Fang Zesheng and Fu Jingxuan had known each other since childhood. The Tea Tasting Convention was held once every five years with each session lasting over half a month. The two first met on Mount Yuming in Chuzhou. That year, the Fu family had just managed to enter the ranks of the “Four Great Families,” and Fang Changru had also invited Fu Shangyi, sending a special invitation to Cheng Xiqiu as well.
At that time, Lady Liu was still alive, but she was depressed and physically frail. Cheng Xiqiu looked after her and helped by taking one of her children along, which was the seven-year-old Fu Jingxuan.
The Fu family’s second young master looked frail and pitiful, constantly at the mercy of Fu Jingye’s bullying.
As luck would have it, just before leaving for the Tea Tasting Convention, he had been beaten by Fu Jingye once more with blood streaming from his head, which was a truly pitiful sight. In a rage, Fu Shangyi grabbed Fu Jingye and gave him a thrashing with a staff. Fu Jingye wailed loud enough to shake the heavens, crying out that he had been wronged and that he had only given his younger brother a single push; he had no idea how it had turned out so serious!
Fu Shangyi was never one to listen to reason, trusting only what he could see. Angered by what he believed were blatant lies; he struck all the harder. Cheng Xiqiu stood on the steps listening for a long while before entering the room suspiciously. There, she saw Fu Jingxuan had already cleaned the blood from his face and was sitting before a bronze mirror, applying rouge to his cheeks. He didn’t look injured in the slightest.
Cheng Xiqiu, torn between anger and amusement, gave him a thorough scolding. After some thought, she decided to take him with her; after all, if she were gone for a month, there was no telling how badly the two boys would fight, and she didn’t want Fu Jingye to be wrongly accused again. However, in Madam Liu’s eyes, this was seen as Cheng Xiqiu playing favorites, which only deepened her resentment.
Setting aside Madam Liu’s schemes for a moment, let’s talk about the Tea Tasting Convention. Fang Changru was a man of considerable prestige, whose word carried great weight. He and his wife, Xie Junlan, hosted guests from numerous families on Mount Yuming. Rows of tables were set up beneath the pavilions along the slopes. Cheng Xiqiu guided Fu Jingxuan personally, teaching him the rituals: rinsing the teacups was called the “Hundred Cranes Bathing,” lifting the teapot high was the “Hanging Pot High Pour,” the tall, slender vessel was known as the Aroma Snifter, and the wide-mouthed pitcher was the Justice Cup.
However, Fu Jingxuan was still young and mischievous, wanting to meddle with every flower and blade of grass he came across. His aunt’s instructions went in one ear and out the other. When Fu Shangyi questioned him in front of everyone, he babbled nonsense in a vain attempt to be clever; so much so that Old Master Fu pinched his ears and spanked his bottom in anger, forcing him to stand in punishment by the pavilion atop the mountain.
The Second Young Master Fu was fearless; if he had to stand, he would stand. Having nothing better to do, he kicked a pebble at his feet, letting it roll thud-thud-thud until it stopped before a pair of black boots with subtle patterns. Fu Jingxuan looked up and saw a youth standing in the mountain breeze, smiling at him.
That person was none other than the now cripple Eldest Young Master of the Fang family, Fang Zesheng—truly like shattered jade falling into green mountains; whether in motion or at rest, he was exceptionally handsome.
“What are you doing here?” Fang Zesheng asked.
“Standing in punishment.” Fu Jingxuan replied.
“Why are you being punished?” Fang Zesheng inquired.
“I couldn’t answer the questions my father asked; I made him lose face in public.”
“Oh,” Fang Zesheng said. “Then why don’t I teach you how to identify tea?”
Fu Jingxuan was dazed by the boy’s smile and asked lightheadedly, “Who are you? Why should you teach me?”
“My name is Fang Zesheng.”
“Fang Zesheng?” Second Young Master Fu squinted his eyes to size him up. “The Eldest Young Master of the Fang family?”
“Precisely.” As he spoke, he stepped forward, took Fu Jingxuan by the wrist, and said gently, “Come, the wind is strong here. I’ll take you with me; your father won’t scold you.”
Fu Jingxuan rolled his eyes and followed him for a few paces, but taking advantage of a moment when the other party wasn’t looking, he suddenly broke free and ran backward. Startled, Fang Zesheng hurried after him.
Behind the mountain pavilion lay a small, abandoned shovel. A freshly dug pit remained unfilled, and four or five pieces of high-quality tea cakes lay on the ground; he had clearly intended to bury them.
