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

The master was too impatient to argue with her and said, "From now on, Mao will serve in the front yard and won't bother Madam." After that, he left with his men.

Qin slowly wiped the corner of her mouth, anger flashed in her eyes, but she did not move in the end.

Everyone thought that Mao's wait would finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Zhang followed her husband into exile. Although she had heard that Qin was quite cruel in the inner chambers of the Marquis's mansion, it was another matter to actually see it. Countless versions of how the Marquis's wife taught Miss Mao the rules had already been circulated among the servants.

The teachers for Sister Rong and her sisters have all arrived these days, and Zhang has a rare moment of free time to chat about family matters with Nanny Chang.

The master and servants couldn't help but talk about this matter. Jin He felt very sympathetic. "I can understand why Aunt Sun acted like this on the day of the family banquet."

What the aunt said sounded nice, but she was just a servant who had some face in front of the master.

Although Nanny Chang knew that there might be something fishy about Miss Mao's identity, she, who was kind-hearted, couldn't help but feel sad.

Zhang frowned and said, "I haven't seen you for many years. Why is my sister-in-law acting more and more crazy?" It was not a good thing for the mistress to have a reputation for being harsh towards her concubines.

The eldest master left Qin's courtyard and immediately ran to Yannian Hall, "Please ask the old lady to take back the housekeeper's power from Qin."

Lu Ling was originally accompanying her grandmother to pick Buddha beans, but when she saw that her father had something to do, she bowed and went outside.

The old lady looked up at her eldest son after she finished picking up the Buddha beans. She said in a calm tone, "Mrs. Qin is a strict person, but she has done nothing wrong. The housekeeper has been doing his job diligently over the years."

The eldest master said angrily, "As the mistress, she always vents her anger and mistreats the concubines and their children. When Ling'er was eight years old, she had to do embroidery day and night and almost hurt her eyes. Even -" The eldest master gritted his teeth, "even -"

Before he could finish, the old lady said, "Even beating a concubine to death? You are talking about Mrs. Du, right?"

The eldest master closed his eyes in pain. Every time he thought of Yueli, lying in a pool of blood, looking into his eyes, he hated Qin Shi more and more and hated himself for not arriving earlier. If he had arrived earlier, Yueli would not have— The eldest master fell to his knees with a plop. "Please grant me your blessing, mother."

The old lady helped the eldest master to his feet and sighed, "How many times have I told you, my son, that Du Yueli's case was an accident? Why do you still cling to it? Qin's servants have corroborated the evidence, and your subsequent personal investigation failed to find any conclusive evidence. Besides..." The old lady slowly untied her hands, looking at the compassionate Buddha statue in the distance, she said slowly, "Although the Qin family is no longer as strong as it used to be, she is still your wife, married in a formal ceremony, and registered in the Ministry of Rites."

The eldest master said dejectedly, "Back then, she had her family's support, so beating up a few servants was nothing. Why can't I do anything to her now? Haha, it's ridiculous. Mother, tell me, what's the point of me being the Marquis of Ping'an?"

"Pa!" A slap hit her face hard. "This slap is for your father. Your father spent half his life planning and sacrificed most of his life to exchange for the current family business, and you—" The old lady's face turned pale. "It's okay that you don't want to make progress and hang around in the inner house all day, but now you are willing to die for a woman and speak shamelessly in front of the Buddha. You, get out!"

As soon as the master left Yannian Hall in a daze, the matter spread to the East Courtyard.

Qin smiled contemptuously and called Nanny Qin over to whisper a few words to her.

After Mr. Lu returned to Beijing, he seemed to be busier than before. Aunt Yao from Yingchun Courtyard couldn't help but feel upset when she saw the cold rice and dishes on the table. This was the nth time. Ever since she was confined by the lady, the food sent from the kitchen became worse day by day. The food sent today was basically cold.

Cai Lian said with dissatisfaction, "Everyone thinks Auntie is good-tempered and easy to bully, but look at what these are, they are not even as good as what I eat." After saying this, she looked at Auntie Yao with a distressed face, "Auntie, please stop using this, winter is just over a month away, it will be terrible if you get sick."

Cai Ping continued, "It's all that damn Miss Feng's fault. Auntie, you were so kind to help her, but it ended up causing us to be grounded. If I were to say, Auntie, you shouldn't have saved her in the first place."

Aunt Yao also looked regretful. "You're right. In fact, I just wanted to give her a ride. Who knew she would become so dependent on me? When I mentioned leaving, she started crying about how helpless and miserable she was. I was so soft-hearted that I let her follow me all the way to the mansion, leading to this disaster."

