Dragon Garden Snow had its buds forced in the twelfth lunar month, allowing fresh spring tea to be enjoyed by the Winter Solstice.
It was Suzhou Prefecture's tribute that year. He had personally overseen its preparation and written the memorial himself, hoping for an auspicious start.
But this vermilion annotation...
"Drinking spring tea in winter..."
He Yanming murmured to himself, his fingers trembling slightly.
On the surface, those words praised the tea.
But savor their meaning, and every word was a blade.
To drink spring tea in winter meant forcing its growth, defying the seasons and violating nature.
Stale tea-old tea from the previous year.
The emperor was telling him this.
What you give Us is fresh tea.
What We give you may well turn stale.
"His Majesty... His Majesty means..."
He Yanming set the copy of the Court Gazette on the desk, propped his forehead in both hands, and closed his eyes for a long while.
"Master."
Just then, the steward's voice came from outside. "Prefectural Judge Xie has arrived."
He Yanming abruptly raised his head, a flash of delight crossing his face. "Show him in, quickly."
Footsteps drew closer.
The door to the rear hall swung open, and a young man walked in.
He was twenty-two, with a lean face, fair skin, and finely spaced features.
He wore a Lake Blue Zhiduō Robe beneath a Silver Gray Crane Cloak.
A Plain Sash girded his waist, and he wore no other adornments.
At first glance, he was the very image of a Jiangnan scholar, as gentle and lustrous as jade.
The Third-Rank Palace Graduate of Jinghe Year Eleven and an editor of the Hanlin Academy, he had been posted to Suzhou Prefecture as Prefectural Judge more than two years earlier.
In rank, a Prefectural Judge was merely Subordinate Sixth