The Moon Over Tang Dynasty Chapter 245

Chapter 245: Ingenuity and ingenuity treat each other differently

As the long-handled suet jade pot shaft grinds back and forth, the small tea cakes quickly turn into tea powder in the gilt tea grinder; pour the tea powder into the silver tea rack like a small drawer, and sift through layers After a while, the tea powder accumulated on the silver plate below became thin and even. Zhang Minniang then opened the turtle-shaped tea box, poured in the tea powder, and left it for decoction.

Liuli had seen Pei Xingjian and Ayan do this tegrinding skill countless times, but now it was Zhang Minniang who was doing it, with a graceful and graceful style that she had never experienced before. The hair in front of her is as silky as clouds, and her ten fingers are as shiny as jade. It is already picturesque, and every move has the rhythm of a clear song, which is breathtaking.

The tea powder has just been ground, and on the other side, the tea cauldron on the silver stove has made a slight boiling sound. Zhang Minniang gently put down the tea box, turned around and fetched salt into the water. When it reached the second boil, she took the water with a spoon, raised her wrist lightly, and was about to sprinkle the prepared tea foam into the water, when a crisp laughter came from the door of the courtyard, "I said it was so quiet in front of you, it turns out You want to drink this salty water boiled with bitter leaves early in the morning!"

 Zhang Minniang's hand couldn't help but tremble, and the tea powder that was supposed to be poured into the heart of the cauldron suddenly spilled onto the edge of the cauldron.

Liuli was watching intently, but when she heard this, she smiled without looking back, "Yunyi, please stop saying weird things! Minniang's tea soup is almost ready, so come and have a few cups." , maybe you can still sit still."

Yunyi jumped over in a few steps, held her hands and said with a smile, "Sister, you have wronged me, why haven't I been sitting still these days?" She looked at Zhang Minniang up and down again, and her tone became colder, "Ms. Zhang came very early today. ”

 Zhang Minniang slowly raised her eyes, bowed with a calm smile, "I haven't seen Yun Niang for a long time."

Compared to Liuli's careless dress, Yunyi wore a brand-new Baidie Wearing flower red cross-collared coat today, paired with dark-colored fine-lined white silk pants, and the pearls and jade inlaid on the belt were shining brightly, and her face The makeup on her face was also carefully applied, making her eyes and lips brighter and brighter, and her whole person was so bright that it was almost arrogant.

Liuli suddenly wanted to laugh. He looked at her and nodded, "You are a little later than usual. I will punish you by playing two more songs later."

Xiaomi on the side also smiled and said, "Exactly, exactly! Madam Yun is obviously the best at playing and prefers to be lazy. Madam cannot spare her today."

Yunyi put her face in front of Xiaomi and bared her teeth fiercely, "Xiaomi, you dare to bully me, see how I will tear your little bones apart one by one!"

Xiaomi immediately had a look of horror on her face and patted her chest, "Madam, help me, Madam Yun is going to break my servant's bones!"

Liuli raised her eyebrows in surprise, "Do you have any bones?"

 Xiaomi was already young, and she was originally raised as a dancer. When she danced, her whole body was light, and her arms and waist were as soft as if they were boneless. As soon as Liuli said this, everyone in the yard couldn't help laughing. The elegant sound of the tea boiling and the ladle hitting the water was immediately drowned out.

The maid who came with Min Niang spoke up at the right time, "The tea is ready, ladies, would you like to have a taste?"

Her voice was sweet and crisp, which immediately drew everyone's attention back. Sure enough, the soup flowers in the tea cauldron had become dense and plump. Zhang Minniang also raised her eyes to look at Yunyi with a little doubt in her eyes.

Yun Yi waved her hands, "I won't drink! I don't want to drink this!"

 Zhang Minniang smiled slightly and remained silent. She removed the teapot, carefully divided the teapot into two pieces, then picked up one of the teacups and placed it on the table in front of Liuli.

