Chapter 168: First meeting Erqiao, a literary youth Not to mention the unclear death of Mei Cheng, Qin Zhen, the instigator, has already come to Qiao Mansion with Qiao Rui. When talking about the Qiao family of the Eastern Han Dynasty, we have to mention Qiao Xuan. This man was one of the Three Dukes of the court and served in the same dynasty as Qin Zhen's father-in-law Cai Yong. Because he was so famous, it was widely rumored in later generations that he was the father of Erqiao. In fact, Qiao Xuan and Erqiao have nothing to do with each other, because Erqiao comes from the Qiao family of Lujiang, while Qiao Xuan is from Liang. However, the Lujiang Qiao family is also a big family in the city. In Lujiang alone, they have two mansions, one in the city and the other outside the city. The mansion in the city is a large house with five courtyards. When you arrive at the door, you can see servants and maids waiting there. Qin Zhen opened the car window and looked at the Qiao family's house. He turned around and smiled at Qiao Rui: "The general's residence is not small. The gate is even bigger than my residence in Shouchun." Because he and Qiao Rui came from the same place, Qiao Rui wanted to get closer to them, so they came in the same car. Seeing Qin Zhen like this, Qiao Rui smiled with guilt and said:

"This is my ancestral home, not my residence!" "I have already ordered tea to be prepared, Military Advisor, you can follow me!" As he said this, he stepped forward, came to the outside of the carriage, got off, and led Qin Zhen into the mansion. Although it was night, the lights were on, which showed that Qiao Rui had put a lot of thought into it. Seeing this, Qin Zhen simply followed him into the inner hall. Along the way, he met several scholars, and Qiao Rui introduced them one by one. These people were Qiao Rui's descendants and nephews. Don’t think that when Sun Ce and Zhou Yu obtained the Erqiao, they said that the Erqiao was wandering. But in this era, it is rare for women to be in charge of the family. Even though Erqiao's father had passed away, he still had brothers and uncles to help him, so he was far from being homeless. Qin Zhen walked into the mansion and saw the grand courtyard. He couldn't help but think to himself that the power of the gentry was indeed huge at that time. Not to mention the distant places, just this five-story mansion is incomparable to any other place. Along the way, there were no less than dozens of servants and maids. You have to know that this is Lujiang, a remote place in the midst of turmoil. The nobles still live in such extravagance, so you can imagine what it was like before! Given such a situation, how could the people not rebel? Thinking of this, he sighed slightly. The road to reform is a long and arduous one! He was thinking like this, Qiao Rui was in front of him, but he didn't know what he was thinking, so he turned around and said: "Why does the military advisor sigh?" Qin Zhen saw this and indeed shook his head and said: "I sigh because I am worried that the state affairs are still unsettled and there are still villains causing chaos!" He felt it was luxurious, but he wouldn't say it out loud. After all, he was invited to be a guest, so he shouldn't give orders. When Qiao Rui saw this, he thought Qin Zhen was thinking about Mei Cheng, so he smiled and said:

