"Haha, please come in, brother Nian. It is a great honor to have you visit my humble abode today. I am deeply honored."
Zhang Juzheng walked quickly out of the mansion. When he saw Yang Jisheng from afar, he clasped his hands, strode forward, and greeted Yang Jisheng with a smile.
Why is Yang Jisheng here today
Zhang Juzheng felt a little abrupt and puzzled about Yang Jisheng's visit. He and Yang Jisheng were both Jinshi in the same year and both were disciples of Xu Jie, but they did not have close interactions on a daily basis. If he remembered correctly, this was the first time Yang Jisheng came to visit his house in all these years.
"Uncle, you are so polite. Sheng, I don't deserve it."
Yang Jisheng smiled and bowed in return. When he bowed, a small piece of a roll of rice paper appeared from his sleeve.
Zhang Juzheng saw a piece of rice paper in Yang Jisheng's sleeve, and his eyelids jumped. The appearance and shape of this rice paper are quite similar to a memorial. So Yang Jisheng came here today for this memorial... ...
"Haha, please come in, brother Nian." Zhang Juzheng had his own thoughts, and looked as if he didn't see the memorial that flashed in Yang Jisheng's sleeve. He enthusiastically extended his hand and made a gesture of invitation, inviting Yang Jisheng into his house.
"Uncle, please."
Yang Jisheng made way for them, and then the two of them walked into Zhang's house together.
After Zhang Juzheng invited Yang Jisheng to his study, he personally took a tin can from the shelf, opened it, took out an appropriate amount of tea leaves with a teaspoon, and brewed a pot of tea.
"Brother Nian, this is my family's Da Hong Pao. It is said that the mother tree is the three Da Hong Pao trees in Jiulongke behind the Yongle Temple in Tianxin. I can only give you one jar every year, so please taste it."
After the tea was brewed, Zhang Juzheng poured a cup of tea for Yang Jisheng, held it in front of Yang Jisheng with both hands, and said with a smile.
Dahongpao is the emerging top-grade tea in the Ming Dynasty. The reason why Zhang Juzheng emphasized the three Dahongpao trees in Jiulongke is because of the story behind Dahongpao.
Related During the Hongwu period, Ding Xian, a candidate from Jiangnan, went to Beijing to take the imperial examination. When he passed by Wuyi Mountain, he fell seriously ill due to acclimatization and sleeping in the open air, and fainted at the foot of Wuyi Mountain. At that time, the abbot of Tianxin Yongle Zen Temple on Wuyi Mountain happened to go down the mountain to beg for alms and saw Ding Xian who fell ill at the foot of Wuyi Mountain. So, the kind-hearted old abbot asked people to carry Ding Xian to Tianxin Yongle Zen Temple. The old abbot was proficient in medical theory. Seeing that Ding Xian was pale, thin and bloated, the old abbot picked tea leaves from Jiulongke, brewed them with boiling water, and brewed tea for Ding Xian to drink. After Ding Xian drank the first bowl of tea, he felt that his bloating had subsided a lot. After drinking the second bowl, he felt that the effect was more significant and his spirits were much better, so Ding Xian drank several bowls of tea in a row. After drinking tea like this, Ding Xian recovered quickly after a few days. After recovering, Ding Xian went to Beijing to take the imperial examination. Before leaving, he thanked the abbot: "Abbot, you saved me. If I pass the imperial examination this time, I will definitely return to thank you."
Not long after Ding Xian came to Beijing, he indeed became the top scorer in the imperial examination.
