"Your Majesty! Your Majesty! You can't do that!"
"Don't hide! I won't strip you naked! I'll just lend you a piece of clothing!"
"Your Majesty, please spare me! If the Grand Tutor knew that you stripped me of my clothes and pretended to be a palace maid, he would skin me alive!"
"Don't be afraid. No matter how powerful the Grand Tutor is, can he be greater than me?" Jiang Cenyun patted the palace maid's face, but the palace maid's body became even stiffer, and her eyes looked straight behind her.
"His Majesty."
Jiang Cenyun paused, slowly turned his head, and said with a fake smile, "Haha, Taifu, why are you here? Didn't I agree that you don't have to be on duty today?"
"I miss your majesty so much that I cannot leave you for even a moment."
"Hiss... How disgusting." Jiang Cenyun let go of the palace maid, straightened his collar, and straightened his back. "I was just playing with Xiaoshan."
"Even if Your Majesty wants to summon a palace lady, you shouldn't do it in the study. It's against etiquette," Yao Yi said sternly.
"Who said I was going to summon him?" Jiang Cenyun frowned. "That's nonsense."
"Your Majesty, where do you want to go after changing into the palace maid's clothes? To see those decent ladies?"
Jiang Cenyun was surprised and asked, "How did you know?"
"What else can you do? You're just messing around with these things."
"Oh, Master." Jiang Cenyun sighed, "How can you call this nonsense? I'm going on a secret visit to see who would be suitable to be my future bedmate."
"Wait until Xue Fengyu teaches them etiquette before letting them meet Your Majesty, to prevent those who are ignorant of etiquette from offending you."
"That's so boring. They're either trembling with fear or fawning over me. They're not their true selves."
"If you dress up as a palace maid, you can see their true appearance?"
"Of course, they wouldn't notice a palace servant."
"But they will notice you." Yao Yi sighed. "How can you hide your aura?"
"Then it's okay for me to dress up as a female official, right? Hey, Old Yao, please don't restrict me."
"How dare I restrain Your Majesty?"
"You say you don't dare, but you don't even offer an apology." Jiang Cenyun finished speaking. Seeing Yao Yi about to kneel, he quickly supported her. "Hey, hey, I was just kidding. You're such a… I wonder what kind of person your teacher is. You've been raised to be so rule-abiding. Can't you just understand me?"
"If Your Majesty really wants to do something, how can I stop him? Well, I will go with you."
"I knew you were the best!" Jiang Cenyun put his arm around Yao Yi's neck and kissed her cheek. Yao Yi couldn't hold back her serious expression and couldn't help but laugh: "You, who did you learn to act like a spoiled child from?"
"Follow my...eh?" Jiang Cenyun shook his head. "What was I about to say? Forget it, go change your clothes!"
In the chill of spring, a group of men in tall hats and wide robes were receiving instruction from Xue Fengyu of the Shangyi Bureau. At first, everyone was very enthusiastic, but soon some of them began to slack off, whispering to each other or scratching their heads.
"Zhuo Twelve, what is the third step in making tea?" Xue Fengyu asked loudly.
"Hmm? Order some tea?" Zhuo Huanqing shuddered and opened his eyes. "Third step? Drink?"
"I just wanted to drink." Xue Fengyu said angrily, "I've emphasized this three times, but you didn't hear a word."
"Your Majesty has so many people around him who know how to make tea, and I wouldn't be a big difference." Zhuo Huanqing muttered softly.
"If His Majesty were to rest in your palace one day and suddenly craved tea, but you refused, you would be giving away a great opportunity."
"I can't make tea, but I can brew wine! Every year, people ask for the peach leaf wine I brew. You know Taifu Yao, right? She likes this wine the most."
"Is this the best one?" Jiang Cenyun, who was hiding and watching, gently bumped into Yao Yi's shoulder.
"Just listen to his nonsense." Yao Yi disagreed.
Some of the men present retorted, "If Master Yao really likes you, why doesn't he just marry you and let you waste away your days growing old?"
"You're old! Li Xiwei is two years older than me. Just try calling him old."
"I heard from the Left Prime Minister... I heard that Master Li is good at making tea and can even paint in water. Would you be willing to demonstrate it to us today?" Xue Fengyu said.
Li Xi stood up slightly, glanced at the swaying bamboo shadows, and nodded. "Okay."
"Bring the tea."
The palace maid was about to present the tea set when she was stopped by Jiang Cenyun, who had been waiting outside. "Wait, I'll go."
She walked steadily into the temple carrying the mud-gilt tea tray. When Xue Fengyu saw her, he stood up and was about to greet her, but she glared at him and froze him in place.
The new emperor of the Great Zhou, Jiang Cenyun, is a cuddly girl like a cat in front of those close to him, but in front of most of his ministers, he is a majestic emperor who makes people willingly crawl on the ground.
A group of decent women watched her approach, some whispering that even the palace ladies were so stunningly beautiful. Li Xiwei stared at her, the word "Your Majesty" on the tip of his tongue, unspoken.
Jiang Cenyun stood before him, offering the tea tray, his eyes sly. "Lord Zuo Xiang, please."
"Trouble you." Li Xiwei took the tea tray, placed it on the coffee table, knelt behind the coffee table, picked up the jade pot, and warmed the teacup.
Jiang Cenyun stood aside, watching him wash the tea set, his thoughts gradually drifting away.
She remembered being active and restless as a child, sometimes her shoes would dangle off the table while she was reading. But there was only one moment when she was quiet and focused.
That is to watch Li Xi differentiate tea.
"The crab eyes have passed, and the fish eyes are now born. The sound of the wind is about to become like the pine wind. Fine beads fall from the moss, and the light snow flies around the bowl."
Every move he made when making tea was so graceful, and his tea-dividing skills were even more superb. Sometimes he would use a tea spoon to dip tea powder and lightly paint on the tea soup. Sometimes he would use only the tea foam produced when making tea to draw a picture without any external objects. This exquisite skill was what Xue Fengyu called "water painting".
Li Xiwei held the tea whisk in his hand and circled it around the center of the cup. Jiang Cenyun's eyes shifted to his wrist again.
This person seems to have lost weight recently, and his wrist bones are more prominent, making it feel uncomfortable to hold his hand.
He's already in the prime minister's chair, shouldn't he be feeling elated? Who is he trying to show off his weight loss to? Is the imperial rations of her Great Zhou not tasty?
Jiang Cenyun's eyes were sharp. Li Xi paused slightly, looked up at her, and met her gaze.
"Your Majesty." He spoke softly, uttering two words silently.
Jiang Cenyun turned his back to the crowd, faced him, and gently pressed his lower lip. "Shh."
He lowered his eyes and continued to make tea. The tea powder and boiling water soon mixed thoroughly. He picked up the jade pot again and poured water into the cup. Then he used the tea whisk to circle it again, sometimes fast, sometimes slow. After several times, the tea foam in the cup became delicate and white.
Li Xiwei glanced at Jiang Cenyun again, dipped a tea spoon in some tea powder, and lightly outlined the tea leaves.
Jiang Cenyun thought he would paint landscapes or flowers and plants, but he didn't expect a kitten chasing butterflies to appear in the teacup.
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