Chapter 606 Serving Tea
When Sanwa Jiang Ye went to find Lord Xie, he found him sitting at his desk in a daze.
There were piles of official documents on both sides, but Lord Xie ignored them all, staring blankly at the scroll in his hand.
"grown ups?"
Jiang Yexun called to him softly.
Xie Zheng snapped out of his reverie and, upon recognizing the visitor as Sanwa, instinctively avoided eye contact, picking up his calligraphy brush and pretending to be very busy.
But he quickly realized that this was a bit silly, so he put down the brush.
"What do you want with me?"
Jiang Yexun rarely saw Lord Xie like this, as if he had lost his soul, but it didn't seem like something serious had happened.
"Reporting to you, sir, Lord Wang has instructed me to go outside the city, and I may not be back for the entire afternoon..."
"Which Lord Wang?"
Xie Zheng stood up, his official robes fitting him perfectly.
“Lord Wang Can.” Judging from Lord Xie’s expression, Sanwa knew that he did not trust Wang Can. “There are three other colleagues with him.”
"Don't go. You come here and copy these official documents for me. These documents need to be transcribed and sent to the capital. You can have someone else do it." Recalling what happened last night, Xie Zheng's tone was firm. "So many sycophants insist on calling you. They probably don't have good intentions. We must be careful with those people and not be careless in the slightest."
Jiang Yexun was very puzzled, but still nodded, "Then I'll go and tell them."
"Let Xiao Liang go and say it."
"yes."
Xie Zheng sat down at the tea table and poured two cups of tea.
"Come sit down, I have something to ask you."
"Thank you, sir."
Jiang Yexun accepted the teacup with both hands, somewhat nervous.
In the yamen, Lord Xie was always stern and rarely smiled.
"I heard your birthday is in the next few days. Are you planning to treat your colleagues to drinks?"
"Huh?" Jiang Yexun was taken aback. "There's such a custom?"
His mother said she would make him long noodles that day, and he planned to have a meal at home, asking the cook to buy some ribs and stew a black-boned chicken for Mulan.
"You've probably heard that Lord Wang and his group throw lavish banquets even when their dogs have puppies, let alone their own birthdays. They just use these as excuses to have fun. This is an essential part of navigating officialdom. Although you may not like this, there's a fine line between the black and white sides in officialdom. For a smooth career, the worst thing you can do is to be alone."
Jiang Yexun nodded. "Thank you for your guidance, sir. I'll go to Zuixianlou and reserve two tables."
"You can't go to Zuixianlou. Your official rank is neither too high nor too low, and Lord Wang values these things the most. Don't offend him. Just go to the fourth brother's tavern. If you can't get the higher-ups to flatter you, then ask the people you usually deal with, especially your second brother's group, to let everyone know that you brothers are united."
These words woke him up, and he instantly realized why he and his second brother had been so awkward lately.
Now that he holds a high official position, his second brother feels awkward around him, so he, as the younger brother, should take the initiative.
Jiang Yexun immediately stood up and bowed deeply, "Thank you for your guidance, sir. It has been a great enlightenment for me."
Xie Zheng nodded slightly. "Good, you'll understand immediately."
"Can I bring my family with me?"
Xie Zheng thought of Song Chunxue.
"After entertaining the guests, it's not too late to sit down and eat with your loved ones in peace."
"I've got it." After finishing his tea, Jiang Yexun stood up and smiled. "We made some buckwheat dough rings at home, and I brought some for you, sir. I'll go get them now."
“Wait a minute,” Xie Zheng took out a brocade box from the drawer, “I won’t go drinking on your birthday, I’ve prepared a birthday gift for you in advance.”
Jiang Yexun was flattered and surprised. "This...isn't that inappropriate?"
“We’re so familiar with each other, no need to be so polite.” With that, he handed the brocade box to Jiang Yexun. “Go ahead.”
Jiang Yexun smiled brightly, "Thank you, sir."
He returned to his seat and eagerly opened the box, thinking it contained a calligraphy brush.
