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

Lu Tan tiptoed into the room, lifted the heavy curtains, and came to the bedside. She softly said to the woman lying on her side, "Master, there's a letter from the princess."

The woman slowly opened her eyes, her large, haggard eyes fixed on the albizzia pattern on the wall. "Lu Xiaosan finally decided to send me a letter."

There was both grievance and worry in his voice.

Lu Tan helped the man up and said, "Master, you haven't been out for a while. The weather has been good recently. The snow on the road has begun to melt, and the red plums in the plum garden are blooming beautifully."

Roujia smiled slightly. "I see. It's really not very comfortable to lie down all day. Open the doors and windows. I want to read Lu Xiaosan's letter while watching the scenery later."

Lu Tan did as she was told. Sitting cross-legged on the thickly mattressed kang, Rou Jia unfolded the letter and read it carefully. She closed her eyes, sighed with satisfaction, and said to Lu Tan with a bright smile, "Lu Xiao San said she's doing very well in Nanyue, and seems even happier than when she was a Taoist priest in Xishan. She also said that Nanyue has spring-like weather year-round. While we were covered in ice and snow in Kyoto, we only needed to wear a thick outer robe in Dali, and we didn't need a stove or kang at all."

"Oh." Roujia clapped her hands lightly, quite interested. "She also mentioned the black and white pandas she saw in the mountains of Nanyue. Here, look..."

Lu Tan looked at the cute little bear with dark circles under its eyes painted on paper and liked it more and more. "Master, I like it too. Why don't you hire an artist to enlarge it and frame it?"

Roujia nodded immediately and asked Lu Tan to look at the things Ning An had sent one by one. Fortunately, the others were all common things. She also gave one copy each to Concubine Zhao and Concubine Li, and asked them to deliver them to the palace.

What most intrigued Roujia was the delicacy called Golden Silk Meat Velvet and the seasoning called Baiweixian. The best in the world were in Kyoto, and the best in Kyoto were in the Imperial Palace.

"What kind of good thing would be worth her traveling so far?" Roujia immediately opened a bottle and scooped a handful with her silver chopsticks. It was salty, slightly crispy, with hints of sesame and a hint of spiciness. After just one bite, she wanted more. Roujia took several bites in a row, her appetite suddenly whetted.

"Lu Tan, I'm hungry."

Lu Tan offered tea attentively, "Master, I have already given instructions to use the Baiweixian that the princess sent for lunch today."

Soon, all the dishes arrived, filling the room with fragrance. On the small charcoal stove in the middle sat a pot of steaming white treasures. It was filled with ham, mountain delicacies, seafood, and a touch of fresh spice.

After finishing a bowl, not only was her tongue drooling with deliciousness, Roujia also felt a warm current flowing through her body, and she felt relaxed all over. Baiweixian brought out the freshness of all the ingredients, and it tasted many times better than the Baiwei pot she had had before.

Of course, it's not just this hotpot, the others are also included, especially the stir-fried white fungus. In the past, she always complained that the white fungus fried with animal oil was too greasy, and the taste of the white fungus fried with vegetable oil and broth was too light. Now it's just right.

Baiweixian perfectly makes up for the shortcomings.

For this meal, Roujia ate two bowls of rice.

After His Majesty ascended the throne, the Empress of Changchun Palace, for some reason, gave several young women to her husband without saying a word.

The princess initially dismissed the incident, but it wasn't over yet. Someone had gossiped with the Empress Dowager, who summoned her to the palace and gave her a lecture, accusing her of being jealous and unvirtuous. It was said that Consort Zhao was also often bullied by that person.

Before the mourning period is over, they are already rushing to stuff people into the mansion. Alas, what is going on?

I wish the princess was still in Kyoto.

Speak of the devil, and he will appear. A servant came to report that several concubines from the mansion over there wanted to see him. Lu Tan glanced at her master, who was sitting on the kang with a satisfied look on his face, and was about to open her mouth to refuse. Then she heard her master say, "Let them in."

Roujia sat up high, holding a silver fox fur coat, and below her stood two people, one in red and one in green, both with their hair covered in pearls and jade.

"Princess, please help me." Aunt Li, wearing a green cape, began to cry. "She took advantage of my absence and threw the cat I had raised for years into the ice hole in the garden. When I found it, it was already... wuwuwu."

Little Concubine Li, wearing a red cape, cried bitterly, "Please, Princess, please understand. Although I find the cat's calls annoying, I have never had such thoughts. I never did anything like this. Sister says I ordered others around, but I was in the front yard that day and didn't return until the next morning."

Lu Tan rolled her eyes secretly. The cousin of the Cang family was also like this. She never spoke directly or completely, leaving it all up to the listeners to guess.

Roujia put her hands in her pockets and glanced at the two of them. "Are you done?"

The two concubines looked at each other and said in unison, "Princess, we have finished speaking."

"Hmm." Roujia yawned slightly. "Now that we've finished talking, let's go back. I want to sleep."

"Princess, you are the mistress, shouldn't you take care of her?" The eldest concubine Li was very unwilling and stretched out a finger to poke the nose of the youngest concubine Li.

Xiao Li was not willing to be outdone and shook off her finger.

Roujia was puzzled. "Who said the mistress must be in charge? Didn't you hear it when you entered the mansion? I don't care about anything going on in the mansion, including your husbands."

They were just invited in to listen to the fun.

"However, there is one thing I want to remind you," Roujia nodded to the female official beside her, indicating that she should take note. "You cannot have children during the one-year period of national mourning. If I find out, don't blame me for being ruthless."

After sending the two away, Rou Jia was amused for a while. "Do you think these two are really stupid or just pretending to be stupid?"

Lu Tan was puzzled. "What does the master mean?"

Roujia sat up from the kang, looking lazy. "These two people have their own ulterior motives. Big Li's cat is really gone, but she knows that Little Li is not the culprit. Little Li knew it wasn't him, but he was still willing to make this trip in the freezing cold. There must be someone who instructed him. Wait, he will be here soon."

At night, snowflakes suddenly fell from the sky.

Roujia sat at the table, her face in her hands, watching Lutan and the other palace maids chatting and laughing. When the first dish was served, someone finally arrived.

The prince consort remained the same, with a rather handsome face, wrapped in a furry cloak, which made him look more imposing than usual. However, this imposingness soon became unsustainable.

Lin Zhaoxuan lowered his eyelids and took a step forward. "Roujia, I've already punished them."

Lu Tan smiled and stood between the two of them, not allowing the prince consort to take another step forward.

Lin Zhaoxuan glared coldly, "I'm talking to your master, can't you see?"

Roujia sat up straight and motioned Lutan to step aside. "Lin Zhaoxuan, what man doesn't want to achieve great things? I understand you. Do you want to follow the path of the Cheng'en Marquis family?"

Lin Zhaoxuan looked uneasy. "Princess, you're worrying too much. You know the Queen Mother forced these two here. I can't do anything about it."

Roujia chuckled. "Prince Consort, you can just lie to outsiders with these words. It's true that we can't control what the Empress Dowager wants to do, but can't you control yourself?"