The owner of this house was named Huai Rui, over thirty years old. His great-grandfather had once been a Minister of the Secretariat and held the Duke's title more than a hundred years ago.
However, the grace of a gentleman fades within five generations.
By Huai Rui's generation, although they still resided in the advantageous Victory Square and maintained a decent life through their shops and lands, he could only start as a minor official in the Ministry of Revenue.
Huai Rui, disfavored in officialdom, did not fare any better in his romantic life. Years ago, rumors spread of his affair with Zhao Sanniang, a married woman from South City. Her merchant husband made a public fuss at the Wannian County government office or outside the Ministry of Revenue almost daily, stirring major commotions.
Huai Rui did not adamantly deny it or shift the blame onto the woman. Instead, he decisively offered twenty thousand strings of coins to the merchant, asking him to divorce his wife.
