"Novels, novels, novels
Important things must be
repeated three times"
Quick Transmigration: She's a Heartbreaker: Ch 96, The Imposter Noble Lady Jiang Xun first gave everyone an explanation, "Tea show, also called separating tea, can be juxtaposed with piano, chess, and books. It can also be regarded as a kind of art that cultivates sentiment. When brewing tea, the instant the splashes of the tea soup hit the cup will display words and images on the tea such as rivers down a mountain, flowers, plants and trees like a water ink painting. Thus, it’s also known as the ‘Shui Dan Qing’." Everyone in the Ning Dynasty loved tea, but the tea show was different from ordinary tea tasting. It required extremely high tea skills to make it happen and only circulated among a few nobles. Ordinary people rarely have seen it, while these noble ladies may have heard of it, but no one knows how to separate tea. Many ladies who didn’t know of the tea show immediately showed an enlightened expression after listening to Jiang Xun's explanation. It turned out this was a tea show and sounded magical. Painting on the tea surface, which is truly something they never thought of. "Can you make this ‘Shui Dan Qing’?" Wei Ming Yu asked coldly, "I heard only those masters who are proficient in the skill of dividing tea can do it with at least eight or ten years of experience." Jiang Xun replied faintly, "That’s why some things still depend on talent." Wei Ming Yu's face flushed as soon as this was said and she glared at Jiang Xun in shame. Wasn’t this just cursing her for being stupid and lacking talent since she felt other people were the same as her? Wei Ming Yu gritted her teeth and said nothing for a long time. "Then please begin, we’re all waiting to see it." A noble lady standing beside Wei Ming Yu saw Wei Ming Yu slumped and said in an unpleasant tone. Jiang Xun answered, "Don't worry, this will begin." As Jiang Xun composed herself, her expression turned serious. The aura around her whole figure seemed to have changed, from a slim beauty to an elegant unworldly master. Her aloof face attracts everyone's gaze, making it difficult to split their attention to watch the movements of her hands. However, if they calmed down and looked at her hands, her slender hands would attract their eyes. They only saw those scallion white tender little hands hold a tea mortar to crush the tea cakes, then use a tea mill to grind the tea into fine powder before sifting the tea powder… … Jiang Xun lowered her gazes as if she was immersed in her own world. Her movements were very slow and meticulous. It can be seen that the preparations for the tea show were also exceptionally complicated. As the insiders watched the actual, the outsiders were watching for the show. Among the many people here, there were only a few who understood her every step. Both Shen Xi Tang and Yan Shen are masters of tea art, while Xiao Wang He often attends tea ceremonies. Therefore they had a deep understanding of tea shows. Their eyes were very serious and their views on Jiang Xun have also changed. How many surprises can this woman give them? How many shining points are still on her body? This was a question that they were eager to get an answer to. A noble lady asked, "What is she doing? Why didn't she say she could paint on the tea?" Xiao Wang He smiled slightly, "This tea show is divided into fifteen steps, which all test one’s skills. Currently, she has only reached the fourth step. The previous steps are both energy and time-consuming, so it is also normal to be rather slow." Soon Jiang Xun set up a dozen tea cups, then put the finely ground green tea into the tea cups. Adding a little boiling water, she made it into a tea paste. When she held the teapot in one hand and the liquid bottle in the other, Shen Xi Tang furrowed her brows. Yan Shen's expression also changed slightly as he steadily watched Jiang Xun. What was she going to do? There were two ways to "separate tea": one is to "stir", because it can directly contact with the liquid and is easier to master; this method uses the tea spoon, bamboo beater or tea whisk to mix the tea. The second method is to directly "pour" the tea. This is not only difficult, but the possibility of failure is also high. Few people can use the second method to make Shui Dan Qing. Moreover, Jiang Xun's actions seem to be wanting to use the two methods at the same time. Was she this arrogant? Xiao Wang He showed a look of disapproval, while Shen Xi Tang stared at Jiang Xun with more and more interest in his eyes. The tea and water in the dozen tea cups quickly blended into one. Jiang