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

The person in front of her and her memory finally became similar to her elder sister who always had a sweet and innocent smile. Lu Yun walked to the table and sat down. The room was very clean and tidy. The shiny floor tiles were covered with thick lichen. The table was filled with the aroma of tea and there were three or five plates of snacks.

On the right, a palace maid was kneeling on a cushion, holding a palm-sized banana fan, and fanning the small charcoal stove decorated with mud and gold from time to time.

There are so many things in my mind that I don’t know where to start.

Lu Yun looked at her sister and noticed she was looking at her too. "Mother is very worried about you."

Lu Rong curled her lips and smiled softly, "What could possibly happen to me in this deep palace? Winter has come and gone, and years have passed, but my sister hasn't changed much."

"Mother and the others are doing well too." Lu Yun looked into her eyes and spoke slowly, "Only Yinhe is gone."

"Yinhe." Lu Rong's eyes were dim. "Jinhe left early."

A chill rushed straight to her head. With a buzzing sound, Lu Yun held her forehead with her hands, her expression gloomy. "I've never heard my mother mention it."

Lu Rong looked around the palace and said, "The palace is good in every way, but there are too many rules. If you are not careful, you will be easily caught. There is nothing to say." She picked up the cup and took a sip, her every move impeccable.

Only then did Lu Yun notice that all ten of her fingers were painted with bright red nail polish.

"Sister, don't you think it's good?" Lu Rong smiled and held her hand out to Lu Yun, letting her take a closer look. "I didn't like it at first, but after getting used to it, I thought it was good." She picked up another piece of pastry and placed it in Lu Yun's palm. "Try it and see if it suits your taste."

Lu Yun didn't move. "When I was little, I ate a lot. My sister and brother were worried that I wouldn't have enough, so they always gave me half of their snacks. I don't know how many times Aunt Chang complained about this."

Lu Rong was startled at first, then her lips curled up slightly. "Not only did Mother not care, she secretly had someone make you a large bowl. My brother and I also had twice as much snacks as before. One time, Father was surprised to see your bowl, but Mother successfully fooled him by saying it was large but shallow."

When talking about the past, Lu Rong held her chin with one hand, her eyes curved with joy.

Lu Yun suddenly said, "Sister, where is the eunuch I just saw here?"

Lu Rong slowly sat up straight, her eyes gloomy. "There is no such thing as a little eunuch here. My sister must have seen it wrong."

Lu Yun was silent.

Lu Rong's eyes were complicated. "I've actually felt like you were different from everyone else since I was little, but no one, whether it was my mother, father, grandmother, or my uncle, seemed to notice that you were different from ordinary people. It wasn't until I entered the palace and heard some things that I realized my little sister was actually so amazing. It turns out that almost everyone in the family noticed your difference, but they all chose to cover it up for you."

"Even the late emperor's choice for the throne of empress was you!" Lu Rong suddenly became a little excited. "He clearly sent you to marry into the Southern Yue, but he still wanted to use a trick to bring you back to the palace!"

As the table rocked, ripples formed in the amber tea in the white porcelain tea bowl. A young palace maid beside them curled up, her head touching the ground.

"It's all old news." Lu Yun concealed the emotion in her eyes. "The late emperor did mention this several times, but Your Majesty and I didn't accept it. Your Majesty always firmly chose my sister. Don't you believe in His Majesty?"

"Believe?" Lu Rong's eyes were dazed as she muttered to herself, "Everyone says I've changed, but few people know how quickly some people change. Mother has repeatedly advised me not to enter the palace, but only now do I realize that this secluded palace has no place for love between men and women. Pearls are looked down upon, gold is seen as mere sand. Who can I trust? Who should I trust?"

The more Lu Yun listened, the sadder she felt. She whispered to herself, "I thought you would be happy." She paused and took a deep breath. "In fact, your entry into the palace is inextricably linked to me. If it weren't for the purpose of containing Nanyue, you wouldn't have to enter the palace."

Lu Rong looked up at the ceiling of the well, which was painted with various auspicious patterns. She wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes, her expression half crying and half laughing. "You are so silly. What does my behavior have to do with you? I chose this path myself. Even if I had a good life, I wouldn't necessarily be grateful to you."

"Besides, you've done enough for us." Lu Rong looked down at Lu Yun's palm, quickly reached out and grabbed the snack and threw it far away, with tears in her eyes and a terrifying smile. "This kingdom is not mine. You didn't give me what should have been mine, and you still want us to pay so much for it. It doesn't make sense."

The snack rolled away and stopped at someone's feet.

"Ayun, we should go." Zhou Boli wore the heavy black armor he wore last night, a long black sword slung at his waist. The wind ruffled his hair. His eyes held a vague emotion as he stared intently at his wife inside the door, extending his hand.

"Ayun, let's go."

Lu Yun stood up and someone pulled her clothes again. Tears fell like beads from a broken string, leaving stains on her golden-red phoenix robe. A red wooden box was stuffed into her hands.

"Sister, I'm sorry."

