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

Some people were afraid to eat it, while others had heard that the palace had recently received some fresh food, so they made some guesses and put a piece of food in their mouths with chopsticks. After a moment, they took another piece of food with chopsticks.

The people beside him saw that he was just busy eating without saying a word, and the yellow fluff on the plate became less and less, and half of it was gone in just a short while.

The others finally understood and hurriedly "grabbed" a piece of food with chopsticks and put it in their mouths. They were immediately conquered by its crispy, salty and fresh taste. They pulled the maidservant over to ask about it.

The maids only knew that it was made from sea fish and knew nothing else.

The ladies were intrigued, wondering how a sea fish could be cooked like this. Finally, Miss Yaochun revealed that a merchant from a foreign land had presented the Empress with a dish called meat floss. The Empress loved it so much that she asked the housekeeper to buy a batch for the banquet.

It is said that this foreign businessman also plans to open a shop in the city specializing in meat floss.

Unfortunately, Miss Yaochun was called back by the Empress before she could finish her words. The ladies only knew that they wanted to open a shop, but what should the shop be called and where should the door face?

After the banquet was over, fragrant tea was served.

The ladies were still engrossed in the opera at the Pear Garden, while the young ladies left the pavilion in groups of two or three to admire the flowers and chat in the garden. Lu Yun chose a prominent spot to sit down. The young ladies, who had been scattered around like stars, gradually gathered around her, some gazing at her face, some at her clothes, but most focused on the hairpins and jewelry on her head.

Seeing that their gazes were becoming more and more passionate, Lu Yun simply pointed at the ornaments on their heads and introduced them to them one by one.

"This pair is used to hold down the loose hair on the forehead."

"This pair is for fixing hair."

"The peony flowers at the back are made of gauze and gold thread. The best gauze flowers are made in Xiefang Pavilion in Kyoto."

-

From head to toe, from materials to craftsmanship, Lu Yun talked until her mouth was dry, and the ladies listened attentively. In the end, it became a clothing and jewelry exchange between the two places, and the garden was filled with laughter and joy.

The garden banquet, apart from the minor incidents, was generally a great success for all six guests. The wives pondered the Gong family and the meat floss shop. The young ladies had a single thought: the future Crown Prince of Nanyue wasn't as arrogant and overconfident as rumored. The wife of their future husband's immediate superior was surprisingly easy to get along with.

A major incident happened in the Gong family. The government officials came and arrested the eldest son of the first wife in front of Mr. Gong, accusing him of robbery. Upon hearing the news, Mrs. Hui rolled her eyes and fainted.

Rumors were rife, some claiming the Gong family's pawnshop had run afoul of the law, others that the shop assistants were dishonest and had brought trouble upon the owner. Others claimed the pawnshop had ruthlessly accused strangers of stealing from the shop and robbed them of their belongings, a truly ruthless act.

Most of the ladies who had attended the garden party believed it was the last one, presumably because the messenger for the princess had revealed his wealth, attracting the attention of the pawnshop's hired thugs. Young Master Gong, unaware of the bracelet's origins, took it home and presented it to Madam Hui, who was shopping for jewelry.

Miss Gong Er wore it to the garden party to show off, and was immediately recognized by the princess.

Inside the government jail, Zhou Boli threw the confessions signed by several thugs onto the ground. "Gong Jinbao, you're so brave!"

He runs a pawnshop in public, but secretly cheats and robs people.

The man sitting cross-legged in the corner didn't even look at them, sneering, "Your Highness, if you want to accuse me, you'll always find a pretext! I've never been involved in the affairs of the shop, so I don't know what the people below have done."

"You're completely clueless!" Zhou Boli stood with his hands behind his back. "Then how do you explain why the bracelet the princess sent to Kyoto ended up on your sister's hand?"

The man said calmly, "My family owns a pawnshop. How could I know that the person who sent the bracelet had bad intentions and pawned it privately and ran away? The shop owner will send someone to inform me as soon as he receives a good item. What's wrong with me taking it back to give to my family?"

Zhou Boli raised his eyebrows. "You do have some truth in what you said. Since you said that person pawned the items, where's the pawn ticket? I've already sent people to search your pawnshop thoroughly, but they couldn't find it."

The man stiffened slightly, then recovered as normal. "It's said that I don't take care of the shop much, so I might have overlooked a pawn ticket."

"You missed the pawn ticket?" Zhou Boli laughed. "Gong Da, you know that according to the criminal law of Nanyue, if the pawning involves more than fifty taels of silver, the punishment is twenty lashes, and if it exceeds one hundred taels of silver, fifty lashes. If it is higher, the punishment is one year of hard labor. Or a fine of ten times the value of the pawned item. This bracelet is worth two thousand taels at the least. Do you want your life or your money?"

Ten times two thousand taels equals twenty thousand! Gong Jinbao finally broke down, extremely nervous. "Your Highness, my grandfather was the first to follow the prince and was the superior of the treasury. Our Gong family has made contributions to South Vietnam, but we have also worked hard. You can't do this to me!"

"I'm making this trip in person just for your grandfather's sake." Zhou Boli's smile gradually faded, and his voice became icy cold. "Gong Jinbao, when did your grandfather's achievements become yours?"

Gong Jinbao's expression was ferocious. "Just because my last name is Gong! I'm the eldest grandson of the Gong family!"

Zhou Boli remained unmoved. "With a descendant like you in the Gong family, this prince is relieved."

After returning to the palace, Zhou Boli was called to Sansi Hall.

"Let him go." The old prince coughed lightly and pointed at the banknotes on the table. "This was sent by the Gong family."

Zhou Boli was not surprised at all. "I didn't intend to lock him up for long. I will release those thugs he hired after he has been whipped fifty times." It was just that the Gong family was keeping others on edge. Anyone who dared to cause trouble would be arrested. It would be impossible for them to establish a hereditary system of being a chieftain in the Nanyue government.

All the silver was deposited into the treasury of the palace. On the day when the Gong family pawnshop closed, someone in the crowd of onlookers threw a string of firecrackers at the door. Amid the deafening sound of the firecrackers, cheers rang out one after another.

The Gong family closed its doors to visitors.

Meanwhile, Director Jiang received devastating news: all the contracts he had agreed upon had been cancelled. The boatload of fish, which had been transported thousands of miles to Kyoto, had been unsold and had become a pool of foul-smelling mud. Even more despairing, the steward, despite filing a complaint, had no recourse, not even to the prefectural government office. The direct loss reached a staggering 10,000 taels.

The steward begged and pleaded with everyone before finally finding out a little about the situation. The emperor's future mother-in-law, Madam Zhang, the owner of Xiefang Pavilion, and Princess Roujia had already announced that no merchant was allowed to take over the Jiang family's catch this winter.

"How could this happen?" Director Jiang slumped in his chair in despair, beating his chest and stamping his feet. "My money!!!"

After finally calming down, he looked anxious and asked, "Can you find out why?"

The steward hesitated, "Master, Madam Zhang is the legitimate mother of the princess. It is said that Princess Roujia and the princess also have an unusual relationship. Even -"

Director Jiang threw the teacup to the ground in frustration. "She's just a concubine's daughter! A yellow-haired girl!"

The steward wiped his sweat off his face and tried to dissuade him in a trembling voice, "Master, it's true that the princess is a concubine's daughter, but she was personally appointed princess by the late Empress Dowager and studied under Taoist Master Qingxu. It's also said that she saved the late emperor's life during the palace coup—"

When Director Jiang heard the last part, his expression changed from shock to dejection, and the atmosphere in the room became stagnant and almost dead silent.