Xun hit and flicked the tea in the tea cup with one hand as she poured the liquid into the other tea cups with the other. Her actions were very elegant and dazzlingly unrestrained. "Thousand strands of steam lightly sway as if a breeze has come. The snow-white tea foams curl ever so vibrantly, its condensing comparable to delicate waves." Xiao Wang He exclaimed in surprise, "It's done." Everyone hurriedly looked down to see auspicious clouds blooming in the first tea cup and even a pretty peony on a branch with flying butterflies while the tea surface on the second tea cup also began to show images. It was an obvious image of happiness, a magpie standing on a plum branch. What's even more amazing was that there was actually the word tea on the tea, which was truly brilliant. Yet, after a while, the liquid veins and water veins in the teacups became other objects one after another. The objects in the dozens of tea cups were completely different. The first to appear was a double dragon and a pearl. The two vivid dragons jumped into the clouds, playing with a fire bead by a mountain heavy with green fog. The vapor lingered in the mountains, making it seem like a fairyland. There was also a picture of carps playing with some lotus. The many carps jumped flexibility out of the water around the pretty lotus that had lotus leaves floating on the water. “Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant, it is brilliant. Living to this age, I have never seen such a tea show." "That's truly true. I didn't expect that there could be so many tricks on this tea surface. It's really an eye-opener." "It seems that the first place of this competition will definitely be this lady’s." "Why is this last cup of tea so ordinary, is it just an image of the clouds?" "No, look at it!" Someone shouted, raising their voice. When everyone's eyes focused on the tea surface again, they were all shocked. They only saw a bright moon suddenly appear out of the sea of clouds, while the position of the clouds moved down. It turned out to be a beautiful scene of a bright moon on the sea. "How did this happen?" Yan Shen couldn't keep his calm. His hand reached for the cups of tea to see what happened, but Shen Xi Tang blocked his outreaching hand. Xiao Wang He nervously stated, "Don't move, don't move! There seems to be more." "What?" Everyone couldn't believe it and all stared at the tea cup without blinking. They saw two more cranes flying out of the sea of clouds, flying towards the moon in a graceful posture and soon disappeared into the radiant moon. It’s simply godly. This was beyond godly. Who would have thought that a cup of tea could express such a scene? It was breathtaking. At this time, everyone couldn't care about anything else. They just wanted to look at this fleeting spectacle for a bit longer. The sounds of exclamation eventually turned into sighs of regret. Everyone all regretted how it disappeared so quickly. Out of nowhere, a silver bell-like laughter came from not far away, "It's so lively, what are you guys playing?" The crowd turned back and saw it was Princess Qing Jue. She was born from the Emperor's most beloved concubine and was also the Emperor's most beloved princess. Like her mother, Concubine Li, she was born naturally beautiful, glamorous and enchanting. Taller than an ordinary woman, she didn’t look delicate. Next to Princess Qing Jue were several princes. In addition to the fourth prince Yan Cong, there are also the third prince and the fifth prince. Everyone hurriedly saluted them. "What were you guys doing?" Princess Qing Jue asked again. Wei Ming Yu answered loudly, "We were watching a tea show. Just now Lady Su was so incredible, she made more than a dozen tea cups, dumbfounding all of us." Her tone was a bit exaggerated. Upon hearing this, Princess Qing Jue furrowed her brows and questioned, "Who is Lady Su?" Everyone looked at Jiang Xun, so Jiang Xun could only stand up. After seeing Jiang Xun's face, Princess Qing Jue froze for a moment then showed a look of loathing. Staring at her for a long time, "You did the tea show? Show Bengong." "The tea show disappeared after a short while, by now they’re already gone." Jiang Xun was neither humble nor overbearing, her tone calm. "Gone? Just do it again. How hard is that? Since they said you’ve made a dozen of them, then you can make a dozen more." Princess Qing Jue said lightly. Before Jiang Xun could speak, Yan Cong scolded, "Huan'er, don't make trouble. This tea show is extremely exhausting, she must be fatigued after doing a dozen of them." Qing Jue snorted coldly. She wanted to continue saying