Even the best calligraphy brushes are limited by the quality of Huzhou brushes.
To everyone's surprise, it turned out to be a jade bamboo-shaped writing brush with small characters carved on it.
"This..." He stood there, stunned. Wasn't Lord Xie being too generous?
What should I do?
How can he repay such a generous gift?
...
For three consecutive days, Song Chunxue practiced swordsmanship in the mountains, and no one saw her.
She makes sure to eat her three meals a day at a different time than everyone else.
Tu Dan'er couldn't help but ask Master Zhang out of curiosity.
"Master, what happened to my uncle when he went down the mountain that day? Why has he been avoiding us these past few days?"
"Perhaps he is striving to master what his master taught him."
"Then, Uncle-Master, when will you travel to Jiangnan? How long will the trip take? Will you be riding a horse, traveling by carriage, or flying on a sword?"
The Taoist priest, who was drawing talismans, put down his brush. "It's not certain yet. If you can't learn these talismans by the time I get back, you won't be allowed to eat dinner."
Tu Dan'er quickly held it in his hands, bowed his head respectfully, and said, "Wang Chen will definitely study hard and live up to Master's expectations."
Just then, Changfeng came in from outside.
"Daoist Master, Daoist Master Yunqiu is here again."
Master Zhang said calmly, "Tell her that coming to me is useless. She cannot stay until she apologizes to her junior brother."
The next moment, Yun Qiu stepped in from outside.
Today she wore a pale white gauze dress with a cross-over design, and the collar of her white inner garment was embroidered with blue and pink patterns. If you didn't look at her eyes, she would look like a woman in her early twenties, charming and beautiful.
The Taoist priest looked at her and knew that no matter how many youth-preserving pills she took, if her heart was not pure and she did not guard against arrogance and impetuosity, she would never be able to enter the path of Tao.
“Senior brother, this is the third time I’ve come to ask you to take me in. Even if I wanted to apologize to her, I’d have to see her in person first.” Yun Qiu lowered his tone. “The inns down the mountain are not as quiet as those up here. Please let me stay for a few days. I promise I won’t make things difficult for her this time.”
Just as the Taoist priest was about to refuse, Song Chunxue came in from outside.
"So how are you going to apologize to me?"
Yun Qiu was taken aback, but when she saw that she was wearing an inconspicuous dark blue Taoist robe, she smiled.
"What happened last time was my fault. I misunderstood you and your senior brother. It turns out the person you're in love with is Lord Xie. I shouldn't have allowed my subordinates to drug you..."
"It was you who did it, don't make your subordinates take the blame."
Yun Qiu took a breath and continued to smile, "It was my evil intentions that led me to do wrong. I beg Master Song to punish me; I accept all the punishment."
"Is that so?" Song Chunxue looked at him. "Then let your people cook for you on the mountain for a month. If you miss even one day, you can forget about ever stepping into the mountain gate again."
"..." Yun Qiu glanced at the Taoist priest, "Then you agreed to let me stay on the mountain temporarily?"
"Yeah, stay here. It's not like this is my territory all to myself." Anyway, she's not on the mountain right now.
"..." The Taoist priest frowned slightly, and cursed him indirectly.
After saying that, Song Chunxue turned and left without even saying goodbye to the Taoist priest.
Upon entering the courtyard, Changfeng stood on the left.
"Master, I've been practicing meditation and standing meditation diligently lately, I wonder if it's possible to..."
"Bring me tea, and I'll take you as my apprentice to Changyun."
Changfeng stood there, stunned, thinking he had misheard.
"Ah...ah?" He craned his neck and called out loudly to confirm, "Are you serious?"
"Yes." Song Chunxue smiled. "Go quickly."
"Hahaha!" Changfeng took three steps at a time and jumped into the courtyard, shouting, "Changyun, Changyun, come quickly!"
Tudan jumped out of the house, covering his face and whimpering sadly, "Uncle-Master, didn't you say you wouldn't take on any disciples?"
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