This time, we went to the Plum Garden again. However, it was not a place that everyone could go to from outside, but a small courtyard at the innermost part. This was the courtyard allocated to Han Qin, where they would often gather.
As soon as Pei Che and Jiang Miao entered the room, the three people who had been waiting for a long time immediately surrounded them and looked at the man who was said to be engaged to Pei Che.
In the past few days, the news that the Duke Zhongguo's Mansion had received two imperial edicts had spread throughout the entire Upper City. The elders focused their attention on the first imperial edict to confer the title of Crown Prince, while those who were about the same age as Pei Che were discussing the matter of the granted marriage.
Han Qin and his friends had heard a lot of rumors these days. Some said that the vendor was extremely handsome, even Pei Che was outshined, otherwise how could he have an affair with him? Some said that the vendor was very vulgar, but he was Pei Che's savior, and Pei Che agreed to it in order to repay his kindness. All kinds of rumors came out, and it was not difficult to see that everyone was very curious about it.
As they were good friends of Pei Che, naturally there were those who asked them about it. Su Jin had a cold face and a cruel heart, and no one dared to joke with him, so Han Qin and He Chen became the main targets of everyone's attention.
Several people were very annoyed, but they were not without their own thoughts. These days, everyone had their own things to do and hardly ever got together, so they were not aware of this matter. However, several people privately thought that maybe the vendor had some evidence against Ah Che, otherwise, how could two people who were not related at all have an engagement
Faced with several people who came one after another to inquire about Jiang Miao openly or secretly, Pei Che was very helpless and had to promise to choose a day when everyone was free and bring Jiang Miao out for them to see.
Han Qin had met Jiang Miao once before, but the person Pei Che brought today was very different from the hawker image in his vague impression. He secretly pulled Pei Che aside and asked softly, "Ah Che, have you changed the person? If someone finds out, aren't you afraid that the emperor will punish you?"
Pei Che sighed: "How could I change the person? He just changed his clothes."
Han Qin opened his peach blossom eyes wide and looked at Jiang Miao in disbelief: "No wonder they say clothes make the man, I wonder which embroiderer has such a skillful hand?"
"He's not ugly to begin with, clothes are just the icing on the cake for him." Pei Che said something fair. Jiang Miao was handsome and sunny, and even if his clothes didn't show it, he was still very likable.
Han Qin heard this, but it was like a lover's eyes see beauty in everything. He pointed at Pei Che and suddenly realized, "No wonder you stopped to look that day, and later bought someone's buns. Could it be that you fell in love at first sight?"
His voice was a little loud, and several people looked over. Jiang Miao looked at the man with peach blossom eyes, then at Pei Che, and asked, "What did he mean?" Didn't he and Pei Che meet for the first time at Zhu Mansion in the east of the city
Pei Che coughed awkwardly: "He's talking nonsense."
Han Qin disagreed: "It's obvious. We were watching you arguing with other vendors at the Buddhist meeting that day. Later, A Che even asked someone to buy a basket of buns from you!"
Jiang Miao blinked and suddenly remembered that there was indeed a big customer who bought a basket of buns that day. It turned out to be him!
Pei Che glared at Han Qin, then turned to Jiang Miao and said, "Don't listen to his nonsense. I was just hungry that day and happened to hear that the buns you made were delicious. By the way, I haven't introduced them to you yet. This is Han Qin, this is Su Jin, and this is He Chen." He began to change the subject.
Pei Che pointed at the three people and introduced them one by one, then said to them, "His name is Jiang Miao, Miaomiao looks at the lake."
Several people bowed and greeted each other. Jiang Miao looked at the elegantly dressed people in front of him, each with his own style, and couldn't help feeling a little jealous. He didn't expect that he was the shortest among them! Whether it was Peach Blossom Eyes, Cold-Faced God or Smiling Tiger, they were all taller than him.
"Let's go in and sit down." As the host, Han Qin felt that it was not a good idea to talk standing in the yard, so he invited several people to sit in the hall.
The flower hall was very elegantly decorated, with some landscape paintings hanging on the wall, lush green flowers and plants on both sides, and some rare items on the antique shelf by the window. Jiang Miao glanced around, his eyes fixed on the incense burner on the table. The incense burner looked like a small mountain, with milky white smoke flowing down the mountain path, like a clear spring in the mountains.
Pei Che sat next to Jiang Miao. Seeing Jiang Miao curiously looking at the backflow incense on the table, he quietly explained the principle to him. The two of them whispered as if no one was around, and the three people who were waiting for the maid to serve tea inexplicably felt full.
"Ah Che, isn't it enough to go home and say what you want to say?" Han Qin interrupted the two of them and started to make small talk, "If Brother Jiang likes this incense burner, I'll give you one later."
Jiang Miao was suddenly called by his name and was stunned for a moment, then said: "Thanks, but it's not necessary." This kind of impractical thing is just for look.
"Brother Jiang, you're welcome. I own a shop that sells this thing. It would be nice to take it back and use it as a decoration." Han Qin thought that he couldn't bring himself to accept it. If he didn't want it, why did he keep staring at it
"I really don't need it. I have nowhere to put it if I take it back." Jiang Miao refused again. This thing didn't look cheap. If he accidentally broke it when he took it back, he would feel sad for a while.
Without waiting for Han Qin to persuade them any further, the maids came in with trays and placed the brewed tea on everyone's table.
"This is the tea I got from my father. Please taste it and see how it tastes."
