On Mount Tai there is a tree, and on this tree there are eighty bunches of leaves

  Zhang Yan indeed had an idea.

  She ordered Zhang Guanjia to find a bamboo craftsman, gestured and described it, and made a circular ring with bamboo strips. The handle was cut from the joint of the head and tail, and then wrapped with white silk, tied with fine silk threads.

  When the first team fan was made, Sun Wu's eyes lit up.

  "This is great." She held it in her hand and fanned herself a few times, laughing with joy, "It's not only light, but also more beautiful than feather fans. The breeze from the fan is also cooler than feather fans. If you make it even more exquisite and pair it with elegant calligraphy or painting, it would be even better."

  "It's really hard for Ah Yan," she exclaimed, "it looks simple, but it's hard to think of how you came up with it. It's just a few pieces of bamboo and a piece of silk, but in over a hundred years, no one has ever thought of using them to make a fan."

  "Because everyone is used to the fan." Zhang Yan sighed and said, "I also saw that you were not used to using a fan, sister Wu, so I suddenly thought of it."

  However, looking at the fan in her hand, Zhang Yan was also quite pleased. According to the model, she made a dozen more, making all kinds of fans with landscapes, figures, and immortals, sending one each to the three aunts, Ru Yuan, Lu Hou, Cao Rui, Handan's Ruyi, Shangshan's Jingniang, and also sending one each to several cousins from the Lu family as well as that famous Ninth Aunt, so she didn't want to leave out Lu Yi alone.

  Only two fans were sent to Zhang Xiang's place, one was a painted fan, which was a gift for him, and the other was a plain fan, but it was asking for a painting. As Yan Yin Gongzi was exceptionally skilled in both calligraphy and painting, he naturally wanted to make good use of them. At the same time, several recipes for dishes that clear the mind and brighten the eyes were attached with the fans.

  Looking at the silk fan on the case, Zhang Yan hesitated for a moment and ordered Tuo Mei: "Put them all away and have the young servant send them to the post station."

  "Ah," replied Lianyi, picking up the fan and asking, "The land you want to give away is all for noble people, but this is just a single fan. Isn't it too cheap?"

  Zhang Yan pointed to the orchid and said, "The more gifts you give, the lighter the gift seems. This kind of light and playful thing, anyone who sees it can make it out. What I'm giving is just a token of my heart, and also the number one title."

  After practicing finger techniques for over a month, Zhang Yan went to Master Zhu's place again. Master Zhu's complexion had improved significantly...

  He picked out some moderate and peaceful tunes. He played them several times, letting her learn slowly.

  Zhang Yan's memory is excellent, and she memorized it after listening to it a few times. Although the playing was not very smooth, the musicality was good, and occasionally forgetting, she would use wrong notes to pass through, and if you didn't listen carefully, closing your eyes and listening, it was also quite pleasant.

  Zhu Shifu let out a soft "hmm".

  He played another more complex tune. Zhang Yan let go and played relying on her memory.

  Although this trip forgot a few small turns, the overall melody was expressed.

  Master Zhu closed his eyes and listened until the end, then hummed a sound, and said with a serious face, "Not bad, go back and practice for two hours every day."

  Zhang Yan nodded and went out, taking a deep breath.

  It's already the dog days of July, and the weather has turned cool.

  Everyone who received the fan has returned a gift, and Lu Yuan boasted about his daughter in his letter, saying that this silk fan is exquisite and unique, and it's also used by Empress Dowager and Princess Long. Everyone who sees it praises it. Now it's also popular in Chang'an City. But as autumn approaches, it will soon be put away in the box.

  Zhang Yan felt a bit downcast; between the lines of her mother's words, she could sense that for now, she still couldn't return to Xuanping.

  Even with all the wealth and comfort in the world, it's still incomplete without a mother by your side.

  And she really misses her little brother.

  Next are the golden cakes and top-grade white jade pendants bestowed by Empress Lü, as well as the return gifts from the various Misses of the Lü family and Cao Rui.

  The last thing I received was Zhang's letter and the returned painting fan.

  The letter has arrived, and my eyes have already recovered. The recipe has been received, and I've instructed the cooks in the mansion to follow it and cook the dishes, which taste good, but I don't know about their effectiveness yet. Thank you for your concern, Ah Yan sister.

  After finishing reading, Zhang Yan put down the silk book and picked up the returned fan.

  She was taken aback for a moment.

