Chapter 30: Nobles in the Village
Peach Blossom Village hadn't seen a carriage with golden wheels in… well, ever.
So when one rolled down the narrow dirt road, flanked by two attendants in embroidered robes and trailed by a second cart laden with crates, the entire village all but exploded with curiosity.
Old Madam Wu nearly choked on her millet porridge. The butcher tripped over his cleaver. Even the chickens took shelter under carts, squawking about the end of days.
Naturally, the triplets were the first to react.
"Auntie, there's a parade!" Su Lin shouted.
"No, wait—those are nobles," Su Rui gasped, eyes wide. "I see lace cuffs!"
"They brought… silk umbrellas," Su Zhi murmured in terror, clutching a stick like a sword.
Inside her workshop, Su Yanyue looked up from roasting tea leaves just in time to hear the knock at her courtyard gate.
It was soft.
Too soft.
The kind of knock that said, "We're important and know you heard us the first time."
Yu Shiming opened the door with a calm expression and immediately regretted it.
Standing outside were two women and a gentleman in traveling robes too fine for the countryside. Behind them stood servants unloading silver tea tins, silk-wrapped gifts, and a collapsible stool (because nobles don't stand too long, apparently).
The older woman smiled. "Is this the home of Su Yanyue, creator of the 'Phoenix Blend'?"
Yu Shiming raised a brow. "...Who's asking?"
The youngest woman stepped forward. "Lady Rong Yue from the Rong household of Qinghe. This is my aunt, Lady Chen, and my cousin, Young Master Yuwen."
Yuwen looked like someone who had never seen mud before. He kept glancing at his boots as if the soil might attack.
"We've heard of her tea," Lady Chen said, clasping her hands. "And we came to taste it ourselves."
Yanyue appeared then, wiping her hands on her apron. She looked graceful despite the ash on her sleeve and a smudge of charcoal near her jaw. Her beauty struck the visitors at once—slim waist, tall figure, a face framed by clear eyes and serene confidence.
Lady Rong blinked. "Oh… You're—"
"Su Yanyue," she said, offering a polite nod. "I don't usually receive guests without warning."
Young Master Yuwen stepped forward with a smirk. "Apologies. But the capital is abuzz with your tea. My mother can't stop asking about the 'mysterious village girl with phoenix-scented leaves.'"
Behind her, Su Lin whispered to Su Rui, "Why does he talk like a poet who lost his shoes?"
"I think his shirt is whiter than his teeth," Su Rui replied seriously.
Yanyue, ever composed, simply gestured to the table. "If you don't mind sitting humbly, I'll brew a pot."
The nobles looked mildly scandalized by the wooden bench but didn't dare object.
Minutes later, the steam rose in curling ribbons, carrying the floral warmth of her hand-roasted tea. The aroma alone made Lady Chen close her eyes.
"This… is unlike anything I've tasted," she murmured.
"It's not bitter," Lady Rong said. "It's alive."
Even Young Master Yuwen put down his fan. "This could fetch ten times the price in the capital."
Yanyue smiled faintly. "I'd rather sell it for ten times the respect in the village first."
---
By the time the nobles left, they'd ordered two crates of Phoenix Blend for the capital's Mid-Autumn Festival—and left behind more than silver.
They'd left behind a whisper of Su Yanyue's name among the high towers of influence.
And among the triplets?
"I call dibs on being Head of Royal Sales," Su Lin declared.
"No way," Su Rui huffed. "You still think nobles have magic pillows."
"I only said probably!"