Chapter 6: The Yao Bian Tian Mu Tea Bowl

After Lord He departed, the conversation among the five broadened even further, at times reaching a point of complete unrestraint, filled with all manner of teasing and mockery!

Examples included Lord Tu being timid and afraid of his wife, Steward Zhang losing his post due to repeated low-level mistakes, Tie Zhang Ba Ji being unrecognizable without her makeup, and Lu Lu Xiongying fearing insects and mice, among other things.

That evening, one matter left Jiang Jiang Mingyu puzzled.

So he asked, "Why did the Prime Minister choose to host the banquet in this pavilion?"

Steward Zhang smiled, stroked his beard, and replied, "Please look, Scholar Jiang." With that, Steward Zhang raised his hand and pointed toward the distant poolside.

He then asked again, "Take a look; how far is this spot from the shore?" Although the sky was dim, the light from the palace lanterns in the distance allowed them to estimate the distance visually.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu replied, "In this humble student's opinion, this pavilion is less than two arrow flights from the shore."

"Correct; that is precisely the reason!"

Steward Zhang continued, "This place is surrounded by water on all sides, making concealment difficult; entry and exit rely solely on a nine-turn bridge, making it easy to defend and hard to attack. Even if arrows were loosed from afar, not even a hundred-stone strong bow could clear the pool's surface."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu asked, "What if someone swam over?"

"A scholar's view..."

Lord Tu cut in, mocking, "The splashes created by swimming are so obvious that even a blind man could see them!"

Upon finishing these words, everyone present except Jiang Jiang Mingyu burst into hearty laughter.

"Then... why are the men standing behind the Prime Minister not imperial guards, but escort masters from the Lu Family Escort Agency?" Jiang Jiang Mingyu asked again.

After exchanging a glance with Lord Tu, Steward Zhang spoke timidly, "Within the imperial court, there are the Eastern, Western, and Inner Factories, their ears and eyes everywhere..."

Having said this, he stopped speaking, leaving the rest for Jiang Jiang Mingyu to infer for himself.

"Within the imperial court... it is not only the Crane Faction, the Plum Faction, and the Rabbit Faction..." Tie Zhang Ba Ji lifted the teapot, filled a tea bowl, and handed it to Jiang Jiang Mingyu before continuing.

"There is also the Eunuch Faction! They are, in the truest sense... the Emperor's own troops."

Only then did Jiang Jiang Mingyu understand why, over the past half-month, so many people had sent gifts and hosted banquets; it was all a trap laid to win him over!

Jiang Jiang Mingyu lowered his head, intending to lift the tea bowl to drink; yet the very bowl Tie Zhang Ba Ji had just handed him began to change color!

It was a glazed tea bowl with a black base speckled with silver-white spots, resembling scattered stars in the night sky, exquisitely beautiful; after being scalded by hot tea, it began to change color!

The greenish-black base and iridescent patterns shone together.

Mixed with various shades of purple and blue, the pitch-black base was scattered with iridescent halos, shimmering with a silky, glazed beauty.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu had never seen such a thing; he examined it closely for a long time, utterly captivated!

"This is a 'Yao Bian Tian Mu Tea Bowl' from the Shangshan Jian Kiln..." Tie Zhang Ba Ji pointed at the tea bowl and introduced it: "Yao Bian is the supreme divine grade among Shangshan Jian bowls, a rare treasure in the world; its base is black, adorned with small, thin star-like spots surrounded by jade-white halos, as beautiful as brocade, worth ten thousand bolts of silk—that is what is being described here."

"Scholar Jiang is a proper scholar; having endured ten years of cold window studies, he is unfamiliar with such elegant pursuits of us common folk..." Steward Zhang interjected, trying to smooth things over for Jiang Jiang Mingyu.

"Hehehe... This humble student is untalented and indeed has never seen such a marvel; it is truly wonderful," Jiang Jiang Mingyu sighed with slight embarrassment, admitting his inferiority.

"In that case... then this tea bowl shall be gifted to Scholar Jiang!" Tie Zhang Ba Ji continued, "Consider it a meeting gift to seal our friendship."

"Hurry and thank Boss Huo!" Lord Tu reminded him, "Out of a hundred thousand tea bowls, only one oil-drop variant can be fired; this single bowl... is invaluable!"

Upon hearing Lord Tu's explanation, Jiang Jiang Mingyu was startled into a look of sheer terror and hastily declined.

He repeatedly said, "This gift is too precious; this humble student cannot accept it..."

