It’s not easy to make a trip from the Lin Family Manor to the temple. The nearest one, Yelingdu Temple, requires a long walk along mountain paths.

Today, Qin Shi and others invited Lin Wanwan to the temple fair at Yelingdu Temple.

From the ninth to the fifteenth of each month, Yelingdu Temple hosts a 7-day event called the temple fair, where numerous goods are gathered.

You can ride a horse to the foot of the mountain, but then you have to leave your horse at the caravan station at the mountain base and climb the stairs on foot to reach the temple gate at mid-mountain.

Normally, such inconveniently located temples would not be popular, but Yelingdu Temple’s incense offerings are astonishingly prosperous. Every time devotees come to burn incense, they encounter the temple under expansion.

This prosperity stems from the temple’s successful students who give back to it.

The temple houses an elder monk with a scholarly reputation, whose teaching skills uplifted the education level and examination success at the temple’s school.

All families with any aspirations try by all means to send their children to study at this temple’s school, creating a chain reaction that boosted its popularity.

As mentioned before, entertainment in the Great Tang was scarce; there were no Li Garden, tea houses, or storytellers.

Daoist schools and temples functioned as schools, hospitals, hotels, bathhouses, gyms, funeral homes, and cemeteries, making them popular recreational spots for Tang Dynasty people.

The monthly temple fair attracts a large number of devotees and vendors.

Farmers often bring their produce, such as bamboo fans and rattan chairs, to trade here during the fair.

Qin Shi, Qian Shi, and others thought, with the New Year approaching, they would come here to buy some New Year’s goods.

As for Lin Wanwan, she simply came to enjoy the festivities since she had nothing else to do.

Inside the Great Hall of Yelingdu Temple, two square-faced middle-aged monks were giving a popular lecture.

A popular lecture involves telling stories in a plain language, somewhat like modern crosstalk or later tea house storytelling.

This is a distinctive feature of Buddhism only found in the Tang Dynasty. After the Tang’s fall, these temple activities ended.

For the culture-starved people of the Tang Dynasty, popular lectures were entertaining; however, for someone like Lin Wanwan, who lives in an information explosion era, the monks’ stories failed to capture her attention.

After shopping at the fair and buying their New Year’s goods, Qin Shi, Qian Shi, and others hurried to the Great Hall, squeezing into the crowd to listen to the lecture.

Meanwhile, Lin Wanwan wandered the temple alone with her maid, not needing to worry about little Qingyu, who was accompanied by Xingluo’s female guards, Kunlun slave Ali, and her personal maid.

Thus, Lin Wanwan did not worry about Qingyu’s safety and let her play with her friends.

The Yelingdu Temple was bustling today, the calls of vendors mingling with the incense smoke, half emerging, half engaging in worldly affairs, making it particularly interesting.

As Lin Wanwan strolled, she reached the temple’s polo field. There, a game was underway, surrounded by a crowded bleachers and numerous hawkers selling snacks and treats.

Not all these vendors were merchants; many were farming folks trying to supplement their household income.

Lin Wanwan bought many green bean cakes from a woman with children at a snack stall, sharing them with her maids.

She wasn’t drawn by the cakes but by the woman’s intriguing scene of having a small child on her back and a larger one tied to her waist.

To be precise, she was moved by compassion.

However, when she took a bite of the green bean cake, her eyes lit up.

The cakes were delicious. Although her household had Hua Nong, skilled in cooking, and Ji Yue, who knew some pastries, neither could surpass the taste of this woman’s green bean cakes.

"Did you put brown sugar in these?" Lin Wanwan asked the woman.

The woman smiled shyly, "You’re joking, mistress. Brown sugar is too precious for us; there’s only a bit of malt sugar in them."

"Ah, no wonder." Lin Wanwan nodded. "How old are your children?"

The woman replied, "The one on my back just turned one, and the older one by my side is three this year."

"Boys or girls?" Lin Wanwan asked again. It was understandable as it was hard to tell their gender, especially since both children wore neutral earth-yellow gecloth garments.

"Both are daughters." The woman’s voice lowered when asked about their gender. "The grandparents had no time to mind them, so I brought them to the fair. Luckily, they’re well-behaved and don’t fuss."

In the Great Tang, "grandparents" referred to in-laws, meaning that the family elders didn’t like granddaughters.

Lin Wanwan didn’t comment, just nodded lightly, "These green bean cakes are really good. I’ll take the rest. But I don’t have a container handy, so sell me this wooden box too."

Lin Wanwan casually mentioned, then signaled Hong Yan behind her with her eyes, who immediately stepped forward to inquire about the price, "Auntie, would you like copper coins or silk fabric?"

In the Great Tang, both served as currency, and paying with a piece of silk was quite common.

For large payments, copper coins could be inconveniently heavy, and fabric was easier to handle. As for gold and silver, they rarely circulated among the common people. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

The woman thanked repeatedly, "My husband made this box from a tree he cut down; it’s not worth much, thirty copper coins for the green bean cakes is enough."

Lin Wanwan instructed Hong Yan, "Give her thirty copper coins, and a roll of silk for the box."

"No, no, that’s really unnecessary. The box was made from our own wood, not valuable." The woman repeatedly declined, not used to taking advantage of nobles, fearing trouble.

"No problem, just take it," Lin Wanwan said, walking away.

That’s all she could do, a spur of altruism that couldn’t really change anything, just made her feel good.

After buying the cakes, Lin Wanwan turned to leave when suddenly an elegantly dressed matron crashed into her, grabbing her arm and shouting harshly, "Ah, found you here, little lady! Made me search for you!"

Lin Wanwan quickly pulled back her arm, sternly replying, "Who are you? You’ve got the wrong person."

Being shaken off, the matron’s triangular eyes flared, "Wrong person? Even if you turned to ash, I wouldn’t mistake you! You tried to climb into master’s bed, got caught by the lady, and dared to flee with the house’s money. I’ll haul you to face house rules!"

As soon as the matron finished speaking, several brawny men who had been watching intently rushed forward, forcing Ji Yue and Hong Yan, who was carrying the green bean cake box, away from Lin Wanwan.

They were prepared for this!