As Sishi[mfn]9-11 AM.[/mfn] approached, a young boy from the Tea Merchants’ Guild struck a copper gong tied with a red string three times.
Lord Song set down his teacup and stepped out from the pavilion to stand before a long table made of red sandalwood. This table was positioned in the primary seat facing due south; upon its surface lay a writing brush and a stack of wooden plaques.
The stewards of the various tea houses filtered out of the pavilions one after another, bringing their juniors along to step forward and bow in unison to Lord Song. Seeing Fu Jingxuan following Wang Xiuhe’s side, Fu Shangyi initially intended to call him over with a stern face, but he suddenly remembered that the boy had already married into the Fang family and, in name, was no longer considered a member of the Fu family. Standing beside him, Liu Ruyan caught the flicker of melancholy in his eyes and couldn’t help but let out a soft sneer, thinking to herself: If you knew it would come to this, why act as you did before?
Second Madam Liu was an unusual woman; typically, self-serving and sharp in a calculating, worldly way, yet her perception remained crystal clear, far keener than that of the many muddle-headed people around her. She was not a person of virtue, yet she was by no means irredeemable. She treated her own sons well, and toward the rest of the Fu family; aside from Fu Jingxuan and his sister, she was not unkind either. Had her eldest son not been a fool, her second son a bookworm, and her third son unfortunately inheriting his father’s indecisiveness, she wouldn’t have resorted to such grasping and clawing, nor would she have treated Fu Jingxuan as a thorn in her side to the point of this confrontation. She took pride in being far more capable than Fu Shangyi; after all, she had born and raised her sons with her own hands. If she didn’t look out for them now, then once she was gone, who would bother caring for those three useless bags of straw? Rely on their father? Bah! Although Fu Jingxuan had been disliked since childhood, he was no easy target to push around. If someone stood up for him, he would naturally live a carefree life; and even without such protection, he could still manage to live better than anyone else. Had Fu Shangyi protected him even a little bit back then, her absurd idea of a surrogate marriage would never have succeeded.
Now that he’s been married off, it stings the head of the Fu family’s heart, and he suddenly puts on a show of hypocritical remorse; like a cat shedding tears over a mouse. It’s enough to make a bystander’s teeth fall out from laughing!
Second Madam Liu shot a glance back at Fu Jingxuan, and before she could even complete her eyeroll, she heard Lord Song speak up with a smile. “It is my honor to participate in the Tea Tasting Convention today, and this old man thank you all for your presence. This old man must say I am ashamed; this old man had already retired to my home and hadn’t concerned myself with tea matters for a long time. To now have the opportunity to contribute my humble efforts to this grand gathering of the tea market is truly a supreme privilege.”
“This journey to Chuzhou is not one I’ve made empty-handed. On the seventeenth day of the eighth month this year, envoys from the five states will enter the capital to present tribute. The Imperial Court has ordered the Procurement Bureau to prepare one hundred thousand piculs of tea fragments and ninety thousand jin[mfn]1 jin equal 0.5kg.[/mfn] of premium tea cakes as return gifts for the foreign nations. Lord Zhang, who currently oversees the Procurement Bureau, discussed the matter with this old man at length, and in the end, it was decided that the top scorer of this gathering would take charge of this commission. What do you all think?”
As soon as these words fell, the entire field broke into a clamor. Everyone except the heads of the four great families began buzzing about this massive imperial gift contract. Major tea merchants usually have connections with local officials, so the news of the foreign envoys’ arrival wasn’t exactly a secret, but the specific quantities required were unknown; Lord Song’s public announcement today was indeed a shock.
Tao Xianzhi had originally been standing beside his grandfather, but upon hearing this, he shuffled sideways until he was in front of Fu Jingxuan, gesturing exaggeratedly: “One hundred thousand piculs—!”
Fu Jingxuan stood among the crowd with his hands hanging by his sides while looking Tao Xianzhi up and down before asking inexplicably, “How many tea farmers does your family have now?”
Tao Xianzhi counted on his fingers. “If we count everyone in the fields, there must be at least a thousand. Why do you ask?”
“Nothing.” Fu Jingxuan squinted and teased, “You really are a prominent household in Yizhou, Young Master Tao.”
“Hehe.” Tao Xianzhi adjusted the dazzling gold-inlaid jade crown on his head and said with a smile, “Not at all, not at all. It’s just a bit of pocket change.”
