Chapter 2450 - 2424: Honored Guests Arrive

Manbao slipped out, mounted her horse, and ran to the back to find Zhao Liulang and the others, "What snacks would you like? We’ll go back and prepare them. Once you change into your attire, you can enjoy them."

Zhao Liulang, who hadn’t planned on changing their clothes, was taken aback and asked, "Change into what?"

Manbao looked at them disdainfully and said, "The invitations were sent to your homes, and you intend to come alone? Aren’t you bringing your wives?"

Two of them replied, "We don’t have wives."

Manbao: "Bring your mothers!"

The group fell silent and could only nod in agreement, thus they left the imperial city, each returning home planning to come with their family members.

Manbao and her group headed to the main street first; Mingda and Changyu got off the carriage, took only two guards and four palace maids, and quietly took the hired carriage to the Zhou Residence.

The front gate of the Zhou Residence was open, and the side doors were also open, but guests entered through the main door.

Manbao and her group sneaked in through the east side door from there.

Entering through the east side door, bypassing a courtyard is where Mr. Zhuang lived and their study hall. Further down is the backyard, where Old Madam Liu and others lived.

Manbao entrusted Bai Shan and the others with entertaining the guests, while she took Mingda and Changyu to find Ms. Zheng for some fun.

Ms. Zheng was indeed in the backyard, overseeing the servants checking the items on the list. Seeing them arrive, she immediately approached with a smile, first greeting Mingda and Changyu, then quietly said, "I’ve arranged the flower room nicely. There’s no one in the back garden now; go see if anything is missing and let me know. I’ll prepare it for you."

Manbao happily agreed and took Mingda and the others to have a look.

Many items from the flower room had been moved away, leaving only some well-bloomed flowers in beautiful pots.

Since learning that the princesses would secretly attend the party, Ms. Zheng started tidying up.

The windows on both sides of the flower room were opened, and even the thatched roof used for warmth was moved aside, so at this moment, sunlight fell through the gaps in the roof.

The southeast window was wide open, allowing large amounts of sunlight to pour in, illuminating the wooden benches placed on both sides.

Mingda and Changyu, seeing such a wild-looking house for the first time, excitedly lifted their skirts and ran inside, "This isn’t a house; it’s more like an open pavilion."

Mingda counted the windows and happily said, "There are eight windows open on this side alone; it’s certainly like an open pavilion. How can it work as a flower room in winter?"

Manbao said, "During winter, not only are the windows closed, but the outside is also covered with straw to block the gaps, and the house has a fireplace. Look, that’s a chimney; once the fire is lit, the room warms up while the smoke goes out through it."

Mingda: "It’s quite like the flower rooms in the palace, except that in the palace, one side of the flower room is made of glass, which allows sunlight in and keeps warm."

Manbao clicked her tongue, "The cost is too high."

Changyu curiously asked, "What good flowers does your family have?"

"In this flower room? Just a few pots of peonies and orchids. Apart from being a bit troublesome and consuming some firewood, it’s otherwise fine."

Like her, Auntie Zheng loves flowers and plants, but she prefers digging while Auntie Zheng enjoys planting.

This flower room was something she did in her spare time; she designed the house herself, deliberately adding more windows, thinking that if the flower room can’t become a reality, opening the windows and removing the wooden wall on the other side would turn it into a corridor. From here, one can see the lake and the plum blossoms on the opposite bank, which has its wild charm.

Ms. Zheng always has her unique insights into beauty.

Mingda obviously understood Ms. Zheng’s definition of beauty well and thought this place was excellent. Most importantly, its location was perfectly situated; it’s in the corner of the back garden, not far in front is the lake, opposite is the plum forest, beyond the plum forest is the open pavilion they were familiar with before.

Most of the guests at the Zhou residence were active in that area.

Because it’s separated by a lake and plum forest, they were unlikely to be discovered here.

There’s only a small path for exiting here, and Manbao has already posted a notice at the front of the path to prohibit outsiders from entering.

Besides that, one could only come over by boat across the lake.

However, Manbao had all the boats taken away, so Mingda and the others were absolutely safe here.

The guards stationed outside the window listened to Zhou Man’s proud boast, speechless for a long time—what was there to boast about?

Mingda and Changyu were very happy; they felt that as long as they could leave the palace, even if it’s just sitting quietly and watching flowers, trees, and plants, it was a joyous thing.

Therefore Mingda cheerfully nudged Manbao, "Go and entertain the guests quickly; quite a few people came for you today."

Manbao hesitated for a moment and then said, "Wait for my niece to come and accompany you."

Changyu’s eyes lit up, "Let your second niece come."

Manbao chuckled but nodded, "Sure, I’ll let Lijun and Liru both come."

Zhou Lijun wasn’t too busy, since she had many aunts to help prepare beforehand; today’s main task was to oversee the kitchen to prevent any accidents. With so many wives in the Zhou family, each one overseeing a task was enough.

If one managed the task on hand well, then there wouldn’t be any problems.

As for the front yard, naturally, Manbao and the others took care of it.

Bai Dalang and Zhou Dalang were also helping in the front; Manbao even brought Zhou Lichong and several nephews to the front too, and she called Zhou Wulang, "Fifth Brother, help entertain the guests."

No matter how many guests came flooding in, each one was taken to their designated spot, hosted and greeted, making them feel personally welcomed by the hosts.

It gave them the greatest sense of respect.

Lord Wei also came along with his wife and young son, and Manbao pulled Bai Erlang to entertain him personally. Why Bai Erlang?

Because, "You two are brother-in-laws, you can chat more freely. By the way, you can take him for a secret tour of the flower room, quietly, make sure to avoid Lord Wei."

If Lord Wei knew the princesses were here outside the palace, he’d surely scold the emperor.

Bai Erlang nodded repeatedly, thus Bai Erlang led Wei Yu away, and Manbao invited Madam Wei to the backyard, while Bai Shan, suppressing laughter, invited Wei Zhi to his seat.

Wei Zhi glanced at Bai Shan and smiled, "I heard you went to the Ministry of Personnel today and chose an external post?"

Bai Shan’s smile faded slightly, responding with some bitterness, "It’s less than two hours and it has already reached your ears, sir?"

Wei Zhi laughed, "It’s not a secret; such news spreads fastest within the imperial city."

Wei Zhi observed his expression and offered advice with a laugh, "Young man, while the sky is vast, you need enough feathers on your wings to spread wide to fly high and far; otherwise, you’re prone to falling. You still need some polishing, hahaha..."

Bai Shan smiled wryly, humbly accepting, "Yes."