  The fan painting by Zhang Xiaogang is a picture of a happy bird, a girl standing on the railing with her head raised and teasing the parrot under the corridor, with a sharp profile. Zhang Xiaogang's painting style is exquisite and elegant, especially good at figure painting, the girl on the fan stands with her head slightly raised, her face and cheeks are bright and beautiful, very familiar, just a few strokes of outline, the charm is fully revealed.

  But what caught her eye first was the bird in the cage.

  It seems to be a parrot, standing in an exquisitely woven bamboo birdcage, chirping and jumping up and down, but unable to fly out of the cage's constraints. It appears to want to spread its wings and fly, but in an instant it seems to realize that it cannot escape the fact, so it reluctantly retracts.

  The weather is cool like water, and the fan can't be used anymore. Zhang Yan, however, held the fan in a daze for a long time, staring at the parrot's eyes, a black bean-like eye that blinked lightly, and after looking for a long time, unknowingly, her heart was filled with sorrow.

  She suddenly had an impulse to write a letter to Zhang Heng under the lamp, but when she picked up her pen, she didn't know what to write. So she scribbled down some trivial matters at home and casually asked in a seemingly unintentional tone at the end of the letter whether he had any special intention in painting this picture of birds playing.

  The weather is getting colder and colder, the west wind is rising, and another layer of autumn rain is falling. As soon as I go out, I feel a chill all over my body.

  Someone outside the courtyard gate called out, "A Yan."

  Zhang Yan went out to take a look, and saw Sun Wu wearing a raincoat, with a wide and dark green color, like an old fisherman fishing by the river. He walked up to the corridor with his boots, leaving wet footprints wherever he stepped.

  "It's so cold outside." She took off her raincoat and boots, entered the house, rubbed her hands together and said, "If I had known it was this cold outside, I wouldn't have gone out."

  "Have a cup of hot tea to warm yourself up." Zhang Yan smiled and gestured for Ji You to pour her a new cup of boiling hot tea, "What a coincidence, I asked Qian Niang to make a pot of chrysanthemum and lamb soup today, you can try some later."

  "Alright." Sun Wu drank down half a bowl of tea, warming his hands. "Qian's craftsmanship has always been unparalleled. I'm really enjoying this."

  "Your family's pastry chef isn't bad either." Zhang Yan smiled, "He has a very deep understanding of the fire timing for the two dishes, and I've been wanting to secretly learn from him."

  They recently became obsessed with liubo again and started a fierce competition.

  Zhang Yan was a child in Chang'an and had also learned liubo with others. She knew the rules of liubo.

  Sun Wu looked at Zhang Yan avoiding his own killing move without care, and directly threw the Lu, after walking a few steps to the side, he let out a sigh of frustration and scolded. "A Yan, you usually seem clever too, how come you play such a lousy game of Liu Bo? Although Liu Bo relies on luck with the throw of the Lu, it also requires people to think ahead, anticipate three moves, and have a plan in mind. It can't be like you, recklessly charging forward, so reckless that it's unbearable to watch."

  She moved her cannon on the board to attack her opponent's rook.

  Lost the chess game. Zhang Yan didn't mind, smiling and leaning against the table, "I'm not incapable of playing, it's just that it's so brain-wracking and tiring. Liubo is originally a pastime, everyone laughing and chatting, moving pieces at will, isn't that more enjoyable?"

  In recent years, she has followed Jun Yu Zhen's advice to think less and take care of her body more. She feels that being a bit dull also has its advantages, not wanting to get involved in things that don't concern her. Now it seems that this approach is quite effective. There's an old saying "heart wide and body fat", now looking at herself who has been nourishing in Xuanping, she has indeed gained some weight, no longer as thin and haggard as when she first arrived in Chang'an, which made her parents worry. However, things are relative, with both good and bad sides. For example, she also feels that her mind has become duller lately, some things that used to be clear at a glance now require several thoughts to understand.

  At that time when the second round of Go was in the middle, Jie You called out from outside the hall. "Madam, a letter from Yan Yin's young master has just been delivered from the post station."

  "Bring it in." she said.

  Facing the candle holder, remove the seal mud. Pull out the silk book, Zhang Yan holds the book and reads it to the end, unaware of being dazed there.

  "What's wrong?" Sun Wu asked after a long while, noticing that she was out of sorts.

  "It's nothing." She sniffled.