"I know that the military advisor always has his country in his heart and is concerned about the country and the people." "Then how can we live in this world and worry about everything?" "Let's put it aside for now and talk about it after tonight!" Seeing this, Qin Zhen thought that Qiao Rui was quite open-minded, so he simply nodded without saying anything. After he sat down in the hall, maids and servants brought in a stove, tea sets, and various cakes. Qin Zhen was accustomed to the delicacies of later generations, so he had no interest in them. He could not help but keep his eyes on the crowd. Suddenly, he saw two girls quietly enter with empty hands. One was tall and graceful, wearing a narrow jacket and a long skirt that trailed the ground, with a slender figure, a bun in a ponytail, and a very beautiful face; One of them was wearing green clothes and was shorter, but she had a delicate face, skin as white as snow, and eyebrows and eyes as beautiful as paintings. Standing next to the tall woman, she was not inferior to her. The two women stood in the dim light, and with the dim candlelight, they looked even more hazy and beautiful. Even though Qin Zhen was used to seeing beautiful women, he couldn't help but take one more look at this time, but it was just one look. Because of his current status, he has seen many women of all kinds, but he will not react too much to beauty. He did not respond, but Qiao Rui smiled and waved at the two girls: "Ying'er, Ke'er, come quickly and serve tea to Mr. Qin!" He waved his hand, and the two girls lowered their eyebrows and walked slowly to Qin Zhen. Seeing this, Qin Zhen couldn't help but look at Qiao Rui, thinking, didn't you ask me to have tea, old man? What does this mean? A honey trap! Qiao Rui looked at his eyes and explained with a smile: "Military advisor, you don't know that in Lujiang, people still drink tea, but in my family, only these two nieces are the best at tea ceremony!" "The military advisors are honored guests, so we should let them come and serve tea!" As he explained it this way, he secretly came to an understanding in his mind. Although Qin Zhen had agreed to this matter before, it was never finalized. So he thought that he should arrange a meeting first, and give a definite answer no matter what. Otherwise, the situation is urgent now, and Qin Zhen is busy every day. Who knows if he will suddenly return in a few days? If that time comes, who will his niece marry? If you say you want to promise it to someone, Qin Zhen has already made the promise. If you say you don’t want to promise it to someone, what if Qin Zhen forgets? So he thought about it and decided to make a quick decision! Now that his niece has been called over to serve tea, Qin Zhen will not turn against him. Let’s drink this cup of tea. If Qin Zhen is interested, then let’s make it a deal right away. If she's not interested, then just reject it directly and let his niece marry someone else! Qin Zhen naturally didn't know what he was thinking. If he knew, Qin Zhen would definitely tell Qiao Rui that it was unnecessary! Apart from anything else, Erqiao is in Lujiang, so he has to come and see it no matter what. But now that Qiao Rui had made all the arrangements, he couldn't say much.

He simply shifted his attention to Erqiao who was serving tea in front of him. In this era, drinking tea is a troublesome thing. You need to add many condiments and cook it into tea porridge to drink. At this time, Qiao Ying lowered her head, revealing a pair of snow-white arms as she fiddled with the tea set, while the slightly younger Qiao Ke was preparing various ingredients beside her. As you move, you'll inadvertently emit a faint fragrance that's refreshing. Logically speaking, Qin Zhen should be enjoying the sight of two beauties doing the work in front of him, but as he watched the two ladies move, he couldn't help but remind them: "My two ladies, this is not the way I serve tea!" It’s not that he was being pretentious, but the tea in the Han Dynasty was very unpalatable. He originally wanted to make tea around the stove with Qiao Rui. It's good to give him two girls, but the tea he brewed is hard to swallow. He had just finished drinking and couldn't stand the taste. As soon as he spoke, Erqiao was stunned and raised their heads. Their skin was glowing with a faint light, looking extremely delicate. Qiao Rui, who was watching from the side, said something strange: "Could it be that the military advisor is also proficient in the tea ceremony?" When Qin Zhen heard this, he smiled and said: “I am not familiar with the tea ceremony, but I drink tea differently from people today!” "I don't like the way you two ladies made it!" As he said this, he smiled at Qiao Ying and said, "Miss, where did you get this tea?" When Qiao Ying saw him asking, she didn't know what he meant, so she said blankly: "I don't even know where to get it from!" Instead, Qiao Ke opened her eyes wide and said: "This tea is from Jiangdong. Could it be that Lord Qin doesn't like it?" Looking at the reactions of the two, Qin Zhen couldn't help but smile. After a round of questioning, he could tell that Qiao Ying was a little dull, while Xiaoqiao was more lively, similar to his wife and sister-in-law. Seeing this, he smiled at Qiao Ke and said: "No, if we talk about the tea ceremony, we should first talk about the origin. Different places of origin have different tastes." "I see this tea has a strong fragrance and a green color. It must be produced in Yangxian. Is it true?" When Qiao Ke heard this, she was surprised and said: "How do you know that this tea is produced in Yangxian?" Seeing her surprised look, Qin Zhen smiled and said: "This tea is what I used to drink!" Because it was the Eastern Han Dynasty, tea drinking was not yet popular and was mostly consumed south of the Huai River.

