For several days, Lu Jiayi was in a state where she could go berserk at any time.
Although Cai Jing was only a teenager, that day was Lu Jiayi's first kiss! First kiss! And it was ruined by a half-grown naughty kid! She, Lu Jiayi, had been through many things, from the soul version of the tea fairy to the peddlers of various dynasties. She had never been afraid of anything, except this time...
This time things really got out of hand!
After Lu Jiayi took out the three-legged golden toad, scolded Lu Yu, and strongly demanded to return to the modern era but was rejected, her mood fell to the bottom.
If she quickly completes the task and finds the "Tea of ​​Sorrow", she will be able to leave this era forever and say goodbye to that annoying brat forever!
Lu Jiayi hadn't slept well for several days, and after another bout of insomnia, she made up her mind. Since the key figure in this mission was Cai Xiang, and he drank Yunwu tea most often, Lu Jiayi felt that she had to give him a push and try to get the tea full of sorrow as soon as possible.
After much thought, Lu Jiayi found that the best opportunity at the moment was the deep feelings for Adou.
Thinking of this, Lu Jiayi got up early, asked for leave from the steward, and then ran to Cai Jing's house.
Cai Jing's eyes almost popped out when he saw her coming. He pointed at Lu Jiayi with a trembling finger, and his tone was full of doubt: "You're not hiding from me anymore?"
"Stop talking nonsense. I'm here to ask you for help. In a word, do you want to help me?"
Cai Jing shrugged helplessly, with an expression that said "I knew you would be like this."
Actually, Lu Jiayi came up with a bad idea when she was suffering from insomnia. Although she herself felt that this plot was extremely cliché and it would also make people feel thundering if it was put in a CEO's love drama, it was still quite effective for two people who were only a thin layer of window paper away from being broken.
All this was because Lu Jiayi believed her own eyes. Her intuition told her that Cai Xiang was not completely indifferent to Adou.
After plotting with Cai Jing for a while, the two set off for Cai's residence. This time, Cai Jing went directly to find his elder brother Cai Xiang. Lu Jiayi followed him to the young master's study and secretly hid aside to eavesdrop.
"What new ideas have you got?" Cai Xiang asked without raising his head when he saw Cai Jing swaggering in.
He was copying a calligraphy work by Chu Suiliang. Each character was thick, dignified, simple, graceful and beautiful, with a hint of his own unique aura.
Cai Jing glanced at the calligraphy on the desk, closed his folding fan with a snap, and said with a smile: "Brother, look at you, you are proficient in everything. Now, who out there doesn't want to hang a copy of your calligraphy on the wall? Look at me, my brother, I will be old enough to take the exam in a few years, but now..."
Cai Xiang straightened up and looked at him indifferently, as if he knew what was in his mind.
"Just tell me, what do you like about me now?"
Cai Jing laughed and said mysteriously: "Brother, you really understand me! To be honest, I admire the girl Adou beside you very much. If you are willing to give her to me, I can take her out to compete in tea drinking every day! With her, it won't be a problem to win all over the city of Bianjing! Then, I won't come to you every day to covet your treasure..."
Cai Jing was talking, but he didn't notice that when Cai Xiang heard Adou's name, his face gradually froze. Lu Jiayi secretly looked at him, only to see that he was in a trance, and was overjoyed.
As expected! Adou was indeed Cai Xiang's weak spot.
Lu Jiayi nudged Cai Jing with her arm. Cai Jing, who was talking excitedly, reacted, coughed, and said, "Well, I understand. Miss Adou is your favorite maid. If you are reluctant to let her go..."
"No problem." Cai Xiang came back to his senses, adjusted his breathing, looked at Cai Jing and said, "Since you like Adou so much, I will talk to her tomorrow and see if she is willing to come to your house."
"Ah?" Cai Jing was a little caught off guard and couldn't help asking, "Are you really going to give Ah Dou... to me?" As he said that, he turned his head to look at Lu Jiayi and winked, meaning, "This is different from what we agreed on!"
Lu Jiayi was also shocked. This...wasn't right! Why didn't Cai Xiang follow her script?
"I have to ask her first whether she is willing to follow you or not. It depends on her opinion." Cai Xiang replied. After that, he seemed not to want to continue this topic. He lowered his head and continued to write the unfinished calligraphy.
