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

As soon as Qin Da had finished collecting the weapons, Taoist Qingxu reached the gate of Changchun Palace.

At that time, Lu Yun was trying to use the white rabbit medicine sachets made by her eldest cousin, which the Third Prince had been coveting for a long time, in exchange for him agreeing to one of her requests: to teach the Emperor's eldest grandson, Qin Chao, a lesson.

The third prince agreed without hesitation, and walked away happily with the sachet in his hand.

In the afternoon, Lu Yun heard that the emperor's eldest grandson was punished by the teacher with a slap on the hand for not doing his homework, and the Crown Princess made a scene in the study.

The Queen Mother ordered the Crown Princess to be confined to her house for three days, and the Crown Prince directly promoted the newly appointed Cui Zhaoxun to the rank of Chenghui, a third-rank official. After teaching the younger one a lesson, he then gave the older one a gift. His future cousin-in-law was quite impressive.

The red, gold-painted partition door of the main hall of Changchun Palace, which was carved with five blessings holding longevity symbols, was closed until the orange-red sunset illuminated half the sky. Then the door was opened from the inside. Taoist Qingxu bowed to the Empress Dowager and left.

The Empress Dowager coughed softly a few times, then turned around and returned to the palace with Nanny Guizhi.

At the end of the Yin hour, a fast horse broke through the thick morning mist of Suzaku Street and arrived in front of a red-painted gate. The eunuch in blue clothes quickly knocked on the animal-head door knocker.

"What, receive an imperial decree?" The old lady looked at the eldest master in surprise and asked, "Do you know what it is specifically for?" The old lady began to think carefully about what happened today and found that there was nothing wrong.

The eldest master was also very nervous. "He just said that there was an imperial decree coming from the palace at noon today, asking the mansion to prepare for it in advance."

There was still a quarter of an hour before noon. The main gate of the Ping'an Marquis Mansion was wide open, with an incense table placed in the middle. The old lady led all the female members of the family, dressed according to their ranks, and stood at the back. The eldest master, wearing official uniform, stood on the right. Everyone held their breath and waited quietly.

The sound of hurried horse hooves drifted faintly down the long street, approaching from afar. A red-robed eunuch rode a large, dark red horse, holding a bright yellow imperial edict. Behind him followed two teams of yellow-robed eunuchs carrying boxes, and surrounded by armored soldiers.

"Everyone in the Marquis of Ping'an's mansion, receive the order!" The red-robed eunuch dismounted and walked to the front of the incense table, shouting loudly. Everyone in the mansion immediately knelt to receive the order.

"By the providence of Heaven, the Emperor decrees: Miss Lu Yun, the second daughter of the Marquis of Ping'an, is dignified and kind, gentle and respectful, and intelligent. She has protected the Princess Yuanfu and has rendered meritorious service in saving the Emperor. She is hereby conferred the title of Princess Ning'an and bestowed the name of True Man Runhui. She is to immediately proceed to Qingxin Temple to pray for the people. This is my decree!"

After delivering the decree, the eunuch in red flicked his whisk and said with a kind smile, "Excuse me, where is the west wing of the old lady's courtyard? The Empress Dowager specifically instructed us to deliver the gift to Madam Zhang Er's courtyard."

The old lady's smile froze a little, and she hurriedly sent someone to lead the way.

Since it is the reward I got in exchange for "selling myself", I cannot hand it over to the public. This was the only request made by Lu Yun, which was conveyed to the Empress Dowager by Taoist Qingxu.

Before leaving, the Queen Mother touched her granddaughter's head and gently reminded her, "Yuanfu, you must listen to your sister in the future. Grandmother will come to see you when she has time."

Perhaps he understood, Dashou nodded slowly, his eyes quietly looking at the old woman in front of him, then he knelt down hesitantly and awkwardly, "Grandma, come and see Sister Fu."

The old man held Guizhi's arm tightly, tears in his eyes, and nodded.

Lu Yun, the newly appointed Ning'an monarch and Runhui Zhenren, was sitting in the carriage and heard discussions coming from all around.

"Which lady is traveling?"

"This is the newly appointed Princess Consort by the Empress Dowager. She has gone to the Qingxin Monastery in the West Mountain outside the city to become a nun."

