She had Hailan search for a renowned tea ceremony master for her.
Hailan had inquired and learned that Xie Nongyu studied under Lu Shisan Niang of Qingque Lane, who was famed as the 'Tea Immortal' and whose whisking technique was considered the best north of the Yangtze River.
Yesterday, Jiang Xuesui had made a bet with Xie Nongyu: in a month, they would compete in tea whisking. The loser would let the winner paint a big flower face on them.
Hailan had invited Lu Shisan Niang to teach Jiang Xuesui.
But Jiang Xuesui's body had not yet grown. Following Lu Shisan Niang's teaching method, after only half a day, she had dropped more than a dozen tea bowls.
Lu Shisan Niang kindly said, "Young lady, even if you don't sleep or eat and spend all twelve hours of the day learning to whisk tea, you still won't be able to defeat Princess Shanyang in a month."
A teacher who has no confidence in her student cannot teach well.
That very day, Jiang Xuesui had Hailan give Lu Shisan Niang a generous red envelope and sent her back to Qingque Lane with proper courtesy.
Now there was no great master, and the tea table was a mess.
Seeing Jiang Xuesui's dazed expression, Hailan thought she had lost heart.
"Even if you lose to Princess Shanyang, it doesn't matter. After all, Princess Shanyang has studied the tea ceremony for three years and is three years older than you. It's only natural for you to lose."
Jiang Xuesui was just thinking of a countermeasure and hadn't been listening to Hailan. When she snapped back to reality, she asked Hailan what she had said.
Hailan was startled, worried that her young miss might have been so afraid of losing that she'd lost her wits, and quickly felt Jiang Xuesui's forehead. It wasn't hot, so Hailan breathed a sigh of relief.
"I remember Baochan from elder sister's side said that Brother A Qiao is well-versed in the tea ceremony. I'll go ask Brother A Qiao if he has a way for me to beat Xie Nongyu," Jiang Xuesui said, then lifted her skirt and ran out.
*
Wen Qiao was holding a book when he heard someone call out "Brother." He looked up to see a pair of round, bright eyes blinking at him furiously.
"Brother, brother, can you teach me to whisk tea?"
Jiang Xuesui practically threw herself onto Wen Qiao's lap, her voice sweet and cajoling.
"Do you also use the technique of whisking tea for making milk tea?"
Wen Qiao didn't believe that this little one truly loved the tea ceremony; she must have ulterior motives.
Jiang Xuesui was perfectly open and honest. She told Wen Qiao everything about her bet with Xie Nongyu and also recounted her day of learning tea from Lu Shisan Niang in full detail.
"Lu Shisan Niang was right," Wen Qiao said.
"Brother, if you can help me beat Xie Nongyu, I promise I won't use the Jingting Green Snow you gave me to make milk tea anymore," Jiang Xuesui said, raising her little hand to swear.
Wen Qiao pressed his lips together, seeing how much Jiang Xuesui wanted to win. He nodded and agreed to teach her the tea ceremony.
First, he mixed a basket of red beans, a basket of mung beans, and a basket of soybeans together and had Jiang Xuesui sort them out.
Jiang Xuesui didn't ask why. She focused on picking the beans. After ten days of practice, her eyesight improved and her hands steadied. She was able to handle the brush, pour water, and whisk the tea without any problems, and she no longer dropped tea bowls.
But the froth of Jiang Xuesui's whisked tea easily dispersed, and the flavor was far inferior to Wen Qiao's.
Wen Qiao warmed his hands over the charcoal stove, then knelt behind her. With a careful sense of propriety, he held her soft little hand and taught her the steps of adding water in six stages, repeating them three times.
Jiang Xuesui roughly grasped the knack and tried again. This time, the froth didn't scatter, and the tea tasted much better.
"You're improving quickly."
Wen Qiao's gaze remained cool.
Then he went to his study to write essays.
Wen Ying brought a plate of colorful translucent flower-shaped rice cakes and a tea cup to Jiang Xuesui's side.
"Young Miss, take a rest. Have some tea and snacks."
Jiang Xuesui lifted the lid and saw it was a cup of warm, fragrant milk tea. On top of the tea floated caramelized sugar bits.
Jiang Xuesui quickly lowered her voice and said to Wen Ying, "Brother doesn't like people wasting his good tea like this. Sister, won't you get scolded by him? If he scolds you, don't worry. I'll ask to have you transferred to my Jiangxue Residence."
Wen Ying couldn't help but laugh.
"Young Miss, rest assured. This cup of milk tea has been approved. The eldest young master said that you like drinking milk tea, but milk tea made with Jingting Green Snow isn't fragrant enough. So he ordered me to use this Luyuan tea instead for making milk tea. Please, young miss, try it and see if it's good."