Liuli smiled and picked up the cup, took a sip, nodded and said, "Thank you Min Niang for the good tea!" Although she has been drinking tea for so many years under Pei Xingjian's training, her current progress is that she can roughly distinguish the tea soup. The young and old, the quality of the tea, the tea cakes Zi Zhi picked are naturally good, not to mention Zhang Minniang's skill in making tea, you can tell just by looking at the thick foam cake, it is safe to say that the tea is good .

 Zhang Minniang also lowered her head and took a few sips, raised her eyes and looked at Liuli quietly, and said softly, "Is this the purple bamboo shoots from Huzhou? It really has a long-lasting fragrance and a long aftertaste."

Liuli raised her eyebrows indifferently, "Really? I don't quite understand. Anyway, if Changshu has time to make tea, I will drink a few cups. If he is busy, I won't come to fiddle with these objects, Min Niang." If you like it, there are probably some more tea cakes, and I'll have them wrapped up later.”

Zhang Minniang was startled for a moment before she laughed softly and said, "No need to trouble my sister-in-law." But the light in her eyes dimmed.

Liuli still looked casual, "Since you call me sister-in-law, why should you be polite?"

The maid behind Zhang Minniang smiled quickly and said, "Mrs. Qi Zhen, my wife is used to drinking stone flowers."

Mengding stone flower, the most famous delicacy in tea? Liuli blinked and looked back at Zizhi, "Do you have these stone flowers at home?"

Zizhi thought for a moment, then a look of surprise appeared on her face. She leaned over and whispered in Liuli's ear, "Ms. Qi, I remembered it. Our family used to have one, but Alang said that with such a great reputation, it's hard to live up to it." , and then the gentlemen of the An family were not allowed to bring him back from Chang'an." Her voice was obviously very low, but she spoke every word clearly and soothingly, and everyone heard her clearly. The face of the maid behind Zhang Minniang suddenly became stiff. Zhang Minniang also stopped her hand, lowered her eyes and took a sip of tea silently.

Liuli smiled apologetically, "If we don't have such good tea at home, I won't show off."

Zhang Minniang put down the tea cup, and the smile on her face became three points more elegant, "Auntie, don't listen to that bitch's nonsense. If you are a girl who comes back to the door, how can you miss out on Auntie's good things? In fact, Minniang is giving it to sister-in-law. I have prepared a small gift, which is very respectful."

Liuli had already noticed the small long box in the hand of Zhang Minniang's maid. When she opened the red-carved lid, she saw that inside was a six-hole flute with a dark purple luster. It could be seen that the material was of excellent quality and the polishing was fine. Liuli played with it for a while and then put it back. "This purple bamboo flute is really excellent." It's a pity that Xiaomi and I are not good at flutes and flutes. Pei Xingjian is probably the only one who can boast well, but I haven't seen him do this for many years.

Zhang Minniang smiled slightly and said, "It was Minniang who did it for fun. I have played the piano and played the flute since I was a child, but in Xizhou, the bamboo flute is easy to crack, so I simply asked someone to bring the best purple bamboo from the south of the Yangtze River, and I also After asking some people, I slowly thought about it and made it. Although it is rough, it is more durable than the flutes from other places. I don't want to dislike it. "

It turns out that not only is he good at playing the piano and flute, but he is also very clever with his hands. What a coincidence! Liuli nodded and laughed, "I see, it's really rare! As a sister-in-law, I can't push you away with those vulgar things. I wonder if Min Niang is busy these days."

 Zhang Minniang was startled for a moment, her thoughts were racing in her mind, and she smiled, "What can I do? I just have two unfinished flutes on hand for my sister at home... I wonder what my sister-in-law's orders are?"

A look of satisfaction appeared on Liuli's face, "It doesn't matter! Min Niang will know after a while." She turned around and ordered, "Bring the shelf out, we can get it today!"

Xiaomi cheered and ran into the house with two little maids sweeping the house. Zizhi led people to move out the crescent stool, pipa and other items. Yunyi was already impatient with waiting, but was unwilling to interrupt. At this time His face was full of smiles and his eyes were even brighter. Only Zhang Minniang and her maid looked at each other in confusion.

