Standing at the entrance of the teahouse, Qin Niangzi frowned, looking at the young men causing trouble with a complicated expression. She said to one of them, "Second brother, if you need me for something, I'll come find you after work. Today is the first day of our teahouse's opening, so don't come here to cause trouble. Go back home now."

The man called Second Brother looked impatient. "Since you've already left my house, you have nothing to do with me anymore. Don't try to claim kinship here. Besides, we just wanted to go in for a cup of tea. How did that become causing trouble? Right, Brother Fan?" After saying that, he turned to look at the man beside him.

The man surnamed Fan said loudly, "That's right, we just want to go into the teahouse for a cup of tea, but you're stopping us from coming in. What kind of logic is that?"

"Gentlemen, this is a teahouse exclusively for women. Please find another place to relax," Madam Qin said firmly, bowing slightly.

Upon hearing this, the man surnamed Fan immediately let out a sneer, "Huh? You must be joking, right? There are places where men can't go? Who made that rule?"

"I set these rules, what, you have a problem with that?" A clear voice suddenly rang out, and everyone looked over to see Meng Zhao walking out of the teahouse in a scarlet dress, her eyes sharp as she looked at the troublemakers.

Worried that this women's teahouse might cause controversy, Meng Zhao did nothing to promote it except for some discounts when it opened. Yet, people still came to cause trouble. They really think she's easy to bully.

Seeing Meng Zhao come out, Madam Qin hurriedly went up to her, looking apologetic. "I'm sorry, Manager Meng, this person is my ex-husband's younger brother. I didn't expect her to cause trouble today."

Meng Zhao patted her arm reassuringly, saying that it wasn't entirely her fault and that this was bound to happen sooner or later.

"Who are you?" Seeing Meng Zhao walk out of the teahouse, the man surnamed Fan still had an arrogant look on his face.

"I am the owner of this teahouse. Only women are allowed in. Please leave."

"It's just a teahouse, yet it's putting on airs and setting up rules. Does it look down on us scholars?" With that, he took a few steps closer in a show of defiance.

However, before they could get close to Meng Zhao, two burly women stood in front of him.

Huang Cui and Yin Chun strode forward. Their imposing figures instantly overshadowed the few small, troublemaking men. They shouted in loud voices, "The shopkeeper's rules are clear: if you're not allowed in, you're not allowed in!"

Meng Zhao had anticipated this situation, so when recruiting, he specifically selected two strong and robust women. Although they were not as nimble as others, they were strong.

On weekdays, they help move heavy objects in the kitchen, and at night they stay at the teahouse to keep watch.

Who would have thought it would come in handy on the very first day of business?

Seeing the two women's burly figures, the troublemakers involuntarily swallowed, but then suddenly realized that they were a bunch of grown men, why should they be afraid of them? The leader stiffened his neck and continued shouting:

"We're going in today, no matter what, let's see what you can do to us!" As soon as he finished speaking, the group of men aggressively moved toward the teahouse.

Seeing this, Huang Cui and Yin Chun quickly stepped forward and stretched out their strong arms to block their way. Huang Cui was furious and pushed the man surnamed Fan, causing him to stumble back several steps. Fortunately, someone nearby caught him, preventing him from falling to the ground.

Surprised that this person was so weak, Huang Cui and Yin Chun couldn't help but turn to look at Meng Zhao. After all, the shopkeeper had specifically instructed them not to attack anyone before they left.

This time, it was others who came to cause trouble, and they were merely retaliating, so Meng Zhao naturally wouldn't blame them. Meng Zhao understood their glances and nodded slightly.

With this tacit approval, the two men felt emboldened and stood there defiantly, refusing to let them in.

The argument grew louder and louder, quickly attracting a crowd. Even Meng Jianqiu and Chen Jianxia from the neighboring Treasure Pavilion came out, standing in front of Meng Zhao and saying, "You lot, you don't follow the rules, and you still have the nerve to call yourselves scholars? It's laughable!"

"If you've got the guts, state your names. A bunch of grown men bullying a young woman like us who run a business, have you no shame?"

Seeing the men being criticized by a group of women, several other men nearby couldn't help but join in the condemnation, saying, "Your rules are really inappropriate. How can you not let customers in when you're running a business?"

“That’s right. I’ve traveled all over the country for so many years and I’ve never seen such a rule before.”

Upon hearing this, Meng Zhao responded neither humbly nor arrogantly: "I bought this shop, I hired the staff, I made the food, and I can let whoever I want in. If you're not happy about it, you can open a teahouse that only allows men, and I have no objection. But you can forget about entering my teahouse today!"

Seeing that they couldn't get into the teahouse, Qin Niangzi's brother-in-law, Yang Yuan, fanned the flames from the side, saying, "Women aren't allowed in the brothels in the county because they're in the sex trade. Your place doesn't let men in either, could it be that you're doing something shady, or maybe it's a brothel?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Qin was furious and stepped forward to yell, "Yang Yuan! I've worked so hard to support your studies, and you've wasted all that time? You've actually resorted to such vile acts as slandering others!"

Yang Yuan remained unmoved by Qin Niangzi's accusations, instead intensifying his attacks, "If you're running a legitimate business, why won't you let us in for a look? You must be like that Nanfeng Pavilion, hiding something like this. In my opinion, those women who go in for tea aren't necessarily clean either."

Upon hearing this, Meng Zhao's lips curled into a cold smile, and he said unhurriedly, "Young master, you know so much about the affairs of Nanfeng Pavilion, you must be a regular customer. Judging from your bruises and weak legs, did you perhaps just get out of some man's bed yesterday?"

Unexpectedly, the female shop owner's words were so sharp and bold that Yang Yuan instantly flew into a rage. "You're talking nonsense! I was studying hard at home yesterday, when did I ever go out?"

"You say you study at home, but who can vouch for that?" Meng Zhao pressed on relentlessly.

"My parents and neighbors can all testify for me!"

"Even if your parents knew you were into homosexuality, they'd probably still protect you. Besides, who's going to be eavesdropping at your house? Maybe you've brought people from the brothel home for your pleasure." Meng Zhao retorted sharply, each word piercing to the heart.

Yang Yuan was so angry that his face turned purple and he could barely speak.

At this moment, the scholar surnamed Fan hurriedly stepped forward and said, "You woman, you always talk about other people's private affairs, you have no shame at all."

"I was just talking about Young Master Yang. Why is this young master in such a hurry? Could it be that you were the one who was fooling around with him at home last night?" After saying that, he turned to look at Madam Qin and asked, "Madam Qin, who is this young master? You used to stay at the Yang family's house, did you see him?"

Looking at Yang Yuan, whose face had turned red, Qin Niangzi gritted her teeth and said, "This young master's surname is Fan. He has stayed at our house before. Since we didn't have enough rooms, he has been staying in Yang Yuan's room."