Actually, Ding Xian's success in getting the top prize was somewhat similar to Zhu Ping'an's, both because of a dream of the emperor. According to legend, after the imperial examination, Ding Xian's score was not among the top three. In the joint examination, Ding Xian ranked fourth. In the palace examination, the top three places were swapped, and Hua Lun ranked first, but Ding Xian's score was still fourth. At that time, all the officials had already been called, but on the night before the roll call, Emperor Hongwu had a dream. In the dream, he saw a huge nail nailed in front of the hall, and two red ribbons were hanging under the nail. Early the next morning, Emperor Hongwu opened the results of the palace examination and found that Hua Lun ranked first. Emperor Hongwu found a reason to put Hua Lun at the back, and then began to look at the rankings, and then saw Ding Xian's name. Ding means nail, and the traditional Chinese character for "Xian" is "显", which happens to be a double silk under the sun. Emperor Hongwu suddenly felt that this was a hint in his dream, so he promoted Ding Xian to the top prize.
After Ding Xian won the first place in the imperial examination, he asked the Hongwu Emperor to allow him to return to the Yongle Zen Temple in Tianxin, Wuyi Mountain to repay his gratitude. The Hongwu Emperor appreciated Ding Xian's gratitude and allowed him to leave immediately. So Ding Xian wore the first place red robe, rode a tall horse, and headed straight to Wuyi Mountain. He galloped all the way to Wuyi Mountain and thanked the abbot. After that, Ding Xian asked about the origin of the tea he drank at that time. The old abbot took him to the three Dahongpao trees in Jiulongke and told him that it was this tea. After Ding Xian knew it, he took off the first place red robe, walked around the tea tree three times, and draped the Dahongpao on the tea tree. This is how the Dahongpao got its name.
Of course, after that, Ding Xian offered tea to cure Empress Ma's illness, which made Dahongpao even more famous. Emperor Hongwu waved his pen and positioned Dahongpao as the imperial tea. Every year, officials who went to Wuyi Mountain to pick imperial tea wore Dahongpao. When they arrived, they took off their robes and hung them on the tribute tea tree, making Dahongpao even more famous.
…
"In that case, Sheng is in for a treat, hehe..." Yang Jisheng smiled and stretched out his hand to take the teacup handed to him by Zhang Juzheng. The tea in the cup was full of rich aroma and the tea soup was orange-yellow, clear and bright.
"It has a delicate aroma, a sweet and smooth rock flavor, and a faint aroma of incense in the throat... It is even better than the most authentic Da Hong Pao in Wuyi Mountain. I think what Uncle Da's hometown said is true. This tea must be derived from Jiulongke Da Hong Pao without a doubt."
Yang Jisheng scraped the tea lid several times, took a sip, savored it for a moment, and praised the tea highly.
"When you meet a bosom friend, a thousand cups are not enough, and the same goes for tea. I will give half of the tea to you and you can take it back and enjoy it." Zhang Juzheng said with a smile, as if he had met a bosom friend.
"No, that won't do. A gentleman does not take away what others love. It can be seen that this tea is deeply loved by my uncle. Haha, Sheng, I won't be the one who takes away someone else's love." Yang Jisheng smiled and waved his hand, politely declining Zhang Juzheng's kindness.
The two exchanged pleasantries for a while, and the topic shifted from tea to politics.
"Uncle, have you heard about Zihou's impeachment of Gao Botai?" Yang Jisheng took a sip of tea and asked casually.
"Well, Ju Zheng heard about Lord Zhu's impeachment of Gao Botai this morning."
Zhang Juzheng nodded slightly, thinking that the memorial in Yang Jisheng's sleeve was a copy of Zhu Ping'an's memorial. Was Yang Jisheng here to discuss Zhu Ping'an's memorial with me
"So, what do you think about Zihou's impeachment, Uncle?" Yang Jisheng raised his head, looked directly into Zhang Juzheng's eyes, and asked softly.
"Today I have learned the inside story of Lord Zhu's impeachment of Gao Botai. Gao Botai brought this upon himself. If what Lord Zhu said in his memorial about Gao Botai's occupation of military farmland is true, then Gao Botai's death is not a pity. Lord Zhu's memorial is to eliminate harm for the people. He is truly a role model for our generation. Juzheng is ashamed to be inferior to him." Zhang Juzheng first picked up the teacup and took a sip of tea, then put it down and looked at Yang Jisheng frankly.