However, my mind was in a mess and I couldn't make this calligraphy complete.
In the study, the three people held their breath at the same time, each with their own thoughts. Therefore, everyone heard an unusually rapid breathing sound.
Lu Jiayi looked over following the sound and saw Ah Dou stepping into the study with a cup of tea in his hand. She stood there, staring blankly at Cai Xiang, who was writing with his head down, her chest heaving violently.
Is Cai Xiang willing to give her away?
It turns out, it turns out... She only had the ability to compete in tea-making, and she thought that in his heart, she would at least be a little different from other maids. Unexpectedly, in the end, she was still an ordinary maid who could be given away at will.
"Sister Adou..." Lu Jiayi murmured to her, knowing that she was in big trouble today.
Cai Xiang raised his head and saw Ah Dou standing by the door. He frowned instantly. He opened his mouth and seemed to be about to say something, but Ah Dou said first: "We were delayed on the road for too long. The tea is cold. I will make another cup for you."
After saying that, she left the study in a hurry without waiting for anyone to speak.
"Sister Adou!" Lu Jiayi looked back at the stunned Cai Xiang and without caring about anything else, she hurriedly chased after her.
She caught up with Ah Dou outside the two corridors. The teacup in Ah Dou's hand had broken, and the scalding hot tea had all spilled on her dress. She held onto the pillars of the corridor, tears silently streaming down her cheeks.
"Sister!" Lu Jiayi shouted behind her.
Adou waved her hands, bit her lips hard, and tried to speak in a normal tone: "Let me be alone for a while." As she said that, she ran straight to the side door of Cai's mansion.
Tragedy ! Lu Jiayi had a profound experience of what it meant to "steal a chicken but lose the rice". Today's incident not only did not help Adou at all, but also destroyed their sisterhood. What should she do?
Lu Jiayi chased him onto the street.
The huge Bianjing city was full of people, and Lu Jiayi accidentally lost the distraught Adou. In desperation, she had to ask along the way.
There was a large teahouse in the south of the city. When Lu Jiayi walked there, she heard a deafening noise coming from upstairs. She remembered the first time she met Adou. That day, she beat a teahouse owner and won a big prize. She was confidently waiting for the young master's praise.
However, what she waited for was such a sad ending as today.
With a hint of expectation, Lu Jiayi walked into the teahouse. A tea-fighting competition was being held on the second floor, and the place was crowded with people. Lu Jiayi walked around the crowd but couldn't find a gap to squeeze in.
The crowd cheered once more, and then dispersed contentedly. Lu Jiayi could see the people inside clearly. One of them had willow-shaped eyebrows and was very pretty. Who else could it be but Adou?
"Sister!" Lu Jiayi happily grabbed Adou's hand.
"Miss, you are more skilled than me. I accept defeat sincerely. According to the agreement, this fan pendant belongs to you." A male voice as gentle as jade came from her ears, which immediately attracted Lu Jiayi's attention.
Lu Jiayi looked up and saw a noble-dressed young man standing in front of her. There was a kind of pride between his eyebrows, but it was covered by the elegance of a scholar. He stretched out his hand to Adou, and on his palm lay a white jade fan pendant, which looked very valuable.
"Wow! Sister, you won again!" Lu Jiayi was very happy.
"Today's tea-fighting is not for gambling, so please take back the fan pendant." Although Ah Dou won, he was not happy. His eyes gradually dimmed and he had the idea of ​​leaving in a moment.
"Young lady, please stay!" The young man called her and asked politely, "Excuse me, which master's house are you from?"
"We met by chance, so why bother about our backgrounds?" Adou bowed to the man and said goodbye politely.
"Please don't misunderstand, young lady. I just feel that... " The young man smiled faintly, with a trace of tenderness and care in his eyes, "No matter who it is, you shouldn't make a good girl sad like this."
Adou raised his head in surprise, met the young man's gaze, his heart full of gratitude.
Lu Jiayi also looked at the nobleman with approval, and a thought flashed silently in her mind: "If Sister Adou didn't have someone in her heart, I would have brought you together!"
However, as Adou said, they were just casual acquaintances, and today's incident was just a small episode in Adou's long and troubled life, which was forgotten as soon as he turned around.
