Green Tea Stepdaughter: Daily Survival in the Mansion Chapter 1: Chrysanthemum-Viewing Banquet

◎Use every means to survive.◎

In early September, with autumn in full swing and a thin frost covering the capital city, Director Li of the Imperial Academy (Guozi Jian) held a grand banquet at his residence today to admire chrysanthemums, inviting many guests.

Male guests stayed in the Yuancui Pavilion in the front courtyard, while the ladies gathered in the Pinfang Tower in the back.

As the sun rose high, the midday banquet began. Amid the soft strains of a pipa, the atmosphere inside Pinfang Tower was somewhat delicate. Almost all the ladies’ eyes furtively rested on a girl in pink on the left, whispering among themselves.

“Isn’t that the Second Miss Chu, Chu Yufu, who’s here to discuss a marriage with the Li family young master?”

“Heh, that’s her. She’s rather pretty, but her taste…”

At a redwood table, the girl sat on a chair, picking up a slice of raw rabbit from a white porcelain plate and dipping it into a small brass pot filled with boiling water. Her moist apricot-shaped eyes were fixed intently on the curling meat in the water.

Behind her, a round-faced maid in a dark green collar robe whispered softly, “Miss, I want to eat chrysanthemum cake.”

The girl put down her chopsticks, picked up the chrysanthemum cake on her right, and secretly passed it back with her sleeve covering the motion.

The main daughter, sitting nearby, saw every move clearly. Feeling the contemptuous gazes coming from all directions and looking at her younger half-sister’s naive, foolish expression, Chu Jinhe felt like sitting on pins and needles.

She knew this second sister was usually simple-minded, but when did she become this clueless? Knowing full well that today was meant for her matchmaking, she still dressed in such garish, vulgar fashion. What on earth had their late mother taught her?

Wearing a sandalwood-colored top and a plum-patterned skirt reaching her chest, the girl’s entire outfit was pink and flashy, standing out like a sore thumb among the elegantly dressed noble ladies!

A silver comb in the center of her bun wasn’t enough—on the left, a silver hairpin dangled, and the small empty space on the right was filled with two jade hairpins shaped like water droplets. She looked like a jewelry box come to life, making even her elder sister seem ridiculous.

Eat, eat, eat—she only knows how to eat!

Chu Jinhe took a deep breath and forced a smile. “Second Sister, did you take out all the jewelry from your box and put it on?”

Chu Yufu turned to her, her eyes curving like crescent moons, showing a shy, timid smile. “How did you know, sister…”

She touched the dangling hairpin and lowered her eyelids slightly. “Mother instructed me the other day to dress nicely for the banquet. But unfortunately, I have few accessories and few clothes, so it took a long time to put this outfit together.”

Fool, a hopeless fool.

Chu Jinhe’s chest rose and fell. After a long pause, she forced out with a cold expression: “…It looks… alright.”

Chu Yufu turned her head, ready to retrieve the meat already cooked in the pot, but she was called by name before she could reach it.

Sitting at the leftmost seat, her stepmother, Madam Wu, called out: “Fú girl, come over.”

Chu Yufu paused slightly, put down her chopsticks, straightened her skirt, and obediently went forward. She kowtowed to her stepmother, then to Madam Li, who sat at the main seat, and spoke clearly: “Mother, Madam Li.”

A small skylight opened on the roof of Pinfang Tower, inset with clear glass panes.

Autumn sunlight slanted through the skylight, half falling on the fair side of Second Miss Chu’s face, the other half on her high double buns.

On her hair, the jade pins and silver comb overlapped, so ornate it looked almost comical.

Below, her oval face was fair and tender, with large, sparkling eyes as clear as purple grapes. With little visible sclera, her gaze seemed especially endearing when she looked at someone seriously, like a porcelain doll.

Madam Li’s eyes swept over the jewels on her head, then lingered on her pretty face for a moment. Satisfaction in her heart grew from thirty to fifty percent. The girl’s family background and looks were decent; her simplicity wasn’t a big problem. As she thought this, a smile appeared on her face.