“How do you know so much?”

"Of course, it's because I have a distant relative. His seventh uncle's niece works as a maid in the Marquis of Ping'an's mansion. He told me."

"Marquis Ping'an is Marquis Ping'an, and Princess is Princess. These two things have nothing to do with each other. I think you are talking nonsense."

"I'm not talking nonsense at all! This Princess Ning'an is the third daughter of the Lu family's second branch!"

"Just make it up. One moment she's the Marquis of Ping'an, the next moment she's the Third Miss of the Lu family. And later on, are you going to say she's a royal relative?"

"You're right, she really is related to the palace."

Someone couldn't stand it anymore and interrupted, "Stop arguing, the two of you. The Lu family is the Marquis of Ping'an. The Marquis of Ping'an has a daughter who is going to marry the prince, so there is - "

"Nonsense!" Someone else said, "She is the eldest daughter of the Dingyuan Earl family and she is marrying the prince, so what is the Marquis of Ping'an?"

"Now that you mention it, I remember that there was indeed a wedding at the Dingyuan Marquis's house a few days ago, and I stole more than ten coins from it."

"You're wrong again. This is the marriage of the prince of Dingyuan, and he's marrying the daughter of Xu Hanlin."

"What a mess! Who pushed me? It must have been you, and you have over a dozen coins."

"What's wrong with me pushing you?" From the sound of it, they seemed to be fighting.

Lu Yun curiously lifted a corner of the curtain and saw a few people tussling in a crowd not far away, kicking and punching each other in a lively exchange of blows. From time to time, the crowd cheered.

"Hey, hey, please stop fighting, please stop fighting." A woman who didn't know which one came out from the crowd, crying bitterly. After comforting one person, she went to persuade another, very busy.

Lu Yun was watching with great interest and didn't notice that several eyes in the crowd were fixed on her face.

The young man, thin and dressed in a round-necked cotton robe of a sea-blue color, spoke slowly, "Before I left home, my father told me to be careful with my words and actions while away from home, and to prioritize frugality. He also told me to record my spending every month so I could send it back for verification. However, this month I've already exceeded the limit, and I'm afraid I'll get a scolding from my father."

Liuzi: “——”Is our master so stingy?

Passersby couldn't stand it any longer and said, "You are so young, it's normal for you to spend more when you go out."

The young man smiled gently and politely upon hearing this. "Thank you, old man. My family has fallen on hard times. I also have a younger brother who is not in good health. I am favored by my father, and my money is limited, so my father gave me this instruction."

The aunt next to the old man looked gossipy and asked, "Could it be that the concubine gave birth to the child?" Seeing the young man nod, she showed an expression of "as expected" and began to whisper with her friends around her.

The young man, facing the sympathetic gazes from those around him, sighed, "Sixth Son, this month we can only find a dilapidated temple or cave outside the city to spend the night."

"Young man, there's no need for that." The old man lowered his voice. "The Qingxin Temple in the West Mountain often takes in travelers who can't afford a hotel. I think you should go and ask. It's not far. Just walk west along the official road for about a hundred miles, and then walk along the mountain road for another half an hour and you'll arrive."

According to the human speed, a hundred miles would take a morning and half an afternoon to walk. That means if he and the young master set out now and walked until the rooster crowed, and then walked in the dark on the mountain road for another half an hour to reach their destination. Liuzi was stunned.

The old man said proudly, "Actually, Qingping Temple also has meditation rooms, but the food at Qingxin Temple is better. They eat all meat except the 'four things not to eat'."

After saying this, he smacked his lips twice, as if savoring the taste.

The young man bowed and said sincerely, "Thank you for your guidance, old man." He turned around and looked at Liuzi and urged, "Let's go back and pack our bags now. It will be safer if we follow the princess' carriage."

-

In the spring of the twentieth year of the Longqing Emperor's reign, the third and fourth princes left the palace to marry. The following winter, the Empress Dowager passed away in Changchun Palace. The Emperor was deeply saddened and posthumously named her the Supreme Saint Empress Dowager. He withdrew from court for over a month and observed a three-year period of mourning.