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

Is this still the small but exquisite Marquis Ping'an Mansion, a middle-class noble family?

Zhang frowned. There was garbage piled up in the corner of the open space in front of the main gate that had not been cleaned up yet. The gatekeeper came out of the gatehouse with dark eyes and listless look. Seeing that it was the second master who knocked on the door, he put on a smile and came over to lead the horse attentively.

Yinhe grabbed a handful of copper coins and said, "Take these and have some tea."

The servant took it with great joy and began to speak nonsense, "Congratulations to the Second Master, the Second Madam has been blessed with the Star of Literature."

Since no one went in to report, naturally no one came to take him away.

Seeing his mother's anxious care, Master Lu Er hurried inside, holding his robe in one hand. Zhang noticed the scenery along the way. The flowers, trees, rocks, and trees were not well tended, and there were far fewer servants than before. Zhang winked at Yinhe.

Everything inside and outside Yannian Hall was quiet, not even a gatekeeper. The courtyard was also a mess, with miscellaneous items piled haphazardly in the northeast corner and a few unremarkable weeds growing at the base of the wall.

Suddenly, the curtain was lifted, and a slender figure walked out. The person was also surprised to see them. "I greet the Second Madam and the Second Master."

"Master, this is Aunt Sun from the first house, Lingjie'er's biological mother." Zhang reminded in a low voice and nodded to Aunt Sun.

Aunt Sun rolled her eyes and smiled, turning aside. "Second Master, the Second Madam is here to see the old lady. She just woke up."

Only then did Zhang and his companions go in.

When Mr. Lu Er saw the scene in the room, tears fell from his eyes. He seemed to have forgotten what happened before. He lay on the head of the bed and cried.

Zhang shed a few tears. The old lady was very excited to see them and hummed and moaned, her eyes looking around.

"Xiao Yu. What does the old lady mean?" the voice had just fallen.

Qin and Master Lu hurried in, their faces not looking good, and they opened their mouths and said, "Second uncle and sister-in-law are back, why didn't you tell us in advance?"

Zhang wiped away her tears and said, "I sent an invitation to my brother and sister-in-law yesterday, but when the banquet started, I didn't see my sister-in-law. Then I found out that my mother-in-law was ill, so I rushed over as soon as the banquet ended."

Lu Ling stood up, his face filled with anger. "Brother, if you have any objections to me, feel free to speak up."

Lu Lingping's face stiffened slightly. He stepped forward and bowed to apologize. "Your sister-in-law has been feeling uneasy lately because of Cheng'er's situation."

Qin took advantage of the situation and squeezed out two tears. "I haven't even congratulated my brother on his passing the imperial examination, but I've already made a fool of myself by letting my sister-in-law see me. I should have gone to congratulate him in person today. I hope my uncle and sister-in-law will forgive me."

After leaving the Lu Mansion, Lu Yun first went back to the farm, copied the grain planting tutorial in the study, wrote a letter to explain the affairs of the escort agency, and handed it to Liu Qing.

Later, I took a few people to the potato fields. From a distance, it looked green. Many of the potatoes had already formed buds, about to bloom.

The only flaw was that there was a bald spot in the southeast corner of the field. Only when I got closer could I see what a mess the scene was. Potato roots and leaves were scattered in the dug-up soil, and there were a few half-stubbled potato seedlings. There were also a few unclear footprints on the damp and soft soil.

Old Man Ding, the manager, and Liu Qing stood aside.

"Did you catch them?" Lu Yun's face was gloomy. She knew at a glance that at least ten potato plants were lost. These ten potato seedlings could produce thirty kilograms of potatoes, enough for farmers to eat for half a month.

"Reporting to the princess, I have already had these thieves under custody and are awaiting your decision." Liu Qing reported seriously, and the other friends behind him all looked angry.

It rained last night. Old Man Ding and his wife had a few words because his son had failed the imperial examination again, so he didn't come out for inspection that night. Shakingly, Old Man Ding pleaded, "Please forgive me, Princess." Seeing this, the steward knelt as well. The princess valued this piece of land and had entrusted it to him many times. Now that something had happened, he was also responsible.

Lu Yun gestured to Liu Qing to help them up. "The most urgent thing is to reduce the losses. Considering that this is your first mistake, I will record it and not take any action. If you make the same mistake again, your crime will be even more severe."

