The Concubine's Daughter Travels Through Time and Space and Takes the Road of Confrontation

Roujia bowed respectfully to the two imperial concubines before sitting on a small round stool beside them.

"What do you want from me this time?" Concubine Zhao smiled. Roujia was a girl who never came to visit someone for no reason. The last time she came to her, she asked for a piece of fine purple jade, saying that she wanted to carve a lotus crown for Ning An.

Roujia rolled her eyes and looked at Concubine Li, who looked hesitant and stammering.

Concubine Li also laughed. "Could it be related to me? My palace is full of books, oh, and a few jars of wine sent by your sister Changle. Could it be about this?"

Roujia was embarrassed and said, "Madam Li, I am not a heavy drinker. This matter is indeed related to you." Seeing that the two empresses were listening attentively, Roujia continued, "It was Ning An who asked me to do this. She wanted you to act as a matchmaker for the official wife living in Mei'an and marry her off to someone else."

Concubine Li frowned slightly, "So it's related to her." Then she explained to Concubine Zhao, "Guan is the wife of my deceased brother. She should have been in her hometown in Gusu, but later a letter from the clan said that she was sick due to worry, so she was sent back to Kyoto to live in Mei'an temporarily." But how can we talk about getting married? Concubine Li looked at Roujia.

Roujia was even more embarrassed. "Madam Li, Ning'an said that the old lady of the Ping'an Marquis's residence forced Lu Tongzheng to divorce his wife, but Lord Lu refused. Later, Lord Lu was forced to leave the house and rented another house with his wife's dowry. From what Ning'an said, the old lady has taken a fancy to the official's wife and wants to match her with Lord Lu."

The palace had long heard about the disappearance of Lord Lu's wife, and when combined with the events at court, it was simply that the old woman, seeking profit and avoiding trouble, wanted to abandon Zhang, but her youngest son refused, leaving her with no choice but to split the family.

Concubine Zhao sighed, "This old lady is really confused."

Concubine Li's face darkened. "I entered the palace early, and I've never met Guan before. I don't know her character. If she had stayed in Mei'an to cultivate herself, no one could have forced her to remarry. It must be because she had some thoughts that others could have taken advantage of her."

Just as he finished speaking, a palace attendant came in and announced, "The Crown Princess wishes to see you."

Concubine Zhao was surprised and asked, "What's going on today? Either no one comes, or they all come to me in droves. Let her come in."

The Crown Princess Xiaoguan knelt down to pay her respects to her two stepmothers, then paid her respects to Roujia as an equal, and finally sat down next to Concubine Li.

"Your Majesty, I have a favor to ask."

Concubine Li had a guess in her mind, "Is it related to my sister-in-law, Guan?"

Surprise flashed in the Crown Princess's eyes. "Has Empress Li already known about this?"

"Your sister Roujia just said a few words to me." Concubine Li said lightly.

Upon hearing this, the Crown Princess immediately told her everything her aunt, Lady Hou, had said, word for word. She even shed two tears at the end. "My aunt said that my aunt has been living in poverty since she became a widow, and my uncle couldn't bear it. She asked me to tell Empress Li to allow my aunt to remarry."

Concubine Li remained calm and said, "Don't worry, as long as the uncle is interested in her, I will never stop her. Guan has been waiting for my brother for so many years. How about I accept her kindness and give her a dowry?"

The Crown Princess was overjoyed and immediately said, "My aunt has already picked someone, the Imperial College's Chief Academician, Lord Lu. Lord Lu has also lamented many times in front of others that his daughter will marry into a family without a mistress to take care of things."

The widow living in Mei'an, first Lu Tongzheng and then Lu Jijiu came, a trace of disgust flashed in Concubine Zhao's eyes.

Although the Imperial College's chief academic officer had no real power, he was still a second-rank official. He was only a generation older, so he was quite selective. Concubine Li smiled and said, "Don't worry. I will immediately write a letter back to my hometown in Gusu to inform my family. I have agreed to this matter."

The Crown Princess went there happily.

Concubine Li smiled and looked at Roujia, "Now you and Ning An can rest assured."

In the evening, Lu Yun, who was still at the hot spring villa, received the message from Roujia. Looking far away in the direction of Mei'an, Lu Yun raised the corners of his mouth. It would be rude not to reciprocate. The bigger gift is yet to come.

At the Marquis Cheng'en's Mansion, Mrs. Hou was overjoyed and immediately told her husband the good news.

"The Imperial Concubine has already agreed, and she also said that she would give Siwei another dowry." With the Imperial Concubine's things as a treasure, it doesn't matter if the things in their mansion are a little simple.

Marquis Cheng'en felt that something was wrong and asked, "Isn't Lord Lu a little too old?"

Hou looked at him and said, "Anyway, this matter has already been discussed with the Empress. Whether the Lu family is willing or not is their business. You can try to say no to our family."

Guan was, after all, the prince's aunt, so Concubine Li mentioned this to the emperor out of caution. Emperor Longqing laughed and said, "You two are now acting as matchmakers."

Concubine Li also laughed. "Guan is a young widow. Since she wants to remarry, I am willing to help her. But I heard from Roujia that she originally had her eyes on Lu Tongzheng, but who knew that the Crown Princess was referring to Lu Jijiu."

Emperor Longqing's expression turned calm. "Guan is quite good at choosing. Lu Tongzheng's wife might be fine. Lu Jijiu is not bad, but he is a little old. The Imperial College is full of talented people, and there are many bachelors in their thirties and forties. After all, she is the sister of the late queen. Since it has been decided, you can do whatever you want."

After making the matter known to the emperor, Concubine Li sent a young eunuch to Lu Jijiu's residence the next day.

When Lu Jijiu heard the eunuch coming to the door, he was playing with birds in the corridor. He was so scared that he immediately dropped the small stick in his hand, straightened his robe and went to meet him.

After sending the eunuch away, Lu Jijiu almost fell to the ground. A woman fell down in broad daylight for no reason, and she was the prince's aunt.

In order to cancel the marriage between Lu Song and the eldest sister of the Lu family, his daughter often kept telling him about the second branch of the Lu family. In fact, when he heard that someone in the court had impeached the prince and implicated Madam Zhang, Lu Jijiu had already thought of breaking off the engagement with Lu Tongzheng. A woman's reputation and involving the crown prince are two completely different things.

The incident came suddenly, and the emperor's attitude towards the Luzhou case was still unknown. Lu Jijiu had a vague feeling that he had taken on a hot potato. He sent a messenger to his in-laws, saying that he had caught a cold and missed his daughter, and asked her to come home.

Lu Rong thought his father was really sick, so he hurried back to his mother's home, but he saw that his father had a rosy complexion and did not look sick at all.

Before I could even complain, I was stunned by my father's words.

She had been hiding the affair between her brother and Miss Cui from her father, but she never expected that her father had found a young stepmother for them without her knowledge. She was so angry that her face turned red. "Father, you are almost fifty years old, and my brother is old enough to get married, and you actually want to remarry!" She broke her voice when she said the last sentence.

Lü Jijiu felt a sharp pain in his temples. "This matter was decided by the palace. I only found out about it yesterday."

Lu Rong's face was filled with disbelief. He snorted coldly, "Father, I don't know what kind of daughter you are, but men are all the same. Only Song Ge'er is better."

As Lü Jijiu heard his daughter's increasingly irritable words, he said impatiently, "If you're here to cause trouble at your mother's house, go home."

Lü Rong then suppressed the sarcasm on his face and asked, "When does father plan to go to the Cheng'en Marquis's house to propose marriage and marry this Guan family?"