Afternoon.
Eunuch Duan had just taken a short nap.
He got up for a stroll.
The rain had stopped.
The wind was blowing, without any heat, making it very comfortable.
Under a large tree, Eunuch Duan saw someone bending over to spread a mat and arrange snacks for a little girl. Instinctively, he hurried over, calling out "Aunt."
As he approached, he suddenly remembered that this was at the Ji family's home, not in the imperial palace.
Damn.
How could he have mistaken her for a senior palace maid from the inner court?
She looked just like one of those who served the Empress Dowager or Grand Empress Dowager.
Steady yet ruthless, with over a dozen lives on her hands - that kind of aunt.
He heard the little girl call her "Great-aunt."
She must be a distant relative of the Qin family.
The woman turned around, revealing a gentle smile. She looked very kind - it was just an illusion, an illusion.
Eunuch Duan put on a slightly haughty smile.
This was how eunuchs always smiled when they were outside the palace.
They were physically incomplete, yet they were close to the most noble people in the world.
Naturally inferior yet extremely arrogant.
Aunt Yin enthusiastically said, "Eunuch Duan, you're awake. Please, have a seat and try this wild tea from the countryside. My niece personally picked it from the misty mountaintop of Cloud Interval Mountain. It's surrounded by clouds and mist year-round, giving this tea a unique flavor. Please, give it a taste."
Eunuch Duan felt extremely pleased at being addressed as "Eunuch." He thought to himself that this country great-aunt truly had a good eye.
However, he inwardly scoffed at her description of the mountain tea. What tea could possibly be better than the tribute tea in the imperial palace? That was one-of-a-kind in the world.
Though he had heard that tea surrounded by clouds and mist was quite special.
Jiang Mianmian sat on the cushion, responsible for being adorable.
She sweetly called out, "Hello, Uncle Duan."
Eunuch Duan didn't dare to be presumptuous. This little girl was Lord Yan's goddaughter, wasn't she? He repeatedly declined, saying, "You flatter this old servant. Just call me Little Duan."
Aunt Yin looked at the young eunuch with surprise. He seemed to have some discernment and might actually survive.
So Jiang Mianmian sat with Little Eunuch Duan to drink tea.
In truth, she was quite curious about life in the imperial palace.
The person before her was an internal staff member of the palace and must surely know a lot.
Other time-travelers would directly engage in palace intrigue, either rising from palace maid to empress or from minor concubine to empress dowager.
She, on the other hand, had grown up wandering around the village.
Let alone the imperial palace in the capital, she hadn't even been to the prefectural city of Jingzhou.
Great-aunt sat nearby, brewing tea.
She watched the little one sit contentedly.
It was just a small package of tea leaves, requested by the little girl, and the older girl had painstakingly followed the little one's instructions to prepare it.
The freshly picked tea leaves were first dried in the sun.
After sun-drying, they were pan-fried.
After frying, they were dried again.
After drying, they were fried once more.
The leaves became dry and beautiful, ready for storage.
They weren't meant to be boiled either.
Just steeping them in hot water released a fragrant aroma.
Taking a sip made one feel refreshed, with a lingering aftertaste.
Even more wonderfully, the leaves would stand up straight, looking like tadpoles striving upwards.
If served in the palace's crystal cups, it would surely be extremely beautiful.
However, drinking from bamboo tubes also had its own unique charm.
Aunt Yin, who prided herself on her broad knowledge and having seen the best things in the world, quietly took an extra package for herself after tasting this tea.
She didn't have much of an appetite, but she absolutely loved this clear fragrance and sweet aftertaste. It was slightly astringent and even a bit bitter at first sip, but the aftertaste remained sweet, sweet to the heart - a cup of tea.
Moreover, it could cut through greasiness, cleanse the intestines and stomach, leaving one feeling very comfortable after drinking.
Aunt Yin casually brewed three cups of tea.
One for herself.
One for the little girl.
One for Little Eunuch Duan.
Eunuch Duan didn't think much of it. He had eaten a bit too much at noon, as he greatly valued the pleasures of food.
Having been poor and hungry before, he was afraid of that feeling.
He just wanted to eat a lot and eat well.
In the palace, there were instances of poisoning, like having one poisoned cup out of three cups from the same pot, but such pots required special mechanisms and weren't common.
He watched Aunt Yin pour the tea openly, her sleeves short - she couldn't be poisoning them.
Of course, he hadn't really thought about it much. He was just a eunuch, without any conflicts of interest, just here for the pacification mission.
He held the bamboo tube and took a sniff.
Surprisingly fragrant.
The aroma wafted up. He saw that the green little leaves put in were giving off a faint floral scent, with hints of honey and a slight medicinal fragrance, soft yet penetrating through the nose and into the heart and lungs.
