Song Xingzhi lived during the reign of Emperor Huizong - Chapter 12
After finishing their business, the two breathed a sigh of relief. Tang's mother took a sip of tea and suddenly looked surprised: "Where did this tea come from? I've never tasted this before."
Mother Cui smiled: "I brought this back from Jiangnan East Road and Huainan West Road. It's last year's tea. I thought you might not have tried it, so I brought it back for you to try. How is it?"
Tang's mother tasted it again and asked in surprise, "Why is this tea red?" Cui's mother did not answer, but only asked if it was good.
Tang's mother said, "Although it's from last year, the tea has a mellow flavor. How come it tastes like fruit? And there's a faint smoky flavor too? It's really strange. I've been drinking tea for most of my life, and I've never tasted anything like it before!"
Madam Cui whispered that this was a tribute, then smiled again: "Didn't His Majesty go to those two routes for inspection last year? Somehow, he came up with a method for making tea, producing this tea that is uniquely fresh and called 'Qimen Black Tea'. The production is not large now, and only the powerful and wealthy in the capital can get a little bit. I received it from a local elder when I was in Chidi last time."
Tang's mother was even more puzzled: "When did His Majesty learn how to make tea?" Cui's mother shook her head, indicating that she did not know. Seeing this, Tang's mother did not ask any further and said: "Who brewed this tea? I find it extremely delicious."
Madam Cui coughed lightly: "You think you can brew tea like this? It was my grandson Shi'er who just brewed it at home. You're lucky, with water from Guanyin Spring and the Empress Dowager's tea, plus my grandson brewing it for you."
The so-called Guanyin Spring water refers to Lu Yu Well (commonly known as Guanyin Spring) in Tiger Hill Temple, Suzhou. This well has sweet, clear, and delicious water, and legend has it that it was where Lu Yu boiled water to brew tea. The Empress Dowager's tea refers to the tea that Emperor Huizong specially prepared for his empress dowager.
Tang's mother sighed inwardly at the Cui family's long-standing tradition of refined tastes, but said with a smile, "Sister, you're being unreasonable. Doesn't your grandson count as mine?"
Cui's mother pursed her lips and smiled as well.
Meanwhile, the three children who had just met walked somewhat reservedly into the garden.
He Suchen has been here for almost two months, but he has never actually explored the gardens of the mansion. Last time, when Yongjiao suggested coming, a few people who were arguing spoiled the mood, and Su Shi dragged him back. After that, he was busy with New Year's affairs, so he didn't have a chance to properly stroll around the gardens.
The gardens of the He family were already considered top-notch at that time. Whether in terms of scenery, design, arrangement, or harmony with nature, they were impeccable in the eyes of contemporaries. For example, the second young master of the Cui family next to him was full of praise. He casually took out a charcoal pencil (invented by an unknown person during the Sui Dynasty, which is very similar to modern carbon pencils) and a small piece of paper from his sleeve and quickly sketched the scenery he saw.
Yongjiao watched him paint quickly and asked curiously, "What is Brother Cui Er doing?" The handsome man replied gently, "This garden is really beautiful. It is said to have been designed by Mr. Cai. When my teacher taught garden design, he specifically mentioned your family's garden. Seeing it today, it is indeed beautiful." Seeing that the two of them were a little confused, he explained, "My teacher's surname is Deng."
"What does your teacher's surname, Deng, have to do with me?" He Suchen was somewhat surprised, but Yongjiao gave a knowing "Oh," and excitedly said, "Is Lord Deng still in Suzhou? I really want to see him!" Only after the handsome man said he had returned to the capital did she lower her eyes in disappointment. Seeing He Suchen's puzzled expression, she explained, "Lord Deng is a scholar of the Hanlin Academy, a very famous architect." After she finished speaking, she added, "This garden is really beautiful. I grew up here and sometimes I still get mesmerized by it."
