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

Twenty days later, the Nanyue army finally reached Jingzhou. King Zhou Chong of Nanyue personally came to greet them with his troops. They set up tents at the site of the tea stall and held a grand celebration. The feast was filled with delicious food, fine wine, and a lively atmosphere.

"Hey, why isn't Lao Hua here?" A middle-aged burly man nudged his companion with a glass of wine in his hand. "Where's Lao Hua?"

The bearded man clinked his glasses with the middle-aged burly man, and said in a strange tone, "Lao Hua is in a hurry to go back and find someone to treat his son's injuries."

"We can all understand a father's feelings when his son is injured, but—" the middle-aged man sighed, "It's inevitable to be injured on the battlefield. Lao Hua is like a completely different person now. My wife even said that Lao Hua's family was secretly bullying General Cen's daughter."

"You're wrongly accusing Hua Dajiangniao." The bearded man pointed with his free finger three inches below his belly and winked. "That boy from the Hua family was seriously injured."

The middle-aged man's eyes narrowed slightly. "Oh, Lao Hua has been passed down from generation to generation. Is this heavy?"

"All gone, nothing. Tsk, blood all over my crotch." The bearded man laughed a few times after saying this. "It's said that people should not do bad things in this world. This is retribution."

Seeing someone looking over, the middle-aged man quickly put away his smile and nudged his friend with his elbow, "Come on, brother, let's go one more time."

Within a few days, merchants and travelers traveling between Jingzhou and other places noticed a new stone tablet. The tablet faced north and south, with "Qin Dynasty" engraved on the north side and "Nanyue" engraved on the south side. The blank space below was engraved with the specific content of the alliance between Qin Dynasty and Nanyue.

After reading the contents of the stele, Jiang San summarized them. "In short, from now on, Yelang, Western Shu, and Yunnan will all come under the jurisdiction of Nanyue."

Someone immediately laughed and said, "We in Western Shu only recognize the Nanyue Palace. If you split us up and send us to the Qin Dynasty, we won't be happy."

Many people nodded in agreement, "That's right, that's right."

Mr. Mo, a man of great experience, stroked his beard and said, "Although that's what you said, in the past, the salt tax of Nanyue still had to be paid to the Qin Dynasty. Now it doesn't have to be paid. In the past, you wouldn't have said such things outside."

Jiang San nodded. "What Mr. Mo said makes sense. If you ask me, there's nothing wrong with the people of Nanyue being under the jurisdiction of Nanyue."

As soon as he finished speaking, he saw a group of more than a dozen people, with their families, heading straight for the stone tablet. "Everyone, is it true that after passing this stone tablet, we will reach South Vietnam?"

The South Vietnamese looked at them curiously and said, "From your accent, you are not from South Vietnam. What are you doing in South Vietnam?"

The old man in the lead smiled and said, "We are from the north. We fled all the way to Kyoto to avoid the Tartars. Now that the Tartars are gone, we want to find a place to live. We heard that Princess Ning'an married in Nanyue, so we came here."

The people of Nanyue were extremely proud. "Yes, the princess is now our Crown Prince's consort. But if you want to live in Nanyue, you must first register with the Tusi government office. The government office will then allocate land to you."

The old man was surprised. "There's still land?"

The Nanyue people laughed. "The lands allocated to you are all wasteland. You have to reclaim them yourselves. However, the government has stipulated that you don't have to pay taxes for the first two years. The princess is planning to set up a charity school soon. You can send your children there to learn to read and write, and learn a craft."

The old man was surprised but also worried, "Is the tuition expensive?"

The Nanyue man hurriedly said, "Since it's called a charity school, it must be inexpensive. Don't worry, the princess always keeps her word and never lies."

The old man was overjoyed. He asked for the direction to the Western Shu Tusi government office and hurried away with his family.

At the Nanyue Palace, Lu Yun pointed to the sky and the ground before Dashou, Caihe, and the others, saying bitterly, "I promise I will never run away from home again."

Cai He held the little master in her arms and wiped away her tears, "Master, how can there be a mother like you? Our little master is not even a hundred days old."

Dashou's eyes were filled with resentment. "Sister, Zhou Zhongyi is like this, and you are still like this."

Lu Yun smiled apologetically, "Zhou Zhongyi has made great contributions in this battle, and the prince has promoted him to the rank of third-rank general. He's going to have a banquet at his mansion tomorrow, aren't you going to take a look?"

"Just post it to me and I have to go?"

Cai He held the little boy in her arms and kept muttering, "Baby, we must be upright men in the future and never run away from home."

Baoqin said with a sad face, "Princess, I have been fined half a year's salary." Guanhe nodded miserably in agreement.

Tonghua followed suit and raised three fingers. "This servant was also fined three months' salary."

Both mothers, Chen and Dong, agreed: "Three months."

Lu Yun: “——” Fortunately, Yaochun appeared in time to rescue her.