He felt more alert just from smelling it.
He took a sip.
The flavor was very light.
He hadn't really tasted much yet.
Usually, tea leaves were boiled, resulting in a bitter and strong brew, perfect for staying up late. Scholars and nobles favored this style.
Ordinary people couldn't appreciate it. The truly wealthy would even add various spices to boil with the tea.
A pot of such tea could be as valuable as gold.
One sip would make your soul float away, it was so bitter and complex.
Like life itself, filled with myriad flavors.
But this cup of clear tea, apart from its fragrance, was just slightly sweet. The astringency was negligible. The tea leaves floated up one by one, and when accidentally swallowed with a big gulp, they weren't unpleasant to chew, just a bit bitter.
But immediately after, an infinite sweetness spread through the throat. It was sweet and nothing but sweet. Even exhaling felt as if one's breath had become fragrant and sweet, without any unpleasant odor.
This was truly exquisite.
A worldly delicacy.
Eunuch Duan first took a small sip, then a big gulp, followed by several small sips.
He didn't spit out the tea leaves that entered his mouth, carefully chewing and swallowing them.
Seeing that his cup was empty, Aunt Yin refilled it with water.
"This second steeping has its own unique flavor. The first steeping emphasizes the clear fragrance, while the second has a better, more lingering taste."
Eunuch Duan smiled and nodded, holding his tea cup. He noticed the little girl just extending two fair, chubby fingers, slightly curved, tapping the table twice.
As if it were some kind of ritual.
Aunt Yin poured her tea, and she didn't even say thank you, just extended her fingers to tap twice.
Initially, Aunt Yin had asked her what this meant.
Mianmian had replied, "Thank you, Great-aunt."
Aunt Yin saw that she still had preserved fruit in her mouth and was quite busy. The little girl was truly lazy to the extreme, too lazy even to say thanks, just extending two fingers to tap as a sign of gratitude.
It was oddly polite...
If she weren't so lazy, their home wouldn't have so many convenient gadgets.
Even the tea leaves were probably her creation, too lazy to brew and wait, so she came up with something that could be steeped instantly with boiling water.
Lazy to the extreme, yet able to enjoy life to the fullest - that was this little girl.
She sat properly, tapped twice, and swayed as she drank her tea.
Her teacup was tiny, just one small mouthful.
Yet she liked to drink it this way, sip by sip, requiring the person pouring to keep refilling constantly.
Enjoying life to the fullest, drinking just that hot sip.
Fortunately, Aunt Yin was accustomed to serving people, as not just anyone could attend to this young lady.
As the old woman had said, the second infusion of tea that Eunuch Duan served was indeed not only fragrant but had an even more mellow and pure taste, warming the heart with just one sip.
The more Eunuch Duan drank, the brighter his eyes became.
He thought that if he could bring this tea as a tribute to the Emperor on his next outing, it would surely be a great achievement.
"Auntie, do you know if there's any more of this tea available?" he asked.
Aunt Yin saw through the little eunuch's intentions as soon as he perked up.
She replied, "This tea is extremely rare. The growing conditions are very demanding, and the picking time is also crucial. There are only one or two days a year when it can be harvested. The roasting process is also highly complex, resulting in a different flavor each time. If Eunuch Duan wants some, there's only a small amount left from this batch."
Aunt Yin had no choice in the matter. The young lady had said that only tea picked before the Qingming Festival would taste good.
So there wasn't much of it.
The tea picked after the festival didn't taste as good as the pre-festival tea.
Heaven knows why a difference of a few days would matter so much.
Her palate was incredibly refined.
In any case, Aunt Yin couldn't tell the difference at first.
Eunuch Duan understood the old woman's meaning: there was some, but very little. Whether to offer it as a tribute or not was up to him.
If the Emperor liked it and wanted more, but they couldn't produce any, that would be the end of it.
After pondering for a moment, Eunuch Duan asked, "The brewing method results in a different flavor with each infusion. Actually, we could add some extra steps to the tea preparation process. This way, it would last for more infusions. Like the young lady's small cups, serving it cup by cup would surely taste even better."
Jiang Mianmian watched as Eunuch Duan and Aunt Yin discussed how to make the tea preparation process more complex, more ceremonial, and longer, thus making the small amount of tea seem more precious.
The more Aunt Yin talked with the young eunuch, the more she realized he was quite talented.
"The method you suggest requires quite a bit of effort," she remarked.
The young Eunuch Duan nodded, "Indeed, good tea deserves the effort."
Aunt Yin said, "Why don't we call it 'Kung Fu Tea' then?"
Jiang Mianmian: ...
