Chapter 1018 Mo Ju
Mr. Zhuang assigned them a lot of homework, and Manbao had the most, because Bai Shan and Bai Erlang had homework assigned by school, but she did not.
Manbao was a little dissatisfied with this and argued with the teacher: "Teacher, although I don't have any homework assigned by the school, I still need to study pulse cases."
Mr. Zhuang raised his eyelids, glanced at her, and said, "Then you should get up earlier and go to bed later. Your classes are already slowing down. If you don't do your homework, you will be caught up by Erlang."
Manbao turned her head to look at Bai Erlang, and Bai Erlang happened to turn his head to look at her. He smiled at her proudly.
Manbao turned around and said to Mr. Zhuang, "Sir, I think you are right."
Shirojiro:......
Bai Shan suppressed his laughter, opened his textbook and began to think about doing his homework.
The Mid-Autumn Festival holiday in the capital was longer than when they were in Yizhou. I don’t know if it was because the officials in the capital had to attend palace banquets or something, but the Imperial College was closed for five days anyway.
Starting from tomorrow, the 14th, the streets will be bustling with activity. Shops will begin to move lanterns outside, sell food, and more people will come to have fun.
Unfortunately, Bai Shan and the others couldn’t even go out and had to stay at home doing their homework.
Mr. Zhuang said that he would take them to a poetry reading on the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Of course, unlike in Yizhou City, in the capital, they were not qualified to sit in the poetry meeting. At most, they could only watch and participate.
Mr. Zhuang had never thought of taking them to participate in these activities before. After all, they have to keep a low profile, right?
But there is no need to be invisible now, so just do what you have to do. As for whether you can become famous, it depends on the abilities of these children.
Mr. Zhuang is still very confident in Bai Shan and Man Bao. After all, he has taught so many students and met so many people, but he has only seen a few as smart as them.
Except for these two who are still young, the rest are already famous.
The poetry competition was divided into many levels, and the level Mr. Zhuang could participate in was not high enough. The next day, he dressed up his three disciples and took them out.
There was a poetry meeting held in a place called Mohui Garden, which was a three-story garden that was fully open to the public. The literati and poets who entered could stroll around and finally return to the courtyard to write poetry.
Of course, you need a post to get in.
I don’t know where Mr. Zhuang got the two notes from, but he brought all three of his disciples in.
Manbao followed Mr. Zhuang closely, looked up at the plaque, and then walked in. After the servant who led them had left, he asked curiously, "Sir, why is it called Mo Hui Garden?"
This name always sounds strange, especially when holding a literary gathering.
Bai Shan and Bai Erlang also felt something was wrong, so they all looked up at the teacher.
Mr. Zhuang: ...How would he know why?
Do you still need to find out the origin of the name given by the owner?
Mr. Zhuang could only say, "The owner of this garden is surnamed Mo. He rents it out year-round for banquets, literary gatherings, and poetry gatherings. It's always been called this."
Manbao was curious: "Who would hold a banquet in a rented garden instead of at home?"
"Many families," Mr. Zhuang said, "area is expensive in the capital, and housing is even more expensive. Many families only have enough space to live in, and when they want to hold a banquet at home, they simply can't spare the space, so they have to rent it out."
Bai Shan was puzzled: "There are only a few literary and poetry gatherings held in a year. If it can't be rented out, won't it be empty and lose money?"
"No, there are many gardens like this built specifically for renting out, both inside and outside the capital," Mr. Zhuang said. "Some fourth- and fifth-rank officials, even third-rank officials, only have two or three-story houses. It's fine for a small banquet, but where would you put ten or so tables of guests? And without even a view to look at, it would be too shabby. That's why some people rent out gardens."
"Just think about it, how many officials and wealthy families are there in Beijing? Today one celebrates a birthday, tomorrow another one celebrates a first birthday, there are poetry gatherings, literary gatherings, flower viewing banquets, and they all take turns renting the garden. This garden is rarely empty for a few days."
Manbao asked curiously, "Is it very profitable?"
Mr. Zhuang smiled and said, "I don't know about that. This garden not only costs money for the land and construction, but also for the decorations, flowers, trees, and maintenance. Compared to money, I think the host cares more about the people who come here to feast."
That is, connections.
Bai Shan and Man Bao nodded, and Bai Erlang sniffed and said, "Sir, I smell a very sweet scent."
Mr. Zhuang: "...This is the aroma coming from the kitchen."
Manbao also sniffed and whispered happily, "I smell it, it's the smell of moon cakes. I heard that the moon cakes in the capital are also very delicious."
Bai Shan: "After all, it's Mid-Autumn Festival, so moon cakes are a must."
Mr. Zhuang nodded.
The four masters and apprentices went to the courtyard. As soon as they entered, they saw many people standing in the courtyard in groups of three or four. Some were admiring the flowers, while others were talking. It was very lively.
"Bai Shan?"
Bai Shan turned around and saw Peng Zhiru and several of his classmates standing together. He smiled slightly, stepped forward and saluted, saying, "It's you. Are you all here for the poetry gathering too?"
Peng Zhiru and the others laughed and said, "Yeah, we met when we just came in. I didn't expect you to come too."
Several people looked at Mr. Zhuang and Manbao who were standing aside.
This was the first time they met Mr. Zhuang, but they all knew that Bai Shan had a teacher who he had followed since he was a child, so they guessed his identity.
As for Manbao, they had seen him quite often, but they had never formally met him.
Bai Shan took the opportunity to introduce them. After everyone got to know each other, Peng Zhiru said with a smile, "It's more lively over there. The owner of the garden bought a pot of very rare black chrysanthemums from somewhere. Most of them are now in bloom, and everyone is there admiring the flowers. Do you want to go over and take a look?"
Bai Shan: "Moju?"
He turned his head and looked at Manbao.
Mr. Zhuang and Bai Erlang also looked at Manbao.
Manbao opened his mouth slightly and asked in surprise: "Black chrysanthemum?"
Peng Zhiru paused for a moment and then smiled, "It's not really black, it's ink-colored, well, not that black."
The four masters and apprentices were particularly curious and went to take a look, because among the flowers that Manbao had moved home, there was a pot of black chrysanthemums, but it had already been sold.
But they seem to remember that she was sold to the relatives of the King of Yizhou?
When they arrived at the place, the four masters and apprentices carefully avoided the crowd and squeezed to the front. When they saw the flowerpot, the leaves, and the color of the flowers, Mr. Zhuang, Bai Shan and Bai Erlang all turned their heads to look at Manbao.
Manbao blinked her eyes and stared at it carefully for a long time to make sure that she was not seeing things. This was indeed the flower that had been in her hands before.
The chrysanthemums sold to Yin Huo were green, and the ink-colored ones were sold to the relatives of the King of Yizhou.
The next update will be around 8pm
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