The cries of Madam Dong and Madam Tong were about to overturn the roof of Mingde Hall. They had not stopped since the two of them entered. Princess Gao's eyes were tired. "The prince is also very concerned about Hua Cheng's injury. He has already instructed that the butler will bring the court doctor to the house soon."

Seeing that her goal had been achieved, Mrs. Tong could not wait any longer. She wiped her tears and wanted to take Dong Pan home to see her son. Princess Gao did not force her to stay. "Yunyun, please see Mrs. Tong off for me."

Lu Yun respectfully agreed and led the two of them into the garden, where they happened to run into Aunt Cen and her group. Aunt Cen, who was sitting in the pavilion, didn't get up and just greeted Madam Tong.

The nanny held Cen Rui and Cen Hui in her arms and bowed to the visitor. The brother and sister in her arms were white, plump and cute, and very well-behaved.

Suddenly, the sad story of the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was brought back to mind. Mrs. Tong sniffed and looked at the two children again and again. "Great! Is this my brother?"

Lu Yun smiled and introduced him, "My name is Cen Rui, Brother Rui."

Mrs. Tong tugged at the swaddling clothes, feeling as if she had eaten a pound of unripe green plums, sour and bitter. "When Cheng'er was as old as Rui'er, his smile was also so adorable. Who knew that now——"

Before she could finish her words, she covered her face and started crying softly. The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law cried all the way out of the palace.

Hua Cheng lay on the couch, staring at the red wedding curtains overhead, letting the visitor fiddle with him. After examining the wound, the court doctor gasped and didn't even prescribe a prescription. "Madam, your son's injuries are too severe. I am powerless to save him."

Mrs. Tong cried out, throwing herself on her husband and tearing him apart. "You old fool, you insisted on taking Cheng'er to the damn battlefield. You deserve your Hua family to be extinct, extinct!"

Dong Pan didn't try to persuade her, but wiped his tears while leaving the house. He then quickly took Congxi back to her parents' home. After learning the whole story, General Dong brought people to the house the next day to move all of his daughter's dowry back.

Mrs. Tong refused to agree and went to complain to Princess Gao. General Dong went to the King of Nanyue to plead for his favor. The conversation was very lively.

The news that General Hua's only son Hua Cheng was injured in the lower body and became a eunuch spread like wildfire and became the topic of conversation on the streets.

A new opera in the Peking Opera, titled "Retribution," starring renowned actress Bai Fengjiao, tells the story of a down-and-out daughter of a wealthy family, who is swindled and seduced by her cousin. After the couple abandons her, she discovers she's pregnant and has to raise the child alone. Years later, she becomes a royal consort and meets her cousin, a street vendor selling wontons. She discovers that he abandoned her shortly thereafter to marry someone else, and then, while traveling, was injured in a car accident and became a eunuch.

The Imperial Consort, played by Bai Fengjiao, wore a third-grade ornate dress and a purple-gold crown. She spun around in a circle, and everyone stood still as she recited her final line: "It's karma, retribution, and the wicked will be punished by heaven."

The ladies and wives in the audience were so happy that they threw out their tips.

Today is the hundred-day banquet for the young master of the palace. The princess specially sent someone to the Pear Garden to invite an opera troupe. Mrs. Tong seemed to have aged several years after not seeing her for half a month.

Mrs. Lin said loudly, "Mrs. Tong, this play is really good. It is really enjoyable for people to listen to. What a bitch will be punished one day."

Mrs. Tong said with a gloomy face, "It sounds good, right?" She stood up angrily, picked up the teacup and poured it over.

Mrs. Lin screamed, rolled up her sleeves, and cursed, "Everyone knows that your Hua family bullied orphans and used other people's money to gain fame. I think your son's fate is retribution, retribution."

"Say that again, you evil woman!" Mrs. Tong's eyes were red as she grabbed Mrs. Lin's face.

The scene was in chaos and it took a while before Miss Yaochun arrived and brought people to clear the place.

In the evening, after a busy day, Lu Yun washed up and played with her fat goose on the bed, touching its little face, pinching its little feet, and tapping its little belly.

Zhou Yan, who had just been given a name, lay on the bed like a frog, his little butt sticking out and moaning, "Ah, ah, um."

Lu Yun smiled and said, "She's cute, but I don't know if she can be as charming as me."

Seeing His Royal Highness the Crown Prince enter the house, Cai He quickly carried the little prince away and said unhappily, "It's better if he looks like the Crown Prince, so that we don't have to worry about him every day."

Lu Yun buried her head in the pillow and rolled over, "Sister Caihe, can't we just let this go?"

"cannot!"

Lu Yun groaned and hugged Zhou Boli's waist. "My husband, I'm so sad. They don't believe me."

Zhou Boli lowered his head and gently lifted his wife's chin. His hot fingertips touched her slightly cool earlobe, and his eyes were deep. "Ayun, it's time to settle the accounts between us."

(Finish)