Chapter Twelve: Who Can Say What Heaven's Will Is?

  The sky is high and refreshing, with a few strands of light cloud floating at the edge of the sky, casually smearing the gentle wind color, the blue sky is like washing, and the sunlight spreads out without any scruples, shining brightly like beautiful jade, clouds like water.

  In the garden of the Wang's mansion, a stretch of bluestone pavement was scattered with water, under the dense flower shade, cool shadows were visible everywhere, wisteria flowers floated, and the fragrance was rich.

  She walked with a few books in her arms, her expression slightly lazy. She had been reading all night again, and the notes of various strange schools in Yunbo's study had almost all been searched by her, but she still hadn't seen that so-called witch tribe's forbidden technique. She trudged along, subconsciously fiddling with the jade ring on her wrist, sighing silently to herself.

  Two attendants who were serving in the mansion on ordinary days were whispering to each other in front of the Smoke Wave Pavilion, and when they saw Qingchen coming over, their faces lit up with joy. One of them hurriedly came forward from a distance and called out: "Miss Feng!"

  "Qin Yue, is Seventh Highness back?" Qing Chen asked casually.

  "Back," Qin Yue made a bow: "The prince is raging inside, none of us dare to go in and serve tea, please help, miss."

  With Ye Tian's temperament, he actually had a big outburst of thunder. Qing Chen stopped in front of the water pavilion corridor and asked strangely: "What happened?"

  "We're also unclear, only hearing that Your Highness seems to be enraged," Qin Yue said with a bitter face: "Going in at this time might not end well."

  "You think I'm here to be your scapegoat?"

  "Miss, have pity on us, Your Highness will not scold you." Qin Yue made another bow and took the tea tray from someone else's hand, bowing his head to plead.

  Your delicate eyebrows swept lightly, and you took the tea from his hand again, turning around to ask: "Is there anyone else inside?"

  Qin Yue said: "Uncle Yin and Young Master Yin."

  You nodded and walked towards the study with a cup of tea, at the door hearing Ye Tian Chen's voice: "The Yin family's business is already enough, which one is not enough, but must go to the Song Dance Workshop this muddy water?" Wen Lang's tone was calm and unhurried, his tone sounded no different from usual, only slightly more careful, yet able to detect a few more degrees of coldness.

  "Your Highness is right, but things have come to this point, and we still need to think of a solution. Moreover, this matter has now implicated not just the Yin family." A slightly older voice said slowly.

  Qing dust lightly coughed, reached out to lift the curtain, and in the house by the window sat a man in his forties or fifties, who was none other than Ye Tianzhan's uncle, Shangshu Ling Yin Jianzheng. Beside him stood a young man, who was the eldest son of the Yin family, Yin Mingyu.

  Ye Tianzhan sat in front of the case, his face pale and not looking angry, but his eyebrows were slightly different from his usual warmth, making the room seem a bit quiet. When Qingchen came in, the indifference in his eyes seemed to ease slightly, and Qingchen smiled at him, placing the tea lightly in front of the three people.

  Yè Tiān Zhàn continued to say to Yīn Jiān Zhēng, "I'll think of a way to deal with this matter, you all go back first, what should be released early will be released, don't drag on any longer."

  Yin Jianzheng and his son exchanged a glance, both knowing that although Yin Tianchen's face was still calm as usual, he was actually furious. At this moment, it was not suitable to say anything else, so they got up and bid farewell to leave.

  You saw the guest leave and felt that this tea was quite unnecessary. You will definitely settle accounts with Qin Yue when you return.

  Ye Tian Yan remained silent, staring at the case in front of him. He slowly took a deep breath, reached out to take a handkerchief and wiped his hands, then closed his eyes in contemplation. Unaware of what he was thinking about, his hand holding the handkerchief clenched tightly, causing water to seep from between his fingers and drip onto the memorial beside him.

