Ich verkaufe meine Kleidung und kaufe etwas Wein, den ich mit dir trinken kann

Kapitel 39

Seeing my silence, Lu Rulan smiled sweetly and gently came to my rescue, "Auntie, how many people in the world know and understand tea as well as you? It's not surprising that Young Master Ye doesn't know. Even I didn't know that this Dragon Ball Snow Tea is such a delicate and precious thing!"

Upon hearing this, I felt a surge of anger and immediately gave a cold smile, "People like you who pride yourselves on being experts in the art of tea, I wonder how much you actually know about tea?"

"Brother Ye, you haven't been drinking, so why are you talking nonsense?" Liu Wufeng said anxiously, winking at me while trying to cover for me.

"You only know about compressed tea, but do you know that our dynasty also has loose tea? Take green tea alone, for example. Just based on the different processing methods, it can be divided into pan-fried green tea, oven-dried green tea, sun-dried green tea, and steamed green tea. And even just considering pan-fried green tea, due to different strengths and methods, the tea leaves form different shapes such as long needles, fans, beads, and spirals." My mouth was dry, so I picked up the tea in front of me and drank it all in one gulp. "Isn't your Jingyou Mountain Villa located on Taihu Lake? Do you know that the Dongting Mountains east and west of Taihu Lake also produce famous teas, actually no less than the so-called Beiyuan tea? If processed properly, they can even produce the finest Biluochun tea?"

"The Biluochun tea leaves are slender and uniform, curled like tiny snails, with visible silver down. Its color is a vibrant green with a silvery sheen, and it has a lasting, delicate fragrance. The tea liquor is a clear, tender green, with a fresh and sweet taste. The infused leaves are soft and bright. Only by placing it in a crystal cup, observing its shape, smelling its aroma, and then tasting its flavor, can one truly grasp the essence of tea. Have you, who only know how to crush and grind it, never heard of such a thing?"

After a long and rambling speech, I glanced at the crowd in the pavilion. Their initial disdain and skepticism had transformed into sneers, surprise, and finally, a sense of utter admiration. I couldn't help but feel smug and laugh arrogantly—"Hmph! With this tea culture that has evolved over a thousand years, how could I possibly fail to subdue you lot?!"

"Young Master Ye, are you from the Ye family, the Tea Supervisors of Jian'an?" Yun Mengyan's sudden question froze my smile on my face.

"Uh, this, this..." I stammered, embarrassed and unable to answer. —This is bad. Who knows what kind of background this Ye family has? I probably can't just randomly claim kinship; otherwise, she could easily find out I'm not real.

"If it is, then it is; if it isn't, then it isn't. Is it that difficult?" Lu Rulan also became curious, and even Liu Wufeng looked concerned. I smiled bitterly. I had never told him about my background. No wonder he was curious. I'm doomed now!

"Junior Uncle, how have you been?!" A clear voice suddenly came from outside the wall. I looked up with delight and saw a tall, slender figure in blue rushing in from outside. After a few leaps, he gracefully stopped in front of us—good, our savior has arrived!

"Mo Hui?!" Yun Mengyan's beautiful eyes welled up with tears as she looked at Huaiyuan with a mixture of surprise and delight. "When did you return to the manor? Why are you only coming today?!"

Huaiyuan smiled calmly, "Three days ago. Junior Uncle was still so young, he hasn't changed at all." His gaze swept over Lu Rulan, "And who is this?"

“She’s Rulan. You met her when you were little, don’t you remember?” Yun Mengyan said with a hint of reproach, then smiled. “That’s right. She was only eight years old then. Girls change a lot as they grow up. Now she’s a beautiful young woman. It’s normal that you didn’t recognize her.”

"Brother Mo Hui, it's been a long time!" Ru Lan's voice trembled slightly, her beautiful eyes sparkling with charm, truly a sight to behold—hey, he's just my brother-in-law, and he's still my future brother-in-law, there's no need to be so excited to see him, is there? I felt a pang of bitterness in my heart.

"Oh, okay." Huaiyuan nodded slightly, his expression indifferent, thus completing the formality of acknowledging his sister-in-law whom he hadn't seen for over ten years. He then turned to me, his eyes filled with unmistakable reproach, "I couldn't find you anywhere, so you ended up here?! Did you cause any trouble for your junior uncle?"

"What? You talk as if I'm some kind of troublemaker." I rolled my eyes at him, annoyed, and replied irritably, "What trouble have I caused? Ask Wufeng if you don't believe me. I was just wandering around the garden out of boredom, is that illegal?"

Liu Wufeng glanced at me, suppressing a laugh, and pretended to be serious, "Brother Ye only ate some snacks at Senior Yun's place. That shouldn't count as causing trouble, right?"

"Oh, it really is just a little bit." Huaiyuan glanced sideways at the mess of cups, plates, and bowls on the table. He smiled slightly, pulled me in front of him, bent down, and carefully wiped my mouth with a handkerchief. "Look at you, your mouth is all greasy, like a child. Aren't you afraid that Junior Uncle and Rulan will laugh at you?"

I was shocked, and my whole body felt like it was on fire, turning red from head to toe—wasn't this person afraid of arousing suspicion? How could he make such an intimate gesture towards me in public? I was both ashamed and angry, and glared at him fiercely.

"You can't eat crystal dumplings without wind, they'll cause rashes. Don't force him to eat them next time." Huaiyuan ignored my glare, put the handkerchief away, and casually said a few words.

