Hua spoke, and the bustling garden became quiet.
Zhu Lan smiled and said, "The tea is here. You will know after you taste it, Chen Yi Ren."
Liu Ya got the hint from the mistress and went downstairs to get the brewed tea.
The tea cups were delivered to each table. Hua knew it was good tea after just one smell. If she couldn't suppress Yang today, wouldn't she and her husband be suppressed by the Zhou couple
Hua took a sip and her heart sank. Didn't the Zhou family come from farming and studying? Why did they have top-grade tea? No matter how unwilling she was, she couldn't make trouble. She wanted to suppress Yang, but it would cause trouble for the master. She said with a stern face, "Not bad."
Zhulan smiled more deeply, "It seems that Hua Yiren has tasted better tea. The tea rewarded by the emperor was only good!"
She understood why Hua was looking for trouble. It was a matter of stance, but it didn't mean that she was good-tempered.
Hua's hands trembled and she took a deep breath. This time she no longer dared to underestimate Yang. If Yang had told her what kind of tea it was from the beginning, she would not have found fault with her. But Yang did not do that. She waited for her to make a move and then slowly set a trap for her. She was very scheming. Thinking of her husband's evaluation of Lord Zhou, the couple had hearts full of tricks.
Miao narrowed her eyes. It was really wonderful. She felt that she could smooth things over. "It is thanks to sister-in-law that we can drink top-quality tea today. Thank you sister-in-law."
Zhulan paused. This Miao was really similar to the Tongpan mentioned by Zhou Shuren. Both of them were good at smoothing things over. "Today, I not only tasted tea, but also bought some flowers. Let's chat while arranging the flowers."
As they were talking, Liu Ya and others came up with flowers and various vases.
Zhu Lan smiled and said, "I have always held up a monotonous porcelain vase, so I specially had a wooden vase and bamboo basket made so that you can choose the flower arrangement you like."
Miao's eyes lit up. She liked the shape of the wooden bottle. "Sister-in-law is really clever. However, it would be boring if we just arranged the flowers. Why not let our daughters compete and we will be the judges. The winner will get a prize."
Today everyone brought their daughters. The oldest is thirteen years old and the youngest is about eight years old. They know Xue Han’s age, so they brought people of similar age.
Hua had recovered and said with a smile, "That's a good idea."
Zhulan had nothing to refute, "Okay, then I'll host the tea party today and I'll pay for the prize."
Then Zhulan said to Liuya, "There is a set of newly made head ornaments on the third shelf of the cabinet. Bring them here."
This set of headwear was the dowry that Zhulan prepared for Xuehan. It was newly made in the capital and was inlaid with red gemstones. It had a festive meaning and good meaning. There was no need to be low-key today. Although it cost money, Zhulan could take this opportunity to make people no longer dare to underestimate the Zhou family.
Come on, the ladies are all waiting to see the headgear.
In the front yard, Zhou Shuren had just started tasting tea.
Chen Chen took a sip of tea, and his thoughts disappeared. He also wondered why Lord Zhou had this tea, which should be a tribute. He was also thinking about how to surpass Lord Zhou in the tea ceremony. "Good tea."
Zhou Shuren smiled and said, "It was a reward from the Emperor, but I feel guilty about it!"
Chen Chen swallowed the tea in his mouth and had a deeper understanding of the emperor's emphasis on Lord Zhou. When he thought about how he had never even seen the emperor's shadow and had endured all the way to get here, he felt very jealous. "Lord Zhou stabilized Lizhou City, so where does he feel guilty?"
Zhou Shuren liked to respond, "I am worried about the Tongsheng exam and the provincial exam next year. Alas, I feel ashamed of the emperor's grace!"
Chen Chen was silent. It was indeed a worrying thing. "Hey!"
Zhou Shuren added: "However, I have a plan. It depends on whether you support it."
He Yun, the magistrate, still believed in Lord Zhou. Lord Zhou's methods would be useful to Lizhou City. "Please tell me, sir. As long as we can help, we will definitely help."
Zhou Shuren looked at Chen Chen. Sir Chen didn't know why he had a bad feeling, but seeing that everyone agreed, he suppressed his panic and said, "Sir, please speak."
Zhou Shuren curled his lips and said, "I decided to hire..."
Zhou Shuren repeated what he had said to Zhulan yesterday. After he finished, Zhou Shuren paused and said, "I come from a farming family. There are not many books in my home. I am not like Master Chen who often tells me what books he has read. To be honest, I have not read many of them. However, I also have two rare books. Although they are not unique, they are worth some money. I will take them out. Alas, it is because I do not have as many books as Master Chen. I am ashamed."
He Yun: "... ..."
He said that Lord Zhou didn't look like a good-tempered person, so why did he tolerate Lord Chen? It turned out that he was waiting here!
Chen Chen: “… .”
He regretted showing off, but I wonder if there is any medicine to regret it!
Zhou Shuren took a sip of tea and said, "The emperor's gift of tea is so generous!"
Chen Chen: “… … ..”
Chen Chen took a deep breath and said to him, "I'll take out three books."
Zhou Shuren touched the teacup and said, "I counted how many books Master Chen has mentioned in the past few days that I haven't read. It seems to be seven, or."
Chen Chen interrupted hurriedly, "Five books, Mr. Zhou, I'll give you five books."
Zhou Shuren didn't want to go too far, even though he clearly remembered there were eight books. "Then I remembered it wrong. Five books, five books."
Chen Chen breathed a sigh of relief, but his heart was bleeding. If he copied more items, even the treasures in his hands would lose value. He felt a pain in his heart.
He Yun was startled when he saw Lord Zhou looking at him. "I don't have many books at home, but my wife gave me two as a dowry. I'll give you three."
Zhou Shuren was very satisfied, because He Yun came from a farming and reading family just like him.
Some of the other adults cursed in their hearts, while others were speechless, but they had all drunk the tea bestowed by the emperor. Those who really could not produce the books decided to donate silver.
When Chen Chen heard that he could donate money, his heart wasn't just bleeding, it was about to dry up!
In the garden, Liu Ya has returned with the headdress. This headdress cost Zhu Lanhua fifty taels!
Zhu Lan smiled and said, "I asked a famous master in the capital to make this for me. I'm going to use it as a prize today."
Hua and Miao looked at each other. They had high standards and knew that this headgear was not cheap. They winked at their daughters, determined to win.
Especially Hua, she must win in order to ease the depression in her heart.
Zhulan selected a bamboo basket and flowers and came back to sit. She did not put pressure on her daughter. Anyway, other girls had never learned it. Flower arrangement in this dynasty was taught to daughters by mothers. Although the origin of flower arrangement was very ancient, it was just a game between girls in this dynasty and the previous dynasty. If Zhulan did not want to save money and make it look decent, she would not have thought of this idea.
Time passed quickly and the girls were all done. It was very simple, they could do it any way they could to make it look good.
To make things fair, the little girls' works had no names and they sat separately from the adults. Zhulan and others took pens and wrote down their favorite works, and the one with the most votes won.
The rules are simple and the results come quickly.
The final number of votes fell into Zhulan's hands. She raised her eyebrows and looked at the list, very surprised.