The two pushed and offered, offered and pushed; after several rounds, even Steward Zhang could no longer bear to watch.

He hinted, "Just accept it; if you refuse further, it will be you who is being rude." Upon hearing this, Jiang Jiang Mingyu reluctantly accepted the tea bowl.

Then, after a few more cups of yellow soup down his throat, Jiang Jiang Mingyu began to worry about his family in Nanping, fretting over how to bring all eight of them to live in Jingcheng.

At this point, Lu Lu Xiongying smiled.

She said, "Please rest assured, Scholar Jiang; yesterday I already sent someone to Nanping to bring the Jiang family to relocate to the capital; traveling via the Grand Canal, they should arrive in about a month and a half."

"Scholar Jiang, please rest assured..." Tie Zhang Ba Ji added, "Whether moving goods or people, we provide safe escort; the Lu Family Escort Agency is recognized throughout the martial world as second to none." Hearing this, Jiang Jiang Mingyu finally felt reassured.

Compared to those high-ranking officials and nobles from the first half-month who only sent gifts and hosted banquets, Lord He's move—gifting a residence, gifting friends, and even caring for the entire family from old to young—was truly far more brilliant!

In just one night, they had successfully drawn the simple and straightforward Jiang Jiang Mingyu into the Crane Faction.

For the next half-month, Jiang Jiang Mingyu held that Yao Bian Tian Mu Tea Bowl every day, examining it repeatedly; he truly loved this bowl, or perhaps it was simply the first treasure that had truly opened his eyes!

One afternoon, Steward Zhang arrived leading Old Xie and a team of household servants.

They carried a black gauze cap, court robes, official garments, boots, a waist belt, and a hu tablet, requesting Jiang Jiang Mingyu to try on the attire.

Seeing Jiang Jiang Mingyu don the black gauze cap and stand before the bronze mirror in his green court robe, the sense of ritual immediately arose.

"The Crown Prince's Attendant Reader is a Grade 8 official; according to regulations, one must wear a green robe," Steward Zhang said while adjusting the waist belt and hu tablet.

"Only Grade 8?"

Jiang Jiang Mingyu said with slight confusion, "I thought the top scholar... would start from Grade 7."

"Grade 7 is for county magistrates..."

Steward Zhang continued, "You are currently only an Attendant Reader without real power, so you start at Grade 8; after passing the assessment, you will be promoted based on your talent, knowledge, and virtue."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu asked, "How long will that take?"

Steward Zhang replied, "The previous Crown Prince's Attendant Reader... served as a companion reader for three years before being transferred to become a county magistrate; I estimate it will take at least three years for you as well."

Jiang Jiang Mingyu frowned, appearing somewhat disappointed.

Seeing Jiang Jiang Mingyu's expression in the bronze mirror, Steward Zhang added, "Do not worry; you are the top scholar and are serving beside the Crown Prince, so your chance of entering the cabinet to become a Prime Minister is higher than that of any other jinshi from your cohort! That is also why Lord He values you."

Two days later, Jiang Jiang Mingyu, dressed in court robes and wearing his official cap, embodying the demeanor of an imperial official, arrived at the Ministry of Rites.

He and thirty-one other jinshi from his cohort were to study etiquette here for one month, learning the full set of court rules from the three kneelings and nine kowtows to proper conduct and responses, covering every item without omission.

Only after completing the new official education at the Ministry of Rites could they formally enter the palace to audience the Sage.

By the end of the eighth month, as autumn arrived, Jiang Jiang Mingyu's family from distant Nanping, all eight of them, finally reached Jingcheng; under the protection of the Lu Family escort masters, they arrived safely at the residence in the eastern part of the city, where Old Xie took over and quickly settled them in.

That evening, Jiang Jiang Mingyu, emulating the grandeur of Jingcheng, hosted a banquet at the residence to treat his family and wash away the dust of their journey.

Jiang Jiang Mingyu's father, Old Master Jiang, found the son he had not seen in over half a year suddenly very strange, feeling as if he were a completely different person!

As for Jiang Jiang Mingyu's wife, Tang Shi, she was even more unsettled; she was unaccustomed to her new house being so large and worried that she alone could not manage the cleaning!

"Yu Qi, do not worry too much..." Jiang Jiang Mingyu explained to his wife, Tang Shi, "You will not need to clean the house anymore; leave that work... to the servants."

After speaking, he summoned Old Xie again and introduced him to the newly arrived Jiang family members, one by one, so they could get to know each other...