Lu Jiayi didn't take the strange young man to heart. After returning to the mansion, the Cai brothers were relieved that Adou returned safely. Today's farce was deliberately ignored, and everyone tacitly didn't mention it again. However, since that day, Adou always lowered his head deeply when walking, as if he didn't want to see anyone. Naturally, she didn't notice Cai Xiang's repeated hesitation to speak.
Until that day.
Cai Xiang was a student of the Imperial Academy. His talent was well-known and he was also highly appreciated by the emperor. Whenever he entered the palace, he would recite a few poems, write a few words, and drink a few cups of tea for His Majesty. But he was still young and had not passed the imperial examinations. The emperor treated him like an ordinary subject. Therefore, he never thought that one day, the emperor would suddenly ask him for someone.
"Is this... true?" In the Cai Mansion, the old lady led everyone to welcome the eunuch who came to deliver the message for His Majesty the Emperor. After hearing the imperial edict, everyone was surprised.
"Yes, yes..." The eunuch smiled happily, feeling happy for the whole Cai family. "The emperor met Miss Adou that day and was impressed by her skills. After returning to the palace, he lost his appetite for several days. So he asked me to tell the old lady to invite Miss Adou to stay in the palace for a while."
"Oh, that's great!" The old lady was extremely happy and turned around to chat with everyone, "It is a blessing for our Cai family to be chosen by His Majesty!"
"right!"
"Congratulations, old lady!"
Everyone agreed.
Only Lu Jiayi, who was standing at the end of the team, was worried. The noble-dressed and elegant-spoken young man that day turned out to be the emperor of the Song Dynasty? She cast her eyes on Adou in front of her. As expected, she was as shocked as herself, and even fell into a trance for a while.
The emperor wants her to enter the palace...
After the eunuch delivered the order, the old lady asked him to stay for a cup of tea, and Adou served him personally. The three of them talked for a while, and Adou finally stepped back, but was pulled back by Lu Jiayi.
"Sister, are you going?"
Adou raised her head, and her slightly red eyes betrayed her.
"Let's go find the young master."
Lu Jiayi pulled her away.
Cai Xiang was in the same low mood as Adou these days, so he simply went out to read with his friends. He probably didn't know about Adou's affairs. Lu Jiayi took Adou to Cai Xiang's study and was about to ask the servant to go find the young master when footsteps were heard outside the door.
Cai Xiang pushed aside the servant at the door and walked straight towards the two girls.
He walked in a hurry, his breathing was rapid, and his eyes could not hide the anxiety.
Ah Dou raised his head, glanced at him, and then quickly lowered his head. The scorching sun flowed between the two of them, as if telling a secret that could not be spoken.
"Sir, I don't want to enter the palace and serve the emperor. I can't bear such a blessing. I just want to...stay by your side forever and make soup and tea for you. Please...help me reject the emperor's kindness..."
At the end, she couldn't hold it in any longer and her voice choked with sobs.
Cai Xiang sighed deeply. He stretched out his hands, paused in the air, but finally landed on Adou's shoulders. He held Adou's thin shoulders and said softly, "Okay, I will help you refuse the emperor. Don't cry, you will stay with me forever."
Ah Dou couldn't help but raise her head and looked at him through her hazy eyes, seeing his eyes full of pity and reluctance. Suddenly, she couldn't help crying. Cai Xiang's heart moved and he couldn't help but hold her in his arms.
Lu Jiayi's heart finally settled down. She was just looking for a chance to sneak away when she saw the boy at the door winking at her. She hurried over and saw the boy pointing outside the door, asking her to go outside.
When Lu Jiayi looked over, she saw an old lady with a dignified face standing outside.
"Ma'am." She saluted quickly.
The old lady looked in the direction of the study, with no expression of joy or anger on her face. She just asked calmly, "Is the young master back?"
"Yes, I just got back."
"Yes." The old lady nodded, paused, and then asked, "Is Adou here too?"
Lu Jiayi nodded cautiously, worried that the old lady would be unhappy, and kept stealing glances at her expression. However, it was obvious that Lu Jiayi was overthinking, and the old lady was not unhappy. Her face was very calm, looking at the study, and thinking alone for a while.
"Go tell the young master to wait for me in the ancestral hall. I have something to say to him."
"Yes." Lu Jiayi nodded respectfully.
