After completing the strange and elaborate ritual, Fiona Nangong took down the Golden Nine-Dragon Banner, carefully placed it into an antique sandalwood box, and set it on the table. She then nodded and gestured for everyone to take their seats.
Shawn Young and the other two men sat down. Fiona Nangong picked up the teapot from the sandalwood tea table and began brewing tea with practiced elegance. Her movements were graceful, the tea leaves danced in the hot water like butterflies, yet her control was perfect—no spills at all. The whole process was a beautiful display of classical culture.
Soon, Fiona Nangong had brewed a pot of fragrant tea. She poured several cups and handed them out to the three men with cheerful efficiency.
Samuel Morin and Quentin Easton accepted their tea, each taking a gentle sip before praising, "Excellent! Great tea! Superb tea art!"
Quentin Easton squinted in delight, savoring the lingering aroma, then nodded enthusiastically, "This water must be from Jade Spring in Beijing. It's the lightest, and has been hailed as the 'Number One Spring under Heaven' for centuries. Brewing Dragonwell Green Tea (Rain Harvest) with it gives a mellow, lasting fragrance—absolutely perfect!"
"Yeah, and Fiona's tea skills are honestly next level. The tea she makes is clear, light, sweet, and crisp—total perfection, just like Martin Nangong taught her!" Samuel Morin couldn't help but rave.
Fiona Nangong smiled modestly, "Hehe—it's been ages since I practiced tea art, so I'm a bit rusty. Sorry for making you two uncles laugh!" Still, a hint of pride flashed in her eyes. Then she glanced at Shawn Young, her delicate brows furrowed and her lovely face showed a touch of annoyance.
It turned out Shawn was sipping his tea like he was drinking soda—taking big gulps and blowing on it to cool it down, even chewing on a few tea leaves like gum. Clearly, he was a total tea newbie!
"Uh—Shawn, does my tea suit your taste?" Nangong Fangfei asked, trying to be patient.
"Mm-hmm, not bad! Pretty tasty, just a bit hot and kinda bitter," Shawn replied honestly, sharing his "tea tasting" experience.
"Spring tea's fresh, summer tea's bitter—it's summer now, so there's less amino acid and more polyphenols, so of course it's a bit bitter. Totally normal!" Fiona Nangong explained, still trying to be patient.
"Oh, that's how it is! Interesting. Thanks for the tea lesson, I've learned something new today! Haha—" Shawn replied with a polite grin.
"You—I'm honestly speechless!" Fiona Nangong rolled her eyes, so frustrated she almost wanted to strangle Shawn for being so clueless. Couldn't he at least pretend to be fancy for her sake?
"What? What did I do? I drank the tea, didn't do anything bad!" Shawn protested, looking totally innocent.
"Alright, alright! Let's get this meeting started!" Samuel Morin laughed and waved his hand, helping Shawn out of the awkward moment.
With that, Nangong Fangfei shot Shawn one last glare before returning to her seat.
Samuel Morin nodded to Quentin Easton and said, "Quentin, since we have Shawn Young as our guest today, let's talk about the history and background of our Three Great Houses!"
"Mm-hmm—" Dongfang Qinglong nodded, then reached into his traditional Tang suit and pulled out a rolled-up animal skin scroll. It looked ancient. He opened it and took out a thin booklet, gently laying it on the sandalwood tea table. Shawn looked closely and saw the cover was hand-written in seal script: 'Tui Bei Tu.'
"Shawn, I've heard you're a top student in the history department at Southern University. You must've heard of this?" Dongfang Qinglong asked, glancing at Shawn.
"Hmm—'Tui Bei Tu'! I've heard of it—supposedly written by Tang dynasty masters Li Chunfeng and Yuan Tiangang, right? It's like this mystical thousand-year prophecy full of secret poems and diagrams, predicting everything from the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic, and even the future! Ming scholar Jin Shengtan even annotated it, so it's a total legend! Always thought it was just a myth, but seeing the real thing today—wow, that's wild!" Shawn exclaimed.
"Mm-hmm—Shawn, it's impressive you know so much already. This 'Tui Bei Tu' is one of the handwritten copies left behind by Ming dynasty loyalists who joined the Heaven and Earth Society during the late Ming and early Qing. It's a legendary classic—just a few words can predict dynastic rises and falls, people, places, and events with uncanny accuracy! That's why scholars, warriors, and politicians have always valued it, and rulers have deeply feared it. In every era, it was considered a forbidden book! The versions online or in circulation today are all altered, even with the historical order reversed. Only after the prophesied events happen can people understand the hidden meanings in its acrostic poems!" Quentin Easton explained.
"Oh—so that's how it is! So the history of your Three Great Houses is actually connected to this?" Shawn asked, eyes wide. He knew 'Tui Bei Tu' was famous for predicting big national events, so if the Houses were linked to it, that was huge!
"Haha—not saying future events will be tied to us, but the past definitely is! So let me fill you in first—that way, we can talk about what's next!" Quentin Easton explained.
"Oh, oh! So which part of history is that?" Shawn's curiosity was fully piqued. As a history major, experiencing real historical events firsthand was exhilarating!
"Yeah, the part of history closely tied to our Three Great Houses is the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom! From the Jintian Uprising to the fall of the movement, our Houses have been involved all along. We know way more secrets than anyone else, even the historians! And some secrets have to stay buried forever—because if the truth ever gets out, it could bring disaster to the country, the people, heck, even the whole world!" Quentin Easton said seriously.
"Yes, Brother Dongfang is right. The reason we invited Shawn to this meeting is so you can learn about these hidden secrets. Right now, outsiders covet them, and we must rely on the nation's strength to protect them! If these secrets fall into the wrong hands, chaos will erupt everywhere!" Murong Shanhe added solemnly.