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Described by Lin Yuan as gentle, Zhao Hongde’s mouth twitched violently.

Although the choice of words wasn’t appropriate, she did hit the nail on the head.

Zhao Hongde curled his lip, "It is probably related to the Empress Mother. Consort Liu is similar to my second brother, and the people of the Yan family are almost all cut from the same mold, each one more formidable than the next. I’ve heard that their legitimate daughter is the same way.

At home, she’s extremely tough on her half-brothers and sisters—everyone’s afraid of her.

Just think, if a young girl can be like this, what about the other members of their family? "

This statement was worth pondering. Zhao Hongde’s mother was Xia Zheng’s aunt. Looking at Xia Zheng and Xia Zhen, the two brothers, it was clear Consort Shu must also be a very amiable person like Zhao Hongde. Perhaps, it really had something to do with family upbringing.

Shui Xian brought the tea, and Zhao Hongde could smell its fragrance from afar. He took a sip and nodded repeatedly, "This tea must be from Zhuma Town that you brought with you, right? There’s no such fragrant tea leaves in the Capital City."

Lin Yuan smiled, "Big brother guessed right. This tea was personally picked and roasted by me in Tea Tree Town, with a few types of refreshing floral teas added to it, hence the brewed tea has an additional scent of flowers and retains the astringency of tea leaves. Isn’t it special?

Not to mention the Capital City, looking all around the world, there are only these few jars in my possession.

It’s something others wouldn’t even dream of. "

Seeing her speak with such pride, Zhao Hongsheng felt an itch in his heart and took another sip. This time he couldn’t bear to swallow it immediately, letting it linger on his lips and teeth to savor the flavor, indeed surrounded by various floral fragrances.

"There’s the aroma of jasmine, what other flowers are there?"

Lin Yuan smiled sweetly, nodding, "Big brother is impressive. There indeed is jasmine in this tea, as well as some other flowers, though each is used sparingly. I’m surprised you could taste it."

As for the other flowers, it wasn’t that Zhao Hongde didn’t have the palate to taste them, but the other flowers were too common, seen everywhere in the countryside, however not present in the palace.

With Zhao Hongde’s persistent inquiries, Lin Yuan counted several types of flowers with a laugh, "Besides jasmine, there are also locust flowers, apricot flowers, and a bit of osmanthus. However, osmanthus has a strong flavor, so I didn’t use much of it."

Zhao Hongde was already a bit stunned. He had not seen locust flowers, but he had seen apricot and osmanthus flowers.

He never expected them to be included as well, yet he hadn’t tasted them.

It seems it wasn’t because of his lack of exposure, but rather that his taste buds indeed weren’t too reliable.

Feeling rather embarrassed to even ask for more, Zhao Hongde treasured the teacup in his hand, looking truly reluctant to drink any further.

Lin Yuan smiled and pressed her lips together. Zhao Hongde clearly knew that if he made a request, she would not refuse, yet he still put on such a pitiable expression. Indeed, he was cut from the same cloth as Xia Zheng.

"If big brother wants it, how could I have the heart not to give?"

As she spoke, Lin Yuan asked Shui Xian to fetch two jars of tea leaves from the back yard for Zhao Hongde, "I made ten boxes.

I gave two to the princess, sent three to friends when I was coming to the Capital, old Lao Fan snatched two, and minus the one I opened, now I only have these two complete jars left. "

Zhao Hongde quickly took them, hugging them in his arms like treasures, "Just two jars left, I must keep a close eye on them: perfect, one for the Empress Mother, and one for myself to keep."

Lin Yuan thought he would say one jar for the Emperor, but he intended to give it only to Consort Shu.

Seeming to have read Lin Yuan’s thoughts, Zhao Hongde winked, "I can’t send it to the Emperor. If I did, who knows who would end up taking it. If I give it to the Empress Mother, the Emperor will get to taste it too."

Lin Yuan suddenly understood; Zhao Hongde was also contemplating using this tea as a means to help Consort Shu curry favor!

Who said Zhao Hongde was honest like a Little White Rabbit? He was clearly very clever and cunning, okay? ’Brilliant in his simplicity’ is what they’re talking about him!