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

The person on the bed was facing inwards, sleeping soundly and not moving.

Last time, when Lü Jijiu wanted to see his wife's face clearly, his expression changed drastically. "Who are you? Why are you in my room?"

The woman on the bed sat up from the bed. After a moment of confusion, she knelt on the ground with a plop, shaking like a sieve. "My lord, Madam forced this servant to do all this."

After explaining the whole story, Yinqiao's face was filled with fear and she lay on the ground, not daring to get up.

Lu Jijiu's face was as gloomy as water. The word "anger" was not enough to describe his mood at the moment. It was more of a humiliation of being played around by others.

"You said Guan had a lover in Gusu a long time ago, and she disliked my age and refused to marry me, so she eloped with her adulterer yesterday?"

"My lord, the lady forced me to dress up as a bride and get married for her. She always treated me harshly, beating and scolding me at every turn. She threatened that if I didn't agree, she would sell me to an unspeakable place immediately, and I had no way to do anything." Yinqiao cried miserably, rolling up her sleeves. Her fair arms were covered with scars of various sizes, both old and new, which looked shocking.

Lord Lu said coldly, "Such a vicious woman deserves death. She actually dared to elope against the imperial order. This matter must be reported to the court, impeaching Marquis Cheng'en for not managing his household properly and disobeying the emperor's will."

Yinqiao raised her face. She was already pretty and charming at a young age, and now she looked even more pitiful. "Sir, would you listen to what this servant has to say?"

"What else do you have to say?" Lu Jijiu said with a stern face.

"I believe that if this matter were to be exposed, both the Master, the Marquis of Cheng'en, and even the Crown Prince would be disgraced, and both would suffer." Following the man's instructions, Yin Qiao continued, "As for Madam's dowry, I roughly estimate it to be 10,000 taels of silver."

Lü Jijiu's expression remained gloomy. "Oh, what do you mean?"

Yin Qiao kowtowed again and said, "I think that you are a man of high character and integrity. Madam's behavior is unworthy of you."

She paused, tears welling up in her eyes again. "She is my master after all. I was incompetent and failed to bring her back in time. I am willing to atone for the lady's sins and serve the master like a slave in the Lu family without any complaints."

Lu Jijiu was silent for a long time. "What's your name? You seem to have quite a bit of experience."

Yinqiao's heart trembled. "My name is Yinqiao, and I'm from Suzhou. My father is a scholar, but our family is poor, so he had to sell me for some money. Madam saw that I could read a few words, so she took me with her to serve her."

No wonder, Lü Jijiu asked her to stand up, his eyes slightly narrowed. "I have a plan in mind for this matter. Come back home in three days and ask for an explanation from Marquis Cheng'en with me."

Li Ming was woken up by the shaking. Seeing the roof of the carriage, he remembered that he had drunk a lot of wine last night. He held his head and sat up, leaning against the side of the carriage.

His arm touched something hot. Li Ming pushed it away without even looking at it. "Chuan'er, stop. I feel uncomfortable and want to vomit." No one paid any attention to him.

"Ah." Li Ming turned his head away and rubbed his eyes in disbelief. "Siwei?"

The saying that people are in high spirits when they are happy is absolutely true. After marrying off that troublemaker, Hou was in even better spirits than before. Her good mood made her financial situation more relaxed, so she gave her servants an extra month's salary.

When she returned home three days later, Mrs. Hou and her husband were waiting at the door early.

The carriage stopped at the gate, and Lu Jijiu bowed and said, "Brother, sister-in-law, the lady said she is not feeling well."

Hou secretly rolled her eyes, but still put on a smile and said, "Where do you feel uncomfortable? You need to call a doctor." As she said this, she had the carriage led in.

After entering the second gate, Hou Shi saw her sister-in-law emerge from the carriage, wearing a veil. She couldn't tell what was wrong, and her brows furrowed. Cheng En Hou was still chatting with Lü Jijiu when they entered the flower hall.

Lord Lu's patience ran out. "Brother, sister-in-law, I have something I want to discuss with you. Please step aside."

Marquis Cheng'en and his wife looked at each other and asked, "But my little sister is being naughty?"

After taking off the curtain, Yinqiao's eyes were red. "Master, Madam, the lady ran away from her marriage."

"How dare she—" Thinking of the consequences their family would face if this matter were to be exposed, Hou Shi wanted to cut her into pieces. "This troublemaker, she won't stop until she breaks our family apart." She burst into tears.

Marquis Cheng'en was so stunned by the news that he didn't know where to put his hands and feet. "Brother, this, this might be a misunderstanding."

"My Lord, the facts are clear and obvious. What misunderstandings could there be?" Lü Jijiu's face darkened. "Instead of playing dumb, my Lord, why don't you think about how to explain this to the two ladies?"

Hou was the first to react. She wiped away her tears and forced a smile. "Master Lu, our family has let you down with this matter. We will immediately send someone to secretly retrieve her. You can punish her with whatever punishment you choose."

Lü Jijiu snorted coldly, "Madam Hou, even if you bring her back now, I, Lü, would not dare to marry such a shameless woman."

"So what does your Excellency mean?" Hou Shi cautiously probed. "If our family has it, please ask for it. If there's anything I really don't have, I'll risk my dignity and go to the East Palace to beg for it for you."

Seeing that there was still room for negotiation, Marquis Cheng'en quickly agreed, "Please open your mouth, my dear brother."

"Alas, I also know that if this matter gets out, both our families will lose face. But - this marriage is not what I want. I really can't swallow this, so I want to ask Madam Hou to come up with some rules." Lu Jijiu looked at Madam Hou.

"What do you mean, sir?" Hou's mind raced, and she cautiously probed, "Since Guan Shi is already married, what shall be done with her and the things she brought with her? It all depends on your opinion, sir."

Lord Lu's face was sullen. "Madam, please don't joke. I am not such a greedy person. Guan had long planned to run away from the marriage. Her dowry was completely gone, consisting of furniture and furnishings that could not be taken away. Our Lu family is small and cannot use these." He changed the subject and bowed to the Marquis. "It's just that our Lu family spent nearly 10,000 taels to prepare for this wedding, and we incurred a lot of debts."

Just two boxes of betrothal gifts and a few tables of banquets were worth ten thousand taels! A flicker of anger flashed in Hou's eyes, and she said in embarrassment, "Lord Lu, you must have seen when you came here. The colorful silk at the door and the firecracker debris on the ground are still there. We spent a lot of money. Your family spent ten thousand, and I'm afraid my family spent forty or fifty thousand. How can we afford another ten thousand taels now?"

"From what the Marquis' wife means, you want me, Lu, to swallow this loss? Well, even if I have to sacrifice my official hat, I will go to His Majesty and sue you." Lu Jijiu was furious and stood up and walked out. Marquis Cheng'en hurriedly grabbed him and said, "My dear brother, the lady doesn't mean that. Every family has its own problems. People leave and the tea gets cold. Although the outside looks bright and beautiful, in fact, the inside has long been empty. We really can't afford ten thousand taels of silver."