Chapter 65: Stunning Everyone

The reason the Ye family members could “coincidentally” meet Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji here today was that Lu Guanyi was interested in the Ye family’s tea and intended to do tea business. Hearing that Ye Chongming had sent a visiting card, he wanted to meet here, leading to today’s “coincidence.”

Ye Chongming had never met any “nobles” here before and didn’t know that Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji were visiting. It seemed that bringing his granddaughter today was not to meet “nobles” but to marry his granddaughter to them.

Ye Chongming noticed Master Zhineng’s glance.

At first, he didn’t understand, but when he realized the deeper meaning behind Master Zhineng’s glance, he broke out in a cold sweat and immediately understood why Ye Yaming, who had agreed to brew tea, was now not appearing.

Master Zhineng was only a year or two older than him, so it was appropriate for Ye Yaming to brew tea for him as a sign of respect for an elder. However, brewing tea in front of the two noble young men, Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji was inappropriate and could be seen as demeaning, making people misunderstand that the Ye family was trying to curry favor with the powerful. Less politely, it could be seen as offering oneself.

Oh my, he really had no such intention.

Not to mention that Ye Yaming had not yet broken off her engagement. Even if she had, he had no intention of sending his daughter to the powerful, trying to climb the social ladder. Whether as a concubine or a wife, he would still have to consider it carefully.

After all, a toad should not dream of eating swan meat. If the status is not enough, forcing a marriage would make the girl’s life very difficult.

He secretly wiped his cold sweat and once again felt grateful for Ye Yaming’s wisdom.

Ye Yaming, on the other hand, was observing the tea set and brewing method that the young monk Jingchen had prepared, noticing that it was similar to the method used by Nanny Yu. However, Jingchen’s sense of taste might be more sensitive, and his tea brewing was more precise, making the tea taste better.

As hot water was poured into the pot, the fragrance of osmanthus tea quickly filled the air.

Master Zhineng couldn’t help but praise the fragrance. When Jingchen brought the tea to him, and he saw the clear, slightly yellow tea soup, his eyes were filled with anticipation.

Everyone present received a cup of tea.

Jingchen had prepared a large pot based on the number of people in the room, and when pouring the tea, he used a circulating method, ensuring that the tea soup in each cup was of consistent strength.

Ye Yaming took a sip and found that Jingchen’s tea brewing method was indeed excellent. Even without the many modern tea tools and brewing techniques developed by tea masters over the years, he still brewed tea of a very high standard.

Indeed, to serve a tea enthusiast like Master Zhineng, one must have excellent tea brewing skills. The competition was fierce.

Master Zhineng carefully tasted the tea soup in his cup, nodded after a while, and said, “It has the taste of loose tea and the fragrance of osmanthus; the osmanthus fragrance is rich but does not overpower the tea’s aroma. Instead, they complement each other, achieving mutual success. Wonderful, wonderful!”

Unlike tea cakes, where the fragrance of spices covers the tea’s aroma and the taste overpowers the tea’s original flavor, losing the essence of tea.

“This tea…” He looked at Ye Yaming with a somewhat complex expression, “will surely become a favorite among tea lovers.”

Since becoming a monk, apart from chanting and meditating, he had nothing else to do. He had been passionate about tea all his life, constantly researching how to make better tea. He could give face to Ye Chongming and associate with him because he had received guidance from him in tea making. The Ye family had built their fortune on tea, naturally having their own secrets in tea making, and Ye Hongsheng had further developed these secrets, making them even better.

Therefore, Master Zhineng had benefited greatly from the Ye family in tea making and took care of them in return. However, perhaps due to a lack of talent, he had not been able to make better tea than the Ye family despite a lifetime of research.

The existing tea methods were already like this, and he didn’t expect Ye Yaming, at such a young age and as a girl, to surpass her predecessors and create a new type of tea. How could Master Zhineng not be impressed?

“This tea will surely bring great prosperity to your Ye family,” he said again, looking at Ye Chongming, “Take good care of your granddaughter.”

“Yes,” Ye Chongming stood up and bowed in response.

Having drunk tea with Master Zhineng for decades, Ye Chongming knew that a single compliment from Master Zhineng could make the tea’s value skyrocket, let alone such high praise. He was overjoyed, and after thanking Master Zhineng, he laughed heartily, “Thank you, Master Zhineng, for your praise.”

Sitting on the other side of Master Zhineng, Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji were also amazed by the tea.

If it weren’t for the fact that this was Master Zhineng’s meditation room, and Master Zhineng preferred quietness, combined with his status, the lively Qi Ji would have praised the tea repeatedly. Even the usually calm and reserved Lu Guanyi, who rarely showed his emotions, seemed to have some thoughts.

Ye Chongming, always considerate, had come today to deliver tea. Seeing Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji present, he worried they might have something to discuss, so after finishing the tea, he prepared to leave.

Master Zhineng said, “No rush. It’s still early. Stay a while longer.” He then called Jingchen to brew another pot of tea.

Ye Chongming was surprised, thanked him, and sat down again, drinking tea and listening to Master Zhineng and Lu Guanyi chat.

As he listened, he showed a thoughtful expression.

After leaving Chongshan Temple and getting on the carriage, as the carriage drove away from the temple, he asked Ye Yaming, “What do you think of Master Zhineng’s words?”

In the past, Ye Chongming might have tested Ye Jiaxing first and then asked Ye Yaming after Ye Jiaxing had spoken. But now, he had no mood to teach his grandson. Earlier, when Master Zhineng and Lu Guanyi were chatting, they revealed some court trends and information about Lu Guanyi.

In the capital, the Crown Prince, who was twenty-five years old this year, was the eldest son of the Emperor and the late Empress; the Fourth Prince, who was twenty years old, was the son of the current Empress.

In tea policy, the court was now divided into two factions led by these two. The Crown Prince’s faction advocated for normal tea-horse trade with the northern nomadic Jin people; the Fourth Prince’s faction argued that private tea had been rampant in recent years and wanted to close the tea-horse market to investigate private tea. The two factions were constantly arguing in court.

Lu Guanyi, the eldest son of the Marquis of Xuanwu, stationed at the border, was the cousin of the late Empress. From the conversation between Master Zhineng and Lu Guanyi, it seemed that Lu Guanyi was now working for the Crown Prince.

Originally, Lin’an City was some distance from the capital, and the Ye family was just an ordinary merchant family. These court disputes had nothing to do with the Ye family. Ye Chongming had no reason to pay attention to these topics. But he felt that, having known Master Zhineng for many years and visiting him once or twice a year, he had never encountered any nobles at Master Zhineng’s place, nor had he heard any news about the court or the capital from Master Zhineng.

Today, not only did he meet Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji here, but Master Zhineng also specifically kept him and talked about these matters in front of him. He felt that Master Zhineng had a deeper meaning.