The sky outside was still dark.

Bai Ruzhu suddenly woke with a jolt. “My lord, I hear a lot of footsteps. Could someone have broken into our marquis’ estate?”

Li Suiwen rubbed his eyes and sat up straight.

He listened carefully, then his expression grew tense. “Don’t be afraid, my wife. I’ll go take a look.”

Just then, a maid walked in and said, “Reporting to the marquis and madam, it’s Guard Ji training outside. The young lady is also practicing martial arts with them.”

“What?” Bai Ruzhu was shocked. “Our delicate little Yue Niang, practicing martial arts? What if she gets hurt?”

She immediately got out of bed, hastily put on her clothes, skipped washing up, and rushed toward the front yard.

There, she saw her precious daughter among a group of teenagers, squatting in horse stance just like them.

Li Zhiyue was drenched in sweat, exhausted to the point of wanting to collapse.

But she was the type of person who, once she set her mind to something, would see it through even if she had to kneel her way to the end.

She endured it.

Like a piece of unyielding rock.

Bai Ruzhu originally wanted to stop her.

But somehow, when the words of protest reached her throat, she couldn’t say them.

Li Muyun also arrived, drawn by the commotion, his face filled with disbelief. “It was one thing for Yue Niang to do business, but now she’s learning martial arts too?”

“Yue Niang has grown up.”

Bai Ruzhu’s eyes turned red.

Though the elders of the family were still around, it was her daughter who was holding up the household.

They had grown too used to comfort, spending their days in idle ease, while Yue Niang silently bore all the burdens.

She pressed her lips together and stepped forward.

Li Zhiyue was focused on her training when she suddenly noticed someone beside her.

Turning her head, she was shocked. “Mother… you’re doing horse stance too?”

“Why not?” Bai Ruzhu smiled. “If you’re allowed to practice martial arts, why can’t your mother learn a bit too? It actually seems kind of fun.”

As soon as she said this—

Another figure joined in.

It was Li Muyun.

He snorted. “Even you women can do it, I might as well give it a try.”

Li Suiwen rubbed his forehead.

For the first time, he was glad he had morning court.

Otherwise, under all this peer pressure, he’d probably have ended up squatting too.

Li Zhiyue laughed.

A voice in her heart told her that the marquis’ household would no longer follow the same old path.

But before she could enjoy the moment too long, Li Muyun suddenly collapsed to the ground.

Bai Ruzhu mocked him mercilessly. “You should finish reading your books before learning martial arts. Even your sister’s better than you—what a disgrace.”

Li Muyun: “…”

Life was just too hard.

Studying was hard.

Martial arts were hard.

All he wanted was to lie down and do nothing, but with his sister always charging forward, he, as her elder brother, felt too ashamed to slack off.

Li Muyun climbed up from the ground and resumed his horse stance.

The ten boys beside them, seeing how hard the lords of the household were working, didn’t dare slack off either.

They gave it their all to keep up with Ji Laizhi’s pace.

As the sky gradually brightened—

With one command from Ji Laizhi, the horse stance training finally ended.

The three members of the marquis’ household could go rest, but the boys who were purchased as guards had no such luxury.

After breakfast, they had to continue learning basic techniques under Ji Laizhi’s instruction…

After several days of training, Li Zhiyue felt her body growing much stronger.

By mid-August, the first branch of Li’s Tea Pavilion in the west of the city finally opened.

The shop was tucked away in a quiet little alley, but since the milk tea had already made a name for itself, people sought it out regardless of how hidden the location was.

Qiao Mu had been promoted to Manager Qiao. He stood at the entrance warmly greeting customers. “New shop opening! New product launch: Half a Day of Leisure. Please give it a try!”

“‘Half a Day of Leisure’? That name sounds interesting.”

“Li’s Tea Pavilion was on the verge of closing—who would’ve thought it’d make such a comeback in just a month, even opening a new branch!”

“A tael of silver for a cup of milk tea? They’re practically printing money.”

There were plenty of onlookers, and plenty of customers too.

Qiao Mu was the shopkeeper, the accountant was Hongyu, Li Zhiyue’s head maid.

Aunt Zhang was in charge of the prep area.

Two young maids assisted her, and all the shop assistants were handpicked household retainers from the marquis’ estate.

Having trained at the first store, the main staff were well-prepared.

No matter how many customers came, they could handle it.

Li Zhiyue made a round through the store and was about to leave—

Suddenly!

A customer downstairs, who had been drinking milk tea, let out a loud cry and fell to the ground, rolling and writhing.

“My stomach! My stomach hurts so bad…”

“I drank your milk tea and now I’m in pain! There’s something wrong with it!”

As soon as he said that—

The rest of the customers panicked, setting down their cups in alarm.

“No way—is it really bad?”

“He looks like he’s really in pain. Could it be fake?”

“Something wrong with what we’re consuming? Isn’t that the mark of a shady business?”

Chaos broke out in the store as curious onlookers outside rushed in too.

Li Zhiyue narrowed her eyes.

From the start of Li’s Tea Pavilion, she had set strict operating standards.

For example: if a batch of milk tea wasn’t sold within four hours, it had to be discarded. Certain toppings also had a four-hour shelf life.

As for cut fruits, if they weren’t used within an hour, they had to be thrown out…

Anyone caught violating these standards would be demoted to the lowest rank of servant back at the estate.

Of course, the discarded expired items weren’t just thrown away. They were left in a large tray behind the shop for beggars to eat.

“Ji Anzhi!”

Li Zhiyue gave a cold shout.

Ji Anzhi was her personal coachman.

He accompanied her everywhere and also served as her bodyguard.

At her command, Ji Anzhi came from the back and swiftly lifted the writhing man off the floor, pinning him to a table.

“W-What are you doing?!”

The man struggled desperately in fear.

But Ji Anzhi was a trained fighter, and the man’s efforts were futile.

Li Zhiyue picked up the cup of milk tea from the table, sniffed it lightly. “It was after drinking this that you started to feel pain?”

The man yelled, “I didn’t eat anything this morning—just this milk tea. If it’s not your product, what else could it be? A shady store like this should be shut down!”

Li Zhiyue spoke calmly: “Mo Yu, go get a skilled physician. Let’s have them examine the tea.”

The man showed no signs of panic at her words.

She sneered, “No need. Search him directly!”

If he wasn’t afraid of an examination, it meant there was indeed something in the tea that didn’t belong.

The shop was spotless—any foreign substance would’ve been noticed.

So whatever it was had to still be on the man.

When he heard she wanted to search him, the man started struggling violently. “You have no right! You’re not the authorities! Let go of me!”

“Funny,” Li Zhiyue smirked coldly, “you’ve got plenty of strength for someone who’s supposedly in pain. Do you know what happens if we find a packet of poison on you?”