The handsome man smiled but remained silent, though his eyes clearly showed his agreement. However, He Sucheng was not of this generation. She was, in a sense, a tourism college student, and her national tour guide certificate wasn't obtained for nothing. Moreover, she had lived in Suzhou and Hangzhou for nearly a year, seeing countless classic gardens. So she couldn't help but reply, "This is actually nothing special. A true Jiangnan garden should emphasize the layout of pavilions and terraces, the coordination of artificial hills and ponds, the interplay of flowers, trees, and shrubs, and the layering of near and far views. It should allow one to 'enjoy the tranquility of mountains and waters without leaving the city, and find the serenity of a spiritual spring even in the bustling city.' Although this garden in the mansion is beautiful, it is still a bit rough around the edges."
Mr. Ye Shengtao, you must be pleased even a thousand years from now in the afterlife that I can recite your "Suzhou Gardens" so fluently!
Yongjiao chuckled: "Guazi, you've never even seen a garden before, where did you come up with all this nonsense? Don't tell me you're just trying to fool me." The handsome man pondered those few words, finding them truly ingenious, as they had pointed out everything that needed attention. But then he felt the words sounded familiar, and after a while, he smiled and said, "You're He Susheng's sister, aren't you?"
How could that be? She only said one sentence, how did that handsome man guess who his older brother was?
He explained with a smile, "He said the same thing to me before, not exactly the same, but the gist was similar. This little sister heard it from your brother, right?"
How would this guy know all this? He Suchen thought for a moment. This guy liked to collect famous quotes from Emperor Huizong of Song all day long. It was normal for him to pick a couple of quotes to show off. That guy was used to appearing strong, handsome, and narcissistic in front of others. She smiled and said, "We don't even know this brother's name yet. Do you know my brother?"
"It was indeed my fault," the handsome young man said apologetically. "My name is Cui Shiran, Shi as in 'suitable,' and Ran as in 'natural.'"
If He Suchen had water in his mouth right now, he'd definitely spit it out. This guy, this guy, is truly speechless. He's elegant and refined, his temperament is otherworldly, and his looks are, well, not bad, otherworldly, but this earnest self-introduction makes him sound like a twenty-something scholar—Dude, you're only fifteen or sixteen… When I was fifteen or sixteen, I think I was still playing Xuan-Yuan Sword, and you're studying *Yingzao Fashi* and *Mengxi Bitan*, isn't that annoying…?
However, Yongjiao was very happy, her eyes sparkling as she said, "My name is He Yongjiao, Brother Shiran, you can just call me Yongjiao." Then, pointing to He Suchen, she added, "This is my sister, she..."
"Her name is He Suchen, and her nickname is Guazi, right?" Cui Shiran interjected with a smile.
"How did you know?!" Yongjiao exclaimed, her face practically screaming "My idol!" "My brother told me, of course..." He Suchen said helplessly. It wasn't a good thing that even outsiders knew his name...
But Cui Shiran said, "Shizhi and I have always been on good terms, and our two families have been friends for generations. It would be strange if I didn't know. Yongjiao, I even saw you when you were two years old."
"Really?!" Yongjiao's rosy cheeks lifted even higher as she exclaimed in delight.
“Of course,” the handsome Cui Shiran continued with a smile. All three of them had a wonderful day. Yongjiao was happy as long as there was something to do, not to mention having a new brother she admired immensely; He Suchen was exploring a thousand-year-old garden for the first time, the ancestor of later gardens—whether he could return to show it off to his “descendants” was an unknown, but it was still very exciting; and Cui Shiran had drawn almost the entire garden he had longed to visit.
Furthermore, he casually glanced at the person lagging behind—in a way, he learned something he had been worried about for a long time.
What no one noticed was that that afternoon, after a yamen runner returned to his residence, the Suzhou prefectural government issued an urgent dispatch to the capital, a journey of 600 li.
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Jiangnan East Road and Huainan West Road roughly correspond to present-day Anhui and Henan provinces. Uh, since my geography grades have always hovered around the passing mark, it's possible I misread the map and it doesn't actually refer to those two provinces.
