Chapter 1544: Chapter 1520: Boating Together

But no one revealed this reality, and the people in the cabin across the way slightly apologized, shouting back, “We waited for you a long time, thinking you needed time to leave the palace, and another trip home might make you late. There are too many people on the shore, and there happened to be an empty boat, so we boarded first to wait for you.”

The two boats slowly came alongside each other. Because the boats weren’t very large, and the boatmen slowed down, sometimes rowing and sometimes not, there was no worry even if they bumped into each other.

They charged by the hour, not in any rush to urge the distinguished guests to hurry, hoping they would stay on the boat all day.

Both sides looked at each other across the lake in the boats with ease, and on the other boat were not only Qiao Tao and several students from the Highest Institute but also Peng Zhiru and Lu Xiaofu, who were students admitted to the Imperial Academy through ancestral merit.

Bai Shan hadn’t expected to meet the two of them here, so he curiously asked, “Did you agree to come together and have fun?”

Peng Zhiru laughed and said, “Yes, next month is the Ghost Month, and we want to light an eternal lamp for our ancestors at the Guardian of the Nation Temple, but we’re not sure about the procedure, so we thought we’d go out on the lake today and stop by to inquire at the Guardian of the Nation Temple.”

Actually, it was to inquire about the price. After all, next month is Ghost Month, and lighting eternal lamps not only requires reservations in advance, but the prices also go up. Life in the capital is not easy, and they have to plan.

Manbao couldn’t help exchanging a glance with Bai Shan and asked, “Are the eternal lamps lit at the Guardian of the Nation Temple good?”

“I’ve heard they’re not bad,” Ren Ke rarely spoke, “After all, it’s a national temple, and even the Emperor and Empress have faith in it.”

Manbao thought about the Emperor’s attitude toward worshipping Buddha, which was not really faith, but more of a desperate prayer.

So she immediately ranked the Guardian of the Nation Temple further down the list, placing it behind the Xuandu Temple.

Bai Shan, however, was more straightforward and turned to Manbao, “Do you think they will prefer lighting eternal lamps or holding a ritual?”

He was asking Manbao to consult Uncle Zhou for him.

He thought he was very clever, having none of the worries that Ren Ke and Qiao Tao had. Whatever the ancestors preferred, he could just ask Manbao.

He believed that his father and Uncle Zhou were close friends, so whatever Uncle Zhou liked, his father would probably like too.

Manbao paused for a moment and had no choice but to ask Keke in her mind, “Do you think my father would prefer holding a ritual or lighting an eternal lamp?”

Keke: …

If its host wasn’t currently being watched by the main system, it would have snapped back.

As a system, it couldn’t have subjective opinions, so after a moment of silence, seeing Manbao seemed to be waiting for its answer, it said, “Based on the host’s usual preferences, your father might prefer holding a ritual.”

This answer made Manbao pause for a moment, and then she calmly told Bai Shan, “They might prefer going to a Taoist temple.”

Bai Shan nodded, “Then we’ll go hold a ritual at the Xuandu Temple instead.”

Ren Ke listened and was curious, “Does the Xuandu Temple do the rituals well?”

Bai Shan replied honestly, “Last year, our two families held rituals there, and it felt pretty good.”

Ren Ke became hesitant, “Then should we go ask at the Xuandu Temple too?”

They didn’t really believe in Buddhism, nor in Taoism; they just wanted something to rely on, maybe their ancestors would receive their goodwill?

So deep down, they believed that whether it was an eternal lamp or a ritual, the ancestors would receive it, it was just a matter of quantity.

And this quantity depended on the monks’ or Taoists’ spiritual cultivation and sincerity.

Because of this, they were easily persuaded.

Even older ones like Peng Zhiru and Lu Xiaofu hesitated and said, “Why don’t we ask at both places?”

After all, there’s still a month until next month, and if they choose to hold the ritual in the middle of the month, there’s still a month and a half’s time.

Bai Shan didn’t plan to spend that time, “You guys go ask at the Guardian of the Nation Temple, we’ll go to the Xuandu Temple. Last time at the Xuandu Temple, didn’t we exchange calling cards with Taoist Zhixing?”

Manbao nodded.

Peng Zhiru said, “Then ask carefully, we’ll ask you later.”

The Xuandu Temple is not close by, and they didn’t want to make that extra trip.

They were all descendants of loyal and righteous families, admitted to the Imperial Academy in the same batch, sharing common ground and language, and they felt they could tackle this matter together.

Bai Shan and Manbao had no objections.

With the important matters discussed, Peng Zhiru’s gaze fell on the lotus pods in their hands and asked with a smile, “Why did you also buy lotus pods?”

Then he reached out to them.

Bai Shan had only half of one that he hadn’t eaten left in his hand, and he couldn’t bear to part with it, so he turned to look at Bai Erlang.

Bai Erlang also had only one left, with two seeds already peeled. He didn’t want to part with it either, so he turned to look at Liu Huan and Yin Huo, and thinking they only had one in total, he looked past them to Manbao.

Manbao had three in her hand and had already peeled one. She hesitated for a moment and then reached out to pass over a relatively small one.

Peng Zhiru reached out and took it, handing it to his friends, each person peeling one and asking, “Where did you buy these? They’re quite sweet.”

Manbao pointed to the shore, “There are plenty over there.”

A group of scholars hadn’t really noticed the stalls on the shore, feeling a bit regretful.

After finishing the lotus seeds, Peng Zhiru and Lu Xiaofu still seemed to want more, so they said, “Why don’t we go ashore to buy some lotus pods?”

The boatman immediately said, “Young master, we know which household’s lotus pods are good, shall we row the boat over there?”

Lu Xiaofu nodded, glanced at the sun rising high in the sky, and said, “Let’s row over. We’ll come back on board later and head up to the Guardian of the Nation Temple after the intense sun.”

At this time, the sun was too strong.

Manbao and the others had come to the Guardian of the Nation Temple today just to eat lotus pods and enjoy the lake, so they naturally went along too. It was also almost time for lunch, so they could get some food to bring on board.

The nearby restaurants were savvy with business, knowing there were many distinguished people on the lake at this time, so they not only collaborated with the boatmen to recommend dishes but also sent their staff to walk along the lake, shouting out the menu loudly.

As soon as Manbao and the others’ boat approached one side of the shore, before they could look at the lotus pods on display, they could hear someone shouting from a distance, “Fresh mushroom stewed chicken, roast lamb leg, roast chicken!”

Manbao heard and immediately waved at the staff, shouting, “Fresh mushroom stewed chicken!”

The staff, with sharp hearing, immediately looked over in response, ran to that side with a smile, and bowed from the shore, asking, “Is the young lady ordering fresh mushroom stewed chicken?”

Manbao asked, “Where are your fresh mushrooms from?”

“They’re all picked from the mountains,” the staff said, “This is the last batch of wild mushrooms. With the hot weather these days, soon mushrooms won’t grow any more. The young lady has a sharp eye, if you don’t eat fresh mushrooms now, you’ll have to wait until next year.”

Manbao then turned to her friends and asked, “Do you want to eat this?”

Bai Shan and Bai Erlang immediately nodded, then stared at Liu Huan and Yin Huo.

Yin Huo couldn’t eat much meat, and Liu Huan wanted to eat roast lamb leg more, but seeing their eager looks, he reluctantly nodded, “Alright.”