Song Dynasty Dreams: Marrying Zhao Pan’er at the beginning

Chapter 40 “Little Chubby Girl, We Meet Again”

The carriage came to a stop at the entrance of Zhao’s Tea House. Gao You and Zhao Pan’er stepped down from the carriage.

“Lord Zheng?”

Zhao Pan’er approached Zheng Qingtian, the county magistrate, and asked, “Why have you brought so many people here?”

“To revise the local records!”

Zheng Qingtian replied casually.

“Gao You’s paintings are famous across the land!”

“He is a renowned figure in Qiantang, so we must include him in the local chronicles.”

Too Big of a Fuss?

Did recording local history really require such a grand spectacle?

And why right after Gao You ordered the demolition of Zhao’s Tea House’s roof?

Clearly, they thought he was acting crazy and wanted to document his foolishness as soon as possible.

“Cousin?”

Just then, Song Yinzhan let out a gasp of surprise. She was staring at a chubby girl dressed in imperial guard armor.

Gao You turned around and immediately recognized her—It was the same girl from the emoji sketch he had drawn!

And now, here she was, in full guard uniform, standing next to Zheng Qingtian.

Zheng Qingtian had no personal feud with him, so he wasn’t likely to target him maliciously. Clearly, the chubby girl was the mastermind behind this whole mess!

Interesting!

The corner of Gao You’s lips curled up slightly. He had already thought of a way to deal with her.

But before that, he needed to get his rain curtain project underway.

“Xiao Lingdang!”

Zhao Pan’er’s expression turned serious as she gave orders.

“Go ask Fu Bo where the construction team is!”

“Tell them to speed up the work!”

“We can’t leave the tea house without a roof for long!”

Xiao Lingdang immediately ran off to find Fu Bo. Gao You smiled approvingly at Zhao Pan’er.

As expected of his wife!

She had already figured out the other party’s intentions and was helping him hurry the project along. This meant he could now relax a little.

“Scholars, Please Listen!”

Zhao Pan’er then approached a group of Confucian scholars gathered in a pavilion.

“You plan to include Gao Lang in the local chronicles?”

“Indeed!”

The head scholar nodded.

“Lady Gao, could you provide us with more details?”

She had come precisely for this reason—To ensure that Gao You’s name was recorded properly, rather than as a fool.

“Of course!”

Zhao Pan’er smiled.

“Gao Lang was born in Lingan County, Tokyo.”

“He is not actually foolish, as rumors suggest—he simply does not conform to social conventions.”

“He has a straightforward nature…”

As Zhao Pan’er praised him endlessly, Gao You stood beside her, listening with great satisfaction.

Seeing the scholars nodding in agreement, the chubby girl urgently signaled Zheng Qingtian with her eyes.

Zheng Qingtian quickly stepped forward.

“The local chronicles should be as interesting as possible!”

“I believe we should place special emphasis on the demolished roof of Zhao’s Tea House!”

“Lord Zheng!”

Zhao Pan’er frowned at him.

Zheng Qingtian smiled.

“Lady Gao, I truly have no choice.”

“The local records are historical documents, and we must be objective.”

“However, we also want to include content that interests the public.”

“No one questions Gao You’s talent in painting—his works speak for themselves.”

“But I believe more people would be curious to know about his life.”

The head scholar then turned to Zhao Pan’er.

“Lady Gao—”

“Can you explain in detail why the roof was removed?”

“There are rumors spreading in town that this was an act of madness, causing immeasurable damage.”

“Nonsense!”

Zhao Pan’er controlled her anger and replied coldly, “We demolished the roof to renovate the tea house!”

Zheng Qingtian smirked.

“The tea house was perfectly fine—why renovate it?”

“Lady Gao, please don’t take us for fools.”

“Although we are not official historians, we still have principles and won’t be deceived so easily!”

The scholars turned to Zhao Pan’er.

“Lady Gao, can you explain your renovation plan?”

“What new features will this tea house have?”

Seeing them pressing Zhao Pan’er so hard, Gao You spoke up.

“The plan is confidential.”

The scholars bowed respectfully.

“Master Gao, we mean no disrespect.”

“But the local chronicles must be accurate.”

“If you cannot provide a renovation plan, we must conclude that the roof was destroyed without reason.”

Gao You walked up to the scholar, staring him down.

“If you want to see the plan, you must agree to my condition.”

“A Condition?”

The scholar looked surprised.

He hadn’t expected this so-called fool to negotiate terms. Gao You pointed at Zhao’s Tea House.

“Record everything.”

The scholar hesitated.

“You want us to document the entire renovation process?”

Yes.

From the moment these people arrived, Gao You had been thinking about how to maximize his benefits.

By demanding full documentation, he would ensure that Zhao’s Tea House became the first tea house recorded in the local chronicles.

That meant—Anyone who ever read the local records would know that beside Qiantang River stood a tea house named Zhao’s Tea House.

And anyone who visited Qiantang would want to visit Zhao’s Tea House.

The scholars were already interested in the tea house’s missing roof. Now that Gao You had laid out his terms, they readily agreed. At that moment, Fu Bo arrived with a large team of workers.

To prevent further rumors about Gao You’s so-called madness, Fu Bo had spent a fortune hiring multiple construction crews. He planned to finish the entire renovation in one day!