What she said made sense.
Previously, Li Ying had thought that tea - drinking was one of the most elegant pastimes in the world. Although she intended to introduce the tea - culture to the common people in the capital and make this high - brow art accessible to all, she still had to ensure the quality of tea - making. So she had racked her brains to invite well - known tea - making masters who had been in the business for many years.
However, the more experienced, highly - skilled and well - known these tea masters in the capital were, the more they cherished their reputations.
This golden - flower dark tea was a new tea variety they had never seen or heard of before. They were hesitant and dared not take on this task.
Helplessly, she could only follow A Man's advice and try to find that unknown tea - master.
Seeing Li Ying nod in agreement, A Man's face instantly lit up.
"Sister! Shi Hu has already gone to invite her! That tea - master aunt was quite interested when she heard that the last batch of tea had developed golden flowers. But when she learned that she had to come to the capital for a meeting, she refused. Shi Hu pleaded with her for a long time, and she only agreed to wait at Wuli Slope on the outskirts of the capital. She absolutely refused to come any closer."
Li Ying raised her eyebrows slightly but didn't mind.
After dealing with many tea - masters, she knew that most of these tea lovers had all kinds of strange taboos and aversions, so she didn't think much about it.
A Man harnessed the horse and was eager to take her out of the city, unable to hide her excitement.
Li Ying vaguely guessed that after A Man had scolded Lu Xunguang, she felt guilty when she learned that he had left without saying goodbye to help her plan things. So she was so eager to help share her burden to prove that she was not just a noisy and useless person.
Li Ying saw through it but didn't expose it. She smiled silently and still followed A Man out of the city.
Wuli Slope was not a scenic place. Instead, it was desolate and a bit eerie.
A Man rode ahead on the horse and boasted, "Sister, don't be afraid. With A Man here, I will surely protect you!"
Li Ying couldn't help but find her amusing.
Soon, they arrived at the appointed place.
Although Li Ying had already heard from A Man that this tea - master was a woman, she was still a bit surprised when she saw her in person.
It was freezing cold, but this female tea - master was dressed thinly. The fabric was out of fashion several years ago and had turned white after repeated washings, obviously indicating a rather straitened life.
"Sister, this is the tea - master I told you about, Aunt Lan."
Li Ying bowed to the woman. Aunt Lan sized her up and down. Seeing her dressed in silk and satin from head to toe, she raised her eyebrows and snorted.
"Another delicate young lady who has never done any household chores."
Before Li Ying could answer, she turned to A Man with a rather unhappy look on her face and said, "Little girl, you didn't tell me that your sister is a noble young lady from an official family."
A Man quickly explained, "Aunt Lan, my sister is not a noble young lady from an official family. She has excellent character and temperament. As long as you get to know her well, you will naturally find that she is the kindest person in the world!"
She spoke sincerely, but Aunt Lan just shook her head dismissively, obviously not wanting to listen to her explanation.
"I've said it before. I never deal with high - ranking officials and nobles. If I had known this earlier, I wouldn't have bothered to come here today and waste my time!"
Aunt Lan paused. Seeing that the two of them still showed no sign of leaving, she simply took out a square oil - paper package from her bosom and casually threw it over.
"I know the ways of people like you. You won't leave until you get what you want. Here! This is a sample of the golden - flower dark tea. Take this tea and find someone else to imitate it! I, Lan Caiwei, will never be at anyone's beck and call!"
Li Ying was quick - eyed and quick - handed. She quickly caught the dark tea.
Aunt Lan snorted again. Without saying another word to them, she turned around without hesitation and walked straight into a thatched cottage, slamming the door shut.
A Man shouted anxiously, "Aunt Lan, Aunt Lan! Please listen to my explanation!"
But the door never opened again. Li Ying gave A Man a look and shook her head helplessly.
She had seen many cynical people. She didn't know what kind of stimulation this Aunt Lan had suffered to become so unyielding.
Perhaps this was her knot.
Li Ying slowly unwrapped the oil - paper package to check the quality of the dark tea. She gently cut open the tea brick with a tea knife. There were dotted golden flowers in it, like stars in the sky, and a faint, unique fragrance could be smelled. It was indeed a top - grade tea.
She called out loudly, "Aunt Lan, I have a way to double the number of golden flowers in this fermented dark tea. Could you please come out and have a talk with me, senior?"
Aunt Lan must have heard her words. Being exposed about the mystery of "fermented tea" by this young girl, she couldn't help but be secretly shocked.
Who on earth was this girl outside the door? She looked so young. How could she have penetrated the fermentation technique that she had painstakingly studied for decades?
But thinking of Li Ying's silk - clad appearance, she took a deep breath and forcibly suppressed her strong curiosity, remaining silent.
A Man wanted to say something else, but Li Ying just waved her hand and said calmly, "Forget it, A Man. It seems that the timing is not right today. Let's leave first."
If Aunt Lan was willing to come out of seclusion, she would surely be tempted by her words. Since she still refused to open the door, it seemed that before this knot was resolved, there would be no good result.
A Man was not willing to give up. She walked around the thatched cottage several times, hoping to find a side door or even a dog - hole to sneak in.
She found nothing. When she walked around to the back of the cottage, she only saw a tomb. The withered grass had obviously been trimmed recently. Although the tombstone was quite old, the words on it were still clearly visible.
"Sister, come and have a look. What's this!"
Li Ying came over after hearing the call. She carefully examined the inscriptions on the tombstone, which read "Spiritual Tablet of My Father, Ge Zhengliu".
Who was this "Ge Zhengliu"?
Aunt Lan insisted on staying at Wuli Slope. Presumably, it was for the sake of paying respects to this person. What was her relationship with this late senior Ge?
Li Ying thought it over and a name came to her mind. She lowered her voice and told A Man not to say anything more. Then they quietly rode back on their horses and headed straight for the thatched cottage of Master Ge, the tea - maker.
From afar, Master Ge saw Li Ying and warmly greeted her to come and taste the freshly brewed Longjing tea.
Li Ying slowly took a sip of the tea. When he was completely off - guard, she suddenly said softly, "Lan Caiwei."
Sure enough, upon hearing these three words, Master Ge, who had been quite relaxed, was as if struck by a thunderbolt. His slightly hunched back suddenly straightened stiffly. He looked at her in disbelief.
Li Ying knew that this strong medicine had finally hit the right spot. She asked with a half - smile, "Senior, you've really kept me in the dark for a long time!"