The Succession Struggle in the Dream of the Red Chamber

Chapter 126 Bringing a Beautiful Woman to Brew Flower Tea

Tu Chengyu's cough startled the three girls who were immersed in the flowers.

They all turned around and saw Tu Chengyu standing under the pavilion, each showing a different expression.

As the person most familiar with Tu Chengyu among the three, Jia Tanchun greeted him with a smile upon seeing him, and at the same time, she held up what she was holding to show Tu Chengyu.

Another was Lin Daiyu's maid, Xueyan. After seeing Tu Chengyu, she unconsciously frowned, then turned to look at Lin Daiyu. After seeing Lin Daiyu's expression, she lowered her head, seemingly lost in thought.

The most interesting one is Lin Daiyu. The moment she saw Tu Chengyu, although she was slightly panicked, she immediately regained her composure.

She neither transformed into Lin Duidui nor panicked completely; instead, she remained calm.

However, if you look closely, you can see that her ears, which are under her hair, are a little red.

Perhaps because Tu Chengyu's appearance was rather abrupt, the three people didn't know how to react at first and stood there as if in a daze.

After a while, just as an awkward atmosphere was about to form, Tan Chun was the first to react.

She immediately curtsied and said, "Greetings, Your Highness."

As soon as she moved, the other two came to their senses and curtsied in greeting.

"I've met the prince."

Tu Chengyu returned their greetings, then walked to the pavilion, sat down, and waved for them to come over.

The reason why Tu Chengyu still came in despite knowing that Lin Daiyu and the others were in the garden.

He just wanted to talk to Lin Daiyu and get to know her.

The three of them looked at each other when they saw Tu Chengyu beckoning them, and finally came over under the lead of Tan Chun.

After they arrived, Tu Chengyu asked them to sit down.

After hearing this, Lin Daiyu and Jia Tanchun sat down on the stone bench, while Xueyan stood naturally behind Lin Daiyu.

Throughout the entire process, Tu Chengyu saw that each of the three of them was carrying a small, slender vase, which they never put down.

So, out of curiosity, I asked, "What are you doing with those vases?"

Faced with this question, Lin Daiyu did not speak, but simply raised her head slightly, turned her body to the side, and glanced at Tu Chengyu with her two bright eyes.

If someone looks at another person like that, it will make them think that they look down on them.

But when Lin Daiyu does this, you not only won't have that feeling, but you'll also feel that her way of looking at people has a stunning beauty.

Lin Daiyu remained silent, and the maid Xueyan had no right to speak first. In the end, the task of answering Tu Chengyu's question fell to Tan Chun.

She said, "Your Highness, Sister Lin and I are using vases to collect dew from the flower petals."

"Why are you collecting dew from the flower petals so early in the morning?" Tu Chengyu asked, puzzled.

Faced with Tu Chengyu's question, Tan Chun seemed somewhat embarrassed, and she said:

"Collecting dew from flower petals is of course also for brewing tea, Your Highness. Don't you want to drink the best flower tea? Without dew collected from flower petals to brew tea, where can you get the best flower tea?"

Upon hearing this, Tu Chengyu realized that they had been busy all morning to make tea for him.

Thinking of this, Tu Chengyu felt a little proud. It was good that they remembered a casual remark he made yesterday.

However, Tu Chengyu did not quite understand their practice of collecting dew to make tea.

In Tu Chengyu's opinion, there's no need to be so particular about the water used for brewing tea. As long as it's drinkable, it doesn't matter what kind of water it is.

Although he thought this in his heart, Tu Chengyu was naturally not foolish enough to say it out loud.

They did this so that he could drink good tea, and we can't take advantage of them and then complain.

Besides, people collect dew from flower petals to brew tea, perhaps not just for the sake of brewing tea, but more for the sake of style.

This behavior is like people brewing coffee themselves nowadays—the form outweighs the substance.

The reason Tu Chengyu thought of this was because he suddenly remembered a passage in Dream of the Red Chamber.

That is, when Grandmother Jia took everyone to visit a nunnery, there was a scene where Miaoyu invited everyone to drink tea.

The water that Miaoyu used to brew tea included rainwater from the previous year and snow water from plum blossoms that had been stored for five years.

Everyone knows that water will spoil if left for a long time.

Even with today's technology, it's impossible to keep water fresh for five years without it expiring, let alone in ancient times.

Therefore, when Tu Chengyu saw this passage, he thought that it might have been fabricated by Cao Xueqin to highlight Miaoyu's character.

