Hero Stories: Chu Tang

## Chapters

### Mother's Wish

Chu Tang is appointed as secretary of the Magistrate of Yunyang County. After reporting to her post, she went back home to visit her parents in Qingzhou. Her father-Lord Chu-comments how it would have been better if Chu Tang had become a concubine. Chu Tang's mother-Chu Zhou says it doesn't matter now and that they should celebrate.

Her father still held a three day celebration for Chu Tang and many of the villagers were congratulating Chu Tang for managing to become a secretary. Yanghe then comes to congratulate Chu Tang much to her delight since she thought she would have had to find him first. Chu Zhou's mood turns sour at seeing her daughter greet a painter so enthusiastically so Chu Tang thanks Yanghe politely. Later on as her parents are exchanging pleasantries with friends, Chu Tang sneaks off to find Yanghe.

Yanghe teases Chu Tang by saying he has to call her 'Secretary Chu' instead of Chu Tang now. Yanghe tells Chu Tang that she'll make a great official. Then Chu Tang's maid-Fengyan rushes over to Chu Tang to inform her that her parents are looking for her. Yanghe insists that Chu Tang leaves since she shouldn't be here anyways. Chu Zhou tells her daughter to not interact with a man like Yanghe as he is only a painter and that is not good enough for her. Chu Tang tells her mother that Yanghe had passed the Imperial Exam at the court level which her mother retorts with how he can put that to good use when he's selling painted scrolls for the rest of his life. Chu Tang argues back that Yanghe had ranked first on provincial level and hadn't someone illegally supplanted him, he would have been a promising official. The argument ends with Chu Zhou nor wanting Chu Tang to see Yanghe ever again.

After their argument, Chu Zhou didn't stopped Chu Tang from going anywhere and so Chu Tang visited Yange who was surprised to see her again. Yanghe asks about her mother which Chu Tang replies that she'll come around eventually. Yanghe talks about how he can see why Chu Zhou wouldn't want her daughter having a poor friend which Chu Tang laments that she already heard enough talk about that from her parents. Yanghe comments that parents always just want what's best for their children and says that he was bitter and cynical back then, laughing at his old self.

### Harmonious Bliss (Hero Stories: Chu Tang)

Chu Tang marries Yanghe and moved to Yunyang despite her parents protests and wanting her to marry the young lord of the Chen family. When they settle into their new home, Yanghe asks Chu Tang what she wants to eat, she responds that she wants to eat the braised fish with soy sauce that he had cooked once. They go out together to buy the ingredients. Chu Tang worked throughout the day while Yanghe continued his painting business and attended to the chores at home. Chu Tang decides to take her jade butterfly hairpin to the pawnshop so she can have money to be able to buy a house. Yanghe watched from afar as he sees Chu Tang pawn in her hairpin. One day, Yanghe walks into the Pawnshop, Chu Tang wonders what he is doing so she inquires this to the shop owner after Yanghe left. Chu Tang learns Yanghe pawned in his family pendant and Chu Tang buys it back. When Chu Tang came home she was surprised that her butterfly hairpin was lying on her dresser.

Eventually Chu Tang is able to buy a house for her and her husband. Some servants talk about how she is able to afford a house at her age and talks of how the Magistrate is always leering at Chu Tang. Chu Tang tells the maids to stop talking about this fabrication and brings them to the Magistrate for clarification. After County Magistrate Zheng Shi hears her out, he tells the two maids to leave. Zheng Shi complains that everyone knows he has feelings for her but all Chu Tang ever does is be cold and distant to him. The Magistrate leers over at Chu Tang and admits that he does want to promote her and Chu Tang says she will earn her promotion through hard work. Zheng Shi suddenly clamped his fingers on her hand and Chu Tang struggles to get his hands off hers, just then a clerk knocks on the door and informs Zheng Shi that they have rioters back from the north warf. The County Magistrate then lets go of Chu Tang as if nothing happened and tells the clerk he'll be right there. Chu Tang quickly leaves in a panic, Yanghe greets her when she returns home and informs her that dinner's ready.

As Chu Tang and Yanghe were eating, Chu Tang had her mind full over what had happened and after they finished dinner, Yanghe suggested they go on a walk. Chu Tang agrees. As they walk by the riverside, they watch fireworks be set off into the sky and Chu Tang realized why Yanghe suggested the walk since it is the fifteeth day of the lunar month, it was a day for fireworks. Chu Tang looks over at Yanghe who is smiling as he looked up at the sky.

