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

I thought I would meet an old man, but it turned out to be a young man in his twenties.

"Your humble servant greets the Crown Prince and the Princess." The man, with a handsome face and long black hair, bowed and saluted. Compared to the locals of South Vietnam, he was far too pale.

"You're welcome, Master Zhang." Zhou Boli said with a smile, "We are the ones who are bothering you."

Zhang Yun looked straight ahead, extremely humble. "It is a blessing for me to be able to work for His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the Princess."

A child led the way, turning through a moon-shaped gate and arriving at a spacious courtyard. There was a pond in the courtyard, and beside it grew an ancient tree, nearly two arms thick. Its lush branches and leaves blocked out the sun, and it looked quite old. Beneath the tree stood a stone table and several stone benches. A child in gray clothes knelt beside a small red clay stove, fanning himself and brewing tea.

When he saw the person coming, he stood up and saluted from a distance.

Directly behind the courtyard is an ancient and unique house with a plaque hanging above it, with two large, ink-colored characters "荷犊" written in vigorous strokes.

Every brick, tile, piece of clothing and belt is of the Central Plains style.

The most eye-catching thing is the row of wooden cabinets placed in the corridor, which makes people want to take a look.

In a trance, Lu Yun suddenly felt the absurdity of being still in Kyoto. Especially the ancient tree in front of her reminded her of the tree in Qingxin Temple. In the past, her master and Master Lefan often drank tea, discussed Taoism and meditated under the ancient tree.

Sitting down at the stone table, Lu Yun collected her thoughts, placed the drawings she had brought on the table, and explained her purpose to Lord Zhang.

Zhang Yun opened the blueprint and examined it carefully, his expression calm. "My Lord, I understand your intention. Judging from the blueprint alone, apart from a few minor errors, your idea is entirely feasible. However, the mountain's terrain is complex. There are areas with soft soil prone to collapse, and areas with abundant sand and gravel, making it difficult to lay a solid foundation. Furthermore, the location of a Taoist temple is also very particular. It must be a blessed place surrounded by mountains and water, with lush vegetation and forests. It must also possess the characteristics of concealing and not leaking, good at accumulating and gathering, and balancing the yang and yin. Therefore, I would like to go to the mountain to inspect it myself."

Lu Yun was thoughtful. "Master Zhang is right. I wonder when you are free. I will take you there with me then."

Zhou Boli picked up the teacup and drank it slowly, but his eyes were always fixed on his side.

Zhang Yun pondered for a moment, his eyes apologetic. "In a few days, it will be the busy farming season at the end of the year in South Vietnam. If I can't go in the next three days, I'll have to wait until a month later."

Zhou Boli placed the teacup on the table and said in a steady voice, "In that case, how about setting it for tomorrow? Coincidentally, I have nothing to do tomorrow, so I can go with you."

Zhang Yun smiled gently, "It is my humble servant's honor to accompany His Highness and the Princess."

Leaving the drawings to Zhang Yun for study, Lu Yun and Zhou Boli left Zhang's house.

Zhang Yun stood on the steps at the door and watched the palace's carriage disappear at the alley entrance. Then he turned back to the courtyard, carefully put away the drawings on the table and put them in his arms. His figure disappeared into the moon-shaped gate leading to an unknown place.

Lu Yun sat in the car and began to plan tomorrow's itinerary, but there was still one thing.

"Prince, the mountain we visited last time—" Lu Yun whispered, "Can we go see it?"

Zhou Boli smiled and dispelled her concerns, "Everything has been taken care of. You can do whatever you want."

However, the blessed land Lord Zhang mentioned, surrounded by mountains and water, with lush vegetation and forests, was, in a sense, also an excellent location for a Yin cave. Zhou Boli fell into deep thought. Sure enough, the Taoist temple would eventually be located on that mountain. The appearance of the jade seal and Ayun's desire to build a Taoist temple were both accidental. Lord Zhang's claim about the temple's location was easily verifiable with a simple search, and no matter how much he pondered, he couldn't find a single flaw.

In short, he must go tomorrow. If there is anything unusual, he might be able to find some clues.

After returning to the palace, Lu Yun received the first invitation since arriving in Nanyue. On the palm-sized red paper sprinkled with gold was a line of beautiful handwriting. The name of the second young lady of the palace was written at the end. When you got close, you could smell a refreshing fragrance.

Unfortunately, the young lady's flower viewing banquet was scheduled for tomorrow afternoon. According to Kyoto banquet etiquette, invitations to banquets must be sent at least three days in advance to give guests enough time to prepare.

You need to carefully consider what clothes to wear, what jewelry to wear, etc.

The banquet is going to be held tomorrow, but the invitation is only sent today. The guests who receive the invitation will also weigh the host's sincerity.

But Lu Yun was now obsessed with building a manor, so she only took a look at the post and put it aside. She had no intention of guessing the thoughts of a stranger.

Seeing this, Caihe turned around and asked the maid of the Gong family to refuse her young lady's kindness.

After listening to Yue Qiao's report, Gong Jinjin curled her lips slightly and said, "I understand." She only sent a lowly maid to deliver the invitation because she was afraid of being gossiped about. It was not a sincere invitation, so it was just right that he didn't come.

But if you don’t come tomorrow, it will be difficult to come again in the future.

Gong Jinjin's lips curled up slightly. Tomorrow, half of the prominent families in Dali City would be invited to attend the Gong family's flower-viewing banquet. She only needed to say a few words in front of the young ladies and gentlemen who came to the banquet. By then, everyone would think that this princess, the future Princess of Nanyue, was arrogant and rude, and looked down on Nanyue.

Thinking of the scene where no one paid any attention to the dignified Crown Prince of Nanyue, Gong Jinjin's smile gradually widened.

In Mingde Courtyard, Yaochun whispered a few words into Princess Gao's ear.

Princess Gao looked surprised. "Tomorrow's banquet, Miss Gong only sent the invitation today?"

Yao Chun nodded and said, "I heard that the princess has something to do tomorrow, so I postponed the post."

Princess Gao chuckled. "I was originally hesitating whether to go to the Gong family tomorrow. Now it seems that the flower viewing banquet is more interesting than I originally thought. Then let's go tomorrow to see what the Gong family is up to."

Yaochun helped her up and said, "Your Majesty, I am confused. Last time I went back, Madam and Miss Gong seemed eager to see the princess."

Princess Gao sat down at the table and said calmly, "If you wanted to see me, there must be a reason. If you don't want to see me now, there must be a reason too. It doesn't matter whether we meet now or not. We can see each other in the future anyway."

Yaochun responded in a low voice.

At three quarters past midnight, Ah Da returned to the mansion with his brothers. He dismounted and tossed the whip to his brothers. Without even taking a sip of the hot water, Ah Da hurried to Muyang Residence, covered in dust.

Liuzi led him into the study without saying a word.

Before he could speak, the leader waved his hand and asked in a deep voice, "How is it?"

Ah Da's face was solemn. "Master, my brothers and I disguised ourselves as ordinary jade merchants and walked a hundred miles from one of the three villages massacred in Yunnan and Dian towards Bagan. We didn't find any trace of Bagan people along the way. It wasn't until a hundred miles away that we came across a small village of a dozen people. After asking around in the village, we learned that since the prince sent troops to encircle and suppress us last year, the Bagan people have never set foot on the Yunnan-Dian border."

Zhou Boli's eyes were gloomy. "In your opinion, what was unusual about the three villages that were massacred?"