As Tu Chengyu pondered these memories from his past life, he said:
"You did this for my sake, and I thank you three in advance."

As he spoke, Tu Chengyu stood up and gave a perfunctory bow.

When the three saw Tu Chengyu bow, they immediately stood up and returned the bow.

After the two sides finished their pleasantries, Tu Chengyu asked, "The dew you collected, are you going to use it to make tea today, or are you going to bury it underground for three or five years before taking it out to use?"

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu's words, Tan Chun couldn't help but burst out laughing. Then, Lin Daiyu and her maid also smiled.

Seeing their reactions, Tu Chengyu knew he had asked a stupid question, but he didn't care.

So he said, "What's wrong? Did I ask the wrong question?"

This time, Tan Chun did not answer Tu Chengyu's question, but instead said to Lin Daiyu:
"Sister Lin, you answer the prince's question."

Lin Daiyu was a little nervous when she ran into Tu Chengyu in the garden today, and she was still quite uncomfortable just now.

But now, she finds that the prince in front of her not only asks silly questions, but also seems easy to get along with.

As a result, her tension gradually eased.

Therefore, when Tan Chun asked her to answer Tu Chengyu's question, she didn't hesitate or refuse, and answered directly:

"Your Highness is joking. This water is already undrinkable after being left for three to five days, let alone five years."

Tu Chengyu smiled and said, "So that's how it is. Is there really no water in this world that can last for five years?"

Lin Daiyu shook her head and said softly, "Perhaps it exists elsewhere, but I have never seen it."

Hearing her say that, Tu Chengyu pretended to be annoyed and slapped his thigh, saying, "It seems that I have been deceived by books. It is better to have no books than to believe everything in them. The ancients were right."

Tu Chengyu's exaggerated actions once again made Lin Daiyu laugh.

He saw that Lin Daiyu gradually relaxed as she laughed.

He then pressed his advantage, saying, "Since you've been collecting dew to brew tea for me, now that we have the dew, let's make tea right now."

Upon hearing Tu Chengyu suggest brewing tea, Lin Daiyu recalled the words he had asked her to brew tea herself yesterday, spoken through the wall.

Thinking of all this, Lin Daiyu's inner pride unconsciously surfaced, and Tu Chengyu didn't seem as difficult to get along with as she had imagined.

So Lin Daiyu blurted out, "I didn't promise to brew tea. Whoever promised should brew it." Tan Chun, seeing that Lin Daiyu's haughty attitude had resurfaced, said, "I would like to brew tea for the Prince, but he is unwilling."

Lin Daiyu replied, "How do you know the Prince won't drink it if you haven't cooked it?"

Tan Chun said, "The prince said yesterday that flower tea tastes best when brewed by the tea maker. All the flower tea in the mansion is made by Sister Lin, and Sister Lin also personally collected the dew today. If Sister Lin doesn't brew this tea, who will?"

Tu Chengyu didn't expect that the two of them would start arguing over a single word.

However, upon closer inspection, he realized that the two of them didn't seem to be arguing; rather, they were bickering like children.

Instead of getting angry from the bickering, they seemed to grow happier.

Tu Chengyu had no idea what the two were up to. He only knew that if they kept talking, his dream of having tea today might really be ruined.

So, he suddenly felt a childlike impulse and pretended to be sad, saying:
"Oh dear, not a single person is willing to brew tea for me. It seems I have been presumptuous."

"This time I've lost face big time, and I have no face to sit here anymore."

After saying this, Tu Chengyu actually got up and walked out of the garden, much to the surprise of the three people.

Seeing this, Lin Daiyu really thought that her playful antics had angered Tu Chengyu.

She was incredibly nervous, constantly looking at Jia Tanchun, hoping that Jia Tanchun could find a way to deal with the situation.

But Jia Tanchun was also a little confused at this moment. She didn't know why Tu Chengyu was doing this.

Just when the two were at their wits' end and extremely nervous...

Tu Chengyu, who hadn't walked far, stopped, turned around, and said to them with a grin:

"Aren't you going to stop me?"

Seeing Tu Chengyu's smiling face and hearing his joking tone, Lin Daiyu and the other woman immediately knew that Tu Chengyu was just teasing them.

They never expected that a prince would be so mischievous.

However, Tu Chengyu's playful antics brought everyone closer together without them even realizing it.

