It would be a waste to come to Taiyuan without visiting Jinci Temple.
Forty miles west of Taiyuan City, there is Xuanweng Mountain. The mountain is not high, but the mountains extend like outstretched arms, embracing the towering ancient trees of Jinci Temple, the palaces and pavilions, and the deep pools and springs. This pair of mountains
The arms blocked the howling north wind, so that the Jinci Temple was covered with white snow but not the biting cold. Even in the cold winter, the spring water was still tinkling and flowing... But here was a deep pool and there was a small canal.
There is a river under the bridge, a well in the pavilion, and a stream on the roadside. The thin stream breaks through the thick layer of snow; it is like a thread, as if it is an endless stream.
All this water comes from Nanlao Spring, which comes from Xuanweng Mountain and is also the source of Jinshui River. The water gushes out from the rocks one foot deep. It really looks a bit like gushing out of an urn. The spring water is gurgling non-stop.
, clear and green, flowing down like jade and green, not only filling the rivers, wells, ditches and canals in Jinci with clear springs, but also irrigating thousands of hectares of grain fields and nourishing the land of the three Jin Dynasties.
Of course, the best spring water always comes from the place closest to the spring. A few steps forward from Nanlao Spring, there is a pool called "Butie Boat". The pool is surrounded by low white marble railings to look like a boat, hence the name.
The water in the pond is warm in winter and cool in summer. On a cold day like this, the water vapor is steaming like clouds and mist. There are duckweeds on the water surface and aquatic plants on the bottom of the pond. They are evergreen in winter and summer. The long aquatic plants fluctuate with the flowing water, like waves of wheat blown by the wind.
Sitting in an untied boat, sipping tea and admiring the snow while rippling and rippling, it feels like you have strayed into the wonderland of Yao Chi.
Such a fairy-like blessing is naturally not something ordinary people can enjoy. However, big shots like the Shanxi Governor and the Taiyuan Prefect want to close the door of the Jinci Temple and enjoy the snow and drink tea, which is just a matter of words...
When Zhang Chun was having tea that day, he felt that the Nanlao Spring water shipped to Taiyuan could not produce the true flavor of Miyunlong. The prefect He made arrangements to invite the feudal lord to come to Jinci Temple to use the spring water that had just been pumped from the spring.
Give it a try.
Although Jinci Temple is more than forty miles away from the provincial capital, and it is the middle of winter and the cold moon, the two adults naturally do not find it troublesome for such an elegant event for scholars. If they were not tied up by the funeral of the old princess, they would have come here long ago.
No, after finally getting over the fever, Magistrate He couldn't wait to invite Lord Fantai to the Jinci Temple...
At this moment, the two of them are sitting in an untied boat made of white marble. There are four warm cages burning white silk charcoal in the four corners of the boat, driving away the chill of winter, so that the two adults do not need to wear heavy clothes, and only need to wear light fur coats.
That's it. The gauze curtains on the four walls hang lightly, and precious calligraphy and paintings are hung. Exquisite refreshments are placed on the yellow pear wood short tea table, and a furnace of precious sandalwood is burned. There is also a singer playing the pipa slowly in the corner.
Playing melodious music, showing off the elegance of celebrities, it is truly an enjoyment that even gods would not change.
It can be seen that Magistrate He has put a lot of thought into today's tea tasting party, but what impressed Zhang Fantai the most was the temporary water collection device he ordered skilled craftsmen to set up.
The spring water is drawn from the eyes of Nanlao Spring. After many twists and turns, the spring water is led to an untied boat and slowly poured into a wide bamboo mat about ten feet long, covered with inches of thick silvery white sand. After being filtered by the sand, the water is crystal clear.
The water drops are then dripped into a clean and shiny blue and white porcelain basin with a white background.
This ingenious design allows the water from the spring to flow to the untied boat without human hands, and is filtered through a sand filter, making it even clearer and purer than the water in the spring. Zhang Chun was so happy that he ordered people to follow the porcelain
I scooped a cup of spring water into the basin, drank it directly without making tea or heating it. I felt extremely sweet and refreshing, refreshing my heart. I couldn't help nodding my head in admiration and saying: "This water is worthy of mine."
Miyunlong."
When the water in the porcelain basin was enough for a pot, the pretty maid took it to boil the water. The charcoal used for boiling the water was fine pine charcoal, because pine charcoal warms the fire slowly and the spring water can be boiled more thoroughly.
While waiting for the water to boil, Zhang Chun's eyes swept across the garden. While admiring the snowy scenery, he congratulated the magistrate and said, "It's such a beautiful place with beautiful mountains and water. I will come here often in the future."
"That couldn't be better. There are flowers in spring and moon in autumn, cool breeze in summer and snow in winter. The beautiful scenery in Sanjin Temple is different in four seasons of the year." Magistrate He said with a smile: "Fantai usually doesn't pay much attention to rest. It should be more
Come out for a walk and relax."
"Because I met a monk while passing through the bamboo courtyard and talked to him, Fu Sheng had half a day to spare." Zhang Fantai said slowly: "In the past few days, I really had to learn from Su Dongpo." He said with a somewhat frozen expression: "It's just that these days...
…I don’t know when I can get there?”
"Actually, that's fast." Magistrate He said with a smile: "The Jin King's army surrounded Wutai County and searched as closely as plowing the fields. Liu Zijin and Wang Xian were already unable to fly, and it was only a matter of time before they were arrested.
