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

Because Qiufengzhai was right next to Mingde Hall, there were two more groups of guards patrolling the courtyard at night than in the front yard. The gates were locked at the end of Chenshi and unlocked after mid-Shenshi. Except for the tea breaks during shift changes, teams of five to seven guards took turns patrolling outside the courtyard walls.

After waking up in the afternoon, Miss Lu took her two maids, Tonghua and Yaoli, for a walk outside the bamboo forest on the east side of the yard.

"Miss Yaoli, where does this bamboo forest lead to?"

Yaoli "Miss Lu, you can just call me Yaoli. Originally, this was a small pond connected to a stream. Because the prince fell into it when he was a child and nearly died, the princess had the pond leveled, planted with purple bamboo, and built an outer wall."

"I see." Miss Lu murmured to herself, "It's a pity to waste that living water."

Yao Li shook her head and lowered her voice, "Young lady, you don't know, this place of living water is called Blue Moon Pond. The water is clear and blue, and it's dozens of feet deep. Legend has it that there is a whirlpool at the bottom of the pool that eats people. It's very scary."

Miss Lu's face turned pale. "It's really scary. I'm tired. Let's go back quickly."

Yaoli's eyes flickered slightly, and a trace of contempt crossed her lips. Are women from the Central Plains so easily frightened?

Seeing someone enter the house, Yaoli told Tonghua to serve him well, yawned lightly, and turned back to the back room. She was obsessed with her bed, so she might as well go back and catch up on some sleep.

Miss Lu appeared at the door again. "Tonghua, come here."

"Young lady." Tonghua looked haggard, standing in the middle nervously. Sister Yaoli was the head maidservant beside the princess, who always put herself above her and was always blamed.

"You've worked hard these past few days." Miss Lu looked sympathetic and took out a five-liang ingot of silver and placed it on the table. "Keep it safe and don't let anyone else know."

"Oh." Tonghua was deeply moved and stuffed the silver into her sleeve with tears of gratitude.

"Tonghua, it's been over ten days, hasn't the prince returned yet?"

Tonghua hesitated. "Miss, now that we have moved to the backyard, it is not as convenient to get news from the front yard as before. But if you want to know, I will go and ask now."

After saying that, he turned around and left.

The girl shook her head at her and said, "Although I don't often go out, I know that everyone in the mansion is watching Qiu Feng Zhai. You are my personal maid, so it is not appropriate for you to show up in person, as it will easily lead to gossip."

"What does that girl mean?" Tonghua frowned and thought hard.

"After all, I'm going to marry the prince in a year." Speaking of this important matter, Miss Lu lowered her eyes as if shy. "You know my current situation. I just want to know what the prince is doing. So I thought it would be better to spend some money to win over some of the maids who clean the various places in the mansion. It would save trouble and effort while also preserving the reputation of Qiu Feng Zhai."

Tonghua was in a dilemma. "Miss, I am stupid. I was just a second-class servant in the mansion before. I have never done such a thing."

Miss Lu secretly called him an idiot and patiently pointed out, "The maids in noble families who are in charge of cleaning the place have their own network of connections. If you just let them know, they will come to you on their own."

Tonghua suddenly understood. "Miss, now I understand what you said. Qiufengzhai is the main courtyard of the mansion, and you are the future wife of the Crown Prince. Even for menial tasks like sweeping and cleaning, there are plenty of people eager to do them. The one assigned by Manager Zhou must be an old man with many years of experience in the mansion."

After going out for a while, Tonghua came back with a smile, "Miss, I heard from the maidservant Mao who takes care of the flowers and plants that the prince hasn't returned yet, but she heard from the maidservant in Mingde Hall that the prince is on his way back and will be home in three days at most."

Miss Lu took out some silver coins and said, "Well done. Give it to Mrs. Mao and tell her that you invited her to dinner."

"Oh." Tonghua took the silver and left happily.

"There are still three days left. I wonder how they are doing?" The masked girl in the room frowned in thought.

The prince returned to the mansion on the third night. He rode a horse when he left, but came back in a carriage. The carriage drove all the way to the gate of Muyang Residence before the prince got out.

"A maid saw the prince carrying a person wrapped in black cloth into the courtyard quickly. Later, the court physician was seen running back and forth, but no one else appeared," the maid sitting at the bottom said mysteriously. "Later, Yaochun, who was by the Empress's side, personally went there and sat briefly in the small hall in front before being coaxed out by Liuzi."

Tonghua was very worried, "Miss, is the prince..." There is someone there?

Miss Lu was very lonely. "The truth is unknown. Even if it is as we think, we can only wait and see what happens."

Yaoli had been listening outside the window for a while. When she realized that Miss Lu had no intention of intervening but was letting it go with disheartened eyes, her face changed slightly.

Under the pretext of serving tea to the girl, he walked into the room with a tray in hand, and said with a smile, "Girl, have some tea."

Tonghua used to be the one who poured the tea. She immediately walked over, took the tray, and said with an apologetic smile, "Sister Yaoli, leave it to me."

Yaoli dodged to the side and walked straight around her to the girl, leaving Tonghua standing there at a loss.

Mrs. Mao's eyes flashed slightly, and she stood up and said goodbye with a smile.

Miss Lu signaled Tonghua to send Mrs. Mao out.

Yao Li's eyes showed anxiety. "Miss, the servants are saying all kinds of things about the prince bringing people back. You can't just ignore it."

Miss Lu complained to herself, "Although everyone says I'm the future wife of the Crown Prince, I'm not one yet. How can I interfere in the affairs of the Crown Prince's courtyard? And given my current situation, many people in the palace see me as just a decoration."

Yao Li's heart moved, and she coaxed her gently, "Miss, a family like ours can't do it alone. It's better to find some useful helpers. First, when they give birth to children, you can take them to your knees and raise them, so you will have someone to rely on in the future. Second, it can help you consolidate your favor and prevent those evil-minded little sluts from taking advantage of you."

Seeing that Miss Lu was obviously interested, Yaoli continued, "Miss, to be honest, the princess has long wanted to put someone in the prince's room, but because the prince is away all year round, it has been delayed until now."

Finally, the girl's eyes fell on her. Yaoli's heart trembled and she lowered her eyes to wait.

"You have a point, but unfortunately I don't have anyone I can use right now. After careful consideration, the only two people I can offer are you and Tonghua. However, Tonghua is far inferior to you in terms of intelligence and appearance. You were once the head maidservant by the Empress' side, which gives you a bit more respectability than others. Yaoli, are you willing?"

Yao Li had waited for this moment for who knows how long. Now that she had a legitimate reason to teach, she was overjoyed. She suppressed her upward curves and knelt on the ground with her head lowered. "It is a great blessing for me to be able to work for you, young lady."

Little did he know that there was a coldness in the eyes above his head.

"What are you going to do?"

Yao Li vowed, "I and Yao Chun, who is by your side, grew up together and are as close as sisters. As long as I ask, she will definitely be willing to help. Miss, please wait a moment. I will go to Mingde Hall now to inquire about the situation in Muyang Residence."

Tonghua walked into the room and asked, "Miss, why is Sister Yaoli so happy?"

Miss Lu was very calm. "The treasure you've been dreaming of is now within your reach. You'll be happy too."

Tonghua nodded, not quite understanding what was going on.