  "Ah!" Qing Chen reminded softly, reaching out to pull out the memorial, Ye Tian suddenly opened his eyes and saw her holding a wet corner of the memorial with a helpless expression, her clear gaze like autumn water sweeping across his eyes.

  You wipe off the water mark on the memorial and put it back in front of him. He takes a look and says, "It's gone."

  You raised your eyes to ask him, and he slightly raised the corners of his eyes and said, "It has been rewritten."

  You didn't say anything, turned around and took the lighter over to light the copper basin, burning the memorial, throwing it in and watching it burn. In the flames, a few sparks flew up, and she took a step back.

  Ye Tian Yan picked up her teacup and took a slight sip, asking her: "Have you been going out with the twelfth brother these past few days?"

  "Hmm." Qīng Chén said: "I want to get familiar with Yīgē City, I've met the Twelfth Prince a few times, and he took me to see some places. It seems like he knows all the interesting spots in the city."

  Ye Tian Zhan said, "The twelfth brother is famous for being good at having fun." Qing Chen added, "Like a true playboy, the elegant Prince Wang, unlike you who are busy every day and can't even take a break."

  "Wait a few more days and I'll be free. At that time, it's suitable to take you on a good tour of the Heavenly Capital. There are some places that even my twelfth brother may not know about."

  "That's naturally good." Qing Chen said with a smile.

  "Your Highness," Qin Yue said in a low voice outside: "Mr. Mo has arrived, will you see him?"

  "Mr. Mo?" Ye Tian asked in surprise: "Which Mr. Mo?"

  "Formerly Mr. Mo of the Imperial Observatory."

  "Oh?" Ye Tianzhan stood up from his case: "Isn't it Mr. Mo Pingmo?"

  "That's right."

  "Come on in!" Ye Tian Yan said, and then he personally went out to welcome them.

  You seemed a bit surprised, Nite Tianzhen was able to see the guests who came to Yanbo's house were extremely important people or private friends, but there weren't many who would personally come to greet them. She then walked out: "You have a guest, I'll go back first."

  Ye Tianzhan said, "Let's meet together. Mr. Mo was my teacher and that of several imperial brothers in our early years. He used to be the head of the Imperial Observatory, proficient in astrology and divination, and has always been known as the number one astrologer of our dynasty. After resigning from his official position, I heard he went traveling around the world, rarely seen. Seeing you flipping through some books on Qi Men Dun Jia these days, you should be interested in talking to him."

  Your eyes lit up slightly, and at this moment, you wouldn't leave even if you could. As they spoke, Qin Yue led an old man over from a distance, and Ye Tian Zhan smiled: "It's been over ten years since we last met, Mr. Mo, when did you return to Tian Du?"

  Mo Bu Ping also cupped his hands and smiled, saying: "Yesterday I arrived in Tiandu, and just now when I passed by the Zhan Wang Fu, I saw a faint red glow. On a whim, I came in to take a look and see if there's any good news. I hope Your Highness won't blame me for being presumptuous."

  Ye Tian Zhan's eyes sparkled with a hint of a smile, intentionally or unintentionally glancing at Feng Qiu Dust. Mo Bu Ping followed his gaze and paused for a moment on Feng Qiu Dust's face, with an inaudible flash of inquiry in the depths of his eyes. Ye Tian Zhan introduced: "This is Miss Feng Qiu Dust."

  She raised her eyes to look at him, and apart from the wisps of five willow-beard under his chin that gave off a hint of an immortal's elegance, he was quite ordinary in appearance, without anything remarkable about him. However, she clearly felt that his deep-set eyes were extremely profound, and when his calm gaze fell on her, it seemed as if he had understood something, leaving one with an inexplicable sense of unease. She steadied the surprise in her heart, smiled lightly, and saluted Mo Bu Ping: "I've met Mr. Mo."

  Mo nodded slightly and returned a courtesy, stroking his five willow-like whiskers with his hand.

