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

Zhao Qingbo went to the palace again to see her aunt, the Imperial Concubine. When Imperial Concubine Zhao heard her purpose, she did not agree immediately. She comforted her with a few words and let her niece go back with the medicinal herbs and supplements.

Recently, because of Huaizhou and the palace examination, His Majesty has been busy with many things and resting in the Purple Palace every day. He has not come to the harem for seven or eight days. Do we have to bother him with the younger generation's family affairs?

At least we have to wait until the palace examination is over the day after tomorrow. Concubine Zhao looked at the flowers and plants under the corridor and fell into deep thought.

In the afternoon, a palace maid came to report that Concubine Li wanted to see her.

Concubine Zhao stood up to greet her and saw that there was a lady of noble title following behind her. She recognized her as the wife of the Minister of Justice Li Ming, Shen, and she looked like she had just cried.

Concubine Zhao, full of doubts, asked her to stand up and turned to look at Concubine Li. "Sister, what brings you here today?"

Concubine Li sighed, "I have indeed encountered difficulties and have no choice but to come and bother my sister. Madam Shen, please tell me the whole story again."

Madam Shen suppressed her anger and said in a deep voice, "I will sue the Third Prince for abducting a commoner girl."

Concubine Zhao's face turned grim. "Mrs. Shen, please be careful with your words! Please tell me the whole story so that I can seek justice for you."

It turns out that Li Ming, the Minister of Justice, had a romantic affair in his early years. A woman named Liu gave birth to a daughter for him and named her Rumei, which means "to hold the case as high as one's eyebrows." Liu's mother raised her daughter alone until she was sixteen. Knowing her time was running out, she wrote a letter to Li Ming, asking him to take her daughter home, recognize her ancestors, and marry her off appropriately.

Unexpectedly, when the people sent by the Li family arrived, Liu's mother was dead and Liu Rumei was nowhere to be found.

"Master has been ill for many days due to worry. It was not until yesterday that I learned that Ru Mei had been taken back to the palace by the Third Prince, and they had an affair without any name or status, and without a matchmaker. Master fainted when he heard this, and when he woke up, he shouted that he would report it to the Third Prince."

After hearing what she said, Concubine Zhao had already thought of a countermeasure and immediately comforted her, "Mrs. Shen has misunderstood. Liu is not a nameless woman. She is the legitimate wife of the Third Prince. It's just that she is pregnant and has not been officially canonized."

Mrs. Shen's face looked as if the sky had fallen when she heard this, and her eyes immediately turned red. "To be honest, I have no sons or daughters. When I heard that the master had a daughter outside, I planned to bring her back and raise her as my own daughter, marry her off, and let her live in an ordinary family as a lady with a straight face and a plain face." After saying this, she covered her face and cried, ignoring the expressions of the two ladies. After crying for a while, Mrs. Shen stood up and apologized, "Please forgive me, your majesty. I lost my temper."

Concubine Li looked at Concubine Zhao in embarrassment, "Sister, look."

Concubine Zhao clearly understood Mrs. Shen's intentions. "It's all a coincidence. If I had come earlier, we wouldn't have ended up like this." She deftly shifted the blame. "Liu didn't reveal her background when she entered the palace. It was the Third Prince himself who requested the title of Madam, which was already a great favor. But since she's pregnant, her status should indeed be elevated."

After seeing the two off, Concubine Zhao immediately had the palace gates closed, saying that she was not feeling well and was not fit to see guests.

Mrs. Shen did not go back directly, but asked someone to turn the carriage around and go to the Third Prince's Mansion.

When Zhao Qingbo heard who was coming, he was puzzled and did not dare to delay, so he went to greet him in person.

Mrs. Shen knelt and saluted, then directly stated her purpose, "Your Majesty, I would like to see Madam Liu."

Madam Liu? Zhao Qingbo raised his eyebrows slightly and asked tentatively, "Madam, are you talking about Liu Rumei, Mrs. Liu?"

