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

There are still three days before the outing, but the largest Xiefang Pavilion in Beijing announced its closure at this time. When this news came out, some people were happy and some were sad.

The second daughter, Zhao Qinglu, of the second branch of the Dingyuan Marquis's mansion, Hanshan Pavilion, has been quite troubled recently. Her mother has been making arrangements for more than a month to ensure that she and her elder sister can win the first place in the outing.

Her sister's clothes and jewelry had already been decided. Although she had also chosen her clothes, she wasn't too fond of the jewelry her mother had chosen for her. Thinking of this, she looked at her sister who was reading by the window and said, "I don't want to wear that pearl velvet flower headpiece. But my mother said I'm too active and need to wear some expensive jewelry to tone down my appearance. That way I'll look more mature." She envied her sister for being able to choose the jewelry she wanted to wear.

The two sisters grew up together, so Zhao Qingbo naturally knew what her sister was thinking. She was a little helpless, "Mother has picked out so many clothes and jewelry for you, but you either said you didn't like them or they were too heavy on your neck. Mother could only choose a set of velvet flowers inlaid with pearls. In my opinion, this set goes perfectly with your jade-colored dress embroidered with pink lotus flowers. The pearls are not luxurious but look solemn, and the velvet flowers of the same color are vivid and romantic, just right."

"Okay," Zhao Qinglu said, walking to a full-length mirror and turning around to check her attire. She felt her sister had a point. She shifted her gaze to the nearby rack, where she saw the Yang Fei magnolia-colored, double-breasted, wide-sleeved gown. She couldn't help but tsk-tsk twice, earning her sister's accusing gaze. She kept her composure, maintaining her demeanor as the second daughter of a marquis's mansion. She sat down beside her sister, resting her chin on one hand as she looked at her. "I think you're the only one in the capital who can pull this dress off. No one else can."

Zhao Qingbo put down the book in his hand, stretched out a white finger and tapped his sister's forehead, with a look of disapproval. "These are just random remarks you can say in front of me, but once you leave Hanshan Pavilion, don't say them again. Have you seen or interacted with all the ladies in the capital? I had the good fortune to have this dress tailored for me by a master like Gao. Since it was made specifically for me, how can you expect others to wear it?"

"Oh, I understand, sister." Zhao Qinglu couldn't bear to listen to her chanting and begged for mercy again and again.

Mrs. Ma walked in from outside, looking unhappy.

The two sisters hurriedly stood up, one offering their seat while the other poured tea. Mrs. Ma took the tea and poured it into her mouth. Then she carefully wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief. Then she looked at the two of them and said bitterly, "I really owed the Cui family a lot in my past life."

It was also around this time last year that the niece and nephew of Lady Cui, the wife of the Marquis of Dingyuan, came to the mansion. Every March 3rd, young ladies and young men from other places come here to visit, and Mrs. Ma didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

While the Cui family wasn't what it once was, it still had a legacy. Cui Lanxi, the second daughter of the Cui family's second branch, had a delicate complexion and graceful manners. Cui Erlang was gentle and dignified, with a pair of peach blossom eyes that naturally brought a smile to his face. He was also gentle and polite to Qingbo and Qinglu. Although Mrs. Ma had a bad relationship with the Cui family, she had some affection for the Cui brothers and sisters.

Who would have thought—Mrs. Ma gnashed her teeth in anger whenever she thought of this incident. Cui Erlang had actually taken advantage of Qingbo's absence and deliberately blocked her way back to talk to her, using frivolous words and frivolous behavior. By the time she found out, this had already happened three times, and it really pissed her off. How could this poor country boy dare to covet her sister?

After being chased away by the old lady, these two people still dared to come to the door with a shameless face.

This morning when the old lady asked her to meet the guests, she simply said she was not feeling well and did not even show up. She cursed in the room but still not satisfied, so she hurried to Hanshan Pavilion and told the two sisters to be more careful and stay away from the evil Cui family.

Zhao Qingbo was able to remain calm, but Zhao Qinglu's face was already filled with anger. "I was wondering why I kept running into him. I didn't even give him a good face, but he actually turned around and set his sights on my sister. Such mean behavior is really disgusting."

Mrs. Ma was shocked and angry when she heard this. She slammed the table with a bang and said hatefully, "Are you thinking that there is no one at home and you are so disrespectful to me? Good, good, good!" After saying good three times, Mrs. Ma hated Cui so much.

The Cui siblings sat briefly with the old lady before she asked them to leave, claiming they were unwell. Their aunt took them to her residence and said, "If you need anything, just send the little girl to tell me." Then she turned and left.

Compared to the situation when grandma came to the Dingyuan Earl's Mansion, the treatment of the two this time was extremely cold.

Cui Lanxi knew why this happened. Seeing her brother still looked indifferent, she couldn't help but say angrily, "Beijing is not like home. You should put your thoughts aside."

Cui Mingting raised his eyebrows when he heard that, and promised, "Don't worry, I won't do anything rash this time." But in his heart he thought that these ladies from wealthy families only looked serious, and as long as he used some tricks, he could make them bewitch themselves to marry him. He was quite confident in his appearance.

After getting her brother's promise, Cui Lanxi no longer cared about him. She took her maid Zhuying to divide the gifts she brought from home one by one, and gave him her brother's share.

She took her maid and went to Hanshan Pavilion with the gifts.

The servant announced that the Cui family's cousin had arrived. The two sisters exchanged glances, and Qinglu was the first to react, yelling for the maids to kick her out. Qingbo gently held her down and said softly, "After all, she's a sister we've talked to before. Let her come in and have some tea."

"Hello, sisters." Cui Lanxi bowed and saluted. After Zhuying finished saluting, she looked around and put the local specialties she brought on the table.

Zhao Qingbo stood up from the inner room, gave her a faint smile, and invited her to sit in the outer room for tea. Qinglu sat aside with a stern face and said nothing.

Seeing this, Cui Lanxi said softly, "Thank you for the tea, sister. I have to go back and pack my luggage, so I won't bother you any longer." After that, she retreated with Zhuying.

Cui Lanxi walked to a fork in the road, hesitated for a moment and then walked in another direction. Zhu Ying recognized that this road was not the way back, she hesitated and said, "Miss——"

Cui Lanxi raised her hand to stop her from talking, found a secluded place to sit down and said, "Go back and get my brother's set of four gentlemen's study treasures. I'll wait for you here."

A moment later, Zhuying came back holding a tray.

At Wangyuexuan, the servant who was watching the yard heard someone knocking on the door and stuck his head out. It turned out to be the cousin of the Cui family.

Cui Lanxi said softly, "Please tell him to pass on the message for me." Then the bamboo shadow behind him stuffed a purse into his hand.

The servant took the purse embarrassedly and turned away.

Wangyuexuan is the residence of Zhao Qingyu, the third young master of the second branch. There are a few clumps of banana trees and green bamboos planted in the courtyard, and there are no other decorations.

Cui Lanxi followed the servant into the study without looking around. She had been to this study before, and it was still the same after a year.

There is a bookshelf that reaches the ceiling against the east wall, and the bookshelf is filled with Buddhist scriptures and collections. Between the bookshelf and the south window are two green jade porcelain jars, one tall and one short. One of them is filled with colorful scrolls and yellowed paper rolls, and the other one has a begonia planted in it.