If one were to speak of the four great families today, the wealthiest was undoubtedly the Tao family. First, Yizhou was vast and sparsely populated; second, the rainfall was abunpiculst and suitable for the growth of tea trees, allowing for business all year round. However, with the Fang family’s “Auspicious Carved Lotus” already established, the Tao family stopped producing fresh tea. After all, their craftsmanship and techniques could not keep up and making it would only ruin their own reputation. As a result, the Tao elders shifted direction and began producing aged tea. Their “Floating Clouds Emerging from the Mountains” rose to the pinnacle of aged teas; while other families’ stacks of aged tea struggled to sell, the Tao family’s tea cakes only grew more aromatic and valuable with time.
Fu Jingxuan asked, “How did your family handle the new buds in previous years?”
Tao Xianzhi said, “My family has never picked new buds; we always wait for them to mature before harvesting.”
Fu Jingxuan pondered for a long while, said nothing more, and shifted his gaze toward Hu Yunshan.
Then two gongs sounded with a “dong-dong,” reminding everyone that the hour had arrived.
Lord Song raised both hands, his wide sleeves fluttering in the wind. “Today’s duel is meant to make friends through tea. Regardless of winning or losing, it is a trial of technique; under no circumstances should it harm our harmony.”
The incense was lit, and the rites were then concluded.
Lord Song took his seat at the head while a young tea boy stood before everyone holding up a red wooden plaque inscribed with black characters, and chirped clearly, “The first trial will be the Tea-tasting Round.”
The so-called Tea Tasting Round was a segment specially set aside by the Tea Tasting Convention for the younger generation to make their public debut. Years ago, the first time Fu Jingxuan had seen Fang Zesheng was before a Tea Tasting Round; the items Fang Zesheng had been secretly burying behind the pavilion back then were the tea cakes and tea fragments required for the trial.
After so many years away from the Tea Tasting Convention, the younger participants in the tea-tasting round had hardly changed. The Fu family still sent Fu Jingye, the Tao family still sent Tao Xianzhi, and only the Lin family sent an eight-year-old boy to stand beside Tao Xianzhi; so embarrassingly that Tao Xianzhi could hardly face anyone, frantically waving at Fu Jingxuan, hoping he would, as in childhood, join him in saving face; or rather, in making a fool of themselves together.
The tasting tables were filled with the descendants of various families one by one, yet the table of the Fang family remained empty. The tea boy flipped through the wooden plaques, scratched his head while checking the writing, and trotted over to Lord Song to show him. Lord Song took the plaque, glanced at it, and actually began to laugh while stroking his beard. He then returned the plaque to the boy and patted his topknot.
The young tea boy received his orders and obediently returned to his spot while holding up the wooden plaque and shouting, “Is Fu Jingxuan, the newly married spouse of Fang Zesheng, the head of the Fang family, here?”
No one answered after the first call.
The little tea boy raised his voice even louder and shouted again: “Is Fu Jingxuan! The newly married spouse of Fang Zesheng, the head of the Fang family, here?”
No one answered after the second call.
The young tea boy craned his neck, took a deep breath, and shouted loudly once more: “Is Fu Jingxuan, the newly married spouse of Fang Zesheng, the—!”
“Here.”
Before the boy could finish, Second Master Fu stepped out from the thinning crowd. The crowd had already made a wide path for him, allowing him to walk freely all the way until he stood beside Tao Xianzhi.
To distance himself from the eight-year-old child, Tao Xianzhi squeezed closer to Fu Jingxuan and whispered, “It’s over; it’s all over. Originally, not many people knew you married Fang Zesheng, but with this scene, everyone knows! How are you supposed to take a wife after you leave the Fang family ah?”
Second Master Fu arched an eyebrow and broke into a grin. He cupped his hands in greeting toward the haughty young boy beside Tao Xianzhi, then said to Tao Xianzhi, “This time, I won’t be joining you in losing face.”
Tonight, at midnight.
In the eastern corner of the Fang family’s inner courtyard, a few soft cat meows floated through the air.
The guards on duty switched shifts in pairs, standing idly in the darkened yard while dozing off. The lights in the main house had long been extinguished. Seeing nothing unusual, the two newly arrived guards each found a place to sleep deeply, no longer paying attention to any other sounds.
After delivering the paper ball in the morning, Zhou Qi had received a letter secretly handed to him by the mute uncle at noon. Fortunately, he had known a few characters since childhood and understood the contents of the letter. Taking advantage of the dead of night, he scaled the outer wall and entered the main house silently.
A moment later, a light flickered in the main house; it was not too bright, so as not to disturb the dreams of others.
Fang Zesheng had already moved from the bed to his wheelchair. Although he took medicine daily, his face remained devoid of any color.
