Tea Stories: The Emperor’s Mysterious Tea Plant

Once upon a time, during the Tang Dynasty, Emperor Xuanzong had a dream of a bird with emerald feathers and golden eyes. The bird flew over mountains and valleys, finally resting on a tree whose leaves shimmered like jade in the moonlight. When the emperor awoke, he felt an unexplainable craving, as if the dream had planted a seed deep within his heart.

The next morning, the emperor sent his most trusted servant, Li An, to search the empire for the mysterious plant from his dream. Li traveled across rivers, through forests, and up perilous mountains, but no such plant could be found. Just when he was about to give up, an old woman stopped him on the side of a winding mountain path.

“You seek the emperor’s dream leaf,” she said with a knowing smile. “It’s not found by searching. It finds you when your heart is at peace.”

Li An, exhausted and hungry, had no strength to question her wisdom. She invited him into her small hut and brewed him a pot of simple tea. The aroma was gentle, like the first rain after a dry season, and as he sipped it, he felt his exhaustion melt away. The tea filled him with a quiet joy he hadn't known in years.

“Where did this tea come from?” he asked.

The old woman chuckled. “Look inside yourself. The tea plant you seek is not just a leaf or a root. It’s a way of being.”

Li An didn’t understand at first, but on his way back to the palace, he realized his mission had changed him. He no longer needed to chase dreams or find answers out in the world. When he returned to the emperor empty-handed, he expected punishment. Instead, Xuanzong welcomed him warmly.

"I can see it in your eyes," the emperor said with a smile. "You’ve found the tea, after all."

And so, the emperor's dream became a story told in the palace and beyond—a tale of a tea that could not be found or possessed but only experienced through peace of mind. And from that day forward, the emperor would sip tea not just for the taste, but for the wisdom it whispered with every cup.