When she got on the carriage, Lu Yun, who had endured to the limit, fell into Zhou Boli's arms and burst into tears. Kyoto was no longer the Kyoto in her memory. She had almost lost everything here.

At the city gate, Lu Yun leaned against the carriage wall, lost in thought as she stared at Suzaku Street in the distance. The sound of horse hooves approached from afar. Seeing Ada and his companions returning empty-handed, Lu Yun was not surprised. "It seems that Auntie doesn't want to go with me."

Ah Da scratched his head, unable to bring himself to say what Mrs. Yao had said.

Lu Yun lowered the curtain and said, "Let's go."

Zhou Boli lifted the curtain again. "No hurry, wait a little longer."

Lu Yun was indifferent. "If those shops were still there, it would be nice to buy some local specialties to give as gifts."

Zhou Boli gently grasped his wife's hand and said, "Nanyue has signed an alliance with the Qin Dynasty. The two places have nothing to do with each other with Jingzhou as the boundary. You can open any shop you want."

Lu Yun looked at him and asked, "Is everything going well?"

Zhou Boli smiled proudly and said, "If I hadn't sent troops in time, those people might not have had the opportunity to stand and talk to me." Besides, he had already shown mercy and was merely drawing a line in the sand.

It was quiet all around, except for the occasional neighing of horses.

Liuzi approached slowly, his expression alert, "Master, there is a team of people lurking in the dark."

As soon as the words fell, dozens of figures holding bows and arrows suddenly appeared on the city wall, and the flashing arrows were aimed at the carriage.

Lu Yun's face darkened slightly. She held Zhou Boli down, stood up and stood beside the carriage. She changed her voice to Lu Wang's and said to the newcomer, "Mr. Jia, do you still recognize me?"

Da Jia was wearing the armor of a fourth-rank military officer. His face changed drastically when he heard this. "You, you are——"

Lu Yun raised an eyebrow and raised her hand to stop him from speaking. She approached slowly, as if strolling in the garden, her eyes sharp. "Last night, I went alone to explore the enemy camp. Where were you?"

Da Jia blushed, lowered his head and turned sideways. "I'm sorry, the general has ordered that no one leave the camp without permission."

"Okay, so what are you doing now?" Lu Yun shouted, looking around. "Are you planning to repay kindness with hatred and turn your sword against the people of Nanyue who saved the people of Kyoto from the sea of fire?"

Everyone's eyes flickered, and no one dared to look at her.

Lin Zhaoye finally revealed himself. "Your Highness, the Princess has misunderstood. I am only here on His Majesty's orders to see His Highness the Crown Prince and the Princess off."

Lu Yun sneered, "General Lin, you are so majestic."

Lin Zhaoye bowed and said, "I dare not. I just remember my identity as a Qin Dynasty official and act according to your majesty's will. Please don't blame me, princess."

"General Lin, where were you last night when I set out alone to explore the Tartar camp and burn their ammunition depot?"

Lin Zhaoye's face was calm. "One should do his job well. When facing a powerful enemy, one must not act on impulse."

Lu Yun narrowed her eyes. "How many Tartars did you kill? How many Tartars did you capture? What were you doing when the South Vietnamese army was fighting the Tartars?"

Lin Zhaoye lowered his eyes and said, "By the time I and my men arrived, most of the bandits had already been captured and killed by the South Vietnamese army."

Lu Yun suddenly understood and spoke rapidly, "So, you, the Lin Family Army, didn't kill many Tartars, yet you blame others for your bravery. When the Tartars broke into the city, killing and burning everywhere, you weren't thinking of conserving your strength for other purposes, like repaying kindness with enmity and turning the tables on the city!"

Lin Zhaoye's face turned ugly. "My Lady Princess, stop talking nonsense!"

Lu Yun was filled with sadness. "At the age of four, I was ordained as a nun by order of the Holy Empress Dowager to pray for the Qin Dynasty. When I was thirteen, the deposed Crown Prince and former Prime Minister Lu Dan ordered me to marry into the State of Cao in exchange for three thousand fine horses for the Qin Dynasty. It was I who repeatedly defeated the commoner Qin Xin's rebellion in the Purple Palace to protect the late emperor. It was also I who, despite risking my life to marry into the Nanyue Kingdom, repeatedly helped your Majesty secure the throne."

"General Lin," Lu Yun said bitterly, looking at the pale-faced female general, "Do you think that with just a piece of imperial edict, Nanyue will obediently send out a hundred thousand troops to help you escape?"

Lin Zhaoye clenched his fists, unable to refute, "Nanyue is a vassal, and all the thunder and rain are the grace of the emperor."

"But not now!" Lu Yun was furious. "Open your eyes and look at the Kyoto now, and then look at the corpses piled under the city walls. If you dare to touch a hair on their head today, will Nanyue let you go?" Lu Yun's eyes were red, and she shouted at the top of her lungs. "The peaceful days we have bought with countless lives, are we going to destroy them today at your hands?!"

Lin Zhaoye's face turned pale. "I dare not."

Lu Yun no longer wanted to look at her, her eyes filled with moisture and her voice trembled, "I have done my best for Qin Chao, and I have no regrets."