In a side quest when playing through Harmonious Bliss, the couple goes out to eat wonton. A kitchen maid named Sixi recognizes Chu Tang and Chu Tang tells Yanghe that they should go to the bookstore. As Chu Tang pulls on his sleeve, Sixi taunts Chu Tang asking if she's afraid that her husband would find out that she and Magistrate Zheng are supposedly in an affair. Chu Tang puts an end to the rumors saying that there is no proof that she is actually having an affair.

### Uninvited Guest

Yanghe informs Chu Tang that his mother has been getting sick lately so he has to go back to Qingzhou to see her. Chu Tang can't go with him because she has work and wants to be able to earn her promotion fairly. Yanghe reassures her that he can go by himself but then Chu Tang suggests that her mother in law can come live with them. Yanghe worries that they both think in different ways and will fight alot when under the same roof, eventually Yanghe agrees to Chu Tang's suggestion and brings his mother to their home. Two weeks pass by and Chu Tang's mother in law moves in with them. Yanghe makes breakfast and his mother gets upset that he is the one making breakfast and not Chu Tang. Yanghe tells her that Chu Tang had came home late from work and wanted to let her sleep some more. His mother reprimands Chu Tang must take care of him as he is her husband and Yanghe defends Chu Tang saying she always cleans the house on her days off but Chu Tang cuts him off saying that she will take good care of him.

The magistrate had asked Chu Tang to sort out all the local residence papers in the past ten years but she couldn't finish it during work so she had to bring some of it back home. A gust of wind blows some of the paper out of her arms making her having to pick up the fallen papers. Chu Tang comes back and greets her mother in law and asks where Yanghe went. Her mother in law responded that he went to deliver his commisioned paintings. Chu Tang offers to cook for her mother in law if she hasn't eaten yet then her mother in law furiously demands to know if she's always this late. She reprimiands Chu Tang for 'hanging out with the lords, coming back home late' and forgetting that she's a married lady and that their family values their reputation. Chu Tang tells her that she has just been working late but her mother in law gets angry at her. Yanghe comes back the moment Chu Tang bursts into tears after the fight she and Yanghe's mother had. Yanghe tells his mother that if Chu Tang upsets her this much then he can send her back to Qingzhou. Yanghe's mother finally relunctantly relents and goes back to her room to sleep. Chu Tang thanks her husband and Yanghe apologizes for his mother's behavior.

### The Other Side

Chu Tang and her mother in law have become to get along with each other now. They spent an entire day stitching embroideries and Yanghe came back home when it was almost dark, without any of his paintings and his clothes torn. Chu Tang now worried asks what happened and Yanghe explains his paintings were confiscated by the County Office. The County Office had said that Yanghe had set up his stall in the wrong place so they confiscated his items. Yanghe's mother is outraged by this and Chu Tang doesn't understand why the County Office said that. Yanghe tries to reassure them that it was fine and that there was a grain shop that always wanted him as an accountant so he can still get another job. Yanghe's mother asks Chu Tang if she can talk to the magistrate regarding this matter and Yanghe tells her off for asking that but his mother says that he needs his job back which Yanghe replies that she had never liked his old job anyways and that being an accountant was more decent either way. Chu Tang tries to think of to help her family.

Chu Tang ends up going to see Zheng Shi to ask him about it. Zheng Shi tells Chu Tang that she should know the procedures already and that her husband's stall was listed long enough and that he was simply doing his job. The magistrate then hands her exam results back which she learns that has been marked as unapproved. Chu Tang is disappointed in her results and Zheng Shi implies that there is another way but she refuses his advances again. Chu Tang goes home and puts away her exam paper, her husband tells her that dinner is ready. He then notices that Chu Tang looks tired and asked if everything was alright, Chu Tang says she's fine and quickly switches the topic by asking where his mother is. Yanghe explains that she went to bed earlier as she wasn't feeling well. The next day, Chu Tang went to look for her exam results to find that she couldn't find it anywhere. Yanghe asks what she's looking for and Chu Tang evades the question asking if he's heading out. Yanghe confirms that he is heading out and that he'll be a bit late today this time. Chu Tang asks if he'll come back before the fireworks are launched and he reassures her that he'll come back in time for them to see the fireworks together.

Chu Tang waiting in the courtyard as she hears the cracking of fireworks in the air but Yanghe never comes back.