Call Cai Xiang to the ancestral hall to talk? Lu Jiayi felt that the matter that the old lady wanted to talk to Cai Xiang was probably related to Adou. After all, no one in the Cai Mansion knew that Cai Xiang favored Adou. Today, the emperor sent someone to the Cai Mansion to ask for Adou, and Cai Xiang must be reluctant to give him up.
Maybe he wanted to comfort the young master.
Lu Jiayi waited outside the courtyard gate for a while, and when the situation inside calmed down, she ran in to report. Hearing that it was the old lady's order, Cai Xiang did not dare to delay and went to the ancestral hall immediately. Before leaving, he turned around and said to Adou: "Wait for me to come back."
Adou clasped his hands together and nodded vigorously.
Lu Jiayi followed Cai Xiang and before leaving, she winked at Adou, meaning: Just wait for me!
No matter what, she would definitely help Cai Xiang persuade the old lady to let A Dou stay in the Cai Mansion.
Cai Xiang's ancestors were not in Bianjing, and the so-called ancestral hall was quite simple, with only tablets of three generations of Cai Xiang's ancestors. Cai Xiang was very intelligent and showed extraordinary talent when he was young. He participated in the provincial examination at the age of 15. Later, the old lady was worried about him living alone in the Imperial College, so she brought some of her family members to Bianjing.
Lu Jiayi waited for a long time with Cai Xiang in the ancestral hall, but the old lady did not come. She was so bored that she started counting the leaves of an old tree under the eaves for fun.
Cai Xiang turned around and saw Lu Jiayi looking up, trying hard to count the leaves above her head, and he couldn't help but find it funny.
"Go check on the old lady. Maybe she was delayed by something."
Lu Jiayi suddenly woke up and said quickly: "Oh!"
She trotted all the way to the old lady's room, but didn't see anyone, so she had to look around. When she arrived at the main hall, Lu Jiayi was surprised to find that there was an extra guard of honor in the mansion.
"What's going on?" Lu Jiayi grabbed a girl next to her and asked anxiously.
"What else could it be?" The little girl looked at Lu Jiayi as if she were an idiot and said unhappily, "Adou has already agreed to enter the palace. These people came from the palace to pick her up. The emperor is so good to Adou. I'm so envious..."
What? Lu Jiayi's eyes widened.
She had only been away for a short while, how could Adou suddenly change his mind and agree to enter the palace? Lu Jiayi was anxious, and looked around hastily, but she couldn't find Adou. She didn't care about Cai Xiang who was left alone in the ancestral hall, and rushed to Adou's room.
"Sister! What's going on? They said you were going to the palace?" Lu Jiayi pushed open the door and rushed to Adou, asking him bluntly.
What people didn't expect was that Ah Dou was sitting in front of the mirror and dressing up. She had changed into a red dress and combed her hair into a proper palace dress. On the dressing table was a set of gold jewelry, gorgeous and elegant. Ah Dou, who always had a light and elegant makeup, was carefully fiddling with the ornaments on her head.
Is she really ready to enter the palace?
Lu Jiayi looked at Ah Dou in disbelief and asked blankly, "Sister, didn't you tell the Master..."
Ah Dou stopped what he was doing, took a deep breath, and said softly, "I know you care about me, Jiayi. After you left, I thought about it carefully again. If the young master really rejected the emperor for me, the whole Cai family would be in trouble. I don't want to ruin his future. Besides, going to the palace and being with the emperor is also an opportunity for me. At first I was too pessimistic and afraid that my peaceful life would change, but being able to serve the emperor is really a great blessing. I, a small tea drinker, may be able to take this opportunity to completely change my life."
Lu Jiayi was speechless.
Adou's words really made sense. When Adou said that he didn't want to implicate the Cai family, Lu Jiayi thought, if the young master really offended the emperor because of Adou, would he still become the Cai Xiang in history?
Cai Xiang was not only a well-known calligrapher, but also a good official who won the hearts of the people. Lu Jiayi did not expect fate.
"Sister, have you really thought it through?" After some thought, Lu Jiayi silently agreed with Adou's decision, but she couldn't help feeling sad. "After entering the palace, you may never see the young master again. Are you... willing to let it go?"
Adou looked at himself in the mirror with heavy makeup on and sighed.
