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

In Yingchun Courtyard, Cailian walked into the house from outside, mumbling to herself, "Has Caiping been having too much fun recently? She hasn't been seen for several days. I don't know where she ran off to in broad daylight. It's snowing outside, so it's okay if she caught a cold. Auntie doesn't care, so just let her do what she wants."

Yao was curled up in bed, half asleep and half awake, and she said casually, "I don't have anything to do here anyway, so let her do what she wants."

Cai Lian squatted down and stirred the charcoal in the brazier, then tested the temperature of the kettle. Seeing that the water was hot, she poured out a cup and handed it to her aunt. "Aunt, the weather has been cold recently, and you have used up a lot of charcoal. Drink more water to avoid getting a sore throat." She went to open the window again. "When lighting the charcoal brazier in winter, you need to leave a crack in the window. The maids told you so."

Aunt Yao had been feeling thirsty for a long time but had been too lazy to get up, so she finished the drink in a few gulps. Cailian, seeing how thirsty she was, poured her another cup. As the master and servant were talking, they heard the door curtain rustle, and Caiping walked in, dusting off the snow beads on her body.

Cai Lian stepped forward and grabbed her arm. "Where have you been again? Why don't you put on more clothes?"

Caiping smiled and pulled her hand away and begged for mercy, "Good sister, we don't have enough thread in our yard. I went to ask sister Caihe for some. On the way back, I met Xiangxing." The maids whose surnames started with "Cai" and Xiangxing were all from the same group who entered the mansion. Among them, she and Xiangxing were the best friends.

"I know you and Xiangxing are good together, so let's let it go today," Cailian insisted, "but what about you yesterday?

Cai Lian looked at her and smiled. "Have you forgotten yesterday? You told me that the wintersweets in the yard had buds, and you begged me to pick some to put in a vase. They're still in the inner room." Then she gestured with her hand. "I met Xiao Yu, who was with Miss Mao, and she was also asked to pick some branches. I saw that she was too short to reach them even on tiptoe, so I picked a few for her as well."

Caiping walked into the inner room and pointed at the wintersweet on the kang. "It's warm in our room, and it's about to bloom."

Aunt Yao looked at it carefully and said, "I think I can smell a fragrance. Madam said that we are not allowed to have any contact with the Mao family. We should stay away from them in the future." After saying that, she yawned.

Cai Lian walked slowly to Yao's side and said, "This is from the servant. Auntie, you don't know that Xiaoyu is the daughter of the steward. Her mother, the old lady, also knows her. She will definitely not follow Mao back to the East Cross Courtyard."

It turned out to be a family-born child. "That's good." After saying that, he hugged the quilt and fell asleep facing inward.

A few days passed like this, and the weather cleared up. The village heads from the farms outside the city drove donkey carts of all sizes into the side gate of the mansion. Qin had someone count the items, made a new list, and took them to Yannianyuan to show the old lady.

In previous years, the crops were put into storage after being counted and verified. But a few days ago, the old lady suddenly said that she wanted to see the output of the farm this year.

The old lady sat in the hall, wearing a thick, yellow-trimmed, stand-up collared brocade gown with a piece of leather draped over her knees. She was carefully looking through a list and pointed to one of the rows. "Give me these dried goods and these pheasants. I'm old and I love fresh food."

Qin saw that they were just some ordinary mountain products and laughed, "So the old lady is greedy. They are just some local products from a mountain family. Just send a maid to tell me."

The old lady also laughed. "I'm old now. I can't compare to you young people who have a set of rules for everything. Part of it is for me, and the other part is for Mao's belly."

"Hey, so it's because of this. Mrs. Mao is already four months pregnant. Your mother is tired of worrying about it. Your daughter-in-law will bring the baby to you later." Qin still smiled.

"What's wrong with your mother today? She looks very different than before." The old lady asked her eldest granddaughter who was sitting next to her.

Lu Ling covered her mouth and smiled, "I heard that big brother has made great progress recently. He has been praised by teachers frequently, and even father praised his writing. If so, in a few years, maybe he can become a Jinshi like my second uncle."

The old lady took her daughter-in-law's hand and said, "That's right. Don't worry about anything else. Just teach your son well so that he will have someone to rely on for the rest of his life." Then she talked about several families in Beijing. Without exception, they were able to enjoy long-term prosperity because of their motivated and promising children.

"When the old Earl of Dingyuan was alive, his family wasn't as good as ours. But who knew that the eldest son, the current Earl of Dingyuan, was so capable that he passed the imperial examination and married a legitimate daughter of the Cui family right after he became a Jinshi. The second master, who was born out of wedlock, wasn't very good at studying, but he had a good sister who was made a noble concubine. These brothers and sisters were so united that they watched her rise to prominence in just 10 or 20 years."

Lu Ling listened very carefully and asked curiously, "Grandma, how does the Cui family's legitimate daughter compare to us?"

The old lady thought it was just the little girl's curiosity and explained, "When you talk about the Cui family, you have to mention the Xie family. Both families have been famous families for hundreds of years. You can't count the number of their sons and daughters who have entered officialdom on both hands. There must be a place for these two families in the harem, and they have a deep foundation. But" the old lady sighed softly, "ever since the major case during the time of the previous emperor, these two families began to decline, and in recent years, I haven't heard of any outstanding descendants." Lu Ling seemed to be thinking about something.

Lu Qin glanced at Lu Ling and said, "Sister, I know the young lady from the Dingyuan family. I can introduce her to you next time." Lu Qin smiled.

Lu Ling forced a smile upon hearing this. "Don't bother me, sister. I'm just curious about what's going on outside the mansion since I usually stay here."

"What's the difficulty? You're not too old, but not too young either." The old lady patted the back of her hand kindly and looked at her daughter-in-law. "It's not like before. You have to stay in the backyard and count the days. You should go out more often and make one or two close friends. It's nice to drink tea and talk to relieve boredom."

"The old lady mentioned this, and it's exactly what I've been thinking about recently. March 3rd next year is a great time to go out for an outing, and Lingjie will definitely not be left behind." Qin agreed very straightforwardly, which surprised the old lady. "With your mother's words, I'm relieved. Grandma doesn't have to drag her old bones out of the house anymore."

On the way back, Lu Qin looked at her mother in confusion, "Mom, didn't you always take me alone in previous years? Why do you want to bring my elder sister with you now?"

Nanny Qin smiled and replied, "The eldest daughter is the first in our family, and the old lady also wants to start a good example, otherwise what will happen to our daughter?"

Lu Qin blushed and swung the handkerchief in her hand. "It seems that I have no choice but to take her with me."

Qin didn't say anything. Nanny Qin only gave one reason. The other reason was that she wanted to see what kind of splash the daughter raised by Sun could make and which duke's mansion she would take a fancy to.

That evening, a finished undergarment was placed on Qin's desk. It was made of the finest Dongjiang cloth, soft, thin, and delicate, with fine stitching. "This is what Sun just sent over," Nanny Qin said, unfolding the garment for Madam to see.

Qin glanced at her and said, "She's quite obedient," she chuckled and reached out to touch her. "It took a lot of thought. Sun was such a powerful person when she was young. Now, for the sake of her daughter, she has to listen to me no matter how reluctant she is." A man's favor is not as practical as status.