The Tang Dynasty: Wu Zetian made me her imperial tutor

Thump thump thump, swish swish swish—

As Lu Jun entered the Tuanzixuan in Nanshi, the aroma of tea wafted towards her, and the sounds of pounding tea and whisking tea filled her ears.

This shop was originally called Liu Family Wine Shop, and its business was unremarkable. However, after the emergence of new tea drinks, it sensed the business opportunity and changed its name to focus solely on tea.

Tuanzi is the appearance of fresh tea after it has been made into a tea cake. As the name suggests, it is related to tea and is obviously trying to gain attention.

In terms of tea-making skills, this shop is indeed quite proficient, and has even researched new ways to add color, which has gained a lot of popularity.

The singers in the shop are also very hardworking and can sing the most popular poems in the capital at the time, so scholars like to come here.

Spring returns to Shanglin Garden, and flowers fill Luoyang City.

In the quilt, she pondered deeply at night; in the mirror, she reflected her feelings at dawn.

The lamp flickers, a dream fades, and the departed soul is startled by the dark horse.

Alas, from dawn till dusk, only the lonely figure remains upstairs.

Her voice was clear and beautiful; she was singing a new work by a young talent from the Cui family of Boling.

"The peonies have faded in April, and my poetic talent has only gained me fame by chance. However, in terms of the depth of meaning in my writing, it is far inferior to Brother Chu Yu's masterpiece!"

Cui Shi is from the Anping branch of the Cui family of Boling. He is twenty years old this year. He is tall, with refined and handsome features, and has a graceful demeanor, showing the demeanor of a noble family.

Lu Jun laughed and said, "My foolish brother's poems are outdated. Brother Chenglan's masterpiece is full of vigor and is just in time."

Cui Shi passed the imperial examination last year. Because of the princess's recommendation, he was exempted from the regular selection process and was instead appointed as a proofreader in the Imperial Library.

A few days ago, the Empress Dowager hosted a banquet for the officials of Lintai at Shendu Garden. On his way home, he passed by Tianjin Bridge and wrote this poem on a whim.

In just a few days, the song had already spread throughout the taverns.

"Lu Shiyi and Cui Xiaoshu are both men of refined and elegant character. It is my honor to have you two recite your poems. Would you two gentlemen like me to perform another song for you?"

The songstress was the top courtesan of Tuan Zixuan. Seeing that the two were both dressed in white, looking as graceful as perfect lovers, she really wanted to stay and serve them.

Cui Shi smiled slightly and took a jade pendant from his waist: "Thank you for your wonderful words, young lady."

A gentleman wears a jade pendant, which sounds like "decisiveness" in Chinese, serving as a reminder to be resolute and fearless in the face of adversity.

If you're giving it as a gift, then politely decline.

"Thank you, sir. This servant will take her leave now." The songstress left quietly with a regretful expression.

Cui Shi then said to Lu Jun, "How can my humble poem compare to Brother Chu Yu's ability to enter the princess's private garden and grace her hall? I truly envy him..."

He was a retainer of the princess, and so far he could only be entertained in the main hall. He was extremely envious of Lu Jun's special treatment.

The Tang Dynasty was indeed very open-minded; even though he was already married, he openly expressed his desire to be the princess's lover...

"Ahem, it's just tea, Brother Chenglan, don't misunderstand." Lu Jun waved his hand.

Cui Shi laughed heartily, then suddenly asked:

"Brother Chu Yu, are you really not going to consider my younger sister?"

"She was incredibly beautiful! So many nobles and dignitaries came to propose marriage to her, they practically wore down the threshold of my humble abode."

"Or is it that you look down on the Cui family of Boling, believing that since your ancestor has passed away, no one in your family is currently wearing purple and gold?"

He had asked the songstress once before she arrived, and Lu Jun had politely declined. He didn't expect her to ask again.

Lu Jun retorted, "I've heard that although the emperor forbids marriage between certain families, they still secretly arrange marriages between them. Why would you take a fancy to me?"