“She’s a pretty child.”

Madam Wu smiled too, lifting her eyelashes to suppress the slight displeasure between her brows. She took Chu Yufu’s hand and teased Madam Li:

“My second daughter is very straightforward. I told her the other day to wear something bright, and today she comes dressed like this. She’s just a very simple-minded child.”

Madam Li leaned back slightly, laughing, and replied repeatedly: “Straightforward is good, I like straightforward! My third boy is also simple-minded. You saw him before the banquet, right? They’re well-matched.”

“Those two young ones are fated…”

The two ladies chatted and laughed. Chu Yufu slightly lowered her head, standing by the table. Her smile remained, but her hands were clenched under her sleeves. Only after half an incense stick’s time did Madam Wu wave to signal her to return.

She kowtowed again and returned to her seat, picking up a slice of meat from the boiling water to eat.

The rabbit meat was overcooked, tough to chew no matter how long she chewed. Frowning, the girl swallowed it whole.

The midday banquet finally ended after a couple of hours. Ladies and madams gathered in small groups to drink tea and chat. Chu Yufu had no interest in joining the merriment and led her maid, Lán Zhu, to a secluded garden.

Passing through the corridor, they reached the moon gate paved with water-milled bricks. With no one around, Second Miss Chu’s smile vanished, and she lifted her foot to crush the dead leaves under her skirt.

“Miss, did Madam Li say anything just now? Is there a change in the marriage?”

Lán Zhu looked at her mistress’s tense face, puzzled. During the banquet, she had seen the two madams chatting and laughing with Miss Chu from a distance—nothing seemed unusual.

“It’s precisely because nothing has changed that it’s frustrating.” Chu Yufu ground her teeth lightly, unconsciously picking at the water-milled bricks in front of her.

“Why?”

Why?

The words twisted on Chu Yufu’s tongue, but she didn’t know how to explain.

How should she put it?

Should she just tell her that the third Li young master, though looking refined, was actually a superficial, flirtatious gambler, and that eventually the Li family would offend the Crown Prince and be exiled? That marrying him would be jumping into a fire pit, and she wouldn’t survive to the story’s happy ending?

Perhaps Lán Zhu would ask, “Miss, how do you know?” But she couldn’t tell her the truth—that the original Second Miss Chu had died from illness three days ago, and that she herself had transmigrated from the modern world, so she already knew the plot of the story.

Chu Yufu beckoned with her finger, signaling Lán Zhu to lean closer. “Silly girl, think about it. The Li family is powerful, and Third Young Master Li is the legitimate son. If his looks, character, and everything were truly as perfect as he shows, how would it have been me chosen? Remember, my elder sister hasn’t even begun discussing marriage yet.”

Lán Zhu’s eyes widened as realization dawned, though she still felt conflicted. “But… Miss, what if… what if Madam Li softened because of how devotedly you serve her?”

Chu Yufu snorted lightly. “Next year, Third Brother will turn thirteen—the right age to take the imperial exams. And Father Li is currently Director of the Imperial Academy. Do you think it’s just coincidence?”

Madam Wu, matriarch of the Chu household, had two biological children: First Miss Chu Jinhe and Third Master Chu Junze. Everyone in the household knew that Third Master was a free-spirited boy who paid no mind to his studies, utterly hopeless—like clay that couldn’t be shaped. Yet Madam Wu refused to give up, relentlessly forcing him to study and pursue success.

Lán Zhu gasped, her eyes wide: “Madam wants to use your marriage to secure Third Master’s future!”

“Shh!”

Chu Yufu raised a finger to her lips, signaling for quiet. Although no one seemed nearby, she had to be careful in case someone was listening from behind a wall.

After explaining to Lán Zhu, she let out a soft sigh.

Three days ago, she had still been a doctor working at a community hospital. On her way home, she was struck by a car. When she opened her eyes again, she had transmigrated into a book, becoming the cannon-fodder female supporting character of the historical romance novel Madam Hou.

