Chapter 17: Drinking New Tea, Wen Song Talks about the Past “Laugh if you want to.”…
After the camphorwood box is made, silk brocade is put into it to symbolize the love between the two parties and their staying together, and to wish that after the daughter gets married, the couple will be of one mind and live a happy life.
Song Linsheng's mother, Mrs. Song, had several camphorwood boxes, and her marriage was very successful. Perhaps because of this, Mrs. Song was very willing to believe in this wonderful custom and was willing to place this hope on her daughter.
Mrs. Song was probably certain that the baby in her belly was a girl, so without waiting for the time to ripen, she asked Lord Song to plant the camphor tree in the yard with her.
The tree was already planted, and they were just waiting for the moment when the pearl would be born. As a result, the Song family waited day and night for nearly ten months. When Song Linsheng was born, the midwife kept congratulating him:
"Congratulations, Madam, on the birth of your son!"
After hearing this, Mrs. Song's eyes went dark and she fainted.
This incident caused a huge misunderstanding among the close friends and neighbors of Jiangyang Prefecture at the time. Madam Song had even chosen her daughter's future husband, the second son of the Lu family of Minghuai Prefecture. With the childhood sweethearts now becoming childhood friends, Madam Song was deeply saddened for a while...
"So... this camphor tree is your future dowry?" Wen Yu blurted out with a smile that was about to burst out on her face.
Song Linsheng chuckled: "Laugh if you want to."
"Hahahahahaha!" Wen Yu laughed so hard that she fell backwards, and the tears that could not be stopped hung on her eyelashes, crystal clear, making her fan-like eyelashes look more distinct.
Song Linsheng pushed his cloak aside a little, reached out and took out some new charcoal with a pair of chopstick-like tongs, added it to the charcoal stove, and pushed the charcoal fire to make it burn more vigorously. Then he dug out the sweet potato he had just buried from the charcoal ash next to him.
The sweet potato was roasted just right, its skin a scorched hue. Song Linsheng picked it up and placed it on the table, gently blowing away the dust. He peeled back the skin and split it in half, revealing the golden flesh. A burst of hot steam immediately rose.
Song Linsheng had almost dusted off the dust outside and handed the sweet potato to Wen Yu. After she took it, he picked up a pair of tongs and placed peanuts, chestnuts, and other fruits over the fire to roast.
He fiddled with the tongs while talking to Wen Yu, and finally put them down. He took the teapot from the charcoal stove. The hot tea, which had been boiling for a long time, was lingering, and a faint fragrance came out from the spout.
"Let's try new tea with new fire, and enjoy poetry and wine while we are young."
Song Linsheng first poured a cup of tea for Wen Yu, then added some for himself, and raised his glass to signal Wen Yu to drink together.
"Madam Wenyu, please."
When Wen Yu saw him handing her the teacup, she put down her half-eaten sweet potato, held up the teacup with both hands, and asked curiously, "Why isn't my teacup full?"
Song Linsheng said nothing, raised his glass again to gesture to Wen Yu, took a sip first, and after the fragrant tea flowed into his lungs and traveled through his five internal organs, he waited for Wen Yu to drink as well.
Wen Yu discovered that Song Linsheng was a man who was good at keeping people in suspense. She thought that he would not answer her question unless she took a sip, so she followed Song Linsheng's example and took a sip.
“It’s so warm!”
Spring is almost here, but there is still a hint of chill in the wind. A cup of hot tea can warm your whole body.
Seeing that she had finished hers, Song Linsheng poured her tea again. As he did so, he said, "A full glass of wine is a sign of respect, but a full glass of tea is a sign of deception."
"If you fill the teapot too full, it could easily burn you. Madam Wenyu, do you still want to apply the medicine?"
Wen Yu suddenly realized that this was the case.
When Song Linsheng asked her if she wanted to apply more medicine, she couldn't help but think of the scene of applying the medicine just now. What's wrong with applying the medicine again? It's just a little more troublesome.
Song Linsheng on the opposite side paused. He was just joking, but when he said it out loud, he felt a little offensive and kept silent for a while.
There was a delicate fragrance floating in the air, the scent of camphor surrounded Wen Yu and the others, the charcoal stove was sizzling, and the chestnut shells were crackling due to the heat. For a moment, there was a mixture of stillness and movement in Guanwu Garden, which complemented each other very interestingly.
"That……"
“As for…”
Wen Yu and Song Linsheng spoke at the same time, breaking the silence. Wen Yu ate the chestnuts Song Linsheng handed her and said incoherently, "You speak first!"
"As for Guanwu Garden..." Song Linsheng continued, "Look outside the wall—"
Song Linsheng raised his hand and pointed, and Wen Yu looked in the direction. What was peeking out from outside the green wall were clusters of sycamore leaves!
Wen Yu stood up immediately, surprised and happy. No wonder Song Linsheng's courtyard was called Guanwuyuan. She was previously blinded by one thing and only saw a camphor tree in the courtyard, but did not see the sycamore forest outside the courtyard.
Song Linsheng, still busy tending the charcoal fire, said to Wen Yu from a distance, "Many people love bamboo. There's a saying that one would rather eat without meat than live without bamboo. But my father loves the wutong tree the most. He said an immortal taught him that planting wutong trees behind the house would keep the house safe and ward off evil."
Wen Yu seemed to understand what he said, but nodded. After walking around the yard, he realized that if he had been blinded by a single leaf just now, it wasn't much better now.
