Chapter 64: Master Zhineng

In Chongshan Temple, Ye Chongming, who was mentioned by the tea drinkers, was leading Ye Jiaxing and Ye Yaming, the siblings, following a young monk into Master Zhineng’s meditation room.

As soon as they entered the meditation room, Ye Yaming was stunned.

In the room, besides an old monk, there were two young men. These two were Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji, the son of the Prefect, whom she had met a few days ago when she went to deliver tea with Ye Hongsheng.

Both parties greeted each other and introduced themselves.

When introducing Ye Jiaxing and Ye Yaming to everyone, Lu Guanyi and Qi Ji only exchanged greetings with them and did not mention that they had met Ye Yaming before.

Ye Yaming breathed a slight sigh of relief.

If they mentioned that they had met, they would have to talk about her and Ye Hongsheng going to the Lu residence to retrieve the tea cakes. Someone like Master Zhineng is extremely perceptive. Only a few words would be enough for him to guess that the Ye family was retrieving low-quality private tea. Although this matter had been reported to the Prefect, the fewer people who knew about it, the better. After all, it wasn’t a good thing and could damage the Ye family’s reputation.

Hearing Master Zhineng’s introduction, Ye Chongming was surprised to learn that the slightly heroic-looking Lu Guanyi was the eldest son of the Marquis of Xuanwu from the capital. He quickly raised his hand in greeting, ‘I’ve heard so much about you.’

Ye Yaming, however, was not surprised.

Living in such a residence and being close friends with the Prefect’s son, and judging by their seating positions earlier, it was clear that Lu Guanyi not only had wealth but also a certain status. The identity of the eldest son of a marquis was not surprising. However, since Lu Guanyi was already an adult and the eldest son of the Marquis of Xuanwu, shouldn’t he be referred to as ‘Shizi’ (heir apparent)? Why did Master Zhineng only introduce him as the ‘eldest son’?

This matter had nothing to do with her, and her curiosity quickly passed. After some polite exchanges about seating, she sat down at the end.

Ye Chongming had sent a visiting card yesterday, saying he had good tea for Master Zhineng to taste.

After a few pleasantries, Master Zhineng asked, “What good tea has Old Master Ye brought? I can’t wait to try it.”

“Haha, Master Zhineng, please try it first. Whether it’s good tea or not, you will have to decide. I can’t say,” Ye Chongming replied.

Ye Jiaxing then stood up and handed the box he was holding to the young monk. The young monk opened the box and presented it to Master Zhineng.

Master Zhineng looked inside, “Loose tea?”

He was not surprised. He was a true tea enthusiast and did not like tea cakes with complex production processes and artificial flavors. He usually only drank loose tea. The reason he had a relationship with Ye Chongming was that his favorite tea was the Ye family’s high-quality loose tea, which he bought from them every year.

In fact, there was a tea garden behind Chongshan Temple that produced some tea every year. However, Master Zhineng and the monks’ tea-making skills were not as good as Ye Hongsheng’s, so the loose tea they made was slightly inferior. Therefore, Master Zhineng bought tea from the Ye family.

Given Master Zhineng’s status and connections with many influential people, and his reputation as a tea enthusiast, his preference for Ye family’s loose tea greatly benefited the Ye family’s reputation and status.

Although Master Zhineng said he was buying the tea, the Ye family never accepted his money. Even if they did, they would donate it to the temple as incense money, often donating more than the tea’s worth.

Additionally, whenever the Ye family made good tea or new tea, they would send some to Master Zhineng to taste.

This was how the relationship between Master Zhineng and Ye Chongming developed. Although they were not very close, Ye Chongming always had a place in Master Zhineng’s heart.

Seeing that Ye Chongming had brought loose tea, Master Zhineng was not surprised, just curious. He picked up a handful of tea leaves and smelled them.

“Huh?” He looked at Ye Chongming in surprise, “Osmanthus fragrance?”

Ye Chongming smiled and nodded, pointing to Ye Yaming, ‘My granddaughter developed this.’

Master Zhineng had a relationship with Ye Hongsheng and greatly admired his tea-making skills. However, since tea-making was the Ye family’s secret, he couldn’t ask Ye Hongsheng for advice. Otherwise, their relationship might have been closer than with Ye Chongming.

Ye Chongming knew this, so when he introduced Ye Yaming, he specifically mentioned that she was Ye Hongsheng’s eldest daughter.

Master Zhineng was surprised and carefully looked at Ye Yaming, then nodded in praise, “Like father, like daughter. Miss Ye, you are very talented at such a young age. It’s truly remarkable.”

He then instructed the young monk, “Quickly brew some for us to taste.”

Ye Chongming brought Ye Yaming today not only to introduce her to Master Zhineng but also to show off her tea-making skills.

Seeing Master Zhineng call the young monk to brew tea, Ye Chongming glanced at Ye Yaming.

Ye Yaming slightly shook her head.

Although puzzled, Ye Chongming had grown accustomed to listening to Ye Yaming and knew she had her reasons. He put his thoughts aside and watched the young monk brew the tea.

The exchange of glances between the grandfather and granddaughter did not escape Master Zhineng’s notice. He glanced at Ye Chongming.

Master Zhineng was of royal descent and a cousin of the current emperor. He had a noble status. However, he had been frail and sickly since childhood and had nearly died several times before the age of ten. A high monk said he was destined for Buddhism, so his parents had him ordained to save his life. Once ordained, he was free from worldly affairs and was very impatient with visitors who had various motives. He only met with some distant relatives or those with connections to his parents and family.

Those who could meet him were of high status, leading to the saying that ‘Master Zhineng only associates with the powerful.’

Ye Chongming had a place in his heart not only because the Ye family’s tea was to his liking and Ye Chongming was a good person but also because Ye Chongming was considerate. He never disturbed Master Zhineng more than twice a year. Even when he wanted to visit, he would send a visiting card in advance and only come if Master Zhineng agreed, unlike some people who came to the temple under the pretense of offering incense and then either ‘accidentally’ intrude or begged the monks to introduce them. They would also persistently send visiting cards.

Their goal was not the monk but the so-called ‘nobles.’

To prevent Ye Chongming from developing such ambitions, Master Zhineng always met with him alone. Even if he had to meet other guests, he would send Ye Chongming away first.