Kyoto in May is filled with a strong gossip atmosphere, as intense as the May weather.

The Great Zhou Dynasty has been prosperous since ancient times, and its capital, Kyoto, is even wealthier than any other place in the Great Zhou Dynasty. Kyoto is located in the north of the Great Zhou Dynasty, with mostly plateaus and mountains and few plains and basins. Winters are cold and snowy, while summers are hot and rainy.

Kyoto has three most bustling streets. The first is the main street in the center, which leads to the magnificent Imperial Palace. The masters of the palace return to the palace, or when there are military reports or officials going to court, they also take this road. Various shops line the street, and the prices are high. Ordinary people do not walk here. Those who come and go are all high-ranking officials, nobles and relatives of the emperor. How could ordinary people dare to walk here? If you move your toes, you could step on a prince or princess, or the son of a first-rank official. To wander around in such a place is to have a death wish.

Kyoto's main street, which is equivalent to the city center, can be summed up in a few words: luxurious and extravagant.

The second most bustling street in Kyoto is Higashi-dori. Like the main thoroughfare, it was not a place for ordinary people to set foot in. Just like the main street, it was also a place where high-ranking officials and nobles lived. At the end of the main street was the Imperial Palace, and Higashi-dori was full of officials, who were equally untouchable.

The third most bustling street in Kyoto is Kyoto West Street. Why is it so bustling? Is it because there are many imperial relatives or officials? No, neither. It is neither a main road nor is it inhabited by high-ranking officials. The majority of people living here are the wealthiest merchants in Kyoto and even the Great Zhou Dynasty.

The reason why West Street's prosperity rivals that of the other two streets is because there are so many wealthy people here. The people living here are not as powerful or terrifying as the high-ranking officials, but there are many luxurious mansions that can rival the palaces and residences of the emperor and officials. Moreover, it is far away from the main road and East Street. Ordinary people like to come here to look at the luxurious mansions, buy and sell things, and so on. Not only do local residents run inns and shops here with great success, but residents from other streets also like to do business here.

Over time, this place became a gathering place for all sorts of people. Anything that happened could be spread from one end of West Street to the other within fifteen minutes.

On West Street, there are no secrets, only gossip.

These past few days, a piece of gossip has been circulating on West Street. Even though several days have passed, the hype is still going strong and shows no signs of abating. In fact, because of the passage of time, more and more people are finding out about it, making it seem even more popular than when it first started circulating.

"Hey, did you know? The Hu family is arranging another marriage for Master Hu." In teahouses, by the market, wherever there's tea and melon seeds, there are bound to be people, and wherever there are people, they're all talking about this news.

"Hey, is this the Hu family in the second alley of West Street?" The person asking the question cracked open a melon seed, deftly flicked his tongue, rolled the melon seed kernel into his mouth, and spat out the shell with two "pui pui" sounds.

The person speaking had a gossipy look on their face.

The man who spoke, feigning profundity, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and only spoke when the questioner was about to erupt in anger, "Indeed, how many people with the surname Hu are there on West Second Street in the capital? There aren't many people with the surname Hu in the entire capital. Ah, speaking of the Hu family, they truly control half of the wealth of the Great Zhou, half of its economic lifeline. If the Hu family falls, the economy of the Great Zhou will suffer a severe blow..."

Just as the conversation was getting rambling, the listener grew impatient and spat out a mouthful of sunflower seed shells, saying, "Can you get to the point?"

"Oh..." The speaker, seeing that the other person wasn't happy to listen, curled his lip and criticized the listener for lacking foresight and having a low perspective, only knowing gossip and not caring about national affairs at all. Then he continued, "This Second Master Hu, hasn't he been in poor health since childhood? He's the kind who takes one step and then gasps for breath, then has to rest after three steps. I heard that he fell ill again a few days ago, but Old Master Hu, Hu Wenbai, is afraid that his eldest son's only son will be gone, and the Hu family will be without an heir. That's why he's thinking of finding Second Master Hu a wife to bring him good luck, hoping that he'll recover. Even if he doesn't recover, at least he can have an heir..."

"Sigh..." The listener was confused. "How can the Hu family have no descendants? There are still quite a few people in the Hu family, aren't there?" Old Master Hu, Master Hu, and several young masters Hu are all still alive. If any one of them had a child, the family wouldn't be without descendants.

"You wouldn't know this, would you?" The person who spoke suddenly leaned closer. Seeing this, the other person also leaned closer mysteriously, looking excited, their heart pounding with excitement.

Big news!

"What happened? What happened? Tell me quickly."

"Don't be so loud!" the person who spoke said, sounding annoyed.

"Oh, oh!" The person listening lowered their voice and said softly, "Go on."

The speaker began in the same voice, then looked up cautiously at his surroundings. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, he lowered his head again and whispered, "You don't know this, do you? This old man Hu married into the Hu family. His original surname was Huang."

"Then what does this have to do with the Hu family having no descendants?" Whether the surname is changed to Hu or Huang, the children born are still the blood and flesh of the couple. No matter what the surname is, the two of them will have descendants.

"That's the problem. Second Master Hu's father was born to Miss Hu and Old Master Hu, but Old Master Hu was born to Old Master Hu and his concubine. Second Master Hu's father has been dead for many years, and he's sickly. If he dies, the Hu family will have no descendants."

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