Song Linsheng's Guanwu Garden can also be called something other than Guanwu Garden. It would be acceptable to just pick out the exotic flowers and plants in his garden and replace the "Wu" in "Guanwu".
Seeing her walking in the courtyard, Song Linsheng couldn't help but warn her. "Madam Wenyu, if you're interested, feel free to look around, but remember not to touch anything easily. The so-called exotic flowers and plants, despite their vibrant colors and appearance, are often poisonous. Be careful."
Upon hearing this, Wen Yu leaned over and whispered, "It's so long! Sisters..." Then she turned around twice and returned to the table and sat down next to Song Linsheng again.
Wen Yu rubbed her hands together, waiting for Song Linsheng to hand her new food and fruit. Song Linsheng's hands were still moving as he asked Wen Yu, "I'll have someone in the city investigate in the next few days and find my brother as soon as possible for Madam Wen Yu. Don't worry."
"By the way, Madam Wenyu, I still don't know your brother's name!"
As the saying goes, one must act completely. Wen Yu no longer hesitated and said casually, "My brother's name is Wen..."
What to write?
Wen Yu subconsciously wanted to take a character from his master Ju Mangjun's nickname and call himself Wen Mang as his brother's name, but after thinking it over in his mind, he felt something was wrong...
"Hmm?" Song Linsheng snorted and responded.
Wen Yu rolled her eyes and looked at Song Linsheng in front of her, deciding to borrow a word from him.
"My brother's name is Wen Song!"
"Wen Song?" Song Linsheng exclaimed, "Which Song?"
Wen Yu answered him without thinking: "Song Lin's son Song! Haha!"
"Song means noble and pure. Your brother is named Song. It is a good name."
Wen Yu propped up her chin and smiled. "I don't know if you're praising yourself or my brother."
Song Linsheng then tapped the tongs on the edge of the charcoal stove to shake off the charcoal ash, and added, "So, what does Madam Wenyu want to do these days? I can make arrangements."
Wen Yu held her cheeks, her eyes following the pliers in Song Linsheng's hand. After a moment's thought, she replied, "Don't call me Teacher Wen Yu Madam, Wen Yu Madam, it's too distant! You've saved me so many times, and in my heart you've become a friend of life and death! Just call me Wen Yu!"
Song Linsheng nodded in agreement and immediately tried to call out, "Wenyu."
Wen Yu was smiling, leaning his head to think about the second question: What have you been doing these days?
Got it! An idea suddenly flashed through Wen Yu's mind. When she had embarrassed herself in the Xianchun Cottage in Houchun Mountain, she had been determined to read all the books and poems of mortals!
Song Linsheng is the top scholar chosen by the current emperor, so he must be well-educated and have a large collection of books at home. But Wen Yu is not stupid either. Although she doesn't like reading scriptures and classics in the Spring Temple, she learns things very quickly. Even her master and Chi Huang praise her!
Thinking of this, Wen Yu turned her head and said to Song Linsheng, "Please help me find some books to read! Whether it's official history, classics, poetry, or vernacular novels..." Wen Yu said while wondering if she had missed anything...
"Oh? Could it be that Madam Wenyu is going to take the imperial examination?" Song Linsheng raised his eyebrows and slowly picked up the teacup to drink tea.
He called himself Madam Wenyu again. Wenyu thought that it would take some time to change it.
"What's the point of taking the imperial examination? I'm just a person of limited talent and knowledge, and I just want to learn from Master Song!" Wen Yu changed the subject and began to tease, "Besides, even if I really want to take the exam, it's a piece of cake, no problem at all!"
The dimples on Song Linsheng's face never disappeared, and he was always smiling, and he kept agreeing with Wen Yu.
"Okay, okay, I'll have my family's old collections, as well as the collection of poetry and prose I brought from Shangdu, moved to Guanwu Garden. As for the storybooks, whatever you want, just send Xiyan to buy them."
Wen Yu was delighted and could not help but nod in approval. After getting Song Linsheng's assurance, she happily ate the fruit again.
Song Linsheng turned his head to look at the green wutong tree outside the courtyard, and couldn't help but think of the time he went to Houchun Mountain to search for the thousand-year-old green wutong tree the other day...
There was silence for a while, and the courtyard returned to tranquility...
Wen Yu thought about the incident with Chen Mian in the East Market and wondered if she should remind Song Linsheng to pay attention. If there was really an injustice, she couldn't just ignore it. With this thought, Wen Yu began to think about her words and was about to call out to Song Linsheng, but a male voice beat her to the punch.
"Young Master! Young Master!" Xiyan's voice came from outside the yard. Before Wen Yu and Song Linsheng could hear it, Xiyan had already slipped into the yard.
"Master! I have already sent Brother Ayuan back out of the city, and I came here to report."
"Have his sisters and brothers been treated?" Wen Yu asked hurriedly.
"I've checked them all, and there's nothing serious. Perhaps it's just a weakness accumulated over the years. I've asked the doctor to take care of them." Xi Yan sometimes spoke a little rashly, but he was always thoughtful and prudent in his work, so Song Linsheng was relieved.
"I also left a message with Brother Ayuan. If there is any inconvenience in the future, you can come to the Jiangyang government office to find me and the young master."
Wen Yu breathed a sigh of relief, as long as everything was fine.
Xiyan came forward and placed several lanterns on the table between Wenyu and Song Linsheng. They were of various shapes, colors, and styles.
Wen Yu picked up one of the fish lanterns. It was crimson in color, with golden patterns outlining the shape of fish scales, one piece at a time, looking delicate and exquisite.
"Is this... a lantern?"
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