Glory

Earlier, when Fan Yu and the others praised the author of "The Classic of Tea," he had restrained himself; later, when they praised "The Tea Arrangement," he had nearly failed to hold back and wanted to lavish praise on Ye Yaming.

Now, as luck would have it, Ye Yaming had just sent someone to deliver new tea. Naturally, he had to promote the child a little.

He had been mature and steady all his life, yet in his old age, he felt like a child with new candy, always wanting to show off. What was the matter with that?

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"What? You're saying this book was written by that Third Miss Ye?" Fan Yu exclaimed involuntarily.

Master Zhineng nodded. "Indeed."

Fan Yu and the other two wore expressions of disbelief, their minds simultaneously conjuring up an image of Ye Hongsheng.

Ye Hongsheng appeared to be only in his thirties, so his daughter couldn't be more than a teenager. How could a girl so young, and not even from a scholarly family with a legacy of learning, write such a book? It was truly hard to believe.

Master Zhineng said nothing more.

After all, with more contact, they would naturally discover Ye Yaming's extraordinary qualities.

Before long, Laonu was led in by Jingchen. He bowed to Master Zhineng. "Laonu pays his respects to Master Zhineng."

Before the New Year, he had been with Ye Hongsheng at the Gathering Fragrance Pavilion in the capital and was acquainted with Fan Yu and Tan Xuan. After greeting Master Zhineng, he looked up and was startled to see the two men.

Fan Yu was also surprised to see him enter and couldn't help but smile. "You're the page by Mr. Ganquan's side, aren't you?"

During his time in the capital, Laonu had gained some worldly experience. Especially when Ye Hongsheng first arrived in the capital and Ye Hongchang was absent, Huang Yaozu, worried that Ye Hongsheng might mishandle social interactions and inadvertently offend nobility, had specifically taught the three of them—master and servants—how to judge a guest's status by their clothing, carriage, and seating position.

Zan'er, who had accompanied Lu Guanyi and others to Huizhou, was more familiar with them but less steady than Laonu. Ye Chongming, fearing Zan'er might say something inappropriate and displease Master Zhineng, had sent Laonu to deliver tea to the master and dispatched Zan'er to the Lu residence.

Now, seeing a beautiful woman of similar age to Fan Yu seated above him, wearing attire and accessories reserved for the imperial family, Laonu guessed she was Princess Yuning.

He quickly bowed. "Laonu pays his respects to Princess Yuning, Imperial Consort Fan, and Mr. Tan."

"I heard your young lady has made new tea? Is there new tea at this time of year?" Fan Yu asked.

Laonu replied, "Only a very small amount. The young lady developed a new tea-making method and went up the mountain to test it. The tea leaves in this caddy were just made by her today. She specifically instructed this humble servant to bring it for Master Zhineng and the esteemed guests to taste."

As he spoke, he presented the tea caddy he was holding.

Tan Xuan, who had been drinking tea, choked and coughed twice at the sight of the caddy.

The white porcelain tea caddy was barely larger than a palm—how much tea could it hold? Wasn't Ye Jia in the tea business? Was this Third Miss Ye being rather stingy with her gifts?

Laonu, drawn by Tan Xuan's coughing, noticed the undisguised surprise on his face and quickly explained, "Very few tea leaves could be harvested from the entire tea garden, so the young lady could only produce a small amount. The quantity is truly limited, which is why we could only bring this small caddy for Master Zhineng and the guests to sample."Only then did Tan Xuan realize his misunderstanding.

Although they had read "The Classic of Tea" and felt they understood tea processing, they were still complete novices. They didn't even know what tea trees looked like, let alone how they sprouted in early spring.

Master Zhineng paid no attention to such concerns, repeatedly urging Jingchen to boil water and brew tea.

After Fan Yu and the others arrived, Jingchen had been brewing tea to entertain them, with the water kettle already sitting over the fire.

Seeing the water in the kettle was about to boil again, he first consulted Laonu: "Is there any particular method for brewing this new tea? Or perhaps, would you like to brew it?" As Ye Hongsheng's page, Laonu was naturally skilled in tea brewing. Before coming, he had received instructions from Ye Yaming, who was concerned that Jingchen might not know how to properly brew it and ruin the tea.

Without hesitation, Laonu requested another teapot. When the water boiled, he poured it into the teapot to cool slightly. Once he judged the temperature was right, he began brewing.

During this period, Fan Yu and the others had become completely obsessed with tea arrangements.

Watching Laonu simply take a teapot that didn't quite match the existing tea set and brew directly—without music, without particular postures, and without a themed tea set—they were taken aback.

He simply poured water into the pot. Though he followed several steps and used two techniques, Fan Yu and the others, lacking deeper study, didn't recognize any particular skill, only feeling that he finished brewing very quickly.

Though Fan Yu knew he shouldn't chatter in front of Master Zhineng, he couldn't help asking: "Laonu, didn't your young lady write a book called 'Tea Arrangement'? Shouldn't her tea brewing be quite elaborate?"

Laonu caught the implied meaning in his words. He first smiled politely at Fan Yu, then steadily poured the tea. After filling each cup and passing them to Jingchen to serve, he stood and bowed to Fan Yu.

"My young lady says that tea drinking can progress from simple to complex, and from complex back to simple. When inspired to pursue elegance, setting up a tea arrangement is a pleasure; but brewing a large bowl of tea can also be wonderfully satisfying. Regardless of who or what form it takes, as long as one focuses on tasting and feels refreshed afterward, that is the true essence of tea drinking."

These words suited Laonu perfectly—Zan'er could never have expressed them. Having accompanied Ye Hongsheng in the capital daily, listening to him discuss tea classics and arrangements with scholars, Ye Hongsheng felt his own understanding was insufficient. After returning to Lin'an, he specifically discussed this topic twice with Ye Yaming. Laonu's comprehension of the tea way was already ahead of most in the Great Jin Dynasty.

It should be noted that Ye Yaming hadn't yet formally introduced the theory of "the Way of Tea."

His words struck Fan Yu and Tan Xuan like a wake-up call, hitting straight to their hearts.

Especially Fan Yu, who admired Daoist philosophy. Laonu's words gave him a faint glimpse of the Dao.

He murmured: "So... we've been attached to appearances."

Under normal circumstances, Master Zhineng would have also reflected deeply, but now he couldn't be bothered.

The cup of steaming tea before him was extraordinarily fragrant, with an aroma he had never encountered before.

Ignoring the heat, he blew on it briefly before taking a small sip. An extraordinary fragrance filled his mouth, with a sweet, refreshing richness swirling across his palate. This aroma and flavor weren't just slightly better than Ye Jia's loose tea—they were multiple times superior.He widened his eyes and asked, "Is this tea newly made by your daughter?"