Luna de Luzhou - Capítulo 16
Liu Mofei laughed and said, "I admit to the first few points, but I don't believe he is of good character."
"Is my character questionable?" He Su asked curiously.
"Shizhi, you're not being honest, Zhiran. You have a very keen nose, can you smell the perfume in this room?"
Zhi Ran said, "There is a faint scent of perfume, but it's from the handkerchief, isn't it?"
“They’re different. The powder in this room is top-grade lilac, but the one on the handkerchief is just fine rose cream. Luoyue Tower can’t afford royal gifts. You must have been hiding a girl in the room, Shizhi, right?” Liu Mofei analyzed eloquently. After speaking, he walked to the corner of the wall and bowed deeply. “I wonder which young lady this is? Please come out and meet me.”
He Su Chen was taken aback, not expecting that the face powder he was applying would give him away. He had no choice but to compose himself, lift the curtain, look at the three of them with a half-smile, and bow: "Greetings, brothers."
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I plagiarized Mr. Cheng Zhanlu's "Ten Meetings of Tang Ziwei" (the ninth meeting is about foresight and guessing people's secrets, the tenth meeting is about being a romantic and self-proclaimed gentleman, stealing jade and fragrance). I hope he won't jump out of his grave and sue me for copyright infringement.
I read his novel "The Story of the Four Heroes of Tang, Zhu, Wen, and Zhou" when I was in elementary school. Now I only vaguely remember Sister Pomegranate being eighteen every year, and Hua Wu and the Second Young Master Hua's "Watch My Blind Father Steal Eyes" (actually, it was Black Tiger Stealing Hearts). It was a very interesting book.
Chapter Twenty-Six: Encounter
The promoter function is now open! What are you waiting for? Join us now! </A> He Suchen bowed, but no one told her to get up. She was quite uncomfortable in the bowing posture. After a long while, she finally said, "Sister Suchen, please get up."
He Su Chen straightened up and stole a glance at the person who spoke. This...this...isn't that the handsome man?! She couldn't help but blurt out, "Cui...Shi Ran?"
Liu Mofei finally came to his senses and said awkwardly, "Shizhi, is this your sister?" He Su Shi glared at him irritably, "Who do you think she is?" He raised an eyebrow, "Zhi Ran, do you know my sister?"
"I visited your house with my grandmother a few days ago, and we strolled around the garden together then," Cui Shiran said casually, with a slight smile. "Is Su Chen reading inside? We apologize for disturbing you."
"No, no..." He Su Chen saw him glance inside the curtain and became somewhat anxious, hoping they wouldn't go in. She knew that on the table lay the original *The Story of Yingying*, the ancestor of *The Romance of the Western Chamber*, now considered a vulgar and erotic work. Being discovered embarrassing would be a huge loss of face. She bowed again, apologized, went inside to tidy up the book, and then calmly came out, saying, "Chen'er didn't know my brothers were coming to the study. I'm truly sorry to disturb your enjoyment. I'll take my leave now."
As soon as she left the study, she slammed the door shut and fled as if a bomb had gone off inside. Even so, she could still faintly hear the sound of her footsteps fading away behind her.
"Shizhi, this is your sister..."
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"Shizhi, is this your sister?" Liu Mofei asked thoughtfully. "She's a year younger than you, isn't she?"
"She's only ten years old, don't get any ideas." He Su glanced at him.
“Do I look like that kind of person?! Besides, she’s not a beauty, and she’s not worth me turning against you for.” Liu Mofei retorted, “I just find it strange, she doesn’t seem like a ten-year-old at all.”
"You're still staring at me even though she's not a stunning beauty?" He Su Shi sneered.
"No, it has nothing to do with looks, it's that feeling... that subtle... how to say it? That..."
"A very calm demeanor, with an air of mystery, almost like the otherworldly aura of a Taoist practitioner," Cui Shiran suddenly remarked.
“Yes, yes, that’s exactly the feeling Zhi Ran described. Your sister’s eyes are bright, and she has a very gentle aura, like she’s in her teens or twenties.” Liu Mofei quickly chimed in, “I have to say, you two siblings really are alike. Why do you both seem so mature? You have no vitality at all.”
He Su was about to retort, but upon hearing this, he lowered his head and said softly, "Since we're the same kind of people, we naturally feel the same way." He suddenly looked up and smiled, "Zhiran, your maternal grandfather is always serious. What would he do if he knew your brother was like this?"
"I never expected this," Liu Mofei said, also becoming interested. "I actually ran into Brother Cui at the entrance of Luoyue Tower. I heard that your grandmother hates men going to brothels, and Master Zhang also forbids his disciples from entering those unclean places. Your brother is so familiar with Shibali Lane, he must go there often, right?"