  A few people entered the Waving Smoke Pavilion, but Ye Tian didn't stay in the study. Behind the winding Water Pavilion, there were several more pavilions and platforms, and it seemed to be extremely deep after walking for a while; after making several turns, they finally reached the end, which was a tea house.

  The teahouse is nestled against a rocky cliff, with layers of curtains gently swaying in the breeze. Half of it is dappled with mottled light and shadow from the branches outside, creating a cool and serene atmosphere. In the center stands an ancient tree-root-carved tea table made of cloud-patterned wood, on which rests a set of eight-piece plum-blossom-shaped purple-sand teaware with smooth curves and subtle luster, indicating frequent use. On the surrounding shelves are placed various delicate ceramic jars with lids, each storing different types of tea leaves.

  There is a clear spring water, I don't know where it comes from, connected to the bamboo joints and flowing into a small white stone shallow pool. The bamboo joints fall lightly with the water, and the sound of the water entering the stone is crisp and clear, like a gentle breeze lightly touching the jade zither, filling the room with serenity.

  Ye Tianzhan personally fetched water to brew tea, a wisp of faint steam rising from it. Qing Chen took the ceramic pot from his hand and said: "You go talk with Mr. Mo, I'll do this."

  Although Ye Tianzhen handed her the porcelain vase, he said, "Making tea is a matter of great learning."

  You gazed into his eyes, where a hint of clear water sparkled, and smiled faintly: "Appreciating tea is also an art." The aroma of the opened canister wafted up, "Is it Wuyi Da Hong Pao?"

  Ye Tian nodded with a smile, Qing Chen lowered her eyes and sat quietly, took the tea clip and used boiling water to heat and rinse the tea utensils one by one, then placed them aside. She then used the tea spoon to take a small amount of tea leaves and poured them onto the snow paper, roughly dividing them into coarse and fine ones. The light green tea leaves were set off against her slender white fingers as they moved slightly, the tea leaves rustling, a delightful sight.

  She took the coarsest tea from the middle and filled the bottom of the bowl, then used finer tea to fill the middle layer, and sprinkled slightly coarser tea on top. When the tea was in the teapot, she picked up a small stove burning beside her, lifted the kettle high and poured water into it.

  The strong water flow makes the tea leaves rotate in the pot, the heat penetrates directly to the bottom of the pot, the fragrance of the tea spreads out and instantly fills the entire room.

  She quietly watched the clear water flow out of the spout, holding a tea scoop to gently sweep away the foam floating on the surface of the tea soup. The color of the tea gradually opened up, with layers of pearls and jade falling, bright and radiant. One bud, one leaf, one flag, and one spear floated and stretched out, shining brightly and vividly. She didn't rush, using a Qinghua transparent lid to cover the pot, then lifting it to pour water over the outside wall.

  Steam rises along the teacup, faintly swirling. After a while, you put down the teapot and hold the teacup with your hands, with your index finger pressing against the button on the lid of the cup. Between the rim of the cup and the lid, a small gap is revealed, and with a "Guangong touring the city", the tea water is poured into each of the small cups arranged in an arc shape. When there is only a little tea left, it is slowly dripped into each cup, making the color of the tea even and consistent.

  At night, Tian Jian saw that her movements were skilled and obviously not the first time she had rushed tea. She nodded slightly. Qing Chen held up the cup with a smile: "Please, Your Highness and Mr. Mo, correct me."

  The tea in the cup is bright orange-yellow, with a fragrant aroma wafting and lingering. The flavor is light and refreshing, with a hint of floral notes. Taking a sip, the aftertaste is rich and full-bodied, leaving a lasting impression on the palate. The fragrance lingers for a long time without losing its original tea and osmanthus flavor. Night Sky couldn't help but exclaim: "Good tea! I didn't know you had such great tea art!"