"I hope the young master will remember me forever." Her eyes were moist and tears slowly fell. Looking at herself with tears streaming down her face, she shook her head again and suddenly said in a very firm tone: "No, I still hope he will forget me. He is young and promising, talented, and highly valued by the court. He has a long future ahead of him, but I will be imprisoned in the palace forever."
Lu Jiayi couldn't help but shed tears. She walked forward and gently hugged Adou, which made Adou cry even harder.
"Don't tell my lord, look at me, my makeup is all ruined..."
"It's okay, I will help you." Lu Jiayi lowered her head, "Sister, you will be fine, and the young master will be fine too. I will always watch over you."
I've watched you grow old together, but not in the same place.
In the evening, Cai Xiang finally got the news.
Before entering the palace, Ah Dou asked to say goodbye to her family. She brought her usual tea set and came to Cai Xiang's room.
Cai Xiang stood under the dim light with his hands behind his back. The dim light shone on his handsome face, but his expression was blurred.
"Adou, why are you..."
"Sir, this is the last time I will make tea for you..." Adou gently put down the tea set, took out a towel to wipe his hands, and prepared to make tea.
Grinding tea cakes, boiling tea soup... Every step was done with great precision and caution, because this was the last chance. Ah Dou lowered her head and watched the tea gradually tumbling. From beginning to end, she did not even look at Cai Xiang.
Since you have decided not to look back, why add another scar in your memory?
Cai Xiang turned around and looked at her, looking at her seriously and attentively. After a long while, he spoke in a difficult voice: "If this is what you have decided..."
"This is what Adou has decided ." Adou interrupted him and whispered, "After thinking about it, I really still yearn for the life in the palace. People always strive for higher positions. This is what the young master taught Adou, isn't it?"
The rest of the sentence was swallowed back.
Cai Xiang closed his eyes and nodded slightly: "Okay."
A cup of farewell tea, never to see each other again.
After Adou left, Lu Jiayi was sad for a long time.
"You two have a really good relationship." Unexpectedly, when the old lady heard that she was bedridden, she actually came to the servants' room to visit her in person.
"Husband, Madam!" Seeing the old lady coming, Lu Jiayi didn't dare to be pretentious. She jumped up from the bed and quickly found a chair for the old lady to sit down.
"You know you are sad for Adou." The old lady sat down and spoke slowly, "However, young people should know how to look forward. Entering the palace may not be a bad thing for Adou."
"Madam, why are you suddenly..."
"Because it was me who persuaded Adou to enter the palace." The old lady looked at her and spoke word by word.
Lu Jiayi suddenly understood. No wonder Adou suddenly changed his mind. It turned out that calling Cai Xiang to the ancestral hall was a plan.
In this case, could it be that the old lady had already...
The old lady looked at the sudden change in Lu Jiayi's expression and knew what she was thinking. She simply confessed, "Adou has been with me since she was a child. She is a very good child. I believe she has explained to you the reasons why I persuaded her to enter the palace."
Lu Jiayi didn't dare to speak and could only nod obediently.
"The Cai family only had the opportunity to truly glorify their ancestors when it came to Xiang'er's generation. When Xiang'er was young, I took him to see a fortune teller, and the fortune teller said that Xiang'er would have extraordinary achievements in the future and even go down in history. He treats A Dou differently from other maids, and as his mother, how could I not see that? But he has made it to the Imperial College, and I can't joke about his future." The old lady said softly.
I see.
Lu Jiayi completely understood the good intentions of the old lady. In the past, when she watched TV dramas, she always felt that those mothers who used their family background as a weapon to try their best to separate the hero and heroine were bad people, but Mrs. Cai was really thinking about Cai Xiang. Lu Jiayi had long known Cai Xiang's future achievements, and her understanding of the old lady in this way was suspected of being a hindsight, but she did understand the helplessness of a mother.
"Madam, why did you tell me so much today..." Lu Jiayi asked.
The old lady stood up, looked around the room, then sighed deeply and said, "Xiang'er still can't let go."
"Young Master?" Lu Jiayi had been busy being sad these days. She only knew that Cai Xiang was in a similar situation as her and did not go to see what was going on.
"He has already talked to me about it. After finishing his studies at the Imperial College, he will ask the emperor to send him out. We will leave the capital soon." The old lady said, "No matter where Xiang'er is sent, I will go back to my hometown in Xianyou, and everyone who followed me to Bianjing will also go back. You are not from our place, so when the time comes, it's up to you to decide whether to go or stay."