“Brother Cui’s famous saying is, ‘With hands that steal fragrance and jade, he seeks out beauties that could make fish sink and geese fall from the sky.’ How could he not know that place well? Everyone says Brother Cui is Liu Yong reincarnated, and many courtesans consider it their mission to have his poems set to music.” He Su Shi interrupted before the person in question could answer. Cui Shi Ran smiled bitterly, “Don’t joke around. I’m serious. No matter when you come to my house, don’t mention this to my grandmother. Although she knows, if someone exposes my brother, he might be in trouble.”
The two people sitting next to him ignored him, and Liu Mofei even glared at him: "Zhi Ran, you really are judging others by your own petty standards. Do you think we are those kinds of people?"
"Hey, could it be that the tea plantation you bought with your own money last year is doing well this year?" He Su Shi suddenly asked.
"What's wrong? You've only just made some money, you haven't even broken even yet." Liu Mofei seemed puzzled as to why he was suddenly so concerned.
In Northern Song Dynasty agriculture, tea cultivation was widespread across much of China. In Suzhou, almost every prominent family owned a tea garden. With the first spring thunder, farmers and tea growers busied themselves with picking and processing tea. In recent years, after Emperor Huizong relaxed the tea monopoly, the tea trade flourished like wildfire, spreading rapidly everywhere. (The Northern Song Dynasty inherited the Tang Dynasty's system of tea monopoly, known as "Que Cha" (榷茶). Except for Guangnan and the Sichuan-Guizhou region, where tea trading was permitted within their borders, tea gardens in other areas were managed by the government, which mandated that all tea be sold to the government and subject to taxes.) Although Liu Mofei's father was a military officer, he was also quite shrewd in business, having his eldest son learn to manage the family business from a young age.
“No, I drank some ‘Terrifying Fragrance’ brought from Dongting yesterday, and I really want to buy a tea plantation and grow my own.” He Su Shi seemed to realize his lapse in composure and replied, “Zhi Ran, who is better at brewing tea, you or your brother?”
“If we’re talking about refinement, I can’t compare to him, but when it comes to tea soup and its nuances, my elder brother isn’t very good at it,” Cui Shiran said nonchalantly. “Speaking of Taihu Lake’s ‘Terrifying Fragrance,’ I drank it when I was a child, but it still can’t compare to the pre-Qingming Longjing tea produced in Shifeng, Hangzhou. If that Longjing tea is paired with Tiger Spring water, it’s a real treat whether you’re brewing or drinking it.”
"Zhiran, you don't like to put cardamom in your tea, so it tastes bland," Liu Mofei said, smacking her lips as if savoring the memory.
He Su Shi nodded: "Zhi Ran doesn't like adding seasonings, but if you add spices, the tea flavor will be overwhelmed, and it won't taste light or frivolous at all."
Cui Shiran smiled and said, "Could it be that I didn't force you to drink my tea, so why are you complaining?"
“I’m teaching you to follow the current popular customs, but you’re not going to become a monk, and you’re acting all mysterious,” Liu Mofei suddenly added. “Shizhi, when you were in Yangzhou, you went to a restaurant and asked what ‘soup dumplings’ were.”
"The two delicacies of Yangzhou, water wrapped in leather and leather wrapped in water, I'd like to ask if you sell them."
"What water and skin?" Liu Mofei asked curiously.
He Su said with a smile: "The so-called skin wrapped in water is Yangzhou soup dumplings. It is said that the skin of the dumplings is as thin as paper and filled with soup, which is incredibly delicious. As for water wrapped in skin, it means hot. I vaguely heard about these two things before and wanted to go and see them."
"How strange! I've been to Yangzhou more than a dozen times, how come I've never heard of it?" Liu Mofei said, quite puzzled.
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If God opens a door for you, He Sucheng will surely close the window behind you. Looking at her brother reading by candlelight, He Sucheng suddenly remembered something her senior sister had said before.
He Su Shi left his parents when he was five years old, living alone in Suzhou with his two-year-old sister and a few servants, accompanying his grandmother. Even with the most enviable parents and family background, growing up without one's parents must still be lonely.
"Little sister, if you keep staring at me like that, I won't be able to read." He Su Shi looked at her helplessly.
"Oh..." She blushed and lowered her head.
"He Sucheng, how old are you now?"
"What's wrong with my brother? Didn't you tell me he was ten years old this year?" She looked up in surprise.
"No, I'm asking about your real age," he said, staring at his sister with interest. "Judging from your appearance, you should still be in school, right? Are you a college student or just starting out in the workforce?"