The next day, when Manbao left the palace, Mingda had already found a statue of Laozi from the storeroom and, imitating Manbao, had offered up a crystal bracelet.
Old Zhou knew that they were asking for leave to go to Shangzhou this time, and he felt quite anxious. After hesitating for a moment, he decided to bring along his eldest and fifth sons, thinking that having more of his sons with him might give him some more confidence.
Old Madam Liu was also preparing to return to Longzhou. The old master of Ms. Zhang's family in Longzhou was having a birthday celebration. This time, it was an important milestone, and she wanted their branch of the family to re-establish themselves in Longzhou, so she decided to return.