"I hope so." Zhang Fantai nodded and said with some regret: "The prince is really generous in doing things. It makes me scared. Could it be that I am really old?"
"Fantai is not old at all." Magistrate He said with a smile: "You are mature and stable, so you are not used to the prince's methods. However, for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, you must use your knives to kill chickens to ensure that nothing goes wrong."
"That's true." Zhang Fantai smiled and said, "I never expected that our imperial envoy actually went to see Liu Zijin. Thanks to the news from King Jin, otherwise we would still be in the dark."
"Who would have thought that a dignified imperial envoy could do such a ridiculous thing?" Magistrate He still said in disbelief: "It's just a matter of studying opera and writing incognito for a private visit, but he actually pretended to be sick and deceived us so miserably." He spat.
Said: "The liars I have seen, if not a hundred, there are eighty, and the sum total is not as good as this guy's deception."
"We are still too careless." Zhang Chun sighed and said: "Now it seems that that boy has suspected us a long time ago, but he behaved extremely immature and timid." He said with a wry smile and said: "He can get from Kowloon.
How could such a person be associated with timidity and immaturity when he rescued his great-grandson and played tricks on the two great heroes of Mongolia?"
"Fortunately, this boy died in Wutai County." Magistrate He said thankfully: "Otherwise, it would have been a big trouble.
"What I'm worried about now is," Zhang Fantai waved his hand, stepped back, and said softly: "Do you think it's him who has doubts about us, or the prince who has doubts about us?"
"It should be the prince," Magistrate He said with a twitch of the corner of his mouth: "Now we all know that Wang Xian is the prince's sword. The person holding the sword has the final say on who to chop."
"Right." Zhang Chun nodded and asked: "Then do you think it is the prince or the emperor who is suspicious?"
"It should be the prince," Magistrate He's mouth twitched even more fiercely: "If the emperor is suspicious, he will probably send Tiqi to escort us to Beijing for trial."
"Yes, I am a vassal and you are an official in Shanxi. When I get to the court, I am nothing. If the emperor suspects us, he will not talk nonsense at all." Zhang Chun said with a self-deprecating smile: "I
So I am still in the mood to drink tea, but I feel that with the support of the nobles in the court, the sky will not fall."
"Then as long as the feudal lord is fine, the sky of Xiaguan will not fall down." Magistrate He relaxed and said with a smile: "Don't scare me, my subordinates. What I asked you to say just now is all the trouble in Xiaguan's heart."
It’s about to pop out.”
"Haha, you are too careless." Zhang Chun laughed loudly and said: "The way of being an official is to remain unchanged even when Mount Tai collapses. You have to learn from me. Even if the knife is placed on your neck, you should still eat it.
It’s time to have tea and enjoy the snow.
"The lower official is too short of fire, so he has to practice more with the feudal government." Magistrate He echoed repeatedly. At this time, he saw the maid coming in with a copper pot, and asked: "Has the water been boiled?"
"Yes." The maid responded softly.
"Just make it here," Zhang Fantai said to Magistrate He, pointing to the low carved wooden table: "Put aside the mundane things first, and calmly and carefully savor the Miyunlong."
"That's right." Magistrate He nodded his head and said.
"Let's begin." Zhang Fantai waved his sleeves and the melodious music started again. The maid put the kettle under the table, knelt down and took out the Miyun Long Tea from the exquisite tin can on the table, and then started
The elegant posture of making a cup of tea, ordering soup, dividing milk, refilling water, warming cups, serving tea... every procedure is very skillful, flowing like clouds and flowing water, giving people a visual enjoyment.
When everything was finished, the maid came forward on her knees, raised the tray above her head, and said softly: "Your Excellency, please have some tea."
On the tray were two pure white pear blossom cups, each containing half a cup of green tea soup. Magistrate He hurriedly extended his hand to Zhang Fantai as a gesture of invitation, and Zhang Fantai also extended his hand to indicate that he was free, and picked up a pear blossom.
He took a cup, put it under his nose and took a deep sniff. His eyes lit up and he said, "The fragrance of tea is quite elegant."
"Try the tea soup from Fantai again." Magistrate He held the tea cup in one hand and kept the invitation gesture with the other hand, without taking his eyes away from Zhang Fantai.
Zhang Chun brought the tea cup to his mouth and was about to take a sip when he heard the sound of rapid footsteps in the distance. He couldn't help but feel bad. He frowned and the tea cup stopped at his mouth.
"What's going on?" Seeing that Fantai Yaxing was being disturbed, Magistrate He shouted angrily in the direction of the visitor like a cat whose tail was stepped on: "Didn't I give an order earlier that no one is allowed to disturb you during this period?"
"Sir, it's urgent." The visitor ignored his words and walked faster.
"What's going on?" Magistrate He was also made nervous: "Is there any progress in the search?"
"Yes, yes..." The visitor stuttered when he was anxious.
"Don't mess up your mood..." Zhang Fantai was still as steady as a mountain. He picked up the tea cup and took a sip, holding it in his mouth to moisten it for a moment, wanting to appreciate the mystery of this tribute tea.
"Yes, Wang Xian has returned to Taiyuan"
'Pfft, when Zhang Fantai heard this, he sprayed a mouthful of tea soup on Magistrate He's face. At the same time, he let go of his hand, and the expensive Song Dynasty pear flower cup fell to the ground and shattered into pieces.
Magistrate He stared blankly at Lord Fantai. He said that he would not lose color even if Mount Tai collapsed, and he would not delay having tea even if the knife was resting on his neck. Feelings are all just bragging...