Luzhou-Mond - Kapitel 44
After the Third Prince's fondness for male concubines became public knowledge, he could openly collect handsome men. However, the pressure and wrath from the palace were not to be underestimated. The Imperial Concubine fell ill in anger, and His Majesty the Emperor was furious: "If you're happy, so be it. Why must everyone know? You've disgraced the imperial family!" He then punished the Third Prince by suspending his salary for half a year, hoping to give him a small punishment as a warning.
However, another side effect of this incident was that, because the princess was worried that Shen Haoyu, one of the instigators of the incident, was getting too close to the Third Prince and might pick up such a fetish, she hurriedly sent four more beauties to Qiufeng Garden to enhance Yu Ying and Yin Yan's fighting power, hoping to keep Shen Haoyu's attention firmly focused on women.
Now, Qiufeng Garden has new residents, and it's bustling with women every day. They keep pestering Shen Haoyu, making him like a frightened bird, and he runs away at the mere sound of their voices.
Shen Haoyu, you've ruined yourself and others, haven't you? If you had known this would happen, why did you do it in the first place?
Shen Haoyu's reaction worried the princess even more, and she often wondered if she had acted too late, as Shen Haoyu was already showing signs of developing a crush on a man.
It is said that there are only six beautiful young women in Qiufeng Garden, but more than twenty handsome men of all kinds, with plenty of talent to choose from. The princess felt that it was dangerous and prepared to nip the problem in the bud before it could ignite, so as not to give Shen Haoyu any chance to come into contact with the handsome men. She suggested to Prince Qing that the guards of Qiufeng Garden move out of Qiufeng Garden and isolate themselves from Shen Haoyu.
Fortunately, Prince Qing was a man of great principle. He told the Princess that this was a test of Shen Haoyu's willpower. If she could not even resist the temptation of a little male beauty, how could she achieve great things in the future?
So, the princess reluctantly gave up the idea, feeling uneasy, and we were relieved of our worries about moving again.
The male concubine incident has come to a temporary end, and the selection of a concubine for Shen Haoyu has been put on the agenda ahead of schedule.
The Youjing Dynasty was relatively enlightened. Unlike the Qing Dynasty, where men married and had children at the age of fourteen or fifteen, men here were expected to marry after the age of eighteen and women after the age of fifteen. An eighteen-year-old man would be considered an adult in modern times, so there was no question of destroying a young seedling.
Every day, the princess would send people to bring Shen Haoyu many portraits of women to choose from. Shen Haoyu was annoyed by this and spent his days hiding from her. Later, he had no choice but to ask me for advice. I taught him a very old-fashioned but effective method. So Shen Haoyu went to Prince Qing and said solemnly: "A great man cannot live only under the protection of his ancestors. He must establish his own achievements through his own efforts before he can support his family and stand tall in the world."
Upon hearing this, Prince Qing was greatly pleased, almost moved to tears. He praised and encouraged Shen Haoyu further, and ordered his consort to suspend the selection of a new consort for Shen Haoyu. Shen Haoyu was once again granted peace and quiet.
As a reward for my advice, Shen Haoyu gave me a bag of seashells. They were brought over by people from Dongjun for them to admire. They weren't anything particularly valuable; I had quite a few in my family's fish tank in my previous life. But they were still quite rare in this place and at this time, so I accepted them with pleasure.
Zinuo couldn't stand the fishy smell on the seashells, so we fetched water and carefully washed them. The smell wasn't completely gone, but it wasn't as strong either. Looking at the pile of seashells, we felt it was a waste to just keep them in our bags, so Zinuo and I got to work together to string them into wind chimes and hang them on the veranda. That way, we could see them every day and they would add a touch of charm.
Zinuo focused intently on drilling holes in the seashells, while I ran to find Yinyan and asked her for a few bells. The metallic clinking sound was quite crisp. The wind chimes were finally finished. I hung them on the veranda and gently pushed them with my hand, and they tinkled and jingled. I closed my eyes, as if I had returned to a summer afternoon, fresh and romantic.
Seeing that there were still materials left, we used high-quality glue to stick some seashells together to make various small animal shapes. We even made a two-masted boat as a gift for Song Zhixuan and a galloping horse for Lin Zhao. Actually, our workmanship was quite rough and clumsy; if I hadn't explained it verbally and demonstrated with my hands, they wouldn't have been able to tell what we were making at all. But they still accepted it happily, showing me respect. So, the only thing I could present to others was that wind chime: the good things, of course, should be kept for myself.
Zinuo went to tend to the pigeons again, while I sat leisurely on the veranda listening to the tinkling of the wind chimes. Although the north wind was blowing, my interest remained undiminished.
Just as he was shaking his head, Da Cheng came to deliver a message: A guest has arrived, and the young prince is receiving the guest at the Plum Garden's Hidden Fragrance Pavilion. Lin En will accompany him.
Tsk tsk, when did I gain the additional function of entertaining guests?
Shen Haoyu, you're making me do more and more things, and they're getting weirder and weirder, but why haven't you raised my wages? Song Zhixuan and the others get subsidies when they go out, but I spend six hours a day in the freezing cold, why don't I get any subsidies?
Of course, I still couldn't resist. I stood up, dusted myself off, and headed towards the plum garden. Suddenly, it occurred to me that it was almost noon. If I could spend more time with the guest, wouldn't I be able to skip going to the Second Prince's residence today? My esteemed guest, please, spend more time with Shen Haoyu.