  "This is good tea, especially the water is good. The Da Hong Pao emphasizes three parts tea and seven parts water, this water is clear and refreshing, with a sweet and mellow flavor, which adds to the fragrance of the tea."

  Ye Tian Yan said, "The water for brewing tea, mountain springs are the best, river water is second, and well water is inferior. This 'Half Day Spring' spring water, when used to brew tea, is considered top-grade. Now that Mr. Mo has arrived, eight or nine out of ten chances he's thinking about my tea."

  No one was calm and savoring the tea in their cup, when Ren Ying poured the second brew into the cup again, smiling: "Is Your Highness worried that I'm drinking too much tea?"

  Yè tiān zhàn wēn yǎ yī xiào, zuò gè qǐng de shǒu shì.

  English Translation:

  The night sky is serene and elegant with a smile, making a welcoming gesture.

  None of them closed their eyes and savored for half a day, then turned to Dust Dao and said: "Feng Gongzhu's tea-making mentality is elegant and calm, with a subtle and refined atmosphere. It's really hard to come by. I've tasted countless teas, but this cup of tea is light, yet it captures the essence of Da Hong Pao's boldness, with a fierce energy that emerges from time to time amidst its warmth and elegance, without dispersing. Good!"

  Qing Xuan Dao said: "I have only obtained the superficial knowledge of the Way of Tea, I beg Mr. Mo to kindly impart his teachings."

  Mo Bu Ping heard the words and stroked his beard, saying: "The way of tea is like playing the zither, it's all about a state of mind. Mastering the technique is easy, but understanding the Tao is difficult. Feng Gu Niang has put her heart into tea, and it's naturally divine, how could I dare to instruct?"

  This cup of tea, brought a calm and leisurely mood, gazing at the dust in the night sky, he suddenly felt that she had countless mysteries on her body. Her words and actions were not like those of ordinary women he was used to seeing; her past was vague and seemed to be nothing, and what was in front of him was even more confusing, like Xuanwu Lake under a thick fog, deep, quiet, mysterious, and always making people want to explore.

  You smiled and put down your tea cup, asking: "I just heard that Mr. Mo's physiognomy is the best in the world, have you tried it?"

  Yè Tiān Zhàn smiled and fixed his gaze on Mò Bù Píng: "Several years ago, Mr. Mò said that the heavenly mechanism cannot be revealed, is it still this sentence now?"

  Mo Bu Ping gazed at Ye Tian's elegant and refined face under the night sky, then smiled and lowered his head to sip tea.

  Ye Tian's body is that of a prince, already extremely noble and dignified. Now, inquiring about the heavenly mandate, this question and answer are not ordinary ones.

  Without finishing the cup of tea, he saw that Ye Tian still looked at him without any expression, knowing that he was not going to listen to any more nonsense. He slowly said: "Your Highness's honor is not just this, I have nothing more to say."

  He said with a very unusual tone, his face calm and serene as the night sky, with a faint smile on his lips, he raised his cup to Mo and said: "Please, sir."

  Everyone nodded in agreement, took a sip of tea, but looked at Qingchen with a thoughtful expression.

  You are pouring boiling water into the teapot again, brewing the fifth round of tea. In your heart, you feel that Old Man Mo's words are just a trick, clearly a Tai Chi move. With Night Sky's current reputation and status, unless there is a natural disaster or a ghostly intervention, he will naturally be promoted step by step to a noble title. Old Man Mo's phrase "Honor does not stop here" is obviously the route of Tai Chi's nine segments, an old fox who has attained enlightenment after a thousand years, true and false are hard to distinguish.

  Everything arises from the mind; with the same words, different people have different thoughts, and thus there are different answers, different worlds.

  None of them could be calm and self-assured, unknowingly dusting off this bellyful of complaints, only deeply sizing her up. He indeed had a lot of insight into physiognomy, but the woman in front of him looked like she was transparent from head to toe, with a clear and cheerful smile, yet he couldn't see through her at all - he couldn't know her past or future. This anomaly made people surprised, and he finally couldn't help but ask: "Miss Feng, may I ask for your birth date and hour, or can I infer your fate?"