Several people picked up their teacups and drank slowly. Jiang Miao also drank, but he only thought that the tea smelled good and tasted good, and there was nothing else. When Han Qin asked, he told the truth.
Han Qin and the others did not comment on his words, but turned around and pulled Pei Che to start talking about tea. Everyone had their own unique views on tea, and even Su Jin, who had a cold face, had his own ideas about tea tasting. The three of them expressed their own opinions and talked about it, as if they were showing off their talents to others.
Jiang Miao picked up one and took a bite. The outer skin was golden and crispy after being fried, and the inside was soft and sweet. The taste was several times better than the dim sum at Dingfeng Tea House. The delicious food made him happy and he couldn't help but eat another one.
Han Qin had been paying attention to his every move. Seeing that he not only did not feel inferior because he could not understand the conversation, but instead ate snacks leisurely, he couldn't help feeling a little frustrated.
Seeing that they stopped talking, Pei Che turned around to see what Jiang Miao was doing. Jiang Miao noticed his look, pushed the plate of snacks towards him, and said, "Try it, it's delicious."
His eyes were bright with pure joy. Pei Che was worried that he would be bored, but seeing him enjoying himself, he couldn't help but smile and took a bite of a plum blossom pastry.
“It tastes really good.”
"Really?" Jiang Miao was very proud of the fact that his product was praised. "The chef who made this must have some skills. Just look at the bean paste filling. It must have been made by steaming the best red beans and then slowly squeezing them out with gauze. It tastes loose and sweet but not greasy."
When Han Qin and the others heard his words, they couldn't help but feel a little curious about the snack. They reached out and took a piece and started eating slowly. Although it was something they were used to eating, the taste seemed to have changed a little after Jiang Miao's explanation.
Jiang Miao would recommend each of the following snacks to Pei Che. For some reason, the tea tasting had turned into snack tasting. Before they knew it, the only sounds left in the hall were those of people eating.
After eating, looking at the empty plates, these children of wealthy families couldn't help but feel a little uncomfortable. This was completely different from what they had imagined!
After sitting for a while, He Chen noticed the look in his eyes and suggested going out for a walk to avoid indigestion.
Everyone naturally had nothing to do, and walked out of the flower hall and came to the garden outside. It was already mid-February, and although the wind was still a bit chilly, the breath of spring was getting closer and closer. New buds grew on the trees, and the ground not far away was covered with a layer of fresh green.
As they were walking, He Chen suddenly said, "How about we each write a poem on the theme of spring?"
Han Qin and Su Jin both agreed, and they all looked at Pei Che, waiting for his approval. Pei Che frowned, thinking that they were a little strange today. They just invited him to taste tea, and now they asked him to write a poem. All these actions seemed to have ulterior motives.
At this time, He Chen suddenly smiled and looked at Jiang Miao: "I wonder if Brother Jiang is interested in participating?"
Jiang Miao was originally staring at the ground not far away. When he heard him talking to him, he raised his head and said, "I don't know how to write poetry. Let A Che play with you. I'll go over there and take a look."
Pei Che also wanted to know what they wanted to do. He nodded to Jiang Miao. After Jiang Miao left, he looked at the three of them and asked in a low voice, "What do you want to do? I brought the people here, and you have seen them. If there is nothing else, we will go back."
"No, we didn't do anything. Isn't it like this all the time?" Han Qin hurriedly stopped him and nudged He Chen with his elbow, motioning him to speak too.
Before He Chen could open his mouth, Su Jin said impatiently: "Ache, they want to see if Jiang Miao is worthy of you." He has always been straightforward and did not like this approach.
Han Qin immediately glared at him: "Su Jin, you agreed before, didn't you? How come you changed your mind so quickly? If I had known you were unreliable, I wouldn't have called you!"
"Tsk." Su Jin felt that he hadn't even said a word, so how could he agree
He Chen noticed that Pei Che's face had darkened, and he quickly pulled the two of them together, signaling them to stop arguing. Then he looked at Pei Che and explained, "Ah Che, we don't have any other intentions. It's just that there are too many rumors in the market, and we also think there must be something fishy, so we want to help you test him."
"Yes, you never said that you liked men before, but suddenly you got engaged to this man. Everyone thought you were bewitched." Han Qin added.
Pei Che looked at the few people and said, "I did this willingly, and it is me who is sorry for him, not those inexplicable rumors. Don't make random guesses anymore, and don't deliberately make things difficult for him."
His expression was very serious, and his words clearly showed his protection for Jiang Miao.
Han Qin touched his nose and whispered, "I'm not making things difficult for him. I just want him to understand the gap between you two... Could it be that you really like him... Okay, okay, stop glaring at me. I promise I won't do that again!" He was ultimately defeated by Pei Che's sharp eyes and didn't dare to say a word.
He Chen also made the same promise, and Su Jin nodded silently, which made Pei Che's expression soften a little.
Jiang Miao had no idea that he was being embarrassed. He squatted on the ground, looking at the wild shepherd's purse that had just grown a few tender leaves, and couldn't help but feel a little envious.
In winter, there are almost no fresh green leafy vegetables here. Even if there are, they are all served on the tables of the rich. Jiang Miao hasn't eaten them for a long time. Seeing these wild vegetables now, he immediately recalled the fresh and refreshing taste with a little bitterness, and suddenly he had an infinite desire for spring. When March comes and the wild vegetables begin to grow in large areas, he must eat more to satisfy his craving.
(End of this chapter)