Chapter 85 Is Miaoxiang Teahouse Ready? To Be a Real Couple

Zheng Qingbo bowed his head and stepped forward, respectfully saying, "Your Majesty is wise, the world is prosperous, and talented people emerge in great numbers. I am unworthy and have not been able to do my best to share Your Majesty's burdens before Your Majesty, so I can only hide in this corner of the country for peace. Your Majesty's civil and military achievements have brought peace and prosperity to the country, which is why this region of Jiangnan has produced so many talented men and beautiful women."

This flattery pleased Emperor Qing immensely. "Tell me then, which talented men and beautiful women have caught your eye, Zheng Qingbo?"

Zheng Qingbo clapped his hands, and a line of young, handsome scholars in blue robes stepped forward, each holding a paper fan. Leading them was Zhou Chengli, Zheng's novice apprentice. Behind him, a group of boatwomen carrying pipa took their seats. The pipa played softly, and poems and songs filled the air, unfolding a magnificent chapter of a prosperous and peaceful era.

Suddenly, as the path ascended higher, a woman with arms waving a seven-colored veil, barefoot and gracefully stepping to the rhythm of the music, appeared. Her beauty was extraordinary, her veil ethereal, and especially the string of bells on her feet, tinkling and chiming in harmony with the music, making one feel as if in a fairyland.

In the final section, the woman suddenly spun around a few times, her gauze sleeves billowing as if she were walking on clouds, and twisted in front of Emperor Qing. She paused, her arm slightly lowered, revealing her exquisite eyebrows and eyes. In just a moment, her almond eyes turned back, filled with coquettish shyness, and she had already picked up a wine cup and gracefully presented it to Emperor Qing. She continued to offer it to him again and again in accordance with the music.

With beautiful women and fine wine, Emperor Qing reached out and took the wine cup, his brows relaxed. Just as he was about to pull the woman into his arms, he saw her glance gracefully, turn around, and return to the center, ending the performance with a fairy descending to earth pose.

After the music ended, the talented scholar and the beautiful lady bowed respectfully. Emperor Qing laughed heartily upon seeing this, exclaiming, "Interesting, interesting!" He then tested the scholars' knowledge, bestowed rewards upon them, and went to rest.

Xu Fangtong summoned a young eunuch and relayed the message. Soon after, the dancer was led into the room, and a night of passion ensued.

The next day, Emperor Qing, who had been diligent for decades, overslept. The people waiting outside the door thought that the emperor had been traveling a long way from the capital and should be considerate of his hardship.

It was past midnight when Emperor Qing finally finished his grooming and summoned everyone.

When the group arrived at the Flower Bureau in the East Market, Li Yang had already led Zhong Qianyuan and others to wait at the entrance. Upon seeing the tall horses leading the way, everyone immediately straightened up and stood respectfully.

"This humble subject kowtows to Your Majesty! Long live the Emperor!" As Emperor Qing alighted from his sedan chair and walked to the entrance of the Flower Bureau, the people of the Flower Bureau suddenly knelt down and shouted.

When Li Yang first took over the flower shop, he trained the waiters on how to shout "Welcome, esteemed guest!" Now that they knew they had the honor of welcoming the Emperor, they returned to their old ways, shouting "Long live the Emperor!" in unison before opening the shop every day. They had been practicing this greeting for almost half a year.

Hearing such a neat and loud welcome on the streets, the emperor was overjoyed. The eunuch Xu beside him also laughed out loud, "Your Majesty is wise. Songshan Town is the heart of the people!" His words made the emperor even more delighted.

The old man lowered his head slightly, glancing at Chen Junbai out of the corner of his eye.

He was Xu Fangtong, the chief eunuch serving the emperor. Xu was a shrewd man among shrewd men. Although he did not know Chen Junbai’s intention in setting the banquet at his wife’s flower party, he was certain that Chen Junbai wanted to elevate the young lady’s status. Moreover, seeing that the emperor was happy, he was happy to say a few auspicious words to fulfill Chen Junbai’s intentions.

The eunuch had indeed guessed correctly. Setting the banquet at the flower garden wasn't just a casual gesture to please Li Yang; Chen Junbai had his own plans. Therefore, he was happy to accept Xu Fangtong's favor and gave him a slight nod of thanks.

Seeing that he was so clear-headed, Xu Fangtong turned his attention back to serving the emperor.

"Rise," Emperor Qing said, amused by the crowd. He then jokingly scolded Xu Fangtong, "You little rascal, you're so good with words."