After a while, Xiaomi and the others carefully carried a strange-looking wooden frame out of the back room. The frame was about one person tall. There was a thin wooden board placed between the two wooden legs in front, and there were wooden strips behind the wooden board. For support, there is a wooden leg on the wooden bar to support the ground backwards, which looks very stable. After the three of them carried the wooden frame to the middle of the yard, and the other side of the wooden board was turned around, Zhang Minniang was really surprised: there was a beige silk stretched on the wooden board, and it was clearly Ashina who was painted on it. Yunyi is dressed in red and holding a pipa. The texture of her skin and the folds of her clothes are all painted in such detail that she seems to have stepped right out of the painting. Seeing Liu Li dissolve some rouge-colored paint into clear water, mix some light ink, dip it in with a small wolf brush, and then re-outline the already well-painted picture, he accidentally took a step back to take a look at the painting. , and looked at Yunyi; Yunyi sat down on the crescent stool in front of the easel, and played the melodious Liangzhou song with a happy face. The clear and clear voice almost made the birds dance; Xiaomi had already I couldn't help but hum along with the pipa tune, and my movements of preparing paint and water had a hint of dancing; the other maids were reluctant to leave, standing far behind the easel, pointing, talking and laughing. There was joy and laughter in the yard.

 Zhang Minniang looked at Yunyi who was playing the pipa with a smile, and then at Liuli who was rolling up her sleeves behind the easel, and she couldn't tell what she was feeling in her heart. She had made all the preparations in order to let this Cudi, who controlled the backyard like a storm, see clearly her appearance and talent, make her worry, and let her take action, so that she could have a chance. Unexpectedly, The one who was shocked seemed to be himself...

About half an hour later, Liuli finished trimming all the clothing lines, looked sideways for a moment, put the pen on the celadon pen, and laughed, "Okay! Yunyi, come and take a look for yourself." The picture was very clear and bright. After re-outlining the lines, the brushstrokes became more fluent and layered.

Yunyi jumped up. She didn't even have time to put down her pipa, so she jumped over in a few steps, looked at the painting up and down, and smiled until her eyes narrowed into crescents. "Sister, the painting is so good!"

Zhang Minniang took a few steps forward, with the most decent smile on her face, "Amin also heard about the saying of a masterful painter who has both form and spirit. Only today did he know what it means to have both form and spirit. A sister-in-law's wonderful pen is really impressive. People are amazed.”

Liuli turned around and smiled, "It's not difficult, it just takes a little more time. If Amin is willing, how about I help you draw such a picture?"

Although Zhang Minniang had some guesses, she still couldn't believe it when she heard this sentence. She hurriedly asked, "How can this be done?"

Liuli smiled and said, "How can I not do it? I also thought about painting more beauties. Min Niang's face can be preserved in the painting for a long time, so that it will not be let down by the years."

The look on her face lasted for a long time...Zhang Minniang couldn't say the word "no" anymore, but Yun Yi's smile immediately froze. She turned back to look at Zhang Minniang, with unhappiness in her eyes that could not be concealed, and she frowned again. He looked at Liuli reluctantly.

 Zhang Minniang couldn't help but hesitated, "This matter, this matter... is too disturbing to my sister-in-law."

Liuli smiled and shook his head, "I'm used to it. It's just that you have to sit still for this kind of painting. Yun Yi has been complaining about boredom for many days."

Yun Yi snorted and said coldly, "Sitting without moving is naturally boring. Madam Zhang is very busy, how can she have the time?"

 Zhang Minniang smiled softly, "Yunniang is joking, I live alone, how come I don't have time?"

Yunyi's eyes widened, and just as he was about to speak, Liuli smiled and said, "Then we've agreed, after tomorrow's holiday, from the day after tomorrow, as long as it's not a day of rest and the weather is fine, you can come over before now "The day after tomorrow is the first day. Remember to wear your favorite clothes."

Yun Yi's face suddenly darkened, and the last trace of suspicion in Zhang Minniang's heart disappeared immediately. She quickly knelt down and said, "Thank you, sister-in-law." A smile almost spread from the bottom of her heart to the corners of her mouth.