Mrs. Shen nodded excitedly. "That's right. She is my master's daughter who was away from home. He said he wanted to take her home and register her under his name. He will also prepare a dowry for her in the near future."

The news that Liu was the biological daughter of a second-rank official shocked everyone in the palace. Zhao Qingbo immediately thought of Liu's growing belly, and a sense of crisis arose.

Some people even started to spread rumors that once the little grandson in Liu's belly was born, she would immediately be promoted to concubine.

Su's reaction was the biggest. The miscarriage had nearly killed her, and before she'd recovered, she was furious at the news. She'd worked so hard for so long, endured so much hardship, only to make things easier for someone else?!

She dragged her sick body and cried directly to Zhao Qingbo, "My lady, it is difficult for me to have children in this life. I have been in the mansion for five or six years, and now a young girl has climbed over my head. I don't accept it."

Su was held up by a maid, half-kneeling on the ground, crying at the top of her lungs.

Thinking of the fact that this prince had the support of the prime minister's wife, Zhao Qingbo felt a headache. "According to the ancestral system, a prince can only have two concubines. The imperial concubine has already said that Liu has made great contributions to the birth of the prince, and I am in a dilemma." The implication was that there was already Lu, and if Liu gave birth to the emperor's grandson, the remaining concubine position could only be given to Liu.

Hearing Lu Ling's name, Su stopped crying and sat to the side. "Lu hurt me, how can she still return to the mansion to be a concubine? Your Majesty, please don't deceive me."

Zhao Qingbo lowered his eyes and looked at the pattern on the clothes. "Lu is different from you. She is a concubine appointed by the Empress Dowager, the Supreme Saint. Unless-"

"Unless what—" Su asked hurriedly.

"Unless her family makes a mistake that implicates her, then maybe we can give it a try."

Su was in a trance, chewing over the Empress' words, and was helped back.

"Your Majesty, do you really want to let Madam Su become a concubine?" Lu Yu frowned and disagreed.

Zhao Qingbo looked tired and looked at Hongchou, "You speak."

"It's difficult for Madam Su to have another child, so she won't pose a threat to the Empress. However, the Prime Minister's wife behind her can form a check on Madam Shen behind the Liu family, helping the Empress to contain the Liu family."

Zhao Qingbo closed his eyes and said, "All of you go down. I need to think about it."

Coming out of the backyard, the Third Prince returned to the study in the front yard with a sullen expression. He glanced at the people in the hall and asked, "Why is there one missing?"

Jixiang was confused and said, "Your Highness, Mr. Li has returned home to attend the funeral."

"Going to a funeral? Haha, what a funeral!" The Third Prince gritted his teeth and said, "Send someone to find him. I want him alive or dead!"

"Yes." Jixiang bowed and went out.

Only this guy named Li knew my whereabouts that day. I thought I could easily get Zhang and the eldest daughter of the Lu family on the carriage, but I didn't expect that my fifth brother would intercept them. Damn it!

Yesterday, Prime Minister Lu had hinted in a sarcastic way that he should give Su, the fool, a promotion, and today, Minister Li had come to ask for Liu's promotion. Not to mention that Lu hadn't left the palace yet, even if she had, both concubine positions would have been taken.

Are we really going to let the daughter of a second-rank official condescend to her and be carried in through the back door in a sedan chair? This isn't a marriage, this is an enmity! Marry, what the hell!

After the palace examination, the weather became hotter.

After Zhang returned, she had a quarrel with Master Lu Er, who, unable to resist, fled to the hot springs villa of Princess Ning'an. Zhang then remembered that she had not yet explained to him the details of her encounter with the Third Prince on the road.

When the servants came to announce Mr. Tan's arrival, Zhang was sitting on a large pillow, wearing a headband, while Yuan was chatting with her. Lu Rong was sitting nearby, embroidering absentmindedly.