"Ouch, this servant slaps himself." Xu Fangtong said, pretending to slap himself in the face, which made Emperor Qing laugh loudly again.

Seeing this, Li Yang hurriedly said, "Your Majesty, please." He then led the group to the pavilion in the center of the back garden.

Today, the garden has been carefully decorated. A hexagonal pavilion with a helmet-shaped roof is supported by vermilion wooden beams and decorated with double layers of light gauze in pale yellow and bean pink. The pavilions on all four sides are filled with bright flowers, arranged at different heights and in a colorful manner.

The waterside pavilion is adorned with flower-covered corridors, and plump golden and white fish swim in the lake.

The wind carries the fragrance of flowers, and the water ripples with clear reflections.

As soon as everyone took their seats in the courtyard, Li Yang smiled mysteriously and clapped his hands high. In no time, a group of graceful maids came in carrying trays. The maids were all top-notch talents from the various pleasure boats in the town. In this early spring month of March, they wore light gauze dresses, aiming only for their graceful and agile postures. The leading courtesan led the maids into the pavilion on the right and presented the trays. After Li Yang and the others served the dishes on the trays, the women bowed and then turned around the round table and exited the pavilion on the left.

Only then did everyone realize that this scene was like a gentle breeze adding color and the fragrance of flowers filling the air.

The beauties of Beijing are often strikingly beautiful, while those of Jiangnan are known for their delicate and graceful charm. Now, with these beauties adorned with fragrant powder and swaying light veils, their allure is captivating, naturally stirring the hearts of many.

Emperor Qing was naturally no match for him.

At this moment, Li Yang picked up the teapot and poured tea for the emperor, saying, "Your Majesty, please have some tea."

Emperor Qing was fond of refined tastes and drank countless cups of tea. Upon tasting one, he exclaimed, "What kind of tea is this? I have never tasted it before!"

"This tea is called 'Kuilongzhu,' and it is made from Longjing tea, Zhulan tea, and Kuizhen tea. Mr. Zheng said that this tea is called 'tea brewed in one pot of water from three provinces.'" Li Yang dared not hide anything and explained the origin of Kuilongzhu in detail.

Emperor Qing was pleasantly surprised. He also saw a variety of dishes on the table, all of which were famous dishes from various provinces paired with Jiangnan specialty snacks, completely different from what the chefs in the imperial palace in the capital made.

"Madam Chen has put so much effort into this dish, what's the secret behind it?" Emperor Qing was interrogating Li Yang, who smiled knowingly and answered, "This dish is Jadeite and White Jade Soup, wishing Your Majesty good fortune and happiness year after year."

She selected each dish one by one, a process that took her half a year. Chen Junbo even specially invited Zheng Qingbo to teach her how to give each dish an auspicious name and add a blessing to it.

Li Yang has a unique characteristic: the words she speaks are always tinged with sincerity. At this moment, she has forgotten that the person in front of her is the emperor, and only sincerely wishes this old man, who works day and night for the country, good health and a long life.

She introduced the dishes with a charming smile, and her auspicious words fell into Emperor Qing's ears. Even this old man, who was used to flattery, couldn't help but smile and laugh.

"Chen Ziheng, what a wonderful wife you have!" Emperor Qing laughed heartily. "Kind-hearted, beautiful, and eloquent, a truly remarkable woman."

Chen Junbo: "Your Majesty flatters me. It is my good fortune to have such a virtuous wife. I would like to ask for a wedding gift and request Your Majesty to inscribe a plaque for the Flower Bureau."

He set up this banquet at the Flower Pavilion today so that the Emperor's golden words would confirm the marriage, and Li Yang would no longer be able to say anything like "Forget it, let's just leave it at that" in the future.

Everyone was astonished to hear him so openly request a reward—asking the Emperor for a congratulatory gift?!

However, Chen Junbo had planned this matter very meticulously. Since Emperor Qing was not in the palace at the moment, he naturally hoped to complete the trip easily and pleasantly.

The important matters were settled yesterday. Since he has promised to contribute to the war effort in the southern border region, although he has been given a nominal position, Emperor Qing is probably thinking about how to give him enough face.

During the meal, he took the initiative to make a request that was of little consequence to the emperor, thus solving Emperor Qing's dilemma.

Furthermore, Emperor Qing was fond of literature and calligraphy and requested an inscription. Such a reward, which cost no money, was essentially giving Emperor Qing an opportunity to showcase his calligraphy skills.

