Traveling through time as a peasant girl to turn things around

Chai Zhen rose at dawn. He looked after the children—Little Fu, the second child. Xiaofu, dressed in a silk dress and a watermelon hat, looked vibrant and beautiful, even prettier than a girl. Chai Zhen also changed into brocade. Zhang Baohua also wore silk and satin, directing the work. The servants wore silk clothes, too, though the colors varied: darker for the male servants of the royal palace, or brighter—the four flowers of spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The shop was closed today, and everyone was working here: making cakes, noodles, steaming rice, stewing vegetables, and frying dishes, all working in a coordinated manner. Several water tanks held spiritual spring water. They were told to only drink it, but the one outside the kitchen was for washing hands. The water from washing vegetables flowed down a small ditch into the vegetable patch. There were vegetables, flower beds, and a pond with lotus flowers in it, creating a picturesque scene. The flowers fell, and beneath them lay lotus roots. The lotus roots we ate today were freshly dug. Even the bodyguard Xiaojing, who worked in the shop, wore satin clothes. His was navy blue satin, like a manager.

Xiao Naibao and Xiaodong both changed into auspicious red satin clothes. Xiao Naibao's clothes were embroidered with lotus flowers, and Xiaodong's clothes were embroidered with little dragons, yellow little golden dragons. They both looked good. They came to the gate, walked around, and returned to the backyard. In the backyard, Chai Zhen built a swing for Guoguo. Xiao Naibao sat on it and Xiaodong pushed it. The two of them laughed and played.

Ye Heng and Chai Zhen personally went to the gate to greet the guests. Chai Zhen was accompanied by Jia Xing and Xiao Jing, while Ye Heng stood beside his housekeeper and his son. The first distinguished guests to arrive were Duke Lu, his wife, his son, his wife, and his two grandchildren. The entire family, except for Lu Qian, had arrived. Ye Heng and Chai Zhen clasped their fists and stepped forward to greet them. "Hello, old Duke. Please come in." "Please come in."

Zhang Baohua hurried over to greet the women. As she was approaching the gate, she heard the eunuchs singing from afar, "The Queen has arrived." Everyone at the gate came out and knelt at the steps to greet her. Lu Xi got off the sedan chair,