When Qin Zhen was studying under Cai Yong, he lived in Wuhui for a period of time. He could tell where the product came from at a glance. After explaining this, he pointed at the tea cake and said: “To drink good tea, one must first find its source and then discuss its utensils!” "When people drink tea, they often make tea cakes first, and then grind them into tea porridge." "But this will ruin the fragrance of the tea, leaving only bitterness!" "And then there are all these extra things added to cover up the truth. In my opinion, it's unnecessary!" "Tea is a fragrant thing. You only need to brew it with clean water and you can drink it!" As he spoke, he stretched out his hand and started operating it himself. From the source to the method of making, he explained and did it immediately, which made Erqiao's beautiful eyes shine with surprise. In fact, they didn't know that Qiao Rui wanted to marry them to Qin Zhen. They only knew that today they were going to entertain the world-famous Qin Zixuan, so they were a little nervous. Unexpectedly, when we started chatting, I found that Mr. Qin was so talkative. Not only is he talkative, but he is also knowledgeable and his laughter makes people feel good about him. Xiaoqiao was still young, so he just watched Qin Zhen operate with a curious look on his face. Daqiao smelled the faint smell of alcohol on Qin Zhen and couldn't help blushing. He lowered his eyebrows and did not dare to look directly at Qin Zhen. However, Qin Zhen took a break from worldly affairs for the first time in a long time and concentrated on making tea. In fact, making tea is a kind of enjoyment for Qin Zhen. When he was studying in Jiangdong, he often made tea for Cai Yan and her sister. It was also because there were too few drinks in that era that he developed a hobby of drinking tea. After some work on his part, he had brewed a pot of tea in a short while. As soon as the lid of the pot was opened, the aroma of tea filled the air. The two girls looked at each other in surprise. They thought that they had studied the tea ceremony for a long time and made countless tea porridges, but none of them were as fragrant as the pot of tea that Qin Zhen was brewing now! Seeing this, Daqiao couldn't help but whisper: "This tea of ​​Qin Jun smells more fragrant than tea porridge!" But as soon as she finished speaking, Qin Zhen closed the lid, poured out the tea and threw it aside. Xiaoqiao looked at it, pointed at the tea and asked: "Mr. Qin, this is just tea, shouldn't we drink it?" Qin Zhen smiled and shook his head: "This Yangxian tea has a strong and fragrant flavor, but after it is made into tea cakes, its flavor is sealed." "It is sweet only after soaking it twice." He then poured the water twice more, and finally poured out the tea in the pot: "Ladies, please try this tea and see how it tastes!" Daxiaoqiao was stunned when they saw this, as they had come to serve tea.

Now, the guest personally made two bowls of tea for them! They had never experienced such a situation before. For a moment, Daqiao didn't know what to do, but Xiaoqiao plucked up his courage, picked up the small bowl and took a sip. She only felt it was slightly hot when she put it in her mouth, first with a bitter taste, and then with a sweet taste. This taste is purer than tea soup, and it leaves a lasting aftertaste. His eyes lit up and he said: "Sister, Mr. Qin's tea is really sweet!" Daqiao listened and blushed as he took the dish and took a bite. He was also amazed. Even Qiao Rui, who was watching from the side, was full of curiosity and asked: "Is this tea, military advisor, really so sweet?" As soon as he spoke, Qin Zhen remembered that there was a big man beside him, so he smiled and said: "Please ask Miss and the General to deliver it, and let the General have a taste!" Upon hearing this, Daqiao nodded slightly and brought the tea to Qiao Rui. Qiao Rui was born into a noble family, so he was naturally not a rough man. He sniffed the wine carefully for a while, drank the whole cup, and then said with a smile: "This tea is so delicious! The military advisor is truly knowledgeable and talented. I didn't expect him to be so proficient in the tea ceremony!" "But I see that Mr. Cai does not have this skill. I wonder where he learned it from?" When Qin Zhen saw him asking about this, he smiled and said: "As for the tea ceremony, I have no master. I just figure it out on my own in my spare time!" As soon as he finished speaking, the calm Daqiao spoke: "Without a teacher, he is still able to do this. This shows how noble Mr. Qin is!" "I heard that Mr. Qin is also good at poetry. I wonder if he has any good works recently?" As she spoke, she turned sideways, as if she didn't dare to look at Qin Zhen. When Qin Zhen heard this, his eyelids twitched. Seeing that Daqiao looked like a literary young woman, he thought to himself, "Is there anything I can do but become a plagiarist?" While he was thinking, he heard a loud shout from outside the mansion; "Mr. Qin, uncle, something terrible has happened. Someone outside the palace has come to report." "It is said that a general named Mei tried to attack Liu Xun's family, but was accidentally killed by a soldier in the county government!" The person who spoke was Qiao Rui's nephew. Qin Zhen saw it and thought the news came just in time. He quickly stood up and said righteously: "There is such a thing, wait for me to go and see it!" After saying that, he walked out of the mansion. (End of this chapter)