Lian Manman inquired further and discovered that the books Qin Ruojian was reading were surprisingly not very good.

"What books has Manman sister read?" Qin Ruojian asked Lian Manman.

"I wouldn’t dare compare with sister," Lian Manman replied with a smile, "My brother and younger brother study under Mr. Loo, and I borrowed their light, casually reading a few books... I still need to consult sister in the future."

"I wouldn’t dare, Mr. Loo is renowned across the world; Manman sister being taught by him must be extraordinary," Qin Ruojian told Lian Manman, "My father and Mr. Loo passed the imperial exams together and he holds Mr. Loo in the highest regard."

While the two conversed, Grandma Shen San had already instructed the servants to set up the banquet, and the performers onstage outside had applied their makeup and appeared. Lian Manman and Qin Ruojian ceased their conversation.

After the banquet ended, someone brought out tea and snacks, and everyone remained seated watching the performance. Some paired up and left the pavilion, heading to the nearby flower garden to admire the blooms. Lian Manman informed Lady Zhang, then joined Qin Ruojian, Shen Yi, Shen Shi, and the others to slowly walk towards the Chrysanthemum garden.

They were all young ladies, uninterested in returning to sit in the pavilion after viewing the flowers. Since Shen Yi and Shen Shi, the hosts, were present, they simply strolled leisurely along the garden path.

Suddenly, as they reached a Moon Gate, they heard footsteps approaching from the other side, mingled with male voices.

Lian Manman paused among the group, quickly glancing towards the gate. From the voices, it seemed to be multiple people. They hadn’t yet reached the gate, but the voice made Lian Manman’s heart race.

Among them was clearly Shen Liu, and also Wu Lang.

It seemed that the banquet there had also ended, and Shen Liu had led his group to tour the garden. 𝒇𝒓𝒆𝒆𝙬𝒆𝒃𝓷𝒐𝓿𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝒎

Hearing the voices, Lian Manman halted, the other girls followed suit, all looking to Shen Yi and Shen Shi. Shen Yi and Shen Shi also looked around, seeking a temporary place to avoid them. Coincidentally, there was nowhere nearby to hide. Shen Yi and Shen Shi exchanged glances, about to send the maids over, when two little maids quickly emerged from the Moon Gate.

"... Indeed, it’s the Ninth Miss and Tenth Miss," the maids said as they hurried over, greeting Shen Yi, Shen Shi, and the others including Lian Manman, "... Sixth Master is leading some guests that way, may the young ladies wait for a moment."

After speaking, the little maids quickly retreated. At this moment, they heard the footsteps beyond the Moon Gate pause, the voices cease. Shortly after, several maids and matrons dashed over to place two screens in front of Lian Manman and the others.

A little maid went to report, then they heard Shen Liu say it was fine, and footsteps began, indicating Shen Liu and his party were walking through the Moon Gate, passing in front of the screens.

Including Shen Yi and Shen Shi, Lian Manman and the girls stood behind the screens. Shen Yi and Shen Shi greeted Shen Liu across the screens, both curtseying. Lian Manman and the others also curtsied towards the screens.

"No need for formalities," Shen Liu paused slightly, his cold voice resounding from the other side, then continued walking away.

Despite this, Lian Manman and the others held their breath and gaze, not daring to look towards the screens. Shen Liu’s companions also knew there were women here, thus remained silent.

Suddenly, a startled cry was heard, immediately followed by a thud of the screen falling. Lian Manman didn’t know what happened; just as she heard the thud, she felt a bump at her waist, staggering towards the fallen screen.

Though still unclear on what occurred, one thing Lian Manman understood was she feared falling onto the screen, moreover Shen Liu and the others hadn’t gone far, their immediate reaction upon hearing noise would be to turn... she could be embarrassed before them.

Knowing this, Lian Manman hurriedly stopped herself, naturally reaching both hands out. In panic, her left hand seemed to grab something but slipped away, while her right hand was tightly grasped by another hand.

Utilizing the strength of this hand and her agility, Lian Manman finally stabilized herself after staggering two steps with another person.

At this moment, Lian Manman didn’t look towards Shen Liu and the others beyond the screen, instead instinctively glanced left where the girls, pale-faced, stretched their hands towards her. Turning right, she saw the one holding and helping her was Qin Ruojian.

"Thank you, Ruojian sister," Lian Manman gave a slightly relieved smile, holding both of Qin Ruojian’s hands, "Just now, I was startled hearing the thud, unsure of what happened, not knowing which sister was even more frightened and bumped into me, nearly implicating sister."

"What are you saying?" Qin Ruojian smiled as well, "We were holding hands standing together, I also heard the thud. I don’t know what happened either."

Saying this, they both raised their eyes towards the screens. There, the fallen screen lay on the ground, not far away Shen Liu, accompanied by five men, was turning to look.

Lian Manman’s gaze paused briefly on Shen Liu’s face, then quickly moved on, scanning swiftly over the others’ faces, feeling reassured.

Wu Lang, Xiao Qi, Shen Qian, along with Master Chu and Zhang Qianhu.

They were all acquaintances; nonetheless, Lian Manman and Qin Ruojian stepped back slightly, bowing their heads. The other girls stirred, and from the corner of her eye, Lian Manman saw a charming figure standing at the forefront.

...

November 6th, tomorrow is the last day for doubling up pink votes. Hurry and cast your reserved monthly votes and pink votes, everyone!

Aiming for the top ten, trying to add more tomorrow! (To be continued. If you like this work, feel free to vote for recommendation tickets and monthly tickets on qidian.com, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)