Chapter 355: Chapter 355 Part 2(1)
"Hehehe, this is the ’Inverted Golden Bell.’" Xiahou Yuan, dressed in a cyan-blue robe with his ink hair held up by a Jade Crown, presented the image of a modest gentleman. By his side was Shangguan Rui, cloaked in a Crescent White Robe, his ink hair partially tied back and flowing, exuding an air of unruly defiance.
"Brother Xiahou, Brother Shangguan, what a coincidence to see you both here," Xiu Bingxi said with a fist salute.
"Curiosity got the better of me; I wanted to see for myself what’s so special about the flowers here," Xiahou Yuan replied, nodding occasionally to greet others.
"How do you feel after seeing them?" Nangong Xiu suddenly asked from his left side.
Xiahou Yuan tilted his body slightly to look at him and gently curved his lips, "Very good."
Shangguan Rui, raising his eyebrows, watched them discuss what he considered a boring topic and disdainfully curled his lip; each one of them pretending—who would believe they came here solely to admire the flowers? There must be an ulterior motive.
Zhao Fenghua noticed Shangguan Rui’s expression and, raising an eyebrow, walked away to appreciate the so-called ’Inverted Golden Bell’ on his own.
Xue Hongbao, fanning himself as he looked around, noticed that young ladies from official families and rich merchant families were plentiful. He couldn’t help himself from critically appraising each one.
Seeing this, Bai Lang followed Zhao Fenghua to enjoy the flowers as well.
Seeing Shangguan Rui’s apparent impatience, Xiahou Yuan excused himself and stood up to leave the flower pavilion.
The five of them wandered leisurely for over an hour, only to realize they hadn’t finished even one section of ’Summer Garden.’
"I think it’s impossible to finish appreciating everything in a short time. How about we go have some tea and rest our feet? There’s no hurry to finish looking around," suggested Xue Hongbao, sweating after walking for so long.
The others nodded in agreement, "Let’s go, and try some of the flower tea."
They returned to the teahouse only to find it overflowing with people. After much difficulty, they found a spot by the wall and exchanged resigned smiles.
"Dear guests, here is the tea menu. Please take a moment to select your tea," a servant said, presenting a menu list to the table.
Xue Hongbao, curious, snatched it and, after scrutinizing the list with a furrowed brow, randomly pointed, "This one, the Iris Tea."
Bai Lang, recalling the pale lavender flowers, didn’t even look at the menu and directly ordered Lavender.
Nangong Xiu chose Canglan Tea.
Zhao Fenghua found the name Pink Tea quite pleasant and thus selected it.
After everyone else had made their choices, Xiu Bingxi casually ordered Forget-Me-Not Tea.
The servant took the list and left, and in half the time it takes an incense stick to burn, the teas were served.
"The tea service is pretty fast," Nangong Xiu commented idly, holding his teacup.
As the servant served tea to others at the table and heard Nangong Xiu’s remark, he replied with a smile, "The water was already boiled, and the flowers were picked early this morning while dew was still on them. As soon as you placed your orders, we had someone ready to brew the tea—fast and convenient."
After listening to the explanation, Nangong Xiu smiled warmly and slowly savored the flower tea in his cup. The taste was indeed good, and after finishing a cup, he felt as if all his fatigue had vanished, replaced by a renewed vigour.
"Not bad, quite delicious," Xiu Bingxi offered rare praise.
Bai Lang nodded in agreement, endorsing Brother Xiu’s statement.
Ever since ’Summer Garden’ opened, it had seen an endless stream of visitors. From initially fewer than a hundred people a day, the numbers swelled to over a thousand. The teahouse couldn’t accommodate all the guests, so a tent was set up outside. Even this makeshift space was constantly full.
The tavern’s business was booming to an extreme; if one didn’t arrange in advance for someone to reserve a space, arriving even slightly late meant there were no tables left, only the option to queue in the back.