In the book, she was the protagonist’s cousin, a beautiful but foolish girl. After her birth mother died, she went to live with her stepmother. When her stepmother arranged a good marriage for her, she became increasingly obedient, actively serving her elder sister and helping her steal the male lead from the protagonist.

The more obedient she was, the kinder her stepmother appeared. She was pleased and became increasingly ruthless toward the protagonist, even nearly drowning her.

But after marrying, she discovered her husband was a scoundrel. Her stepmother had deliberately married her into the Li family, using her marriage to secure her brother’s future. There had never been any genuine affection—she had only been a tool. Meanwhile, the protagonist had treated her sincerely and had even warned her that the marriage might be problematic.

By the time she realized this, it was too late. She had offended the protagonist completely, and when the Li family’s factional struggles arose, she chose the wrong side and was exiled. Though she could have stayed in the capital, the male lead’s revenge caused her to be exiled as well, and she died halfway.

The moment Chu Yufu transmigrated was right before the engagement with the scoundrel.

On her first day in this new life, she was confused, but by the second day she had calmed down and sorted through the original girl’s memories, starting to plan her strategy. Since the original Second Miss Chu wasn’t clever, she had devised the plan to dress garishly, hoping to “scare off” her target with her foolish appearance—but it backfired.

Madam Li seemed eager for her son to marry; as long as the girl came from a proper family, a little foolishness didn’t matter. Third Young Master Li was exceptional—though he showed some disdain when he first saw her, his eyes clung to her.

Unsuccessful from the start—those four heavy words weighed on her heart.

A cold wind swirled through the courtyard, rustling yellow leaves on the branches. The girl’s red lips pressed into a line, her brows tightly furrowed. From hair to hem, she exuded a lonely, desolate air.

At that moment, faint footsteps sounded from the other side of the moon gate. She smoothed her clothing, preparing to retreat to a quiet corner to calm herself and make a plan. Just as she lifted her foot, a pleasant female voice reached her ears:

“Zhao Shizi.”

Zhao Shizi? Chu Yufu paused, signaling Lán Zhu to be silent. She quietly leaned against the side of the moon gate, peeking out.

Under the ginkgo tree beyond the gate, a man and a woman faced each other. The man’s stature was tall and graceful, his black hair bound atop his head with a jade crown. Even in profile, he was clearly handsome.

The woman wore a light green dress, her hair adorned with a hibiscus hairpin, her smile bright and lively.

“Miss Lu, I’ll feel more comfortable if you call me Brother Chunheng,” the man said, his voice warm and mellow, full of gentle amusement.

The woman’s earlobes flushed, but she didn’t reply immediately. “When we parted in Fengling, it was so sudden that I didn’t have the chance to properly thank Your Highness. Thank you for saving me…”

At this, Chu Yufu’s mind raced. She remembered the book’s plot—the chrysanthemum-viewing banquet, a surprise reunion.

The two under the tree were unmistakably the protagonists: her cousin Lu Jia’an and the Mingxuan Marquis’s heir, Zhao Chunheng.

Lu Jia’an grew up in Mijiang County. Her father, the county magistrate, had been promoted to a secretarial post in the capital after his achievements. Her parents decided she should return early to the capital to participate in social events and stay with her uncle’s family—the Chus—so her aunt could guide her and prepare her for future marriage arrangements.

On the way, she was ambushed by bandits but saved by Zhao Chunheng. Before reaching the capital, they parted in haste, only to unexpectedly meet again at the Li family banquet. Romance began to bloom, eventually overcoming the schemes of villainous supporting characters.

And she—Chu Yufu—was one of those villainous supporting characters.

Under the ginkgo tree, her cousin Lu and Zhao Shizi continued talking. Chu Yufu quietly picked up her skirt and began to retreat with Lán Zhu.

From her very first day after transmigrating, she had set a clear life guide: use every means to survive, and never repeat the old mistakes that offended the protagonists.

In any story, protagonists have their ways of living, and supporting characters have theirs. Avoid entangling too deeply with the protagonists—there’s no harm in that. She had no intention of dying again.