Chapter Twenty-Two: The School
The promoter function is now open! What are you waiting for? Join us now!!! "The girl and I rode in the carriage together, her face like a blooming hibiscus. We strolled around together, both adorned with beautiful jade pendants. The beautiful eldest daughter of the Jiang family, so pretty and elegant."
The young woman and I walked together, her cheeks as rosy as hibiscus petals. We strolled and played, our jade ornaments jingling softly. The beautiful eldest daughter of the Jiang family, her virtuous character will never be forgotten.
He Su Chen listened with disgust as Yuan Rou, who had been called up, solemnly explained the meaning of the poem: "The spring breeze in February is like scissors, cutting her heart into pieces."
She already knew that the girls in the He family would be studying, and she had even inquired about the teachers, who were said to be impeccable in both scholarship and character. But she had absolutely no idea that what they would be learning was this!
This is the Lotus Fragrance Pavilion in the garden, which served as both a place for rest and a learning space for the women of the He family. Classes were held three days out of ten, so it wasn't exactly easy. But the material they learned was extremely demanding.
He Suchen ignored Teacher Shen's explanation and comments and quickly flipped through the book of "The Book of Songs" in his hand.
The page I turned to had the title "Cunning Boy" on the far left: "That cunning boy, he won't speak to me. Because of him, I can't eat! That cunning boy, he won't eat with me. Because of him, I can't rest!"
He Sucheng felt he was about to collapse, so he quickly flipped to another page, which began with "There are hibiscus on the mountain"—"There are hibiscus on the mountain, and lotus flowers in the marsh. I do not see Zidu, but see a madman. There are pine trees on the mountain, and dragons swimming in the marsh. I do not see Zichong, but see a cunning boy."
He Suchen, who had almost fainted, finally understood why Yuan Rou and Yong Jiao always recited those love poems when they chatted. It was completely a misleading thing to do during their studies!
The previous poem, "The Cunning Child," can be translated into plain language as: That cunning little rascal no longer talks to me. Because of you, I can't eat properly! That cunning little rascal no longer eats with me; because of you, I can't even sleep peacefully!
The second poem is entirely equivalent to the common infatuation behavior of modern girls (He Sucheng is quite ashamed to find that he also belongs to this category): "On the mountain grows a hibiscus, in the hollow blooms lotus flowers. I see no handsome man like Zidu, but instead encounter a mad fool. On the mountain grows a tall pine, in the hollow blooms water lilies. I see no fine man like Zichong, but instead encounter a slippery, deadly enemy." (Note: Zichong and Zidu were both handsome men in ancient times, similar to Pan An.)
If this is what we learn in class, and what we learn outside of class are "Admonitions for Women" and "Instructions for Women," then what will be the effect of what we learn outside of class?
She suddenly understood why Qiu Sang and Shi Jun often talked about how some young ladies in Suzhou had eloped with their lovers, or how some young ladies in some place had made a lifelong commitment to someone else—the frequent occurrence of these things was probably closely related to what they had learned at home.
She remembered someone mentioning a similar viewpoint before: the Book of Songs is divided into three parts: Feng, Ya, and Song. Some of the content is actually folk songs collected by ancient folk song collectors. From this, it can be inferred that the social atmosphere at that time was open and the relationships between men and women were bold (that guy even found a poem describing the beauty of illicit sex to support his point of view, which resulted in the professor angrily rebuking him for his extremely incorrect thinking and extremely lewd nature, but in the end he still got the research funding).
On one hand, they learn poems that encourage people to fall in love and discuss the beauty of love, and on the other hand, they study the dry and serious "Admonitions for Women." Anyone with a brain knows how ineffective these so-called admonitions for women are.
Just then, Mr. Shen finished explaining today's content, assigned homework, and announced the end of get out of class. He put down his books and walked straight towards He Sucheng: "Little girl, are you feeling better? Are you still feeling unwell?"