Chapter 812 Too Polite
Manbao blinked and insisted, "Who said that? I've always been so hospitable."
As they were talking, Matron Liu who was guarding the temple gate saw them. She had met Magistrate Tang once at Bai Mansion on Kangxue Street. When she saw him and her young master bumping into each other, her eyelids couldn't help but twitch.
She hurried out to greet him, first bowing to Bai Shan and Man Bao, then to County Magistrate Tang, saying with a smile, "This must be County Magistrate Tang from Yizhou City. My old lady heard that you also came to burn incense, so she specially asked me to wait here. Please go to the quiet room to rest."
County Magistrate Tang raised his eyebrows when he heard this. His coming here was indeed no secret, but it was unlikely that the news would spread to a place as small as Qili Village, and that someone would wait for him on purpose.
County Magistrate Tang glanced at Bai Shan and Man Bao, who were equally surprised, smiled and nodded, then left with Matron Liu.
Bai Shan and Man Bao looked at each other and hurried to catch up.
Nanny Liu turned around and said to them, "Master, Miss Man, you have come up but haven't gone to burn incense yet. Go burn incense to Laojun first and then return to the quiet room to rest."
The two of them stopped, County Magistrate Tang turned around and smiled at them, then followed Matron Liu.
After watching them walk away, the two couldn't help but look at each other.
Bai Shan said, "Grandmother must have booked the same room as last time."
Manbao said, "I know there's a window next to the wooden couch in the inner room. It's impossible to entertain guests in the inner room."
After the words were spoken, the two of them were in no hurry. They first entered the main hall, kowtowed three times to the statue of Lord Tianzun, whom they were very familiar with, and then slipped into the backyard.
The two of them walked through the Taoist temple's vegetable garden as if they were familiar with the place, and went around to the back of several houses.
There used to be vegetables planted behind the house, but now they have been pulled out and replaced with flowers and trees, obviously for the sake of aesthetics.
Manbao stepped in and was about to sneak over, but then a light cough was heard. Manbao froze and turned his head with Baishan to look over. They saw Daoxu coming out from behind a tree, looking at them and asking, "What are you doing sneaking around?"
Manbao hushed and asked in a low voice, "Why are you here? There are so many people here today, don't you need to entertain them?"
"Because there are so many people and I'm so tired, I came to the back to rest. Why are you here?"
Bai Shan said, "Are you lazy?"
Daoxu rolled his eyes and said, "I'm just being lazy, so what are you guys doing here?"
Bai Shan pointed to a room without changing his expression and said, "That's the room my family reserved. We wanted to give our elders a surprise. Please don't ruin our plan."
Daoxu took a look and saw that the room was indeed booked by the Bai family, but surprisingly...
He looked at the two of them suspiciously, "Are you up to something bad? What kind of surprise requires going around to the back window?"
Manbao said: "That's because you don't understand."
Manbao thought about it and simply asked, "We want to open the window. Do you have anything to open the window?"
Daoxu rummaged in his sleeves, pulled out a key, and asked hesitantly, "Are you really here for a surprise?"
Bai Shan had already snatched it away and said, "It can't be that he is doing this to cause trouble."
The two of them carefully approached the window, inserted the key through the gap, and kept trying to unlock the window. Daoxu stood aside and watched for a while, then pushed Baishan away with disgust and said, "I'll do it."
Bai Shan gave up his seat to him.
Daoxu lay outside the window and watched for a while, then gently moved the lock bar upwards, and the moment it slid upwards, the window opened...
He turned around and looked at the two of them proudly.
Bai Shan and Man Bao couldn't help but give him a thumbs up.
Manbao peeked inside and heard voices coming from the hall, which was only separated from the inner room by a screen. He whispered to Daoxu, then jumped up the window and climbed in.
Bai Shan followed and climbed up.
Daoxu was stunned. After coming to his senses, he couldn't help but mutter under his breath: "He's a scholar, but he actually climbed through the window."
After saying that, he closed the window for them and was about to leave when he thought of something. His eyes rolled slightly and he simply picked up two branches from the ground next to him, tied them together, and then blocked the window from the outside.
He chuckled, turned around and ran away.
The two people who sneaked into the house didn't know that Daoxu had blocked their retreat. They were tiptoeing to the screen and looking out quietly.
In the outer room beyond the screen, Madam Liu and Mr. Bai had just exchanged greetings with County Magistrate Tang, and everyone sat down. Old Zhou and Mrs. Qian also sat on chairs. They had not expected to see a county magistrate in such a situation, and they felt a little uncomfortable.
Old Madam Liu smiled at them soothingly and glanced at Nanny Liu. Nanny Liu took all the servants in the room away, and then Daji came in.
Manbao and Baishan both widened their eyes when they saw Daji coming in openly from outside.
The two of them immediately retreated behind the screen and stared at each other. Manbao winked at Baishan vigorously, "When did Daji disappear?"
Bai Shan also looked at her, "How should I know, shouldn't he be waiting for us outside the window?"
The two of them looked at each other, swallowed their saliva, and then sneaked their heads out to take a look.
When Mrs. Liu saw Daji coming in, what was there that she didn't understand?
She rubbed her forehead with a headache and said in a loud voice: "Shanbao, Manbao, come out."
The two of them retracted their heads, turned around and ran towards the window...
Manbao climbed onto the couch, reached out to push the wooden window, but found that he couldn't open it, so he looked at Bai Shan with wide eyes.
Bai Shan also reached out and pushed it, and the window moved a little, but did not open.
The two looked at each other and could only get off the wooden couch obediently and go out around the screen.
When Old Zhou saw Manbao coming out of the inner room, his eyes widened. "Manbao, when did you get here?"
Qian had already stood up and pulled her over, saying angrily, "You're being naughty again, aren't you?"
Manbao lowered his head.
Madam Liu also glared at Bai Shan, "Stop messing around! This is a Taoist temple, how can you be so rude? Hurry up and pay your respects to Lord Tang, Mr. Zhou, and Mrs. Zhou."
Old Zhou immediately bowed and said, "No, no, old lady, you are too polite."
He still didn't understand why Madam Liu brought them up here. Although Manbao and Young Master Shan were very familiar with each other and were even senior and junior apprentice sisters, the adults of the two families rarely met each other and basically communicated by sending gifts.
You send a bunch of vegetables to my home, and I send a bowl of tofu to your home. Although we have friendship, we rarely see each other.
Madam Liu smiled and said, "He deserves it."
Bai Shan was forced to pay his respects to Old Zhou and Qian as a junior.
County Magistrate Tang had been very quiet since he entered, observing and listening intently. Seeing this, he smiled, fanning himself and saying, "Madam, you are indeed too polite. I only came up the mountain for a stroll, and you have even gone to such great lengths to arrange a place for me to rest."
The next update will be around 7pm
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