"It's really hard for Auntie, and also for our Madam." Cai Lian sighed, and after a moment she said angrily, "Auntie doesn't know yet, but Miss Feng has been taken to the front yard by the Master to serve him personally. I heard that her food, clothing, and other expenses are all based on Auntie's share."

After hearing this, Aunt Yao was deflated. "The servants around the Marquis are much better than us. Never mind. Don't get angry with her in the future. If you offend her, it will be difficult for me."

Cailian and Caiping looked at each other and tacitly changed the subject.

After hearing this, Zhang shook her head and sighed, "Yao is too honest." Nanny Chang complained in her heart, this is not honesty at all, she is just getting stupider every year.

Lu Yun handed the cloth tiger in her hand to Lu Hui depressedly, "Brother, don't lie to me anymore. This is a tiger, not a rabbit."

Lu Hui, six years old this year, has already begun studying under a teacher. He scratched his head in embarrassment when faced with his three-year-old sister. He had promised his sister a bunny from outside, but who knew he'd brought back a stuffed tiger instead? Even more infuriating, the servants had even told him, "Tigers are prettier than bunnies," and he'd believed them.

Sister Rong knocked her brother on the head with a cloth tiger and said, "What an idiot." Lu Hui hugged his head in silence.

Nanny Chang came forward and coaxed Sister Rong to take the cloth tiger away and gave it to Sister Yun. She turned around and coaxed softly, "Sister is just scaring you. Sister Yun also likes cloth tigers." Lu Hui tilted his head and saw his sister grabbing the cloth tiger and pulling its tail hard. After a while, her two chubby hands pinched the cloth tiger's whiskers and pulled them out. His sister stared at him while pulling.

Lu Hui walked around Nanny Chang and came to his sister. He took the cloth tiger and smiled, "Nanny, you can't lie to me again. My sister doesn't like it. Next time I will bring her a little rabbit." Rong Jieer giggled.

Nanny Chang, feeling embarrassed, walked over to the Madam and said, "The siblings are too close." Rong Jie'er replied that it was normal for siblings to be close, but there was also Yun Jie in the middle. Zhang patted her hand and said seriously, "You just love to worry about things that are beyond your control."

There were a few soft knocks, and the gate opened a crack. Xiang Xing saw who was coming and quickly pulled them in. "Auntie, what are you doing here so late?" Auntie Sun pulled down her hood, revealing a beautiful face that made me feel pity. "How is Sister Ling doing lately?"

Xiang Xing smiled and said, "The eldest lady is fine." Since she left that place, she no longer had to please the second lady in every possible way, nor did she have to be alert all the time to deal with the difficult stepmother. She only had to follow the old lady to copy some Buddhist scriptures, and the rest of the time she could do her own things.

"Is someone here?" Lu Ling asked softly through the window. Xiang Xing sighed and led Aunt Sun into the inner room.

The courtyard where Lu Ling lives now was originally a side courtyard of the old grandfather's residence. It is in a secluded location and is separated from the Yannian Courtyard where the old lady lives by a corridor, so ordinary activities will not disturb the old lady.

Since the uproar at the last family dinner, this was Aunt Sun's first time setting foot in her daughter's new courtyard. The inner room, though small, was perfectly furnished. In front stood a long table, a painting of persimmons hung above it, with seasonal flowers arranged below. Against the north wall sat a canopy bed with a gourd-embroidered curtain. Under the south window stood a kang. When Aunt Sun entered, Lu Ling was practicing calligraphy beneath the window. A thick stack of books had already been placed to her left.

Sun took one and examined it carefully. "The brushwork is smooth, beautiful and dignified." Ever since Ling'er received a compliment from her teacher at the age of five, Qin had been on guard, fearing Ling'er would steal Lu Qin's limelight, and constantly forced Ling'er to sew. Little did she know that the needlework was first created by her and the servants, and then completed by Ling'er. Ling'er's years of practice had honed her beautiful handwriting, which she never showed to others.

Lu Ling put down the pen in her hand and asked, "Auntie, what are you doing here so late?"

Sun touched her daughter's hand and said, "I haven't seen you for such a long time, so I thought I'd come over to see you. It's more convenient at night than during the day."

Lu Ling's eyes were slightly red. "I've made Auntie worry about me. Has Mother-in-law made things difficult for Auntie again?"

Sun shook her head and said, "She only uses those few methods. All the concubines in the mansion have been tortured by her." Especially that Mao.