Upon arriving at the Hidden Fragrance Pavilion, one finds it already occupied. A curtain has been drawn along the windward side, blocking out much of the cold air. Entering the pavilion, one is immediately struck by the presence of the Third Prince, Shen Zexuan, and our youngest prince, Shen Haoyu. Surprisingly, Song Zhixuan is also waiting nearby. Another unfamiliar figure standing behind Shen Zexuan is likely one of his entourage. Yu Ying is setting out a brazier and tea set on the table.
What's going on? Although the Third Prince and the Prince Qing's residence have a close relationship, he usually wouldn't visit unless it was a festival. Why is he visiting repeatedly now? Or is it something between the princes...?
But there's no obvious unusual activity at the Second Prince's residence.
Furthermore, the affair with the male concubine had a significant negative impact on the Third Prince.
Could it be that he came to confront Shen Haoyu and demand an explanation?
Upon seeing me arrive, Shen Haoyu beckoned me over, and Shen Zexuan also raised a pleasant smile. I was startled and stumbled as I went up the steps, almost falling. Fortunately, Song Zhixuan caught me quickly, preventing me from having a close encounter with the stone slab.
Shen Haoyu glared at me fiercely, but Shen Zexuan smiled and said to me, "It seems you still remember me well."
"Still vivid in my memory?" Does it refer to meeting him or that ambiguous kiss? Just thinking about that kiss makes my face flush uncontrollably. Someone like me, who has lived two lives, should have profound self-control, but hearing Shen Zexuan's ambiguous words, I still instinctively blushed.
Yes, it's the instinct in front of handsome men!
Seeing my reaction, Shen Zexuan laughed even harder. Just as he was about to say something, Shen Haoyu interrupted him: "Didn't Third Brother say that he was only coming to brew snow and drink tea with me today? Since you wanted Lin En to accompany you, I also invited him."
Shen Zexuan smiled elegantly and said nothing more.
Shen Zexuan must have ulterior motives to ask me to accompany him. Why did Shen Haoyu agree so easily? It's a trap! But why did Shen Haoyu invite Song Zhixuan as well?
Yu Ying was busy making arrangements, and Shen Haoyu asked Song Zhixuan to sit down, but then asked me to go out and fetch some snow. I took a clay pot and went outside to carefully sweep the thin layer of snow from the plum blossom petals into the pot. It took me a long time to collect half a pot of snow, so I took the half pot of snow back to them to use first.
When they returned to the pavilion, they were discussing poetry and lyrics. Song Zhixuan spoke eloquently, and Shen Zexuan showed a hint of admiration on his face, while Shen Haoyu was slightly smug. This kid actually dared to show off my elder brother Zhixuan, humph!
In my heart, besides Zinuo, Song Zhixuan and Lin Zhao are the closest people to me in this world. I share everything with them and have fun together. There is also Master Jiang Ming. It's a pity that after Song Zhixuan and the others finished their studies and moved to Qiufeng Garden, Jiang Ming disappeared. Maybe he was sent to another place to secretly train some people.
I handed the snow to Yuying, who carefully scooped it into the purple clay teapot with a small wooden spoon, then placed the teapot on the charcoal stove, where fine charcoal burned. Actually, tea ceremony in this era was quite rudimentary. Once, I was with Song Zhixuan and others, and Jiang Ming was also there. Seeing that their tea wasn't very good, I shared my limited knowledge of tea ceremony with them. They were very interested, and since it was winter, we indulged in a romantic gesture, trying to brew tea with snow. They exclaimed how delicious it was, with a unique aroma. Word spread quickly, and this elaborate way of drinking tea became another way for people to appear cultured in winter. Of course, some tea lovers have since made several improvements, resulting in many differences from what I described earlier. See, I've made another contribution to this backward world. It's just a pity that I, the founder, don't like tea; I prefer fruit juice.
The water boiled, and Yu Ying poured a little water into the small teapot containing the tea leaves. She then shook the teapot, poured out the water to rinse the tea, and then poured in fresh water to brew the tea. She also rinsed everyone's cups with boiling water before pouring the tea into their cups. The tea was bright in color and had a rich aroma.
This is much simpler than modern tea ceremony, and it lacks so many formalities, yet it has its own unique charm. Shen Haoyu and the others picked up their teacups and took a small sip. Seeing that I was standing there without moving, Shen Haoyu pointed to the seat and teacup next to him, gesturing for me to come over and sit down for tea.
I sat down and took a sip, just like they did. Oh my god, it was so hot! I quickly put down the teacup, covered my mouth, and gasped for air.
I originally intended to warm myself up rather than drink tea, but now it's turned into something that's scalding hot.
Shen Haoyu looked at me with amusement, then turned to Shen Zexuan and said, "Third Brother, do you know who should be the first to start this tea-drinking tradition?"
Shen Zexuan shook his head slightly and said, "I don't know."
Shen Haoyu smiled like a fox, pointed at me, and said, "It's him."
Do not lean against the west railing to lock in the clear autumn. Chapter 32
Chapter word count: 3853 Update time: 09-07-31 15:11
Upon hearing this, Shen Zexuan glanced at me and said calmly, "So what?"
“Then Third Brother should know that this happened several years ago, when he was only six or seven years old,” Shen Haoyu said.
I quickly waved my hand and said, "My mother has always loved drinking tea this way, and Lin En learned it from her."
Shen Haoyu ignored me and asked again, "I wonder what Third Brother thinks of this person?" He was referring to Song Zhixuan.