Chapter 48 Tasting Tea

"Young Princess, you are only a year older than me, so why do you always treat me like a child and call me little boy?"

Seeing him take a step back, Jing Hu was all the more amused and felt a strong urge to tease him. As he retreated, she advanced.

"You said it yourself, you're a year younger than me and not even as tall as me. In my eyes, you're just a child, a little boy." She wanted to tease him a bit more and was determined to pat his head, when someone behind her called out.

"Young Princess, are you here to see Mingxu today?"

As expected, he was still just a child, which was why he got along so well with children.

Right from the beginning of that night, he had indeed resolved not to have any more private interactions with her. Since theirs was a friendship of gentlemen, it should remain as pure and clear as water, and he ought not to provoke her entanglements.

Yet, when he caught sight of the gardenia flower tucked into her hair and recalled that previous evening, he found himself somewhat reluctant to part with the pervasive fragrance filling the courtyard and the gentle moonlight that seemed to flow over her.

Moreover, the day of the palace banquet was his birthday, and he had already experienced more than enough displeasure. Why must he always make things so difficult for himself?

Although the sudden embrace she gave him on his birthday had left him utterly at a loss, it once again plunged him into the internal struggle over whether he should reduce his contact with her.

Upon turning around and catching sight of Ke Mingxu, Jing Hu naturally lost interest in Huifeng. She spun back around to make a funny face at Huifeng before happily skipping over to Ke Mingxu.

Master Jingshan had not yet left and took in this entire scene, watching her with a keen and amused interest.

Feigning complete unawareness, Jing Hu simply looked straight at Ke Mingxu.

Ke Mingxu introduced them, "This is Master Jingshan, a good friend of mine."

Being a princess, outside of the imperial palace, it was usually others who came to pay their respects to her. Yet Master Jingshan remained seated, offering merely, "Peace be with you, Princess."

Since he was a friend of Ke Mingxu's, she decided to treat him with courtesy.

Master Jingshan smiled slightly. "Peace be with you, Young Princess. Since the Princess wishes to speak with Mingxu, I shall not intrude any longer. I take my leave."

Ke Mingxu watched him out the door before lowering his gaze to speak with Jing Hu, "Is there something specific that brings the Young Princess to see me today?"

He had noticed her in the courtyard earlier and, even while conversing with Master Jingshan, his attention had drifted to her more than once. Master Jingshan, perceptive enough to read the subtle undertones, had tactfully taken his leave early.

When had she ever had a serious purpose in seeking him out? Wasn't she always making up pretexts out of nothing? As they stood talking by the threshold, he showed no intention of inviting her inside.

Pretending not to notice, Jing Hu walked into the room ahead of him. Seeing that they had been drinking tea just moments before, she improvised casually, "I heard that Young Master Ke is skilled at brewing tea, and I wanted to taste it for myself."

With that, she sat down uninvited in the very seat Ke Mingxu had just vacated.

Ke Mingxu glanced at her, turned to instruct Huifeng to fetch fresh water for the room, and then walked over to sit opposite Jing Hu.

She had taken the master's seat, yet expected him to brew tea for her. Very well. The Huxuan dance she had performed for him under the moonlight was far more than a single painting of his could repay; today, he would brew another pot of tea for her.

He had spoken at length with Master Jingshan, and even for someone like him, a certain weariness had set in. Chatting with her about everything and nothing might perhaps dispel that fatigue.

Sure enough, the moment he sat down, the young princess brightened up instantly, her gaze fixed upon him, unable to look away. "What has Young Master Ke been doing these past few days besides attending to His Majesty?"

As he arranged the tea sets at his side, Ke Mingxu replied, "Aside from attending the Emperor, I have mostly been drinking tea and conversing with Master Jingshan. Although we often crossed paths in the palace before, we rarely had the chance to sit down and talk properly like this."

Yet down here in Jianye, opportunities to hunt in the forests and ride horses across the fields were equally rare. Having learned that he was busy attending the emperor, she had purposely accompanied Jing Xun and his wife out hunting. Having been cooped up in Yanjing city for far too long, she had not felt this liberated in ages.

Perhaps he simply disliked such pursuits.

Jing Hu asked him again, "I heard Huifeng say that Young Master Ke and that scholar often discuss matters concerning the Northwest and the Western Regions. Are you deeply interested in those places, Young Master Ke?"

Ke Mingxu smiled. "One is naturally curious about places one has never set foot in."

"Then has Elder Brother Ke ever been to Jiangnan?" Apart from Yanjing, where she had spent her childhood wreaking havoc, the only other place she had tormented was Jiahe.

He nodded, his hands continuing their steady movements. "My mother is from Jiangnan, a maiden of the Xie family of Huai'an. I accompanied her back there a few times in my youth, though my memories of it are somewhat hazy."

"'The spring waters are greener than the sky, in a painted boat she sleeps while listening to the rain.' Young Master Ke, Jiangnan is breathtakingly beautiful, not a whit inferior to what the poems describe."

She had always remembered those lines because she found them exceptionally lovely.

The water on the stove began to simmer, and he lifted it down to start brewing the tea. His movements flowed as effortlessly as drifting clouds and running water, his features as delicate and picturesque as a painting. "If the opportunity arises, I would very much like to visit Jiangnan again."

"I want to go too," she chimed in eagerly. And she wanted to go with him.

Ke Mingxu raised his head and offered her a smile. It was already October, yet Yanjing remained stiflingly hot, and even Jianye offered only a slight reprieve of coolness compared to the capital.

As she sat beside the stove where the water had just boiled, a profound sense of tranquility settled deep within her.

A slender plum blossom like a jade person, with a single smile bringing spring to Jiangnan—surely this was the verse that described him. She stared at him, lost in a trance, until he placed a teacup before her, snapping her somewhat flustered senses back to reality.

"Careful, it's hot." To cover up her momentary confusion, she immediately reached to drink the tea, only for him to issue the warning.

She felt rather embarrassed.

"What has the Young Princess been up to these past few days in Jianye?"

Jing Hu withdrew her hand from the teacup, pondering for a moment. "I went out into the forests a few times with my third brother and sister-in-law, and caught sight of some small animals."

She wanted to mention that she had strung her bow and shot down a few wild pheasants herself, but fearing he might find it unseemly, she spoke of something else instead.

"The day I was with Young Master Ke was at night. Later, when I visited the grassy meadows in daylight, I discovered that countless wildflowers bloom here even in autumn. If Young Master Ke has free time, you really ought to go and see them."

She resorted to her old playful stubbornness. "I have nothing to do every day, so I can lead the way for Young Master Ke. Oh, by the way, tonight my third brother and sister-in-law are preparing a bonfire and barbecue at the foot of the mountain. Will Young Master Ke be coming?"

Jing Hu was filled with eager anticipation, but he merely shook his head and took a sip from his teacup.

"I'm afraid not. I won't be able to attend tonight either; His Majesty has summoned me to the Chongming Palace to play a game of chess with him."

Jing Hu instantly regretted her words. She shouldn't have brought up both things at once, as it made it all too easy for him to refuse.

She should have first mentioned the bonfire gathering—knowing full well he couldn't attend—and once he turned her down, brought up the other matter. Perhaps then he would have found it harder to decline.

Perhaps sensing the sudden dejection in her mood, as if guided by some unseen impulse, he spoke up, "If I am free in a few days, I shall indeed ask the Young Princess to lead the way and show me the forest."