"Fifteenth Master, what's wrong with you today? You actually gave me such high praise several times." Xu Pingyi looked at Ye Qingchen with an exaggerated and unbelievable expression, and then there was a trace of elusive pride on his face.
Ye Qingchen showed a faint smile and said: "This is the fact. I am not deliberately praising him. Whether it is Song Qi's talent or the tea master in your family, they all deserve this evaluation."
Ji Xuan has been to Xu's house many times in the past six months, so he naturally knew who made the tea he just drank. After putting down the tea bowl and wiping his mouth, he said expressionlessly: "Qingchen, you have seen this tea man before."
After speaking, he pursed his lips to suppress a smile.
The young man with bright eyes and handsome appearance smiled like this, and the whole room was filled with the spring sunshine.
Ye Qingchen was very smart. Seeing Ji Xuan's reaction, he asked without thinking, "But Xu Liu Niang?"
When Xu Pingyi heard this, he looked at Ji Xuan angrily, as if you ruined my good deeds. He was about to say something when Xu Nuo rushed in.
Compared with Jiangnan women, Bianjing women are much more open-minded. When meeting familiar guests at home, they can save on things like screens.
Xu Nuo naturally followed the Romans and came right in with the newly ordered tea.
But before entering the door, I saw the impeccable-looking eldest brother making a strange expression, and I was immediately amused.
She was smiling so happily that she lost her hand on the tray and leaned forward to prevent the tea from spilling. She didn't pay attention to her feet, so she tripped over the threshold and rushed in.
Xu Pingyi stood up almost as soon as Xu Nuo rushed in and stretched his hand forward to help Xu Nuo. Seeing that Xu Nuo stood firm, he immediately joked: "Liu Niang, you are really Cao Cao in this world."
"Brother, you praise me like this in front of outsiders. I feel embarrassed." Xu Nuo quickly placed the tea in the tray in front of several people, and finally said this shamelessly.
Ye Qingchen had only met Xu Nuo at various banquets in the past, and Xu Nuo at banquets were often dignified and decent.
Therefore, this was the first time he saw such a promise.
"I didn't feel embarrassed to see you. I rushed in directly. This is Ji Wulang and Ye Shiwulang. I think you have met them in Suzhou." Xu Pingyi assumed the posture of an elder brother. I introduced a few people to each other.
"Of course I've seen them before. They all came to the house on Erlang's birthday." Xu Nuo sat on the empty seat as he spoke. The bright colors in his outfit were in sharp contrast to the low-key gloom in the room.
I tasted the tea I promised again. Ye Qingchen sincerely suggested: "Liu Niang, you are so skilled that you can participate in this year's tea competition in Bianjing City."
He had also drank the tea ordered by Xu Nuo in Suzhou in the past, although the tea was very exquisite. The tea ordering process is also on point, and the tea aroma is also very attractive. But when drinking tea, I always feel that something is missing.
Today, the tea ordered by Xu Nuo no longer lacks that taste.
Usually it takes three years or more for a tea person to make this change, but Xu Xu was able to do it in only half a year, which really impressed him.
It turned out that my aunt was right.
Xu Nuo was very curious after hearing this. He turned around and asked: "Tea man competition?"
Ye Qingchen didn't expect that Xu Nuo didn't know about the competition between tea people in Bianjing City. After a slight pause, he explained: "Suzhou and Hangzhou produce tea, so the focus of tea ordering after Qingming Festival is tea. And after Qingming Festival in Bianjing, there is also a discussion about ordering tea. The competition is about the tea master's skill in ordering tea."
"The tea ordered by Madam Six is very delicious. You can go and try it." Ji Xuan had remained silent, but at this moment he suddenly expressed his support for Ye Qingchen and suggested that he should go to the tea competition. He had heard someone say that if he could get a good rank in the tea competition, he would not have to pass the imperial examination to become a Jinshi in the future.
After hearing this, Xu Nuo did not agree immediately. Instead, he nodded and said that he would learn more about it later before making a decision.
The tea people competed to see if they were too big or too small. She knew that this was not difficult.
But I haven't heard anyone say anything about it in the half year since I came to Bianjing. I think there are other reasons.
After lunch, after Ye Qingchen and Ji Xuan left, Xu Nuo went to the study to look for Xu Gucheng.
"Dad, I heard today that the fifteenth son of the Ye family said that Bianjing City holds a tea-ordering competition similar to the one we hold in Suzhou every year after Qingming Festival. Why didn't I hear you talk about it?" Xu Nuo smiled and served Xu Gucheng a cup of water. He went over and sat down at the bottom with a well-behaved look.
Xu Gucheng was collecting a painting. When he heard what Xu Nuo said about this, he stopped what he was doing, looked at Xu Nuo with a smile, and said, "You ghost, you know clearly that daddy deliberately didn't let you know about this, yet you still come here to me. Come and ask.”
"Dad, what's the reason?" Xu Nuo took the scroll from Xu Gucheng's hand, quickly rolled it up and tied it up, then picked up another banner that had dried and started to roll it up, while keeping his eyes on Xu Gucheng.
Xu Gucheng smiled, patted Xu Nuo's head lovingly, and said, "Father is doing this for your own good."
"What are the disadvantages?" Xu Nuo was rarely curious about one thing, but once he became interested in something, it was difficult to give up.
Xu Gucheng handed the brown ribbon to Xu Nuo and said thoughtfully: "You should know that most people who taste tea are those with high status, so people with high status also have more tea lovers. This kind of competition looks bright, but there are many things inside. Everything can’t be explained clearly, so don’t be curious.”
After Xu Nuo heard this, he understood immediately. He took the ribbon and tied the banner and left without sitting around for a while.
Xu Gucheng looked at her back and smiled silently, then took the scroll that Xu Nuo had just put together and looked at it in his hand.
Liu Niang's physical coordination ability is indeed very strong. She can roll the scroll neatly without looking at the scroll. This level of coordination was achieved only after many years of painting.
A few days after Ye Qingchen came to Bianjing, he was called into the palace to order tea.
After he came out of the palace, messages inviting him to be a guest and have tea were sent to Ye's family one after another.
But the Ye family rejected all the posts. Ye Qingchen never took a step out of the Ye family again. He read at home with peace of mind and waited for this year's palace examination.
It was a pity to miss Chunwei. He wanted to pay attention to the whole process of the palace examination.
On the day when the results of the imperial examination were announced, the entire Bianjing city was in a tense atmosphere.
This is especially true for the Ding family.
Several of Ding Mo's servants packed up and set off to look at the list at the beginning of Yin, but Ding Mo himself didn't get up until Yinmo.
After washing, he stood at the door of the house and looked at the empty yard. He turned to the maid who was serving him and asked: "Have they all gone to see the list?"
The maid nodded with a smile on her face.
Ding Mo shook his head and turned back indoors.
His answers in the imperial examination were not as good as those in Chunwei, and he knew this very well.
He cares about the so-called number one scholar, but not as much as the boy next to him.
The ranking will not change based on the time of viewing the list.
Mrs. Ding's reaction was completely opposite to that of Ding Mo. She had prepared firecrackers and reward money early, and waited for the servant to come back and tell her that her husband had become the number one scholar this year.
The place where the list was posted was crowded with people before dawn. There were young men from wealthy families and poor scholars, all of whom crowded forward. (To be continued)
