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

"Greetings, Third Young Master." Cui Lanxi said softly, kneeling down to greet the handsome young man behind the desk.

Zhao Qingyu was tall and slender, with a pair of clear and bright eyes. He extended his knuckle-jointed hand as if to support her, and said softly, "Miss Cui, there's no need to be so polite."

Cui Lanxi lowered her eyes, stood up and sat on the armchair beside the desk. She glanced at what seemed to be a painting on the desk, but when she looked up again, the painting had been covered by white paper.

Zhao Qingyu gave her an awkward smile and explained, "I did this when I had nothing better to do. I haven't finished it yet. Please forgive me, Miss Cui."

Cui Lanxi glanced at the desk without a trace of paint and said softly, "In that case, I won't disturb you anymore." After that, she put down her things and left Wangyuexuan with Zhuying.

The servant stood at the gate and watched his cousin's figure disappear around the corner before going back and closing the gate.

Amidst the lush flowers and trees, a figure stood quietly.

"Knock knock" the door was knocked again. The servant was a little unhappy and muttered something about what happened today. He shouted directly, "The third young master is not in the yard."

Unexpectedly, there were two more knocks, and then the voice of Miss Cui's cousin was heard, "Please open the door for me, young man. I just found that I had lost a jade pendant when I came back. I think it must have fallen here."

Upon hearing this, the servant had no choice but to open the door and bring the person in.

Cui Lanxi knew the rules of Wangyuexuan. Under the watchful eyes of the servant, she walked towards the desk when suddenly there was a soft "rustling" sound. The servant hurried forward to pick up the fallen paper, already complaining in his heart that the Third Young Master never allowed them to touch anything in the study.

Cui Lanxi rolled up the painting that had fallen to the ground and put it on the table. Seeing the servant's unhappy expression, she said embarrassedly, "I'm sorry for being so clumsy and causing you trouble. Fortunately, I still remember what it looked like before." After several actions, she restored the table to its original state.

The servant's expression improved a lot. Cui Lanxi showed the jade pendant in her hand and said in surprise, "So it really is here. Thank you very much."

After saying that, he took out a silver coin, placed it on the table, turned around and walked out.

Cui Lanxi left Wangyuexuan and did not go back but turned to Qinghui Garden.

When Mrs. Ma heard the little girl say that her cousin was visiting, she was surprised. Why did she come to her place for no reason? She asked someone to invite her in. Seeing that she was alone without even a maid, Mrs. Ma was half puzzled and half contemptuous.

"Lanxi greets the Second Madam," Cui Lanxi said softly, kneeling down. Madam Ma nodded and smiled, "It's amazing that you still care about your sisters. I see that the things you sent are all excellent."

Cui Lanxi replied softly, "It's not worth anything. Second Madam, you are too kind. There is just one thing I don't know whether I should mention it or not." Cui Lanxi looked at Mrs. Ma with hesitation.

Mrs. Ma raised her eyelids and said, "Oh? I wonder what my cousin wants to say?" As she spoke, they were the only two left in the room.

Cui Lanxi moved uneasily and whispered, "Just now my brother asked me to go to Wangyuexuan to deliver something, and I saw a painting on the third young master's desk." It was a half-length picture of a faceless girl with a basket-shaped hairpin on her head.

After sending Cui Lanxi off, Mrs. Ma turned around and went to Wangyuexuan, asking the others to wait outside. She pushed aside the papers on the desk, revealing the picture of a faceless girl underneath. She recognized the hairpin in the girl's hair at a glance, and restored the things on the table to their original state. Without disturbing anyone, she returned to Qinghui Garden.

Mrs. Ma pondered the matter carefully, thinking it might have been the plum blossom viewing banquet a month ago. She summoned the maid who had led the way and questioned her. Mrs. Ma understood that Qingyu's wishful thinking was the only one, and Miss Lu probably didn't even know what he looked like. Knowing that this matter had nothing to do with anyone else, Mrs. Ma felt resentful of Lu Ling. If she hadn't worn the white jade hibiscus, she wouldn't have done her a favor for the sake of the Second Lady of the Lu family, and neither would Yu Ge'er—thinking of Yu Ge'er's temper, Mrs. Ma felt a headache.

Unexpectedly, before one problem was solved, another one arose. Rumors spread that the eldest daughter of the Dingyuan Earl's Mansion wore a dress with a pink base and white flowers at this year's outing. Some gossipers even claimed that the news came from a man's mouth.

When Mrs. Ma heard the news, she was so shocked and angry that she almost broke the teacup in her hand. The person who told her the news was none other than her sister-in-law Cui.

Facing Cui's inquiring gaze, Mrs. Ma quickly changed her expression and said with a smile, "Sister-in-law, you know that there are always rumors in the capital at this time every year. I think you don't need to worry about it. The innocent will be cleared in time."

After leaving the old lady's courtyard, Mrs. Ma turned and went to Hanshan Pavilion. Qingbo and Qinglu were still sitting there laughing and joking, unaware of what was happening outside. Looking at her daughter's smiling face, Mrs. Ma took a deep breath and walked into the house.

After looking around the room, Mrs. Ma saw only a few of Qingbo and Qinglu's everyday clothes hanging next to the full-length dressing mirror. Countless possibilities flashed through her mind.

"Mother?" Qingbo turned his head and asked, as if he noticed that his mother's expression was not right.

"Nothing, I just came by to see you." Mrs. Ma sat down next to the two of them as usual. "Why didn't you hang out the clothes your sister wanted to wear today?" Mrs. Ma deliberately asked Qinglu.

"Why hang the clothes? My sister said she won't wear them now. Except for the day when those two people from the Cui family came, they were folded and locked in the box over there." Qinglu has always been outspoken. As she spoke, she pointed to the cabinet next to her.

Qingbo was very thoughtful. He frowned and looked at his mother and asked, "Mom, what's wrong with this dress?"

Mrs. Ma suddenly remembered that Cui Lanxi was the only outsider at Hanshan Pavilion that day, besides her family. Although the Cui family's daughter was scheming and resourceful, she wouldn't act so despicable. She figured it must be someone else's servant who made a mistake.

Mrs. Ma had already made up her mind, so she smiled and said, "What's the big deal? I've been thinking about it for a few days and feel that although this set is nice, it's still not as good as the one with faded red embroidered Changchun peonies. Peonies also have a good meaning, and paired with that pearl tiara, my daughter has to go on the boat to seek love this year."

After saying this, without waiting for her daughter's response, she asked someone to find the clothes and take them away along with the headdress.

Qinglu didn't notice anything unusual. Qingbo lowered his eyes and thought for a moment, then called the maid over and whispered a few instructions to her.

Back at Qinghui Garden, Madam Ma immediately sent for Mrs. Gao. Pointing at the dress hanging on the rack, she said to Mr. Gao, "I've been thinking about it for a long time and I still feel that the magnolia color of this dress doesn't match Yang Fei's color. I wonder if you can find a way to change the magnolia color to light green before lunch tomorrow."

Gao Dajia didn't ask any more questions and smiled, "Changing the color of white thread is very simple. If you have enough time, you can remove the white thread and fill it with new silk thread. This dress has large magnolia flowers on the shoulders, back and hem. Half a day is definitely not enough. We can only use another method. Use paint to dye the white silk thread into a light green color. Half a day is more than enough."

Mrs. Ma said without hesitation, "Then we'll do it the latter way. Thank you for your help, Mr. Gao."