something, but heard Yan Shen say, "Why are you here?" When Princess Qing Jue saw Yan Shen, she didn't dare to be presumptuous anymore and answered in a low undertone, "Imperial Father agreed to let Imperial Brothers accompany me out to play." Yan Shen glanced at her impatiently and didn’t speak. Shen Xi Tang stretched out his hand for a cup of tea and took a sip, "The tea is almost cold, aren’t you going to drink it?" Princess Qing Jue's eyes glowed when she saw Shen Xi Tang, "Brother Xi Tang." Shen Xi Tang indifferently glanced at her and saluted her in an alienated manner. Princess Qing Jue pursed her mouth as she unhappily walked over. "How good can this tea be?" As she was talking, Yan Shen also took a cup and slowly sampled it. His expression then became much milder. The fourth prince Yan Cong quickly stepped forward, "Is it the tea made by Cousin Xun? I have been thinking about it ever since I drank it last time, I didn't expect to be able to drink it again today." Princess Qing Jue's face turned cold. Her mouth cocked and she glared at Jiang Xun while she walked up the stage and looked at the dozen or so cups of tea. She only saw a sharp contrast between the white frothy foam of the tea and the black tea cups. At first glance, she could see that this tea art was superb and the tea color was the highest quality, pure white. "Sure enough, it’s good tea. Cousin Xun, it seems I’ve come late and missed the Shui Dan Qing." When Yan Cong took a sip, he only felt the endless aftertaste. Looking at Jiang Xun, there was a strong interest in his eyes. The seemingly peach blossom eyes dazzled people, but Jiang Xun appeared like she didn’t notice it. Jiang Xun smiled faintly, but didn’t speak. Xiao Family’s Older Young Mistress came forward to invite the princes and princesses to sit down and then let the other noble ladies, who didn’t perform, perform. Following Jiang Xun, the performances of those noble ladies were just unremarkable. Soon after all the ladies finished their performances, it was time for the langjuns to vote with their flowers. All the langjuns went to the garden to pick flowers. Originally, Xiao Family’s Older Young Mistress meant for the langjuns to pick one flower and give it to the noble lady they like. Who knew whether it was her not being clear, those langjuns picked most of the beautiful flowers in the garden with whoever took the lead unknown. Soon, the area in front of Jiang Xun was full of flowers. Compared with the few flowers in front of the other ladies, the pile at Jiang Xun’s was too exaggerated. Except for the noble ladies of the Yan family, all the other noble ladies’ faces turned ugly. Glancing at the flower in front of her, Jiang Xun didn’t know to laugh or cry. Jiang Xun noticed who picked the most, it was Xiao Wang He. Since it was his family’s, he naturally was willing to pick as much as he wanted. He alone gave her more than forty flowers. At this time, Shen Xi Tang finally returned from the garden. He held a pink-white peach blossom in his hand. Different from the bouquets picked by others, only he also cut off the flower branch. He slowly approached the ladies and handed the flowers to Jiang Xun in the eyes of the ladies. Jiang Xun looked up at him. When they locked eyes, Shen Xi Tang released his hand. Fortunately, Jiang Xun reacted quickly so that the flower branch didn’t fall to the ground. Wei Ming Yu's lips were about to be bitten raw and the veil in her hand was torn as well, while Princess Qing Jue stood up angrily and glowered at Jiang Xun as if she had snatched her husband. Jiang Xun lowered her head. No one knew what she was thinking. At this time, someone teased, "So Lady Su, whose flowers do you like the most?" The eyes of several men gathered collectively on her. In an instant, Jiang Xun had become the focus of everyone's attention. Everyone was watching her, waiting for her answer. The author has something to say: Shen Xi Tang: Dare to not choose me? Go ahead at your own risk Xiao Wang He: Winning in quantity Yan Shen: Hiding his feelings within his sleeves, it's a question of whether he even gave the flowers __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Notes: Thousand strands of steam lightly sway as if a breeze has come. The snow-white tea foams curl ever so vibrantly, its condensing comparable to delicate waves (万缕引风归蟹眼,半瓶飞雪起龙芽。香凝翠发云生脚,湿满苍髯浪卷花): lines from the poem,《茶筅》, from the Yuan Dynasty by Xue Zong Ke about a tea show Bengong (本宫): a term used exclusively by royal princesses and queen/empress to address themselves, literally translates to I
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