  At this moment, Tuo pushed open the door and said, "Madam, the mutton soup is ready. Do you want to taste it now?"

  "Come on, let's start again." She said, pushing away the Go board in front of her, smiling and saying, "Let's continue another day, one day I will definitely win against older sister Meng."

  "Maybe next life then." Sun Wu smiled and said, "With your stinky chess skills, if you don't take it seriously, forget it."

  Mutton is warm and nourishing, making it perfect for stewing on a cold day. As soon as Sun Xiang took a sip, she felt warmth spreading from her throat to her lungs. "As long as I'm not outside," she said with a smile, narrowing her eyes contentedly, "I love rainy days the most. Listening to the sound of rain pattering outside while staying dry and warm inside, everything feels so cozy."

  "Hmm." Zhang Yan was amused by her, and absent-mindedly said, "Then you haven't been to the south. In May in the south, it rains continuously for a month, the house is humid and sticky, everything feels damp, it's enough to make people feel annoyed to death."

  "Really?" Sun Wu's eyes widened in disbelief and asked again, then smiled, "You sound like you've been to the south."

  To the south of Wu and Yue, the Han Dynasty had always regarded it as a barbarous land, which was not yet developed at that time. As Sun Ruo thought, Zhang Yan was a noble lady, so she shouldn't go to such a place.

  "Uh," Zhang Yan stuttered when asked.

  The mutton soup was delicious and refreshing, with a smooth entrance. Sun Wu saw that Zhang Yan had something on her mind, and her thoughts were already slightly distracted from this place.

  "It's really delicious." She put down the lacquer bowl and smiled, "The rain outside has stopped too. I'll take this opportunity to go home, so I won't get soaked again later."

  "All right." Zhang Yan also didn't keep her, stood up and smiled, "You can leave your raincoat here, when the weather clears up, I'll send someone to return it to you." And then said, "Qian's stewed medlar and mutton soup is quite a lot, take some back with you, let your little brother have a taste?"

  "This is not convenient." Sun Wu said with a smile, "Besides, although our two families are not far apart, they are not close either. If we carry it back like this, I'm afraid it will get cold."

  "Don't worry." Zhang Yan smiled slightly, and the maid brought in a steamer with a thick layer of cotton wool inside. "This steamer has a lot of cotton wool inside, cover it with a lid, and Sun Niangzi can carry it on the go, I'm afraid it will still be warm when she gets home."

  Zhang Yan watched as Sun Xiang's blue-clad figure disappeared beyond the garden gate, then ordered Tuo Mei to change the candle holder and take out the silk book she had put away earlier, re-examining it under the lamp.

  Zhang didn't mention anything about the fan in his letter, but he did bring up one thing:

  The day before yesterday, Your Majesty went to the Lu Hou Mansion to visit his brother and saw a silk fan on his brother's desk. In casual conversation, he asked his brother where this thing came from, and his brother said it was given by Yan. When His Majesty heard this, he did not respond, and after a long time, he looked disappointed.

  Brother knows that Your Majesty really wants to renew old friendships with Yan, but it has not been achieved yet. Therefore, the matter of the Crown Prince's wife is indeed complicated and subtle, you and I both understand this. It should not be blamed on Your Majesty, as Your Majesty's nature is kind and gentle. However, Yan should not resist with a stubborn and childish heart. I will tell you, remember it well!

  The candlelight flickered and danced, casting an uncertain expression on Zhang Yan's face.

  All along, she had never actually blamed him in her heart.

  Note: The fruit mentioned in yesterday's chapter was guessed by many book friends in the review area. It is taro.

  Taro is a kind of fruit that I really like to eat, when I was in university in the city, during autumn and winter, there were often vendors selling taro on the street, 4 yuan for one kilogram with the skin peeled.

  But this year it's gone up in price, 6 yuan per kilogram, what a rip-off!

  In addition, the earliest fan to appear is the feather fan, which existed before the Han Dynasty. The most famous user of the feather fan is Zhuge Liang's feather fan hat.

  Secondly, there is the round fan, which appeared no later than the Western Han. During Emperor Cheng's reign, Ban Jieyu wrote a poem about the round fan: Newly split white silk, fresh and clean like frost and snow. Cut into a harmonious fan, round and round like a bright moon. This can be verified. Here it is falsely attributed to Zhang Yan.

  As for folding fans, they did not appear until the Song Dynasty.

  Finally, vote for pink ticket!