The Marquise: I Earn My Own Worship

"I was wondering who was here. It turns out to be you, you little brat. Shouldn't you be in your morning class..."

Before Duan Jing'an finished speaking, he saw someone sitting opposite him. A thought flashed through his mind and he guessed that it must be the new teacher hired by the mansion recently, whose surname seemed to be Cheng.

So he quickly bowed.

"Sir, I'm sorry for disturbing you."

Seeing this, Cheng Xi stood up and returned the greeting.

"I presume you are the Fourth Master of the Duan Family. No problem. Today I'm bringing Kang Ge'er to teach me how to make tea. If you're free, how about we sit down and have a drink together?"

Duan Jing'an sat down and secretly looked at the person in front of him. He had a slender figure, simple clothes, and only a silver crown on his head. He had the unique elegance of a scholar.

"Sir, you're too polite. You and I are probably about the same age, so we can just call each other brothers. How old are you?"

Cheng Xi bowed and said, "I am over seventeen years old, and it is the Mid-Autumn Festival."

Duan Jing'an didn't expect that the person in front of him was actually a few months younger than him. Duan Jing'an picked up the cup of tea and said without even looking at it carefully:

"What a coincidence! I was also born on a festival, the Dragon Boat Festival, which makes me a few months older than you. If you don't mind, you can just call me Brother Duan."

"This cup is a punishment for disturbing you just now." He drank it in one gulp.

Cheng Xi:!

Kang Ge'er, who was daydreaming beside him:?

Duan Jingan, who felt something was wrong after drinking: @-@

I almost spit it out. Is this tea?! It tastes like charcoal ash, bitter and astringent.

Cheng Xi withdrew his hand before he could stop him, refilled a glass of water and handed it to Duan Jing'an. Duan Jing'an took it and took a few gulps to wash away the tea foam in his mouth.

He glanced at Cheng Xi and then at Kang Ge'er, and asked tentatively, "Could it be that you, Kang Ge'er, made this tea?"

Kang Ge'er knew that what he cooked would definitely taste bad, but he didn't expect it to be so bad, and he felt a little embarrassed.

She looked at her fourth uncle sheepishly, scratched her cheek, and said, "Fourth uncle, this is my first time making tea, so it's a little... not very tasty."

Duan Jing'an: Don't you know what your cooking looks like?

Afraid of hurting the child's feelings, Duan Jing'an reluctantly gave a review: "It's okay, but a little bitter. The tea art needs to be improved."

Kang Ge'er didn't understand the adults' polite words. After making tea, he found it quite interesting and was thinking about trying it again. When he heard his fourth uncle say this, he immediately became excited.

"Then I'll make another pot, and you can try it again, Uncle."

Then he called the maid who was not far away to come over and change the table and tea set.

Cheng Xi and Duan Jing'an looked at each other and then separated. At worst, there was still a teacher/uncle to accompany them.

"Brother Duan, how are you preparing for next month's palace examination?"

"I can only say that I will do my best to get a good ranking and a good job."

Duan Jing'an sighed. He was not completely confident about this palace examination. Even his success was thanks to his trip to Shu.

The chief examiner for this year's imperial examination is the same person who was the chief examiner for my third brother-in-law's imperial examination that year. During the months in Shu, my third brother-in-law analyzed the chief examiner's writing style and guided his writing strategy, which enabled him to pass the imperial examination.

Otherwise, if he relies on his current level, it would be a bit risky. It seems that the youngest sister is protecting him in the dark.

Cheng Xi nodded slightly, "Brother Duan, don't worry too much. With your talent, you will definitely achieve good results."

Duan Jing'an was a little distressed. "Don't worry about Brother Cheng laughing at you. The palace examination is too uncertain. The emperor is personally conducting the examination. If I misbehave in front of the emperor and offend him, my career will be over."

Cheng Xi's mind raced. He glanced at Kang Ge'er who was grinding tea diligently and said casually:

"Although the emperor is personally conducting the inquiry, it is nothing more than some political decisions or analysis of the court situation. Brother Duan just needs to understand his own position. Today, the world is governed by practical work, so we should value simple and pragmatic people more and pay attention to rules and etiquette."

"I remember when I first arrived in the capital, I heard that the emperor's mother's family was once destroyed because a member of the family abused their power and seized other people's houses and property. Everyone thought the emperor would just let it go. But who would have thought that he would directly order the execution of this person and dismiss his father from his official position."

"This shows that the current society attaches great importance to rules and laws. The emperor has the style of a wise ruler and is in good health. It is expected that the Great Chu will continue to be stable and prosperous for at least the next ten years."

Cheng Xi seemed to feel that his words were a bit out of line, so he quickly stopped talking and smiled apologetically at Duan Jingan.

"I'm sorry for talking too much. I hope Brother Duan won't mind. I was just saying it casually, but it was a bit exaggerated. Brother Duan, just listen to it and treat it as my nonsense."

Duan Jing'an seemed to be lost in thought after hearing this, his heart beating faster involuntarily, but he showed no expression on his face and bowed to Cheng Xi.

"No, Brother Cheng, I have learned a lot from your words. Thank you for your kind words."

Kang Ge'er didn't pay attention to the Tai Chi between the two adults. He picked up the freshly brewed tea and poured it for each of them.

"Fourth Uncle, Master, please try what I cooked this time."

Duan Jing'an and Cheng Xi picked up their teacups at the same time and took a sip.

Although the tea still tastes a bit bitter this time, it is much better than before. At least it is not difficult to swallow, and the color of the tea is also much clearer.

"There's progress." Duan Jing'an smiled and touched Kang Ge'er's head.

"I would also like to thank you for your good teaching, Master." Kang Ge'er smiled and bowed to Cheng Xi.

"Well, it's not bad. This time it's much better than the first time. But the roasting time was a bit long, and you had to wait for the tea cake to cool before you could start grinding it. That's one thing. Second, you didn't grind the tea firmly enough, and the foam was too coarse. Especially since you forgot to sift through the tea sieve to remove the coarse tea stems and debris. Look, there are still tea stems in your cup. Third, you need to practice more to get the boiling time and heat right. You need more practice later."

Cheng Xi pointed out all the details of how Kang Ge'er had just made tea.

Duan Chengkang was stunned. Wasn't the teacher just talking to his fourth uncle? He was able to do two things at the same time and observe so carefully.

Master, you are so awesome.

This was the first time that Kang Ge admired this new teacher so much. He remembered what he had just said and quickly started practicing again.

The whole morning was spent in brewing and tasting tea. Cheng Xi and Duan Jing'an discussed academic issues and felt that they had met too late.

During his conversation with Cheng Xi, Duan Jing'an discovered that Cheng Xi was a man of profound knowledge, broad horizons and active thinking, unlike ordinary people who were as rigid.

I feel deeply sorry to hear that Cheng Xi missed the imperial examination this time. If Cheng Xi could pass the academy examination successfully, he would definitely be among the top three in the palace examination.

After chatting for a while, Duan Jing'an looked at the sky and said, "It's getting late. I should go back."

"In that case, let's meet again next time." Cheng Xi stood up to see him off.

Kang Ge'er also stood up and said, "Goodbye, Fourth Uncle."

After Duan Jing'an left, Cheng Xi looked at his back, thoughtful.

After Duan Jing'an returned to the courtyard, he went into the study alone, thinking about his conversation with Cheng Xi today, and then thinking about the palace examination...