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

That night, Lu Er and his wife were lying in bed, talking for a long time. Half asleep and half awake, Zhang felt as if she had forgotten something. Suddenly, she opened her eyes and pushed the master beside her.

"Master, how did Mr. Tan do on the exam?"

Master Lu Er's body stiffened. "Why are you asking this? I don't know either. Go to sleep quickly. We have things to do tomorrow."

Zhang sat up and said threateningly, "Master, did Mr. Tan succeed?"

Master Lu Er turned over and said helplessly, "I got it, I got the fifth place."

"Why didn't you tell me such good news earlier? Did you send him an invitation today?" Zhang was overjoyed.

"Mr. Tan has achieved such a good ranking, his family must be celebrating happily. I thought he might not be able to get away for a while, so I didn't invite him. Go to sleep." Master Lu Er thought quickly and made up an excuse to fool his wife.

Zhang slapped her thigh and said, "Oh, I was mistaken. Master, you're right. He might not be able to get away for a while. I'll prepare a gift tomorrow. Please remember to give it to him. There's the imperial examination in April, so I'm afraid he'll come to see you again."

At daybreak, the Lu residence was bustling with activity. Servants were sweeping and cleaning, and brewing tea. Yuan Caohua arrived early to present her gift, while Concubine Yao arrived a little later, also bringing a gift.

Zhang smiled and asked them to come closer to her. "I'm busy today, so I won't treat you to tea. Yesterday I specially invited a small opera troupe, and they will be here soon. I'd like you two to help me look after them today."

"I saved it." The two of them bowed.

Guests arrived one after another, and Zhang was entertaining them in the backyard. She was surprised that Madam Ma from Dingyuan Marquis's house had also come. She hadn't seen her for many years, and she had aged so much.

Zhang was slightly startled, remembering the past, and said with a bit of caution, "Hello, Madam Ma, please take a seat."

Ma smiled kindly and said, "Mrs. Zhang is very lucky. I hope you can forgive me for coming here uninvited." Nanny Song, who was following behind her, handed the gift she brought to Yinhe.

Lu Rong came up to greet her. Mrs. Ma looked at her carefully and said, "Big sister, you are becoming more and more beautiful." Then she took off a jade bracelet from her wrist and said, "It's the first time I meet you, and I didn't have time to prepare a gift. This is a bracelet I got in my early years. Big sister, take it and play with it."

Lu Rong looked at her mother and accepted it only after seeing her nod. She bowed and said, "Thank you, Mrs. Ma." Just these few words dispelled the unfamiliarity between the two who had not seen each other for a long time.

"I wonder if the eldest sister has told them?" Ma looked at the back of the eldest sister of the Lu family and asked Zhang with a smile.

An idea occurred to Zhang, but she decided to hold off. "To be honest, ever since the master retired, there have been matchmakers coming to our house, but they're all families that are neither better off than the rich nor worse off than the poor. I've been searching for a couple, but none of them have caught my eye. However, there was one family I found attractive yesterday, and I'm thinking of asking around soon."

"It's only natural to look at a few more families when marrying off your daughter than it is for others." Mrs. Ma didn't continue speaking after hearing the words.

As he was speaking, he heard someone announce, "Mrs. Xu Hanlin has arrived."

As soon as Zhang stood up, she saw Mrs. Si walking in with a smile on her face. "Please sit down, please sit down. We are such close friends, so you don't have to be polite." She acted as if they had a very close relationship, as if she had completely forgotten the unpleasantness between the two families at the outing.

It's a good idea not to hit someone who smiles. Zhang said, "Thanks to Mrs. Ma, I met Mrs. Si. Now, after so many years, the three of us are finally together again."

Mrs. Ma also laughed, "Mrs. Si is related to our Bo's family. It's a pity that she only thinks about visiting her daughter all day long and never comes to see me."

When Mrs. Si heard this, she thought of the recent events in the Bo Mansion. The smile on her face faltered and she sighed, "My daughter is the result of her past life's sins."

Mrs. Ma lowered her eyes to hide her thoughts, and silence fell among them for a moment.

Zhang's eyes flickered. Ever since the incident in Luzhou, she hadn't paid as much attention to the affairs of the various families in Kyoto as before. She had no choice but to change the subject. "I wonder if this year's champion will be from the South or the North. Even though I'm a woman in a secluded house, I know there's always been a dispute between the North and the South among scholars."

Mrs. Si was quite spirited and proud. "Of course it's from the south. The north can't compare to us in the south in terms of the flourishing of essay writing."

Mrs. Ma also joined in the conversation, "It's a pity that the current leader is a bit old. He must have married and had children long ago. It's not as lively as last time."

This refers to the practice of selecting a son-in-law from the list of candidates that takes place every three years during the Spring Examination.

Lu Yun received a message from Liu Qing early in the morning, so she came to say goodbye to her mother. Zhang knew that she had something to do and did not try to keep her.

Mrs. Si looked at it again and again, amazed but also confused. "Which girl in your family is this? Why have I never seen her before? And she is dressed like a Kun Daoist?"

Mrs. Ma answered on her behalf, "I think this is your youngest daughter, Princess Ning'an, who was ordered to become a nun and pray for blessings a few years ago?"

Zhang nodded and said, "Now I am practicing in Qingxin Temple."

It was almost noon and the banquet was about to begin.

There are already quite a few people sitting in the conference room, but there is still one person missing.

"Go and ask the master what's going on and whether anyone from the Marquis' Mansion has arrived?" Zhang whispered to Yinhe, as there were so many guests here today.

Mrs. Si winked at Mrs. Ma and whispered, "Have you seen Mrs. Qin?"

Mrs. Ma shook her head. "Maybe he got stuck on the way and is late."

Mrs. Si curled her lips and said, "On one side is the prodigal son, on the other side is the literary star. I don't have the face to come here."

Yin He returned quickly, and Zhang's face changed, her eyes turned red, and a few tears fell from the corners of her eyes. Zhang seemed to be afraid that others would notice her loss of composure at the moment, so she hurriedly wiped them away with a handkerchief.

Mrs. Si leaned in closer and acted concerned. "Mrs. Zhang, today is a happy day. What happened?"

Zhang shook her head and said with a forced smile, "Nothing, I don't want to disturb the guests' interest."

Mrs. Ma stood up and comforted her, "If anything happens, I will help you in any way I can."

"This..." Zhang looked at everyone hesitantly and sighed. "My sister-in-law hasn't come yet. I sent someone to ask in front and found out that the old lady fainted last night and my sister-in-law was busy taking care of her, so she couldn't come. She knew we were having a wedding and didn't want to disturb everyone's fun, so she asked the master to keep it a secret from me. But when I thought of my mother-in-law, I was so worried that I couldn't hold it back. I hope everyone can forgive me."

"Mrs. Zhang's filial piety is commendable. The old lady is the elder. I think Mrs. Qin's behavior was inappropriate." Mrs. Ma looked at the other ladies, and many in the hall nodded in agreement. Who hasn't dealt with sisters-in-law and mothers-in-law? Everyone is well aware of the knowledge involved.

If Mrs. Zhang hadn't sent someone to ask, I'm afraid rumors about the Lu family's second branch being unfilial would have spread tomorrow.

Mrs. Si said meaningfully, "Every family has its own problems. If you ask me, you should be strong, otherwise anyone can bully you."

The host had something to do, so the guest tactfully did not stay long and left quickly.

Zhang gathered herself together and took her family on a carriage to the Marquis's Mansion.