Lin Daiyu, both amused and exasperated, said to Tu Chengyu, "If Your Highness wants tea, you can just give the order. Why are you scaring us like this?"

Tu Chengyu said in a serious tone, "I'm not trying to scare you. I really wanted to leave at the time, but then I thought, wouldn't it be a loss if I left without drinking such good tea?"

"That's why I didn't leave. I stayed mainly to have tea, not to give you any face."

Seeing Tu Chengyu still fooling around, Lin Daiyu felt even more that this prince was truly extraordinary.

So she said, "Yes, yes, Your Highness, you stayed because of the tea. In order not to delay your tea drinking, I will go and get the tea set right away."

Tu Chengyu returned to his seat in the pavilion and asked in surprise, "You have to go yourself to fetch some teaware?"

Lin Daiyu said, "This is Your Highness's rule that flower tea is best when it is brewed by the tea maker himself. Therefore, I thought it would be best if the tea maker also brought the tea set himself."

“Otherwise, if we can’t brew the best tea because of this, the prince might scare us again. I’m timid and can’t stand being scared by the prince.”

Although Lin Daiyu's words didn't have the same immense power as Lin Duidui's later words, they still captured that essence.

Tu Chengyu knew that this was Lin Daiyu's personality; she didn't necessarily mean to be sarcastic or critical of anyone by speaking like that.

Therefore, he didn't take Lin Daiyu's words to heart and replied to her directly:
"Since you insist on going to fetch the tea set yourself, then hurry back. I am already thirsty and cannot wait any longer."

Upon hearing this, Lin Daiyu said nothing more and went back with her maid Xueyan to fetch the tea set.

The two of them left quickly and returned quickly.

In the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the master and servant returned to the garden.

Of course, Lin Daiyu wouldn't actually bring all the tea sets.

Lin Daiyu only carried a teapot and a few teacups; the rest, such as the stove, were carried over by the servants of the Lin family.

Leading her servants, Lin Daiyu moved everything needed for brewing tea to the pavilion and then directed them to arrange the tea set neatly.

After dismissing the servants, Lin Daiyu sat down in front of the tea tray and began to brew tea seriously.

Tu Chengyu sat opposite Lin Daiyu and watched her begin to brew tea.

Watching her wash her hands, then boil water, then wash the teacups and teapot, and then wash and brew the tea.

The entire set of movements was fluid and graceful, and surprisingly, it was quite pleasing to the eye.

Moreover, from the moment she started brewing tea, Lin Daiyu's temperament changed; she no longer had the naivety of a young girl, but instead exuded a dignified and elegant aura.

For a moment, Tu Chengyu was stunned.

Lin Daiyu had just brewed some tea when she looked up and saw Tu Chengyu quietly watching her.

With a slightly shy expression, she asked, "Your Highness, what are you looking at?"

Tu Chengyu woke with a start, opening his mouth to say, "I'm watching you."

But in the end, what came out of his mouth was: "I'm watching to see when the tea will be ready."

Lin Daiyu couldn't tell whether Tu Chengyu was telling the truth or not, so she went along with what Tu Chengyu said and replied:

"Your Highness need not be impatient, it will be ready soon. If Your Highness cannot wait, you may have some snacks first."

After saying that, she pushed the snacks on the table toward Tu Chengyu.

Looking at the pastries pushed in front of him, Tu Chengyu couldn't help but want to roll his eyes at him twice.

I'm thirsty and waiting for tea, but you're telling me to have some snacks since I can't wait? What kind of thought process is that?

Although Tu Chengyu was complaining in his heart, he unconsciously picked up a snack and tasted it.

He took a bite and found the dessert to be surprisingly delicious.

As a food lover, I can't pass up delicious food.

So, after finishing the first piece, he immediately picked up the second one.

After he finished eating the third piece, Lin Daiyu's tea was ready.

Lin Daiyu picked up the teapot, first filled Tu Chengyu's cup to the brim, and then pushed the cup in front of Tu Chengyu so that he could taste it.

Seeing Lin Daiyu's expectant eyes, Tu Chengyu clapped his hands and brushed away the crumbs of pastry.

Only then did he pick up the teacup, pretend to look at it, then smell it under his nose, and finally drink the tea in one gulp.

As soon as the tea entered his mouth, Tu Chengyu's face scrunched up, looking like he was in great pain.

Seeing his reaction, Lin Daiyu thought there was something wrong with her tea and quickly asked:
"Your Highness, is the tea not brewed well?"

(End of this chapter)