  He looked at Qing Chen for so long, yet he asked such a question, and Ye Tian Zhen was indeed puzzled. Everyone in the court knew that Mo Bu Ping had a pair of fiery golden eyes, and they inferred that Heaven's will never asked about birthdays, so why did it make an exception today?

  You were stunned on this side, what's the birth date? If it's about the birth date, she can't even say a word about Jia Yi Bing Ding Zi Chou Yin Mao.

  She calmly poured tea into each person's cup, saying: "I heard that the top-grade Da Hong Pao can still be fragrant after being brewed nine times. This tea is indeed a rare good tea, no wonder Mr. Mo hasn't been to Tian Du for over ten years and came here as soon as he returned to Beijing." With this brief conversation, she made up her mind and smiled calmly at Mo with the teacup: "Mr. Mo, when tasting tea, one shouldn't talk about fate. Since it's predestined, why bother ourselves?"

  A nail that is neither soft nor hard, called Mo Bu Ping Hao Sheng Wu Nai, has always only refused others at times, yet no one wants to know their own fate.

  Seeing her calm and collected face, he asked again: "Doesn't Miss Feng want to know?"

  Your lips curve into a faint smile, and the distant autumn waters seem to disappear without a ripple. You say leisurely, "To know is not to know, not to know is to know."

  Mo didn't expect to run into a second soft nail, and his eyes flashed with a hint of light, becoming even deeper.

  The silk curtain floats gently, bringing a refreshing breeze, passing through the fragrant tea that fills the room, you lightly sipped a small mouthful of tea.

  At this time, Ye Tian suddenly asked: "Mr., have you gained anything from looking at Qingchen's face?"

  Who would have thought that Mo Bu Ping was silent for half a day, and when he finally lifted his head again, he slowly said: "I don't know."

  "What did you just say?" Ye Tian Xuan asked in shock.

  Mo Bu Ping gazed at Qing Chen with a pair of sharp, old eyes once again. Qing Chen suppressed his emotions and calmly met Mo's gaze. Finally, Mo shook his head and said frankly, "I just can't see through Feng Jie's facial features, that's why I asked about her birthdate."

  When these words came out, Ye Tian Yan was extremely surprised. Qīng Chén saw the two people in front of him looking at himself unintentionally, so he continued to smile lightly and said: "I don't know what will happen in the future, it's interesting to be alive, if everything is known, then there's no fun. I'm a person who fears that life will lose its interest, so this is good. Why not use tea instead of wine, and have a cup with Mr. Mo?" He raised his cup and drank tea, and his wide sleeves came over to block Ye Tian Yan's piercing gaze.

  An hour later, Qing Chen watched as Ye Tian Zhan sent Mo Bu Ping out of the water pavilion. He quickly entered the study to find the Tiangan Dizhi calendar. His fingers slid down the page, memorizing his own birthday so that he wouldn't be left speechless again when asked.

  She furrowed her brow and sighed, knowing that the opportunity had slipped away. She had just asked Mo Buqi a few questions about the witch tribe in a roundabout way, but he didn't seem to know much either. Outside, the summer sun was scorching hot, but in her heart, there was a cool thread of disappointment. It's easy to come, but hard to go; how could it not make one feel anxious and frustrated?

  Ye Tianzhen returned from sending off the guest, seemingly preoccupied with something on her mind. Standing by the window, she gazed afar at the lotus flowers in Xianyu Lake, and suddenly asked: "How do you think the lotus flowers in this lake are blooming this year?"

  "Excellent." Qīng Chén said, adding another sentence: "But I haven't seen what it was like in previous years."

  "At first, the lotus flowers were not many, but gradually they occupied half of the lake's color, and it seemed that every year they bloomed more and more." Night Sky Xuan smiled slightly and called out loudly: "Qin Yue!"

