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

After sending the men away, Princess Gao called Luo Duo over and said, "Hurry up and catch up with the Crown Prince and give him this scroll of paper. Once you've delivered it, return immediately."

Hearing Tonghua say that Miss Yaoli, the princess's maidservant, had arrived, Miss Lu stood up and went out to greet her. "I wonder what the princess wants?"

Yaoli smiled calmly as she surveyed the furnishings in the room. Her smile became even more sincere. "This servant has met Miss Lu. Her Majesty said that Miss Lu is now well and it's not good for her to live in the front yard. She has asked the housekeeper to clean up Qiu Feng Zhai in the backyard. All the necessary living utensils are top-notch. The yard is large and bright. Please move out tomorrow, Miss Lu."

"Thank you, Princess. I'm just used to living here—" Miss Lu said softly, "and my health is getting better and worse. I have to take medicine and ointments all the time, and the doctors are coming and going. Living in the backyard would be inconvenient. If I disturb Princess, I'd be guilty."

Yao Li secretly despised what she heard. Everything else was fake; the only real fear was that she was afraid of leaving the prince. The more she thought about it, the warmer her smile became. "Miss Lu, you're worrying too much. Everyone has headaches and fevers sometimes. Her Majesty has always been kind and generous, and would never embarrass us over such trivial matters. Besides, although Qiu Feng Zhai is next to Ming De Hall, there is a small garden between them. Nanyue has flowers all year round, so even if there is a smell, it can't go far."

Miss Lu lowered her eyes. "I wonder if the prince knows about this? After all, he was the one who sent someone to rescue me and bring me back to the mansion. It would be impolite to move out rashly."

Yaoli smiled and said, "Don't worry, young lady. The Queen has already sent someone to inform the prince."

Miss Lu was stunned, her eyes filled with surprise as she covered her mouth and nose. "Tonghua, didn't you say that the prince is not in the mansion right now? Are you lying to me?"

Tonghua was confused and stammered, "Miss, I did see the young master taking the second young master out of the house."

"Oh." Miss Lu nodded and looked at Yaoli with a smile. "Miss Yaoli, the prince is not at home now. How about we wait until he comes back?"

Yao Li's face turned colder. "My lady, the Crown Prince is taking the Second Young Master to Mount Gongga. It will take more than 20 days to go back and forth by horseback. Your Majesty is worried that if you live in the front, you will have no one to look after you if something happens. That's why she came up with the idea of moving you to the backyard. The Crown Prince has always been filial, so your Majesty's wishes are his as well."

I was afraid she would still not know what was good for her and would try to shirk responsibility. Yao Li then said, "The Queen said that all expenses for Miss Lu in the backyard should be based on the share of the Crown Prince's Consort."

"It seems I have to move out of this yard today." Miss Lu said coldly, "In that case, thank you very much, Princess."

Yaoli was satisfied and got up to leave.

Tonghua was full of doubts and whispered, "Miss, the Queen is very kind to me. And if you follow the rate of a Crown Prince's Consort, your life will be much better."

Miss Lu said noncommittally, "I'm tired. You can go down. You don't have to wait on me in my room tonight."

Tonghua retracted her neck, responded softly, turned around and walked out of the house.

In a small courtyard somewhere in the city, several figures stood under a tree.

"Hasn't the person been found yet?"

"Not yet, but according to the news from the mountains, we have found a residence that is suspected to be the princess's former residence. Our people are already guarding there. If the princess shows up, we will take action."

"Have you sent someone to monitor the Nanyue Crown Prince's departure from the city tonight?"

The other two figures looked at each other in confusion. "When did the Crown Prince of Nanyue leave the city gate?"

"Useless! That evening, the Nanyue Crown Prince Zhou Boli led a dozen men out of the city on horseback, causing such a commotion. You haven't learned your lesson from the huge mistake you made back then. When the higher-ups blame you, you'll have enough heads chopped off."

"I think we should just call it a day. The emperor is far away, so why not live a comfortable life in hiding instead of living in fear every day?"

