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The middle-aged man advised in a low voice, "Young Master, although I do not know their purpose, the people they hold won’t be in danger, otherwise, they wouldn’t have gone to their rescue. Shall we head back first and make long-term plans?"

He also knew they shouldn’t act rashly or recklessly, yet he still couldn’t help feeling some reluctance, "Uncle Ma, let’s go."

The young man took one last look at the house, his eyes shimmering with captivating brilliance, and then, along with Uncle Ma, the two of them discreetly left.

Within Canglan Court.

The results of the mooncake making competition were out, and just as Lian Hua had guessed, Xiao Qing and Pang Ya, who were both adroit and skilled, took the top prizes, each earning five taels of silver and a bag of mooncakes.

The other teams each received a bag of mooncakes and two taels of silver, with each person getting one tael.

Though the silver wasn’t much, what mattered most was the process. Everyone was very happy, with a warm feeling in their hearts. It was rare to have such relaxed and joyful times.

As they ate the mooncakes, they found them exceptionally delicious, wondering if it was because they made them themselves.

As they ate, they began to tease each other.

They picked through the bag of mooncakes they received, identifying the less aesthetically pleasing ones by the patterns on top, which revealed who made them. As soon as an especially ugly mooncake was found, the teasing would begin:

"Xiao Qing, your mooncake is so flat, you must have pressed it with your hand. I can’t believe you guys could mess up like this, haha," Xiao Jizi’s laughter roared as he clutched his belly.

"Hmmph, Xiao Jizi, you tease us, but look at yourself. Look at these two; they’re missing a piece of the pattern. Did you or Xiao Linzi sneak a bite?" Pang Ya retorted.

"I didn’t," Xiao Linzi mumbled his denial while munching away, his words muffled.

"Ouch, look at this mooncake. They came from the same mold, but one is so big and one so small..." the voices of others chimed in.

The people of Canglan Court and Star Palace were all mingling in the yard, teasing each other, creating a scene brimming with joy and exuberance.

At first, they didn’t dare play around much under the watchful eye of their master. Master Lian was kind and easy to talk to, but Nanny Qi was very strict about the rules.

Latter, when they saw that Nanny Qi didn’t come out to scold them, they gradually became bolder and started to joke around.

Lian Hua was smiling all along, her eight neatly aligned teeth showing as she sat in the Side Hall, close to Nanny Qi.

Listening to the Young Eunuchs and Little Palace Maids playfully bantering in the courtyard.

Nanny told her she had been busy for too long and asked her to take a rest. So, she sat with Nanny Qi, tasting the freshly made mooncakes.

Coming across a particularly tasty mooncake, Lian Hua broke off a piece and offered it, "Nanny, try this pumpkin filling and see if it’s good."

Nanny Qi took it, nibbled a bit, and looking at her affectionately, said, "Mm, the texture is soft and chewy, not too sweet or greasy, and the filling is seasoned just right."

Pleased with Nanny Qi’s praise, Lian Hua’s eyes crinkled with joy. The filling was made from pumpkins grown in Canglan Court, and it was her own creation.

The mooncakes of that time typically featured fillings like fruit, mixed nuts, eight treasures, red bean paste, and more, but pumpkin filling was unheard of.

She had directed Xiao Qing to mix the filling, adding just a little less sugar and incorporating Cow’s Milk, and indeed, the resulting mooncakes were fragrant, rich, and delicious.

After eating for a while longer, Lian Hua took a sip of water, stood up, and said, "Nanny, let’s check the time, the big mooncake should be ready by now. I’ll go take a look, would you like to come with me?"

Nanny Qi thought for a moment and said, "Let’s go together, let’s."

She got up, feeling uneasy but not wanting to dampen the young girl’s spirits, so she decided to accompany her.

Lian Hua’s eyes lit up and she couldn’t help but hold Nanny Qi’s hand, "That’s great, Nanny!

Then you are in for a treat, you’ll get to see the mooncake first. You have no idea how big it is, it took Xiao Qing and Pang Ya working together from the beginning, baking it until now, quite a laborious task. "

As Nanny Qi and Lian Hua walked to the door, she left plenty of room for Lian Hua, stepping out of the side hall together. She casually asked, "How big is it?"

The young girl spoke with festive joy, which she, too, enjoyed listening to. This was the true spirit of the festival; in the past, Yixiang Palace was so deserted that during the Mid-Autumn Festival they would just have a slightly better meal.

Lian Hua released Nanny Qi’s hand and gestured with her arms, "This big, like a wash basin."

Then, holding Nanny Qi’s hand again, she said, "I’ve already thought about it, this big mooncake, we’ll offer it up to the moon tomorrow night when the moon climbs over the willow tips, and we’ll lay out lots of fruits, to eat after we come back from the palace banquet."

At this point, she remembered to ask, "Nanny, are you going to the palace banquet tomorrow?"

Nanny Qi waved her hand, "You go ahead, I am old and don’t want to join in the hustle and bustle anymore." As she aged, she lost interest in these staged occasions.

Lian Hua felt that Nanny Qi seemed a bit lonely, but she didn’t try to persuade her and instead said, "Then I’ll come back early to keep you company."

Nanny Qi stopped in her tracks, patting her hand affectionately, "It’s not too late to come back after you’ve enjoyed yourself.

Tomorrow’s Mid-Autumn banquet will be extraordinarily lively in the palace, with music and dance arranged by the Music Bureau.

Have fun to your heart’s content before you return, and don’t worry about this old lady. "

Lian Hua couldn’t help but widen her eyes, she was somewhat curious about the music and dance. She had never been to such a grand palace banquet before, only heard about the performances at the banquet. Was she finally going to witness the palace dances and music?

But what about Nanny, if she went, His Majesty would surely come back late after hosting the court officials tomorrow night.

She thought for a moment, shook her head, and said, "Nanny, at that time I’ll just watch for a bit, and after that, I’ll come back to worship the moon with you, let’s settle on that."

Having resolved this, Lian Hua’s spirits rose again, bustling away with the others to fetch the big mooncake.

It wasn’t until the time for lunch that everyone dispersed one after another.

As usual, Lian Hua asked Da Zhuang to send the Emperor’s lunch, picking out several good-looking mooncakes, attaching a note that read: "I wish us enduring years, we’ll share the beauty afar though miles apart" and sent it over.

For some reason, this poem had resonated with her, especially as the Mid-Autumn Festival approached, so she wanted to send it to His Majesty.

Every year around Mid-Autumn Festival, she would feel downhearted, missing her parents and brother dearly. She feared succumbing to her melancholy, so she tried to immerse herself in the festivities.

At the Star Palace.

Da Zhuang happily brought the food box to Star Palace, only to be told that His Majesty was busy, instructing him to place the food box to one side.

Da Zhuang didn’t think much, assuming His Majesty was discussing matters with someone, handed the purse with Master Lian’s note inside to Steward Zhang, and went back to Canglan Court to report back.

Only Zhang Qing felt something was amiss. Unsure of what Hu Miaomiao reported to His Majesty, His Majesty was acting unusually, first sending him to search for the palace maids and servants’ entrance records, then sitting alone in the hall, not allowing anyone in, for quite some time.

He had just taken the opportunity to enter upon delivering the food sent by Master Lian, and His Majesty had merely glanced at him, asking him to wait.