"Hahaha! Let's set that aside for now. Come, Fu Qing, please take a seat. I've recently received a batch of fine tea from the Noyr star system. Allow me to brew a cup for you…"
Jing Yuan said with a face full of smiles. He then opened his desk drawer, took out a plainly packaged box of tea leaves, and prepared to brew a cup for Fu Xuan.
"Stop, stop, stop! General, hold on a moment!"
Seeing Jing Yuan's unusually enthusiastic behavior, our Master Diviner immediately took two steps back, a wary look appearing on her face.
Didn't this guy Jing Yuan say he had urgent matters to discuss? Why was he now putting the urgent matters aside, first inviting this seat to sit and then personally brewing tea for this seat? No courtesy without a reason is either deceit or theft!
Thinking this far, our Master Fu Xuan placed her hands on her hips, puffed out her somewhat flat chest, and looked seriously at the Arbiter-General in front of her.
"General Jing Yuan, this is work hours. If not for your claim of urgent matters to discuss, this seat would not have left her post without authorization. But from the current looks of it, it seems you don't actually have anything important."
"Sigh~ Fu Qing, this General truly does have urgent matters to discuss. It's just that I see how tirelessly you work day and night, worn out by documents and affairs, so I merely wanted to brew a cup of tea as a small token of my regard."
Hearing Fu Xuan's words, our General Jing Yuan let out a helpless sigh, a look of concern appearing on his face. He earnestly stated that he simply wanted to reward Fu Xuan a little and show a modest gesture of care, with no other intentions mixed in.
In ordinary people's eyes, Fu Xuan might appear full of energy at this moment, but upon closer inspection, one could still notice faint dark circles under her eyes, partially concealed by light makeup.
Seeing this, Jing Yuan—who had originally intended to take this opportunity to offload some of his workload onto Fu Xuan—immediately felt a surge of guilt in his heart.
Sigh~ Indeed, he had been far too lazy. Fu Qing was already so exhausted, yet he still wanted her to share some of his work…
However… the truth was not at all what Jing Yuan imagined in his heart. The reason our Miss Fu Xuan had dark circles was entirely because she had stayed up all night binge-reading manga.
There was no helping it—those manga that Yun Fan had casually whipped up were simply too entertaining. Even someone as resolute as Fu Xuan couldn't escape their allure.
As for the work that originally belonged to Fu Xuan… let's just say our Master Diviner had finally figured out how to properly wield the authority of the 'Master Diviner of the Divination Commission'.
"Is what the General says true?"
After listening to Jing Yuan, although our Master Diviner still harbored some doubts in her heart, the other party's demeanor didn't seem feigned. After a brief hesitation, our Miss Fu Xuan ultimately accepted Jing Yuan's kindness.
"Hahaha, Fu Qing, please wait a moment. This General will brew the tea for you right away!"
Jing Yuan laughed heartily, then took the tea leaves and turned to prepare the tea soup.
Watching Jing Yuan's departing back, our Miss Fu Xuan finally dispelled the last trace of doubt in her heart. She then murmured to herself.
"Did the General eat something wrong today?"
After about a few minutes…
"Fu Qing, sorry to keep you waiting."
Our General Jing Yuan returned with a beaming smile, carrying a tea tray. On the purple clay tea tray sat a white jade teapot and two white jade teacups, standing quietly like models about to participate in a beauty pageant. Under the light, they radiated a warm, lustrous glow.
"Fu Qing, please."
Lifting the teapot, Jing Yuan poured a cup of tea soup for Fu Xuan, then gently placed the white jade teacup in front of the girl. Only after that did he pour one for himself.
"Please, General."
'Gulp gulp gulp…'
Perhaps because there were no outsiders present, our Master Diviner paid no heed to appearances whatsoever. She directly gulped down the tea in the cup in two or three mouthfuls.
"Mm, this tea is indeed excellent."
After finishing the tea, our Miss Fu Xuan's eyes immediately lit up. Jing Yuan truly lived up to his title as one of the Seven Arbiter-Generals—his connections were indeed extensive. In Fu Xuan's five hundred-plus years of tea-tasting experience, this tea could at least rank in the top three.
"Mm, as long as Fu Qing likes it. When you leave later, feel free to take the remaining half-box of tea leaves with you."
"Really? Then thank you, General." Our Miss Fu Xuan was somewhat pleasantly surprised. She had originally thought Jing Yuan only wanted her to sample it—she hadn't expected him to gift her the remaining half-box as well.
While thanking him, Fu Xuan picked up the tea leaves from the table and examined the packaging closely. It was an extremely plain wrapping, made solely of a wooden box and ordinary moisture-proof paper—simple and unadorned, yet unexpectedly practical.
"How about tonight I still go to Qingque's place and see if Yun Fan can use this box of tea to make milk tea…"
"Pfft—!"
Fu Xuan's murmured words reached Jing Yuan's ears, instantly causing this General—who could remain unflinched even if Mount Tai collapsed before him—to spew out the tea in his mouth.
"Hm? General?"
Jing Yuan's reaction immediately startled our Master Diviner. What was going on? Wasn't Jing Yuan drinking his tea just fine? How did he suddenly spray the tea from his mouth?
"Cough cough cough… Fu Qing, I'm fine…"
Our Arbiter-General used his handkerchief to wipe the tea from the corner of his mouth, an awkward smile appearing on his face. What had he just heard? Fu Xuan actually wanted to use these tea leaves to make milk tea?!
These tea leaves had taken him tremendous effort to obtain from another star system. Now Fu Xuan wanted to turn them into milk tea—this was simply squandering a heavenly treasure!
Wait—!
Our General Jing Yuan suddenly thought of a possibility. He remembered that he had previously gifted Fu Xuan tea leaves on several occasions. Could it be… those tea leaves had all been used by her to make milk tea too?!
"General?"
Seeing Jing Yuan looking dazed and distracted, not focused on the matter at hand, our Master Fu Xuan slightly furrowed her brows.
"Ah? It's nothing, nothing. Fu Qing, let's talk about the actual matter now."
Fu Xuan's words pulled our General back from his daze. Seeing the Master Diviner frowning slightly at him, Jing Yuan hurriedly shook his head and spoke with a serious expression.
"The reason I invited you here this time is that I want you to represent the Xianzhou Luofu in receiving the delegation from Zhu Ming Xianzhou. They have almost arrived at the Luofu and are currently handling landing procedures at Huixing Port."
"The delegation from Zhu Ming Xianzhou?"
The girl was slightly stunned, then seemed to recall something.
"Isn't the Martial Exhibition Ceremony still some time away? Why has the Zhu Ming Xianzhou delegation arrived at the Luofu so early?"