Chen Chang Sheng walked towards the middle aged woman and bowed.
Even though he saw the person wasn’t Luo Luo, he didn’t turn around and leave because he knew this middle aged woman.
That night of the Ivy Festival, he was sent to the depths of Black Dragon pond by Mo Yu. After struggling against life and death, he finally broke through the seal and came back to the surface of the pond. This middle aged woman was next to the pond, perhaps cleaning her hands or washing her cloth and was almost harmed by a tricky squirrel.
He had guessed that the candle light in the Herb Garden was probably not due to Luo Luo’s return, but he was still a little sad knowing that it was not Luo Luo.
Glancing around the dark forest, he thought confusingly: If this middle aged woman is living in the Royal Palace, how would she appear at the Herb Garden? From her age, she should be a female officer at the royal palace. However, if she’s a concubine of the former emperor, then this would be a troublesome situation.
He was alarmed. He walked in front of the middle aged woman and gestured in sign language. He was afraid that he would scare the woman, so he kept his expression calm. His speed of gesture was also smooth and slow to not frighten her.
He asked her how she left the royal palace.
The middle aged woman looked at him quietly, but didn’t answer.
Chen Chang Sheng was confused. He gestured again, but this time even more slowly. He believe that his intention was clear enough, How did you get here from the royal palace?
The middle aged woman smiled and raised her right hand. There was a key between her fingers.
Chen Chang Sheng’s eyes were keen. Even though the lighting in Herb Garden was a little dim, he still saw the rust on the key, and there were two new scratches. Perhaps they were new marks, but the old key seemed to not have been used in a long time before tonight.
When Mo Yu left Tradition Academy that day, he saw the old door in the palace’s wall. Maybe this key was used to open that door.
Perhaps this middle aged woman has the permission to leave royal palace whenever she wants? Then her status in the royal palace was extraordinary.
The middle aged woman pointed at the stone table and gestured him to sit down,
Chen Chang Sheng thought for a moment and followed her gesture.
The middle aged woman turned around and glanced at a wooden house in the depths of Herb Garden. She was silent for a long time. Suddenly her left hand landed on the stone table and lightly knocked on the surface two times.
There was a teapot on the table, and two tea cups behind the oil candle.
Chen Chang Sheng understood her meaning and picked up the teapot to fill a teacup. He handed the cup mannerly to the middle age woman.
Although the tea in the pot had no fragrance, it was thick. It should be old black tea.
It was easier to see across the table. Looking at the middle aged woman’s complexion, she shouldn’t be a concubine of the former emperor. Perhaps she’s one of the female officers under the command of Divine Queen, she may even be the leader of the female officers. But Chen Chang Sheng’s respect for her had nothing to do with her status in the royal palace, it was only because she was much older than him.
He believed that the years a person lived for was an important factor. Just like the black tea in the pot, the older, the thicker and the richer, the more a person can taste from it. He was sad that he may not live very long so he respected the elders even more.
The middle aged woman picked up the teacup and moved it close to her lips. She took a sip.
Chen Chang Sheng noticed that her lips were thicker than those of ordinary females.
It was unmannerly for him to stare at a woman’s lips, even though she was much older and just average looking. Chen Chang Sheng realized his misbehavior and quickly shifted his glance, then he saw the other teacup on the stone table.
The garden was empty during the autumn night, why were there two teacups?
He glanced at the middle aged woman and gestured to ask if he can drink some tea. He had sweated a lot previously when he was helping Xuan Yuan Po with his wounds. He was kind of thirsty right now.
The middle aged woman didn’t look at him but she nodded lightly in approval.
Chen Chang Sheng picked up the teacup and took a sip. He noticed the tea was rich and soothing, it was a pot of righteous tea.
Even the famous teas that Luo Luo previously gifted him couldn’t compare to the seemingly ordinary black tea in this pot.
How a pot of tea tastes depends on the leaves itself, but more importantly, the person who boiled the tea.
A person who can boil such a pot of black tea was definitely of no ordinary status.
Chen Chang Sheng’s looked at the middle aged woman with even more respect in his eyes.
He put down the teacup and waited for her to ask a question.
But even after they finished their cups of tea, the middle aged woman didn’t say anything.