"What you said makes sense, but—" A cold light flashed, and a heavy object fell to the ground, turning three people into two. "Anyone who deserts the battlefield will die!"

"Pass on my order. If you find Princess Ning'an, kill her without mercy!"

The other man looked at the thing on the ground with disgust and said, "Boss, the higher-ups want it alive."

"Nanyue King Zhou Chong may be old, but Zhou Boli is a man not to be underestimated. After many days of probing, I've discovered that he's just average towards Ning An. He's been secretly interacting with her for years, and I'm sure he's taken a liking to her destiny as a girl—mostly to exploit her. Do you think he'll let Princess Ning An leave Nanyue alive? The higher-ups are clear: Princess Ning An must not remain in Nanyue alive."

"Boss, I don't understand why you agreed to send Princess Ning'an to Nanyue for marriage if you didn't want her to marry to Nanyue in the first place?"

"The marriage is just a delaying tactic. If the princess gets into trouble with the Nanyue people, we can achieve multiple goals at once. It will not only relieve the Qin Dynasty's military difficulties, but also make Nanyue feel guilty, and it can also buy time for the current emperor to secure his throne.

We don't have much time left, we must kill her before Nanyue finds her. Once Ning An dies, red fireworks will be set off at midnight."

"Yes."

The figure jumped onto the wall and disappeared into the night.

The next day, Miss Lu was moved by Butler Zhou to Qiufengzhai in the backyard. Qiufengzhai, situated directly east of the palace, consisted of over twenty rooms. The courtyard was paved with blue bricks and dotted with a variety of precious and fragrant flowers and plants. There were jade screens inlaid with gold and jade, heavy and ancient bronze incense burners, bronze mirrors as tall as a person, and a row of rosewood furniture. Even the bed curtains in the bedroom were made of a double-layered, priceless mist curtain embroidered with entwined branches of acacia flowers.

Tonghua stared intently, "Girl, Qiu Feng Zhai is really beautiful."

Miss Lu looked at the tent in front of her and couldn't help but touch it. "It's really good."

Tonghua whispered, "Miss, according to the rules, you should go and pay your respects to the princess and thank her."

In Mingde Hall, Miss Lu was halfway through kneeling when she was helped up.

The elegantly dressed woman in front of him was very kind. "You're welcome. Get up quickly. You are our distinguished guest from South Vietnam. We should have moved you out of the front yard long ago."

"I don't care about the affairs of the mansion because I am not in good health. Besides..." Miss Lu touched the mask covering her face, feeling depressed, "I really don't dare to see anyone."

The woman sighed softly, "Poor thing! It's not easy for a woman to be out there, and now she has to suffer such a misfortune. I heard that you don't remember anything about the past?"

Miss Lu nodded and said, "It was only when the prince told me that I learned that my name was Lu Yun and that I was the Princess Ning'an of the Qin Dynasty."

Princess Gao took her hand and said, "I heard that you became a nun at a very young age in the Qin Dynasty?"

Miss Lu calmly withdrew her hand. "I don't remember much about this, only a few vague scenes occasionally flash through my mind. It didn't look like a temple, but more like a village in the mountains. But the mountains are different from those in South Vietnam."

Princess Gao lamented, "Those people who came with you were severely tortured after you got into trouble, and they're no longer useful. I've already ordered the housekeeper to buy servants, and they should arrive in three to five days. Qiufengzhai is difficult to manage, and you're the princess, so how can you be without people? Yaoli, who's by my side, is still useful, so I'll lend her to you for a few days."

Miss Lu: "I shouldn't refuse a gift from an elder. I've only been here a short time and I know that Miss Yaoli is the most useful person to the Empress. I appreciate the Empress' kindness."

Princess Gao's smile faded slightly. "You said that a gift from an elder shouldn't be refused, so don't refuse it. Could it be that in your eyes, I, the Princess of Nanyue, only have Yaoli available to me?"

Miss Lu's expression froze slightly. "That's not what I meant."

Princess Gao picked up the teacup and said, "Don't worry, once I give her to you, she's yours. You can kill her, beat her, scold her, or punish her at your discretion."