Yunyi's mouth corners drooped unconsciously. She looked at her portrait and then at Zhang Minniang, who was smiling all over her face. She almost wished that the next moment she would fall down and break her head and never smile again. It's just that the yard of Pei's house is flat and the threshold is not high. Until Zhang Minniang walked out after lunch, she didn't even stumble in her steps.

Yunyi turned around and pulled Liuli, her lips pouted, "Sister, you are very partial! Is she really that good?"

Liuli smiled and said nothing, and then said after entering the room, "I am naturally very partial. You have to sit for half an hour every day to paint this painting, and I can paint it for ten days or so. This Zhang Minniang is born like this." Well, of course you have to sit for two hours every day and paint for a month before you can paint properly!"

Yun Yi said "Ah" and couldn't help laughing after thinking about it, "Exactly!" Then she thought about Zhang Minniang having such a beautiful portrait, and couldn't help but said, "Sister is still too cheap of her!"

Liuli looked outside the curtain and said calmly, "It's okay, it's just a small matter, so don't worry about it too much." After thinking about it, he added, "If you don't want to see her, just come back in the afternoon."

Yun Yi nodded knowingly.

 The weather in autumn in Xizhou is the most peaceful and sunny, and almost every day is a good day for painting. Pei's house closed the door to thank guests before noon every day, and the sound of the piano could be heard from time to time. Within half a month, the news spread throughout Xizhou City that the famous beauty of the Zhang family went to Pei's house every day to have Mrs. Chang Shi paint her portrait. The women who had some friendship with Liuli naturally wanted to see the excitement. When they saw the gradually taking shape of the beautiful woman playing the piano, they couldn't help but sigh with envy, "This lady is so lucky!"

 Is she created? Thinking of Zhang Minniang, who was sitting upright in the yard every day, playing the piano and keeping her head in position at all times, and could hardly move when she left every day, Xiaomi couldn't help but nodded seriously, "Her destiny is "It's really not small!" Except for the last day, Ms. Ashina was too excited. In fact, most of the time she just held the pipa and showed off. Sometimes when she got bored, she would play the pipa and dance by herself to relieve her boredom. Ms. Zhang Well...she plays so seriously, so naturally it's hard for everyone to remind her.

 Finally, by mid-September, the portrait was completed. The glass was carefully framed and delivered to Zhang Minniang's hands. Even though Zhang Minniang had extraordinary determination, she couldn't help but burst into tears. Liuli suppressed her laughter until she almost suffered internal injuries. In the evening, she laughed with Pei Xingjian and said, "Looking at her appearance, I'm afraid she might not be willing to come if I post a message in the future asking her to come over."

Pei Xingjian smiled faintly, "I'm afraid Madam Zhang will never come over in the future."

Liuli was startled, and felt that there was something profound in his smile, so she quickly asked, "Why, what happened again?"

Pei Xingjian said in an understatement, "A few days ago, an edict was immediately delivered to Xizhou, instructing the Anxi Metropolitan Protector Su Hai and the political leader Xingxing the deceased Khan Ashina Mishe and the successor Khan Ashina Buzhen to attack the Kucha rebellion. The remnants of the party.”

Liuli's heart suddenly trembled, and she frowned and said, "What about Xizhou? Are you going to **** food and grass again?"

Pei Xingjian smiled and said, "Su Daduhu is very dedicated. The military order to send troops today has arrived in Xizhou. He ordered the commander-in-chief Qu to carry out supplies and raise 200,000 shi of food and grass!"

This morning I accompanied someone to the Great Wall and blew in the wind for a long time, and I was basically frozen to death. I thought in my heart: In the past, I left, and the willows lingered, but now I come to think about it, the rain and snow are falling, and the wind is messy. I don't know how sad I am... Then, tomorrow, I will accompany this boring person to Qianmen Dashilan to appreciate the style of old Beijing. It's winter, I'm K!

Let's take a look tomorrow morning. If not, it will be eight o'clock in the evening. I can't afford to hurt someone who has a best friend to play with. well. Today, I turned my grief and anger into strength and wrote a thousand more words, asking for pink and comfort.

 (End of this chapter)

Chapter end