected Turn

“Malicious? Oh, Guo, is that really how you see me? Our friendship means less than that spoiled young master who just arrived a few days ago? Have you forgotten how many troubles you caused at the inn? Wasn’t it me who smoothed things over for you that time? Did I ever ask for a single coin in return? And now you call me malicious? Where were you all this time? I see you clearly now. Why must my life be so bitter? I was wrong, truly wrong, from the very start...”

Guo Furong’s words pierced Tong Xiangyu’s heart like a sharp thorn, causing her to bristle instantly. Yet just as Tong Xiangyu was about to unleash her classic catchphrase, she was cut off.

“All right, all right, I was wrong to blame you. Happy now?” Guo Furong feigned impatience as she apologized.

In truth, the moment Guo Furong spoke, she realized her mistake but, out of pride, she hadn’t immediately apologized. However, when Tong Xiangyu uttered her characteristic line, Guo Furong seized the opportunity to promptly offer the apology she had premeditated.

“Wrong? What exactly are you wrong about?” Tong Xiangyu wasn’t ready to let her off the hook despite hearing the apology.

“Hey?” Seeing Tong Xiangyu pressing further, Guo Furong’s temper flared. She rolled up her sleeves, ready to fight back, but was stopped by Bai Zhantang.

“Come on, Guo, if you’re going to apologize, make it sincere. How about this: there’s a troupe performing in town tonight. You treat everyone to the show.”

Amid the skirmish between the two women, Bai Zhantang took advantage of the pause to interject.

At the mention of spending money, Guo Furong instinctively wanted to protest, “Why should I—”

But before she could finish, Scholar Lü tugged her sleeve and whispered in her ear.

“Furong, just agree. The performance tonight is free for the whole town. Everyone knows except the innkeeper, who’s been cooped up counting money these past two days. Only he’s unaware there’s a free show tonight.”

Initially annoyed at being pulled aside, Guo’s expression shifted in an instant to a beaming smile, as if she had undergone a Sichuan opera face-changing act.

“Ah, it’s no big deal. I’ll treat everyone to the show tonight!” Guo Furong declared with unexpected generosity.

“Really? That generous? Well then, I’ll be waiting tonight,” said Tong Xiangyu, turning on her heel without looking back. Hidden from view, the joy on her face threatened to overflow.

Tong Xiangyu hadn’t expected Guo to be so magnanimous. It seemed their sisterly bond ran deep after all.

By evening, Tong Xiangyu had already planned that while Guo would cover the ticket expenses, she would treat everyone at the inn to snacks, a surprise for Guo.

With this thought in mind, humming a folk tune from home, Tong Xiangyu swayed leisurely back inside the inn.

Once Tong Xiangyu disappeared from sight, Bai Zhantang raised his hand and said, “Alright, that’s enough. Everyone, disperse.”

With that, everyone, including Bai Zhantang, returned to their posts—except for Li Dazui, who remained in the courtyard.

Seeing the empty courtyard, Li Dazui was stunned for a moment before calling out.

“Hey? Where is everyone? I was just tasting the dishes. Someone come try it! Anybody!”

He shouted several times but no one came to assist. Eventually, he gave up seeking tasters.

Pulling out a pair of chopsticks, Li Dazui nonchalantly tapped them on the stone mill, then poked at the plate of his new dish in the center. He said defiantly,

“Kindness is treated like donkey liver and lung. None of them have good fortune. I refuse to believe that with my cooking skills, I could make something that tastes bad!”

Speaking thus, he picked up a gloppy, dark concoction tinged with gray and green. After staring at it for two seconds, he closed his eyes, steeling himself, and shoved it into his mouth.

To his credit, Li Dazui could eat anything. His brows furrowed, breath held, he neither chewed nor savored, swallowing it down in one gulp.

Half an hour later, a faint stench permeated the entire street where the Tongfu Inn stood. The fresh air brought by the drizzle was utterly spoiled.

For some unknown reason, after six or seven days of continuous rain, the downpour finally ceased after an hour.

...

The next morning, near noon, Zhu Yu, who had been sleeping soundly, was roused by the noisy commotion downstairs.

Still groggy, Zhu Yu got out of bed in a daze. Irritated, he was about to shout at the disturbance but then remembered he was no longer in the palace and immediately held his tongue.

Normally, Zhu Yu wouldn’t care about any ruckus, but the lively atmosphere at Tongfu Inn was different—he was quite interested.

After being helped by two attending palace maids to dress and freshen up, he eagerly went down to see what was happening.

At the stairwell, Zhu Yu heard Guo Furong’s loud voice.

“Buy it! You must buy it! If you don’t act now, it’ll be too late. The price changes every day!”

“Furong, calm down. Confucius once said—”

“Shut up...”

That was only the beginning. As Zhu Yu descended a few steps, he heard Tong Xiangyu’s familiar lament.

“I was wrong. Truly wrong. I should never have married into this place from the start...”

“Tong Xiangyu, listen. That line doesn’t work on me anymore. You’ve been married to me for so long and that phrase hasn’t changed. I’m telling you, change your words. Besides, this inn is ours now. I own half the property. Listen to me—it must be bought!”

At that moment, Zhu Yu reached the first floor. Before he could inquire further, he noticed many townsfolk outside the main entrance, clutching piles of silver notes, hurrying in the same direction.

If not for the ancient-style inn and the traditional clothing, along with the familiar faces, Zhu Yu would have thought he had traveled back in time—not just back, but to a Walmart having a full-house sale at 90% off.

Usually, as the benefactor here, the whole inn would have swarmed him with greetings by now, but today, nobody paid him any attention. Instead, pairs and groups bickered among themselves.

Fortunately, Zhu Yu was not alone. As he came down, Yu Huatian, stationed in the main hall, quickly approached him.

“What’s going on? I just woke up late and everything has changed? What’s happening?”

Zhu Yu gestured toward the quarrelling crowd inside the inn and then toward the unceasing flow of people outside.