The two men breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this and wanted to kneel down to apologize, but Lu Yun dodged to the side.

When she returned to the farm, Lu Yun saw the two little thieves who had destroyed her potatoes. The older boy was about fifteen or sixteen years old, and the younger girl was only eight or nine years old. They looked like brother and sister.

Their clothes were tattered, their faces and bodies covered in dirt, and they emitted a foul odor. The younger sister clung tightly to her brother's clothes, fear evident in her eyes. Liu Qing was fine, but the others had already covered their mouths and noses.

Lu Yun frowned. "What are your names? Where are you from? Why are you stealing from my farm?"

The boy and his sister knelt down with a plop, begging for mercy. "We know we are wrong. We were so hungry that we stole food from the farm. Please be magnanimous and forgive us, young lady."

"Wuwu - Brother, brother." The sister's tears were like broken strings, washing out two "white lines" on her face, looking very pitiful.

Lu Yun sighed inwardly. Everything else was trivial in the face of survival. Why would they steal potatoes when there were so many other things to steal? Furthermore, the two children were truly pitiful. Lu Yun raised her hand and asked them to stand while she spoke.

Liu Qing brought food and placed it on the table next to him: a stack of white steamed buns, two bowls of porridge, and a plate of green vegetables stir-fried with lard.

"If you tell the truth, these foods will be yours." Lu Yun knocked on the table and looked at the little boy.

The little boy swallowed, his eyes flickering as if he was hesitating.

"Brother, I'm hungry." The girl looked at the white steamed buns with desire, and she pulled her brother's sleeve.

The boy was defeated and looked at Lu Yun. "I say!"

It turned out that the brother and sister were from Huaizhou. This spring, Huaizhou was hit by a severe drought, and 30% of the winter wheat in the fields had died, leaving the remaining wheat in a state of near-death. Thinking of the taxes due this autumn and the need for food to feed their families through the winter, many farmers felt hopeless and began begging.

His brother's name was Wang He, and his sister's was Wang Liu. They were from Wangjia Village in Lianshui County, Huaizhou. Lianshui County was one of the areas worst hit by the drought. That night, he woke up and heard his stepmother and father discussing selling him and his sister for food for the winter.

He took his sister and fled, heading north. When they were hungry, they ate grass roots, drank cold water, and slept in ditches when they were tired. Finally, they arrived in Kyoto. Last night, they were cold and hungry. They saw a large village in the distance and bravely sneaked in.

“I found something that looked edible, quickly pulled a few strands, and ran off with my sister. Just after a few steps, this guy spotted me and caught me before I could even eat.” The boy said dejectedly, his stomach growling as he finished his words.

Lu Yun looked at Liu Qing. "Where's the stuff?"

Liu Qing placed four or five wilted potato sprouts on the ground and said, "My Lady, they are all here."

Lu Yun looked carefully and saw that some were half-broken and some were completely uprooted. This matched what she saw at the scene. She calmly signaled Liu Qing to take the two away and said, "Bring this plate of food to them, find an old woman to wash them up, and find an empty room to lock them up first."

Lu Yun carefully recalled the people and things she had seen today. Everything was normal. It seemed that the problem lay elsewhere.

"Manager, has anyone asked you about that piece of land recently? What did you say?" Lu Yun asked in a deep voice.

The steward shuddered and said cautiously, "A lot of people have asked me about this. Besides the guests staying overnight, there are a few families in the village, and Old Ding."

"Is there anything unusual about these families?"

"Your Highness, after I told them that these were herbs that the Princess brought from the south to treat tuberculosis, they almost avoided this land by three feet and usually wouldn't even dare approach it."

"Think carefully, is there anyone else?" Lu Yun continued to ask.

"Well, let me think about it..." The steward recalled carefully, and suddenly his expression became excited. "I remember that about seven or eight days ago, I went to inspect the fields and ran into the scholar from the Ding family on the way. He asked a question, and I noticed that his face was not right. Recently, I heard from people in the village that Scholar Ding didn't perform well because of illness and failed the exam again."

Lu Yun already had an idea in mind, so she asked Liu Qing to call the Ding family over.

Old Ding was standing in the middle. He caught a glimpse of the yellow paper bag in the princess's hand and lowered his head, not daring to look at it again.