The Lucky Farmgirl
Chapter 1028 - 1007: Ink Chrysanthemum

Chapter 1028: Chapter 1007: Ink Chrysanthemum

Mr. Zhuang assigned them an unusually large amount of homework, with Manbao having the most because Bai Shan and Bai Erlang still had assignments from school, which she did not.

Manbao was somewhat dissatisfied with this and argued with her teacher, "Teacher, even though I don’t have school assignments, I still need to study the medical cases."

Mr. Zhuang lifted his eyelids and glanced at her, "Then get up earlier and go to bed later. Your course schedule is already slower. If you don’t do the homework, you’ll be overtaken by Erlang."

Manbao turned her head to look at Bai Erlang, who just so happened to turn his head to look at her at the same time, grinning proudly at her.

Manbao then turned back to Mr. Zhuang and said, "Teacher, I think you’re right."

Bai Erlang: ...

Bai Shan held back his laughter, opened his textbook, and pondered over his homework.

The Mid-Autumn Festival holiday in the capital was even longer than when they were in Yizhou, perhaps because the officials in the capital also had to attend the palace banquet. In any case, the Imperial Academy had a five-day vacation.

Starting from the fourteenth of tomorrow, the streets would become bustling. All the shops started moving lanterns outside, and there were even more people selling food and entertainment outside.

Unfortunately, Bai Shan and the others could not even leave the house; they stayed in and did their homework.

Mr. Zhuang said that he would take them to a poetry meeting on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival.

Of course, unlike in Yizhou City, once they entered the poetry meeting in the capital, they were not qualified to take seats; they could only watch and mainly participate.

Mr. Zhuang had never thought about taking them to these events before, after all, they needed to keep a low profile, right?

But now there was no need to remain invisible anymore, so they might as well do what they were supposed to do. As for whether they could make a name for themselves, that would depend on the abilities of the kids.

As for Bai Shan and Manbao, Mr. Zhuang still had a lot of confidence in them. After all, he had taught so many students and met so many people, and there were only a few as intelligent as them.

Besides the two of them being young, the rest were already quite famous.

Poetry meetings also varied in levels, and Mr. Zhuang could only attend those of a not-so-high level. The next day, he dressed up his three disciples and led them out.

One of the poetry meetings was held in a place called Mohui Garden, which was a three-courtyard garden that was all open. Literary people could stroll around and eventually return to the central courtyard to compose poetry.

Of course, entry required an invitation.

Somehow Mr. Zhuang had gotten two invitations and managed to lead all three disciples inside.

Manbao followed closely behind Mr. Zhuang and glanced up at the signboard before stepping inside. After the guide had left, she curiously asked, "Teacher, why is it called Mohui Garden?"

The name seemed strange, especially when holding a literary meeting.

Bai Shan and Bai Erlang also found it odd, so they all looked up at the teacher.

Mr. Zhuang: ... How would he know why?

Was he supposed to delve into why the homeowner chose that name?

Mr. Zhuang could only say, "The owner of this garden’s surname is Mo, and it’s often rented out for banquets, literary meetings, and poetry meetings. It’s always been called this name."

Manbao was curious, "Who would hold a banquet in a rented garden instead of their own house?"

"Many families," Mr. Zhuang said. "Land is expensive in the capital, and houses are even more so. Many families only have enough space to live in, and when they want to hold a banquet at home, there’s no room to spare, so they have to rent outside."

Bai Shan was puzzled, "There are only a few literary and poetry meetings a year; wouldn’t the garden lose money if it couldn’t be rented out?"

"Not at all, gardens like this one, built for renting out, are quite common both in and outside of the capital," Mr. Zhuang explained. "Some officials of the fourth or fifth rank, even the third rank, have homes with only two or three courtyards. With a whole family living together, if it’s a small banquet, it’s fine, but what if you have ten tables of guests? Where would you place them? And with no decent scenery, it would be quite embarrassing, which is why people rent gardens."

"Think about it, there are so many officials and middle-class families in the capital. There’s someone celebrating a birthday today, someone else celebrating an anniversary tomorrow, and then there are poetry meetings, literary meetings, and flower-appreciating banquets to be held. The garden hardly stays empty."

Manbao was curious, "Does it make a lot of money?"

Mr. Zhuang laughed lightly, "That’s unknown. The garden costs money for its land, construction, decorations, plants and trees, as well as maintenance. Compared to money, I think what the owner cares more about is the people who come here to the gatherings."

That is, networking.

Bai Shan and Manbao nodded their heads, while Bai Erlang sniffed and said, "Teacher, I smell something sweet."

Mr. Zhuang: ... "That’s the aroma wafting over from the kitchen."

Manbao also sniffed and whispered excitedly, "I recognize it; it’s the scent of mooncakes. I’ve heard that the mooncakes in the capital are also delicious."

Bai Shan: "After all, it’s Mid-Autumn Festival, mooncakes are essential."

Mr. Zhuang nodded.

The teacher and disciples headed to the central courtyard. As soon as they entered, they saw many people standing in pairs or groups in the courtyard—some admiring flowers, some talking. It was quite lively.

"Bai Shan?"

Bai Shan turned around when he heard his name and saw Peng Zhiru and a few classmates standing together. He smiled slightly and stepped forward to greet them, "It’s you guys, are you also here to attend the poetry meeting?"

Peng Zhiru and the others laughed, "Yeah, we just came in and bumped into each other; we didn’t expect you’d be here too."

They looked at Mr. Zhuang and Manbao standing to the side.

Mr. Zhuang was someone they were seeing for the first time, but they all knew Bai Shan had an old teacher who had been with him since childhood, so they guessed his identity.

As for Manbao, they had seen her quite a few times but had not formally met her.

Bai Shan took the opportunity to introduce them, and after everyone got acquainted, Peng Zhiru laughed, "It’s livelier over there. The owner of the garden somehow bought a pot of rare dark chrysanthemums; most of them have bloomed, and everyone is over there admiring them. Would you like to go have a look?"

Bai Shan: "Dark chrysanthemums?"

He turned his head to look at Manbao.

Mr. Zhuang and Bai Erlang also looked at Manbao.

Manbao’s mouth opened slightly in surprise and asked, "Black chrysanthemums?"

Peng Zhiru paused for a moment before laughing, "Not exactly black, more like ink-colored, um, not that dark."

The teacher and disciples went over to take a look, especially curious because Manbao once had a pot of dark chrysanthemums at home, but it had been sold.

But they seemed to remember that she had sold it to a relative of the Prince of Yizhou, right?

When they arrived at the spot, the teacher and disciples carefully squeezed to the front to avoid the crowd. Once they saw the pot, the leaves, and the color of the flowers, Mr. Zhuang, Bai Shan, and Bai Erlang all simultaneously turned their heads to look at Manbao.

Manbao blinked her eyes and stared carefully for a while, confirming that she wasn’t seeing things; this was indeed the same flower that had been in her care.

The chrysanthemum she had sold to Yin Huo was green; the ink-colored one was the one that had been sold to the relative of the Prince of Yizhou.