Xiao Qi had been gone for a few days, and soon it would be the fifteenth of August. Obviously, this year’s Mid-Autumn Festival, Wu Lang and Xiao Qi would not make it back in time for the reunion. Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang couldn’t help but feel a bit wistful, but both understood it was something beyond their control. Moreover, this was indeed a fortune others would wish for fervently through incense and prayers.

A good man aspires to faraway lands; if the children are always kept by their side, although they can enjoy family bliss, it would bind the children’s wings. The Lian Family was still in the pioneering stage, not at the point of settling down to enjoy wealth and prosperity.

Lian Shouxin continued to oversee affairs across the estates, while Lian Manman and Lady Zhang, as in previous years, carefully arranged festival gifts everywhere.

The first gifts went to several relatives’ families, the Lian Family Old Mansion, Lady Zhang’s maiden family, followed by the Wu Family, Zheng Family, etc. After that, gifts went to several families in the county and hometown who had official or gentry status, such as Scholar Wang’s Family and Imperial Doctor Wang’s family, along with other scholars Wu Lang associated with. The County Yamen needed attention as well, and several mansions in the Prefecture City, including the Shen Family.

Over the years, these gifts had become routine, with only a few minor adjustments to certain families, hence preparing them might be tedious but was not difficult.

Here, people sent out to deliver gifts everywhere, and each day gifts also arrived, requiring plans for hospitality and returning acknowledgments. Lian Manman managed these daily affairs, with almost no moment of leisure.

"It’s just busier as the festival approaches..." That evening, after dinner, the three members of the family sat idly on the porch, discussing recent arrangements, and Lian Manman lamented humorously. Moreover, the bigger the occasion, the busier it became.

"This Mid-Autumn Festival, it’s likely just the three of us," said Lian Shouxin. "Manman, how shall we celebrate?"

"Then let’s celebrate simply, no need to invite opera or anything for now," Lian Manman thought for a moment and said, "We’ll have a grand celebration when my brother and Xiao Qi return."

Now, during festivals, Lian Manman’s family invites opera troupes, acrobat troupes, and the like to perform, still under the Imperially Bestowed Archway, inviting the villagers from Thirty Mile Camp and neighboring villages for a lively festival.

However, this year, estimating that Wu Lang and Xiao Qi would soon return, Lian Manman thought it best to wait until then to invite the performers for a grand time.

The person in the Lian Family who loved the festivities and listening to opera most was Lady Zhang.

"Alright then, let’s wait a few days and celebrate this festival quietly," Lady Zhang agreed.

Nonetheless, celebrating the festival was nowhere as important in the family’s mind as Wu Lang and Xiao Qi’s exams.

On the thirteenth of August, people from the Shen Family in the Prefecture City arrived.

The Consort Temple now had a high monk as the abbot. Though primarily a family temple of the Shen Family, by imperial decree, it was open to the public a few days each month to welcome pilgrims. Festive occasions also saw the temple conducting rituals and offering porridge and medicine.

With its grand architecture, exquisite decorations, and royal reputations, the Consort Temple was bustling with incense offerings. It was rumored that the Bodhisattva at the Consort Temple was exceptionally efficacious, fueling even greater fervor. On days the temple opened, pilgrims thronged shoulder to shoulder, forming an unbroken queue from the mountain’s foot to the temple gates.

Each year, the Shen Family sent people to maintain and repair the Consort Temple and Nian Garden. During seasonal and festive occasions, they also led people to offer incense.

During such times, various officials from Jinyang County, officials, and gentry would accompany and attend.

Lian Shouxin, now holding a seventh-rank title, naturally dressed accordingly and followed the procession to offer incense. Lady Zhang brought Lian Manman to join the female contingent to the Consort Temple to pay their respects.

After the rituals, the Shen Family arranged a vegetarian meal inside the temple. Everyone received the meal, and it was the end of the late noon before they dispersed.

Returning home, the three of them just settled in the hall to discuss matters when the steward entered with a report.

"... Zhang Qianhu, who follows the Sixth Master, has arrived outside seeking an audience... says he was sent back from the Border Town by the Sixth Master," reported the steward, handing over a calling card.

The steward’s mention of the Sixth Master was undoubtedly referring to Shen Liu. In the Lian Family, only Shen Liu was called the Sixth Master.

The maid received the card and passed it to Ji Xiang, who then presented it to Lian Manman.

Lian Manman quickly opened it and saw it was indeed Zhang Qianhu’s calling card. Zhang Qianhu, a trusted subordinate of Shen Liu, had visited the Lian Family several times, so they were quite familiar. Over the past two years, he had come several times on Shen Liu’s orders, so Lian Shouxin and Lady Zhang were not surprised to hear of his arrival.