Third watch, asking for pink.
*****
The engineering on the mountain was completed, and Lian Manman, due to her connections with Mr. Loo and Old Huang, once went inside to play for half a day. Of course, she didn’t go alone. Accompanying her were Lian Zhizhi, Wu Lang, Xiao Qi, Lady Zhang, and Lian Shouxin. Additionally, because such an opportunity was rare, Lian Manman also brought Lian Yeye, and Lady Zhang sent soone to fetch four people from the Wu Family.
The Emperor issued a decree for the construction project dedicated to Empress Shen, mainly divided into two parts. The first part at the front was a magnificent temple, with the main hall enshrining a Guanyin statue modeled after Empress Shen’s portrait, and there were front hall, rear hall, as well as left and right side halls, respectively enshrining the Heavenly Kings, the dicine Master, and Eight Hundred Arhats.
This temple bore an imperial na inscribed by the Emperor’s own hand, but the common people all referred to it as Consort Palace or Consort Temple.
Behind the Consort Palace was another part of the royal construction. This part was a garden imitating Jiangnan’s scenery, essentially a huge garden, with pavilions, towers, artificial hills, and flowing water, all extrely captivating. This garden was granted to the Shen Family by the Emperor.
This outing opened everyone’s eyes and they talked about it enthusiastically for a long ti after their return.
After the engineering work was completed, Thirty Mile Camp was very lively for a period. The Capital City’s imperial envoy was sent, ceremonies were held, and nurous people from the Shen Family ca to perform rituals in the temple, mourning the late Empress Shen.
Shen Liu and Shen Jiu, naturally, also ca. However, since nearly every prominent mber of the Shen Family was present, with various ceremonies to be held, they were too busy to spare ti, so they only t briefly with Lian Manman and her companions before returning with the Shen Family.
As the Shen Family needed to send soone to the Capital City to express their gratitude, Shen Liu naturally had to go, and Shen Jiu was also arranged to accompany Shen Liu.
Mr. Loo was granted amnesty, but no decree for reappointnt was forthcoming. Since Mr. Loo’s writings had caught the present Emperor’s attention, and with the Shen Family’s arrangent, it was only a matter of ti before the Royal Family would reuse him. Therefore, Mr. Loo planned to take advantage of this idle ti and return to his hotown.
Having not returned for several years, there were always so matters to attend to.
Mr. Loo intended to return ho and Wu Lang planned to accompany him.
Read ten thousand books, travel ten thousand miles. To beco learned, studying hard is naturally essential, but if one relies solely on books and becos disconnected from reality, one can end up being a fool. Hence, broad exposure to reality and expanding one’s horizons and knowledge are equally indispensable. There’s even a saying that reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles, which demonstrates the importance of travel.
Wu Lang was not in a hurry to take the provincial exam; accompanying Mr. Loo on this journey allowed him to care for Mr. Loo while continuing to learn from him, gaining more experience and understanding. This was truly an excellent opportunity.
And if Mr. Loo were to return ho alone, it would be rather dull. With Wu Lang, his student, accompanying and taking care of him, Mr. Loo was naturally glad to have Wu Lang with him on this travel experience.
In arranging Mr. Loo’s return ho, Lian Manman’s family beca rather busy.
Lady Zhang, Lian Zhizhi, and Lian Manman were responsible for preparing clothes and luggage for the teacher and student duo. Fortunately, the weather was already quite warm, and since Mr. Loo’s ho was in the south, the further they headed south, the hotter it would beco. According to Mr. Loo’s planned itinerary, they would return before autumn arrives, so only sumr clothes were necessary.
In the past two years, Lian Manman’s family had prepared a wardrobe for Mr. Loo suitable for all four seasons. At this ti, they also bought fabric and hired a tailor to make eight sets of clothes for Mr. Loo from the inside out, including shoes, socks, hats, and headscarves. Wu Lang’s outfits were slightly inferior, with six new sets prepared. Combined with their original clothes, they would be more than adequate for this two to three-month trip, or even longer.
Lian Shouxin took charge with a team to buy various local specialties and gifts both as tokens for Mr. Loo to take ho and for Mr. Loo and Wu Lang to use on the journey as goodwill gestures.
With Mr. Loo and Wu Lang setting out, they naturally needed attendants for service.
The family carefully selected and finally arranged for Steward Li Xiao, servant Xiao Fu, Xiao Gui, long-term attendant Da Li, Zhuzi, alongside four coachn to accompany and serve. Xiao Fu had always served Wu Lang, and the other servant, Xiao Gui, was originally a young worker at Lian’s store, chosen by Wu Lang for his loyalty and cleverness. Steward Li Xiao was brought up from the manor at Luo Family Village, having worked at Lian Manman’s for a while, known for being experienced and reliable. The two long-term attendants and four coachn were originally long-term workers, later signing lifeti contracts, all known to be dependable in handling tasks.
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