Lu Jiayi stood there in a daze.
Leaving? The whole house?
"I see that you are usually very well-behaved and have a good relationship with Adou, so I told you so much. No matter where you choose to go, I will support you." The old lady said, patted Adou on the shoulder, and then left the room.
The old lady talked to her so much alone, which touched Lu Jiayi very much. But she was not from this era after all, so she would not be too sad about this separation. After the old lady left, Lu Jiayi suddenly thought of something. The Cai family was leaving Bianjing, especially since it was unknown where Cai Xiang would be sent by the court. Did Adou, who was far away in the deep palace, know about it?
Thinking of this, Lu Jiayi took action immediately.
She must pass this news to the palace.
Adou lived in the palace for a while. Although the emperor treated her well and was the emperor, he still maintained the gentlemanly demeanor he had when they first met. However, Adou was still unhappy and was extremely sad when she received Lu Jiayi's little note.
Lu Jiayi waited for a long time, until the people in Cai's house packed up and prepared to return to Xianyou. The brilliant young man rode away on his horse, and she moved into Cai Jing's house.
Adou asked someone to bring a can of ground cloud tea from the palace, and there was no other words. Lu Jiayi held the tea can, thinking of Adou who was depressed in the deep palace, and unconsciously became dazed. She was wandering here just for this can of tea . However, this story seemed to have been forcibly torn apart, and the ending was casually thrown into the wind.
what is this?
Lu Jiayi took out some tea leaves from the jar and gave the rest to Cai Jing, asking him to pass it on to Cai Xiang. This can be regarded as an ending that Lu Jiayi, a passerby, helped to write.
"What about you?" Cai Jing asked puzzledly.
"The old lady and the others have already left, why should I stay here?" Lu Jiayi shrugged.
"You...you can stay with me!" Cai Jing muttered unhappily, "I'm still here!"
Lu Jiayi opened her mouth but didn't know what to say, so she touched Cai Jing's head and said softly, "I'm not from here. I've done what I wanted to do, and now it's time to go back to my home."
Cai Jing looked at her in astonishment. Lu Jiayi's abnormal behavior gave him an ominous premonition.
What she said was true.
Although she had not known Cai Jing for a long time, this naughty boy had left a deep impression on her in a different way. It would be a lie to say that she did not miss him at all.
Just like any other time when she went out, Lu Jiayi greeted Cai Jing politely and walked out the door carrying a small bag.
Cai Jing stared at her back in a daze, and suddenly realized that she might never come back to Bianjing! With this thought, he rushed over regardless of everything.
"Wait! Lu Jiayi, don't go!" he shouted.
Lu Jiayi turned around in surprise, only to see the half-grown child throwing himself into her arms.
"you you you……"
"I told you, you are mine! Don't leave!" Cai Jing buried his head in her arms and said sullenly.
"You little brat!"
Lu Jiayi was suddenly overwhelmed. To return to the modern world, she didn't need to take transportation. She just needed to find a deserted place and pour the tea leaves into the three-legged golden toad. Just now, Lu Jiayi put the tea leaves in as soon as she came out, urging Lu Yu to hurry up. Just as the teleportation array was about to be opened, Cai Jing ran out again.
It's impossible to disappear strangely in front of a child, right? Lu Jiayi was worried that Cai Jing's worldview would collapse. In a hurry, she didn't care so much, pushed him away fiercely, and pretended to be angry and cursed.
Unexpectedly, Cai Jing did not talk back to her, but just looked at her with extremely resentful eyes, then lowered his head.
"I know," he whispered.
"Huh?" Lu Jiayi's anger gradually subsided.
"I have something to give you. Please wait here and don't leave. I will be back soon!" Cai Jing said and ran back home.
"Hey——" Lu Jiayi shouted at his back. She wanted to say that it was too late and she couldn't wait for his gift. But the child ran too fast and didn't even look back.
The three-legged golden toad glowed with dazzling light, which gradually enveloped Lu Jiayi's body. She stood in the colorful light and shadow, with the door of time and space opened behind her. However, the little boy who had gone away could no longer give the gift.
After this moment, the two people's time and space will never meet again.