Although the Lu family of Wu County was also a gentry family, the five families of Shandong considered themselves superior and had always looked down on people from Jiangnan, believing that they had long since declined and were inferior to them.

When it comes to marriage, even high-ranking officials and nobles in the court had to spend a lot of money on betrothal gifts in order to marry a woman from one of the five surnames.

Taking the initiative to propose marriage is unheard of.

Cui Shi ran his fingers over the teacup, then looked up and said:

"I may speak frankly, Brother Chu Yu is a man of refined taste and elegant reputation, and his tea-making skills alone are something that we, as refined people, can appreciate."

"Furthermore, with Brother Chu Yu's talent and learning, it's only a matter of time before he is ennobled and appointed prime minister, and the Jiangling branch becomes a prominent branch of the Lu family."

"Since I have taken the liberty of speaking, Brother Chu Yu need not worry about the difference in social status."

Lu Jun raised his teacup and declined again: "I am of humble birth and dare not presume to marry you. I will wait a few more years before I dare to speak of marriage."

It wasn't that they were afraid the princess would be jealous; given the prevailing social climate at the time, marriage alliances were seen as binding family ties and had political implications.

The Cui family extended an olive branch because they knew that the Empress Dowager trusted them and that they were favored by the princess.

As for myself, I don't ask anything of him.

"Haha, I was being presumptuous, brother." Cui Shi raised his cup and took a sip, a hint of melancholy on his face.

Lu Jun immediately changed the subject: "I heard from the princess that Brother Chenglan knows the details of my land allocation?"

Cui Shi nodded: "My father works in the Ministry of Agriculture, and the official farmland is managed by the Ministry of Agriculture's Agricultural Settlement Office. I heard that Brother Chu Yu..."

wow-

The door to the private room was pushed open, and five or six people rushed in, dressed in long robes of various colors, including scarlet, green, and blue, and of different ages.

A burly man with a large beard stepped forward and said, "Lu Chuyu, I, Su, have come specifically to learn the art of making tea!"

A middle-aged man stood next to him, smiling, and said, "If I can't beat you, then I'll be second in line."

The others followed suit, bowing to Cui Shi and Lu Jun: "Cui Chenglan, Lu Chuyu, we were supposed to have tea at the second quarter of the hour of Xin (7:45 PM), why are you here early?"

Another person stood proudly by the door, neither following nor speaking, but glancing sideways at Lu Jun.

Today's meeting wasn't just between Lu Jun and Cui Shi; it was a gathering of famous scholars, and there were eight people in total.

They arrived a quarter of an hour early, but before they could finish discussing the important matters, they only heard Qu talking about the wedding, and then everyone else had already arrived...

Cui Shi immediately stopped talking and stood up to greet him:

"May I introduce Chu Yu to you..."

"The officials in charge of performance evaluation, Su, and the assistant minister, Shen, are Chu Yu's patrons, so we naturally already know each other and there's no need for introductions."

"This is Li Qiao, courtesy name Jushan, a member of the Li clan of Zhao County, who holds the official position of Censor."

"This is Song Zhiwen, courtesy name Yanqing, from the Song clan of Henan. He was appointed as a scholar of the Chongwen Hall."

"This is Chen Gong, whose given name is Zi'ang, courtesy name Boyu, a member of the Chen clan of Runan, and holds the official position of Right Guard Military Advisor."

As he pointed towards the door, the person spoke up:

"Du Shenyan, courtesy name Bijian, a member of the Du family of Jingzhao, is merely a proofreader at the Imperial Library. He cannot compare to Lu Shiyi, who achieved early success. Let's not mention him!"

"Lu Chuyu, your peony poems are nothing special. I don't know how you even got a reputation for them?"

"Do you have any other poems? Show them to me. If not, don't mention poetry today!"

He was about forty-five years old, of medium build, with an air of arrogance about him.

It seems that because Lu Jun became famous with a poem, which contained a hint of flattery, he looked down on him.