“Heheh!” Fu Jingxuan shot a glance at Fang Zesheng, his face beaming with mischief. “Offering help for no reason; you’re either up to no good or a total fraud.”
Fang Zesheng’s expression shifted instantly. The warm smile he’d been wearing vanished, making him look like a completely different person.
“I knew it,” Fu Jingxuan said. ” First Aunt was right. She said the Eldest Young Master of the Fang family is upright and proper, always wearing a stern, handsome face and never smiling!”
Fang Zesheng replied, “I smile when I want to, and I don’t when I don’t.”
“Then why did you smile at me?” Fu Jingxuan asked. “This is the first time we’ve ever met.”
“You’re an interesting one. I thought well of you, so I smiled. Is that wrong too?”
“You didn’t think well of me; you definitely had an ulterior motive!”
With his secret exposure, Fang Zesheng stopped arguing. He dropped his guard, picked up the shovel, and continued digging. Fu Jingxuan wasn’t foolish enough to go back to his punishment; instead, he squatted beside him, picked up a tea cake, and said in shock, “Is this… the Tao family’s ‘Floating Clouds Emerging from the Mountains’?”
Fang Zesheng asked, “You recognize it?”
“Of course I recognize it,” Fu Jingxuan said proudly. “The texture of the tea cake turns and twists like clouds and mist. When brewed with mountain spring water, the sweet aftertaste lingers; it is the best of the best. The only thing in this world that can rival it is your Fang family’s ‘Auspicious Carved Lotus.’ Although First Aunt says the tea species of the two houses are different and shouldn’t be compared that way, I still think ‘Auspicious Carved Lotus’ is superior. Both its color and aftertaste are rare in this world.”
Fang Zesheng put down the shovel and looked at him over anew. “Don’t you actually know quite a lot? Then why did you make your father lose face in front of everyone?”
Fu Jingxuan replied, “My father doesn’t treat me like his own son and has never doted on me either. Why should I help him show off?” Mentioning this made him recall Madam Liu washing her face with tears every day and Fu Shangyi treating him with utter coldness. “Forget it, forget it, let’s not talk about me. What about you? A single piece of ‘Floating Clouds Emerging from the Mountains’ could sell for so much silver, and you’ve got ‘Maple Bridge’ and ‘Rain Moistened’ as well. What are you planning to do with them?”
Fang Zesheng said, “Bury them. Otherwise, my father will make me taste tea in front of everyone again. My tongues already numb from all the tasting, and I don’t want to be watched like some performing monkey.”
“Haha,” Fu Jingxuan blurted out without filter. “You’re so good-looking, I’d be willing to watch you too.”
“……” Fang Zesheng’s face turned red, feeling a bit embarrassed as he kept his head down to continue burying the tea with a stiff expression.
“Eldest Young Master! Eldest Young Master—” Just as the pit was leveled, voices rang out, calling for him. Fang Zesheng immediately dropped the small shovel, seized Fu Jingxuan, and took off.
Fu Jingxuan cried out, “Run if you want to, but why are you dragging me along?”
Fang Zesheng replied, “You saw me burying the tea. What if you sell me out?”
“Hey, am I really that disloyal?”
“How should I know if you’re loyal or not? Quick, let’s go; I’m taking you down the mountain.”
Fu Jingxuan said anxiously, “Wait, wait, wait! This is my first time in Chuzhou. What if I get lost?”
Fang Zesheng said, “It’s fine. This is my family’s land; I’ll show you around.”
By the time they finished speaking, they had already run halfway down the mountain with the wind at their backs. Being of a similar age, they hit it off almost instantly. They spent nearly half a month hiding and playing at the foot of the mountain before their parents finally found them and scolded them. Before parting, they even made a pact to go lake-cruising and lantern-watching together at the next tea assembly.
In the years that followed, whenever Fang Zesheng and his father passed through Jiangling, they would invariably visit the Fu residence to see Fu Jingxuan. Second Young Master Fu had truly believed that Fang Zesheng would be his best friend for life. Unexpectedly, when he was fifteen, he heard that something had happened to the Fang family, and his connection with Fang Zesheng was severe. His letters went unanswered, and in desperation, he traveled over a thousand li alone to seek news only to be stopped at the door by Fang Zesheng, ignored, and denied an audience.
In an instant, a thousand thoughts flooded back. Fu Jingxuan originally had so much he wanted to say and so many questions to ask.
However, seeing Fang Zesheng sitting dazed in his wheelchair with his eyes harboring shock, apprehension, and a trace of barely visible joy and excitement, Fu Jingxuan didn’t know where to begin. He simply shrugged and said, “The wind has turned cold. Aren’t you going back to your room to sleep?”