Zhou Qi clasped his hands before him and bowed his head slightly, addressing him, “Head Merchant.”
Fang Zesheng nodded. “You’ve worked hard.”
Zhou Qi said hurriedly, “It’s no trouble at all. To be able to do something for the Head Merchant makes this humble one’s time here at the Fang house worthwhile.”
Fang Zesheng had never met him before. Seeing his fifteen or sixteen-year-old appearance, he thought for a moment and asked, “Where is your home?”
Zhou Qi said, “This humble one’s home is in Taoxi Village. The soil there is poor; we can neither clear fields nor grow tea trees.”
Fang Zesheng said, “Taoxi Village? My father did go there once.”
“Yes,” Zhou Qi said gratefully. “It was all thanks to Master Fang’s visit when this humble one was young that my family was able to survive the famine and stay alive.”
“So, you are literate?”
“That was also Master Fang’s doing. He stayed in our village for nearly a month back then and taught this humble one quite a lot. This humble one’s parents always told this humble one to remember Master Fang’s kindness, saying this humble one should come to the Fang household in the future to repay him.”
However, because Zhou Qi lived in such a remote area, he didn’t know that Fang Changru had passed away several years ago. Having traveled from afar, he had simply found a job at the Fang residence first, planning to figure things out later.
“This humble one didn’t know Madam Wang wasn’t a good person. If this humble one had known sooner that she was so harsh toward the Head Merchant, this humble one certainly wouldn’t have helped her guard the gate!”
Fang Zesheng bowed his head to Zhou Qi once more, then asked, “Has there been news from Mount Yuming?”
Zhou Qi said hurriedly, “Yes, yes. San Bao has come by these past two nights. Last night he had this humble one deliver a note, and tonight he says the Second Young Master took the lead in the Tea Tasting Round, leaving everyone’s jaws on the floor.”
Fang Zesheng seemed to picture the scene clearly as he asked, “How did Tao Xianzhi react?”
Zhou Qi said, “Utterly terrified.”
Fang Zesheng asked again, “And the Fu family?”
Zhou Qi said, “The Fu family could hardly believe it. I heard that after the Tea Tasting Round ended, Master Fu stood before the mountain pavilion for a long time without moving.”
“And Lady Liu?”
“Lady Liu? Do you mean the Second Madam Liu that San Bao mentioned?”
“Exactly.”
“I heard she fainted from anger right into the arms of the Fu family’s Eldest Young Master.”
Fang Zesheng pondered for a long while while murmuring with a hint of doubt, “Fainted from anger?”
Zhou Qi said, “That’s what San Bao said. It seems the Second Young Master provoked her on purpose and said something right to her face.”
Fang Zesheng lowered his eyes and reflected for a long time. “Was there any mention of today’s Tea Whisking Round between the Lin family and the Fang family?”
“It was mentioned, but no winner was declared. They are expected to compete again tomorrow.”
Fang Zesheng asked, “Was there a reason?”
Zhou Qi couldn’t help himself; he wanted to laugh but didn’t dare to be so bold. “The Second Young Master showed no mercy during the tasting and thoroughly bullied that talented young master of the Lin family. That young master was only eight years old and naturally had a proud temperament; unable to bear the slight. He lay down right there on Mount Yuming and threw a crying tantrum. The person brewing tea for the Lin family this time was his father, who ultimately had no choice but to set down his tools and run off to coax the child.”
Upon hearing this, the mute uncle immediately let out a wheezing laugh. The corners of Fang Zesheng’s mouth twitched slightly. After a moment, he curled his fingers and asked, “Was there… anything else said?”
Zhou Qi blinked and scratched the back of his neck. “No, nothing else.”
Fang Zesheng’s eyes dimmed. “Truly… nothing else?”
The mute uncle hurriedly held up two fingers to Zhou Qi and made a series of gestures. Zhou Qi was not slow-witted and instantly understood his meaning, saying respectfully, “Although the Second Young Master didn’t send a message personally, San Bao said he made quite a spectacle of himself on Mount Yuming today.”
At the mention of Fu Jingxuan, Fang Zesheng’s eyes brightened again. “What kind of spectacle?”
“He said he had the tea boy call the newly married spouse of the Fang family several times in front of everyone. The voice was so loud it almost echoed through the valleys of Mount Yuming.”
Fang Zesheng didn’t seem to grasp the meaning of those words immediately. He froze for a long while before stiffly turning his head to the side to hide the faint flush that was beginning to emerge on his face.