As expected, Emperor Qing was extremely pleased upon hearing this and immediately wanted to inscribe a name for the place. "Your wife is a wonderful person. This place used to be a flower garden, full of fragrance. Now it is a tea house. Why not call it the Wonderful Fragrance Tea House?" After saying this, he picked up his brush and began to write on the table that had been laid out.

Seeing this, everyone admired Chen Junbo, a salt merchant from Jiangnan who was far removed from the imperial court, for his ability to grasp the emperor's intentions to such an extent.

Emperor Qing put down his brush and turned to ask Li Yang, "What does Madam Chen think of this calligraphy?"

This was another test of Li Yang's calligraphy. She hadn't prepared for this question beforehand, but she wasn't nervous. "I don't know much about calligraphy, but His Majesty's calligraphy is vigorous and powerful. It looks better than the calligraphy that Chen Junbai hangs at home."

His words, though seemingly casual, struck a chord with Emperor Qing.

Who is Chen Junbai? The calligraphy and paintings in his home are naturally those of famous artists from Jiangnan. Li Yang said that the emperor's calligraphy is better than all of them. Such a great praise would not have been made so casually by a court official.

This lady is truly a remarkable person!

Li Yang wasn't trying to be clever; she genuinely knew nothing about calligraphy. However, the emperor had inscribed the plaque for her flower arrangement, which pleased her. Furthermore, the characters on the plaque were written with deep ink and were clearly defined, whereas the calligraphy and paintings Chen Junbai had acquired were all just showing off his skills, which she couldn't understand.

Therefore, while seven parts of his words were flattery, three parts were genuine.

But those around him chuckled. Li Yang looked at Chen Junbo, puzzled, and saw that he was also laughing at him. He blurted out, "Am I wrong?"

Upon hearing this, Emperor Qing burst into laughter, "Well said, very well said! Guards, bestow upon Madam Chen a white jade ruyi."

Li Yang was overjoyed to receive a reward for saying just a few words and turned to wink at Chen Junbai.

After the banquet, the group accompanied the emperor to meet the people in the town before the southern tour group moved on to the next stop.

In the evening, after seeing off Emperor Qing and his entourage, everyone agreed to have dinner at a teahouse to celebrate the successful reception of the emperor during his southern tour.

Back at Lanxin Pavilion, Li Yang was still somewhat dazed. "Is it over already?"

Chen Junbo smiled and tidied her stray hairs. "Yes, it's over."

"Phew, it feels like a dream." Li Yang leaned back on the soft couch by the window. "Miaoxiang Teahouse, that sounds really nice." She was still thinking about the emperor bestowing the plaque.

Seeing this, Chen Junbo came over and sat down beside her, pulling her into his arms. "Do you know why I asked the Emperor to bestow a plaque?"

"Why?" Li Yang asked, leaning against Chen Junbai.

She wondered if she had gotten used to it, but now the most comfortable chair for her was Chen Junbo's back, which was both soft and firm, as if it had grown against her.

Chen Junbo didn't stand on ceremony and kissed her forehead. "Now that our marriage is officially arranged by the Emperor, you can no longer think about 'let it go' or anything else."

In this relationship, it was Li Yang who was initially infatuated; she agreed to the marriage the first time she saw Chen Junbo on the main street.

But after a series of contracts and framing, she finally realized the distance between them, but Chen Junbo refused to give up.

Now, Chen Junbo is helping Li Yang find his missing parents, while he is also constantly worried that his wife doesn't seem to care about him. However, she doesn't seem to care about anyone else either, leaving him speechless.

For him, this was the biggest setback. After nearly a year, he had to admit that in Li Yang's eyes, he was not as dazzling as a few hundred taels of silver.

But things are different today.

Today, with the Emperor's golden words and his own inscription, their marriage is as if it has undergone another formal betrothal ceremony. This event is the most exciting part of the entire southern tour and the welcoming of the Emperor.

"Zhaozhao, now, you and I are husband and wife, as decreed by the Emperor. It couldn't be more true."

Li Yang was taken aback, looked up at him, smiled brightly, wrapped her arms around his neck, and leaned in to kiss the corner of his lips: "So real?"

He had already been enduring a lot, and this kiss from her was like lighting up fireworks. With his large hand covering the back of her head, Chen Junbo took the initiative to deepen the kiss, conquering and seizing her.

Are you ready for today?

"What?" Li Yang gasped for breath, his eyes glistening with tears.

"Be a real couple."

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Author's Note: Here it comes!