"You've been here so long?" I stuck out my tongue—no wonder Wufeng looked so pained, and the others were looking at him so strangely! "Wufeng, you're too honest. If you can't eat it, don't eat it. Why didn't you say so?!" I turned to scold Wufeng.

Liu Wufeng looked embarrassed and silently stared at me, his eyes flashing with a complex light that I couldn't understand.

"Alright, Qingyang, you've bothered Junior Uncle for so long, it's time to go." Huaiyuan naturally walked over and took my hand. Although he was talking to me, his eyes were fixed on Wufeng. I wonder what kind of riddle the two of them were playing?

"Senior Yun, Rulan, it's time for me to go too." Liu Wufeng remained silent for a long time before suddenly saying this. Without waiting for us, he gracefully stood up and disappeared into the flowers and trees.

Hey! What's he doing? I'm completely baffled—he clearly heard us leaving, so why didn't he wait for us?

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This chapter was so hard to write; I spent over ten hours researching tea in the Song Dynasty online. Turns out, it was so different from what we have now! I had to delete everything I wrote and rewrite it all. So pitiful! There might still be many errors in the text; I hope tea connoisseurs won't throw eggs at me.

This book was first published on Xiaoxiang Novel Original Website. Please retain this information when reprinting!

[Volume Two: Parting Chapter Twenty - The Past is Like Smoke]

I followed Huaiyuan with my head down, kicking an innocent pebble in frustration—after leaving Caiyunxuan, that guy immediately gave me a dark look—was all that gentleness he showed just now just an act for others? But I had no idea what he was really angry about.

Fine, when you're under someone's roof, you have to bow your head. I'll endure it, is that alright? But this is going too far! I squinted at the vibrant crimson figure rushing towards us, a surge of anger rising in my chest—no wonder Huaiyuan arrived early but didn't come in. So he was having a hard time parting with Miss Lu!

"Has she arrived?" Lu Rumei's voice trembled slightly, mixed with hatred, resentment, and perhaps even a hint of guilt? —Her? Or his? I couldn't figure it out; I could only tell from her facial expression that her feelings were extremely complex and contradictory. However, what I was curious about was, since she wanted to know so much, why didn't she go in with Huaiyuan? Wasn't the person inside her aunt? Why didn't she go in? Why did she prefer to wait endlessly outside?

"You can go back now." Huaiyuan didn't answer her, but turned around to send me away—what? It's just a little secret, isn't it? Trying to get rid of me, huh? I can't be bothered with your marital affairs!

I ignored him in a huff and turned to leave—but Huaiyuan grabbed my arm. "What? Didn't you tell me to leave?" I looked at him irritably.

"Youhuang Residence is over there, you've gone to the wrong place," Huaiyuan replied calmly, releasing my hand.

I glared at him, deliberately provoking him, "What's it to you? Can't I wander around if I want?!"

"Don't stay out too late." Huaiyuan casually said, and then walked side by side with Lu Rumei.

"Fine! You're ruthless, Jiang." I watched those two figures walk further and further away, finally disappearing from my sight. A pang of sadness struck me, and tears welled up in my eyes—Ye Qing, is this all you've got?

It's nothing, they were always a couple. Didn't I already know that? But why does my heart ache so much when I see them together? Perhaps, without realizing it, what I thought was a little dependence, a little affection, a little concern for Huaiyuan, all these little things have accumulated to the point that they've become heavy enough to affect my mood and dominate my joy and sorrow?

Despite my reluctance, I finally dragged my weary body back to Youhuang Residence—it seemed I had nowhere else to go.

"Brother Qingyang, why are you only coming back now?" Xiaofeng, like a fledgling returning to its nest, happily threw herself into my arms. "I thought you had been captured by bad guys, and I was so worried about you."

Ah, Xiaofeng. How could I forget her? Although my older brother repeatedly warned me not to trust Xiaofeng and to be wary of her, I just couldn't believe she would hurt me! After all, she's only a teenager. In the 21st century, she's just a high school freshman. How much cunning could she possibly have?!

"Why are you here so late?" I helped her up and carefully examined her face—thankfully, she was smiling so brightly, so no one must have bullied her.

"Brother Jiang said that starting today, I can move to Youhuang Residence to keep Brother Qingyang company." Xiao Feng excitedly reported this good news to me.

As I listened with a smile to her rambling on about what had happened since we parted, the inexplicable restlessness and unease in my heart gradually faded and eventually disappeared.

As night deepened, Xiaofeng grew tired of talking and finally fell into a deep sleep with a satisfied smile. But I couldn't fall asleep at all—the image of Huaiyuan and Rumei walking away side by side kept replaying in my mind like a movie rewinding.

I got up and walked into the courtyard, pacing back and forth as if waiting for something—in my subconscious, I always felt that after I left like that, Huaiyuan should come to give me an explanation, no matter how late it was.

However, I wandered in the courtyard until dawn that night, but Huaiyuan didn't come. The next few days, Huaiyuan still didn't appear. It was as if he had completely forgotten me. A huge stone seemed to be pressing on my heart; my chest felt heavy, making it hard to breathe. I couldn't help but feel a chill—since when had Huaiyuan's every move begun to so seriously affect my emotions?

I didn't wait for Huaiyuan, but instead received an uninvited guest—Lu Rumei. She was still dressed in red, so flamboyant and dazzling, which accentuated her incomparably beautiful face, making her beauty so arrogant.