Seeing this, Shen Quanqi stepped forward and patted Lu Jun on the shoulder: "Chu Yu, don't mind it. Brother Bi Jian is a senior and famous poet and writer. It's normal for him to be strict with the younger generation."

He knew that Lu Jun was used to acting arrogantly and dared to confront even the prime minister, let alone a lowly ninth-rank scholar.

Du Shenyan became famous very early, but he was not popular. Everyone knew his temper and often gave in to him.

Today is a gathering of distinguished people; let's not let his stubbornness and arrogance cause an unpleasant ending.

Li Qiao, Su Weidao, and Song Zhiwen also stood between the two, smiling and trying to smooth things over:

"We were just chatting about tea, who said we were talking about poetry or literature?"

"What good is it to write good or bad poetry these days? If one's tea-making skills are poor, one will hardly be considered refined."

"Chu Yu is the most revered being in the Tu Realm. Although we are a few years older, how dare we claim to be his seniors?"

"I came here specifically to learn the art of tea making. Why bring up poetry or anything like that?"

Chen Zi'ang remained silent, observing with a smile.

Others were either humble or arrogant, always appearing scholarly, but he stood tall at six feet, with a robust physique, a resolute face, and eyes that subtly revealed a heroic spirit.

Lu Jun made a four-sided bow and smiled:

"Among the outstanding literary talents of the Tang Dynasty, there were the Four Masters in the past, the Four Friends in the middle, and the Three Heroes of Shen, Song and Chen in the future."

"I was not fortunate enough to meet the Four Heroes, but I was fortunate enough to meet three of the Four Friends, and even more fortunate to meet the Three Heroes at the same time! How fortunate I am!"

The Four Talents refers to the "Four Talents of the Early Tang Dynasty." Apart from Yang Jiong, who is still alive, the other three have all passed away.

The "Four Friends" refers to the "Four Friends of Literature," namely Li Qiao, Su Weidao, Du Shenyan, and Cui Rong, who were the most renowned writers at the time, and most of them were in their forties.

Shen Quanqi, Song Zhiwen, and Chen Zi'ang were all under thirty-five years old, belonging to an even younger generation.

Although Cui Shi and Lu Jun were somewhat famous, they were considered juniors among juniors compared to them.

If it weren't for the pretext of exchanging tea and drinking, and the prestige of the Cui family of Boling, it would have been impossible to invite all these famous scholars.

Since ancient times, scholars have been prone to belittling each other. The so-called "Four Talents" and "Four Friends" were titles bestowed upon them by their predecessors, not publicly recommended by all.

Although the Four Friends were excellent in poetry and prose, their fame only truly spread after Li Qiao and Su Weidao became prime ministers.

As for the Three Heroes, they were created by Lu Jun on the spot.

Seeing that he spoke tactfully, praising himself highly with phrases like "Four outstanding figures before, four friends in the middle, and three heroes after," the others were secretly pleased and smiled humbly in deference.

Du Shenyan's expression softened slightly: "Although you are young, you have some knowledge, but your poetic talent is only so-so."

He gave a slight bow and took his seat with an air of superiority: "Today is a gathering of distinguished individuals. Regardless of rank, you are the junior, so please sit at the lower seat!"

He still doesn't think much of Lu Jun.

Cui Shi smiled and tugged at Lu Jun's sleeve: "We are the juniors, so we should sit at the lower end of the table."

He orchestrated this whole affair, and since Lu Jun was a favorite of the princess, he naturally had to consider the feelings of both sides.

There was no problem with the young man taking the seat, but... Lu Jun sensed a golden opportunity.

With a slight smile, he took out three rolls of paper from his pocket.

"I certainly don't have any poems, and I wouldn't dare to embarrass myself in front of you gentlemen. As for essays, I have written a few recently."

"This article is based on the prescriptions left by immortals, plus the results of my own research, summarization and induction."

"His writing skills aren't particularly outstanding, but in terms of the breadth of his fame and the depth of his influence in the future..."

He raised his head and looked towards Du Shenyan.

"Master Du, I fear that all your writings combined in this lifetime cannot compare to even a single one of these!"