  "Your Highness!" Qin Yue immediately responded and came in.

  "Have the Cui Ting Pavilion tidied up and refreshed on all four sides, as I will be hosting a banquet at Xian Yu Lake on the ninth day of next month." Ye Tian Zhan didn't turn his head back, still gazing out at the distant ripples on the lake, and spoke in a soft voice.

  "Next month on the ninth?" Qin Yue raised his head and said: "Isn't that day Your Highness's birthday?"

  Yè Tiān Zhàn nodded: "Right, prepare a few more bottles of peach blossom wine that the princes like."

  It was to entertain all the princes, Qin Yue dared not to be careless and promised to go and handle it immediately.

  "You smiled and asked: 'So the ninth day of the first month is your birthday, what gift do you want?'"

  This made Ye Tian Yan stunned for a moment, turned around and looked at her for a while, today there was indeed something to think about, lowered his head and said: "What do I want, you'll give it to me?"

  "You can be sure I'll do it if I can, and I'll certainly grant your wish, but you can't intentionally make things difficult for others."

  "Good." Yè Tiān Zhuàn stepped up to the table: "What I want, you can give me now."

  "You think about it for a moment and can't guess what he wants, so you say: 'Then tell me, I'll listen.'"

  She only saw the night sky, and a snowflake flew out of her hand, holding a wolf hair brush to lightly wet the ink in the inkstone, and handed it to her: "Your birth eight characters."

  "Huh?" Qing Chen didn't think that the birthday gift he wanted was this, it really was beyond his expectations: "If you want to know I'll tell you, why put on such a big hat just for a birthday gift?"

  Yè Tiān Zhàn shook his head: "Just now Mr. Mò asked you repeatedly and you didn't say anything, I'm afraid you won't agree now either."

  Thinking of what had just happened, Qing Xun's mouth twitched slightly. Fortunately, he had already flipped through the Tiangan Dizhi diagram before he came in, so he wouldn't be caught off guard again. He took the pen handed to him: "This isn't some unspeakable secret, I just didn't want to tell him."

  Standing quietly in front of the desk at night, I picked up the paper and looked at it. After waiting for the ink to dry, I put that paper away: "I remembered."

  "You really want this as your birthday gift?"

  Ye Tian Yan nodded seriously: "That's right."

  It was so simple that Qing Chen was dazed for a moment, and the night sky in front of him seemed to overlap with Li Tang once again.

  Under the same face, although they are different people, they are equally considerate and pampered, with the same gentle emotions like water, never making each other feel difficult, with the same elegant and courteous care, it makes people infatuated and reluctant to leave.

  Trying to forget, I've been working hard for this period of time, but every time I see Ye Tian Yan, I feel like I'm about to make a mistake. Loved and hated, why is it so deep and shallow? Even I don't know how much I've invested in my emotions.

  Perhaps, even if she now resolutely refuses to admit it, the heart she once gave out was originally sincere and almost fragile. The shattering of her heart at that moment solidified in a place far beyond recognition, until much later when the sound of falling fragments finally arrived, landing on the cold ground with clarity and finality.

  Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed, and the smile on her lips was repressed. A hint of stubbornness flashed in her eyes, which had just been filled with a gloomy expression. She didn't expect that when she inadvertently turned her gaze, she would suddenly feel extremely embarrassed. Ye Tian Chen was standing there, seemingly smiling yet not quite, intently studying the vivid expressions on her face, apparently having done so for some time.

  She was like a thief caught stealing sugar, stunned and speechless. But then she saw that the gloom that had been hidden in his eyebrows all day finally dispersed, he raised his lips and smiled lightly at her, his beautiful eyes flashing with infinite charm, that gentle moment enveloped her whole body, she stood there dazedly in front of him, and just like that, she was immersed in it, unable to extricate herself.

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