Wearing a yellow phoenix robe and a phoenix crown, she exuded a noble air. As soon as she arrived, she quickly helped her parents to their feet. She looked at Chai Zhen and Ye Heng and said, "We're family, no need to formalities. Ah Heng, lead the way, come in." Lu Xi took her mother's hand and said, "Mom, you're old, so don't kneel." Madam Lu said, "You're the queen of a country. Etiquette cannot be abolished. Mother is willing to kneel, putting the country first, then the family." Lu Xi said helplessly, "Mom! Go in, Xiaodong is in there." Madam Lu said, "That child ran away last night. I thought he was looking for you." Lu Xi said, "Yes, he came out of the palace at midnight. He came to play with Guoguo." The mother and daughter chatted as they walked. Madam Lu said, "I've heard you talk about this child so often. I'm going to take a good look at him today." Lu Xi smiled slightly and said, "I guarantee you'll like him. He's insightful and intelligent. Oh, he has so many good qualities. I won't say much; you'll see when you see him." Chai Zhen and Ye Heng led Duke Lu and his group to the main living room and sat down. Jiaxing brought tea and set it down. Chai Zhen asked him to go to the main gate to greet the guests. Zhang Baohua followed him. The children, now in Xiaodong's care, were swinging in the back garden, laughing and chatting. It was then that Lu Xi and her mother arrived. They quietly entered, and Mrs. Lu saw them clearly. "Like a delicate flower, so beautiful and intelligent." Mrs. Lu's daughter-in-law also arrived, holding the two children. The two children ran to the swings, and the eldest child, Lu Wei, said, "Little sister, can my brother sit for a while?" The little one stood up, saw Lu Xi, shouted, "Mom," and ran into her arms. Lu Xi held Guoguo in her arms and said, "Mom misses Guoguo too, so she came out to see you. Why don't you go to the palace to find mom?" Little milk bag: "Guoguo is young and can't go by herself. When Guoguo grows up, she will go to find mom by herself." Lu Xi: "That's better. Let me introduce, Guoguo, this is the wife of Duke Lu, my mother, you can just call me grandma." "Well, hello grandma." Lady Lu, "Okay, okay, this child is so smart, and her face is so good." She took off a bracelet and put it in the little milk bag's hand, "This is my heirloom, I'm giving it to Guoguo today." The little milk bag did not refuse, took it, put it on her wrist, hehe, "It's too big, it will fall off, grandma Guoguo can put it in and wear it when she grows up." Madam Lu smiled and said, "Okay, sure." The little milk bag listened and put it in her arms, actually put it in the space, on her bedroom bed. Lu Xi continued, "Guoguo, this is your aunt." "Hello, aunt." Sister-in-law Lu Xi took out a necklace and put it on Guoguo, "This won't fall off, wear it." Little Milk Bag: "Thank you, aunt." Little Milk Bag looked at the gold necklace on his neck and was very happy. Lu Pinggui's wife said, "Sister Guoguo, this is my gift, please accept it, a pair of bracelets." Little Milk Bag: "Thank you, aunt." Lu Xi put the bracelets on Guoguo's hands and said, "Guoguo, wear them. These two are big brother Lu Wei and little brother Lu Hao." Little Milk Bag: "Yes, hello, two brothers." Lu Hao said, "When I grow up and earn money, I will buy you a better gift." Little Milk Bag listened and thought, okay, he had to accept this gift, even though he couldn't see it. Hahaha, "Thank you, brother." Lady Lu, "He's a good boy. I hope Xiaodong likes him very much." Little Milk Bag: "Mom, go to the living room and pour a cup of tea for grandma and aunt." "Oh, I'd better go." "Mom is gone, grandma and aunt are gone, Guoguo's special tea, and durian! Guoguo doesn't sell these durians, he keeps them all for his family to eat." After saying that, the little milk bag jumped and ran to lead the way. Xiaodong listened, hugged the second child, and called his two cousins, "Let's go, drink tea and eat durian, they are delicious. You two boys are in for a treat today!" Lu Wei, Lu Hao, "Let's go, try the tea and durian you mentioned."

In the front hall, Ma Xiaohong was busy serving tea and water. Chai Zhen looked over and said, "Niece-in-law, you go to the main gate to greet the guests and serve tea and water. Let Xia Hua and the others do it." Ma Xiaohong said, "Okay, I'll go right away." Just then, Duke Lu's wife arrived, and the Duke asked his daughter-in-law to help. "Okay," said the wife. Ma Xiaohong said, "Sister, I don't know anything. Thank you for having me today." Duke Lu's eldest daughter-in-law said, "You can just call me Yingniang. This is my sister-in-law, Ji Cong. We'll call you Auntie." Ma Xiaohong said, "Okay, okay," and walked towards the main gate.

In the living room, Duke Lu sent his son to greet the guests at the gate. Jiaxing, after all, knew few people, so he went to help. Lu Pingzhang: "Okay, Dad is right." Lu Xi: "Brother, you're doing me a favor." Xiaodong: "Uncle, you're doing me a favor too. Thank you, Uncle." Lu Pingzhang: "Oh, I have to go. I need too many hats." Haha, he laughed and left. The Duke had said when he arrived that the Chai family must be treated as one's own family. Lu Xi even recognized Chai Zhen as her father, and Xiaodong was saved by the Chai family. Even Lu Xi's illness was cured by the Chai family, and the emperor was treated by doctors brought in by Chai Zhen's family. This whole family owed a debt of gratitude to the Chai Zhen family. Duke Lu and Chai Zhen were treated like family.

At the gate, Duke Huo arrived, and his whole family came. Lu Pingzhang went forward to greet them, and his wife went to ask old lady Huo, "Duke Huo wants to see you in person." Jiaxing and Zhang Baohua led the way to the living room. After a while, more than ten families came one after another. Li Dong and Li Guang both wore silk clothes today. Li Guang was uncomfortable and had never worn them, so Chai Zhen asked him to sit down. Li Dong went to the gate to greet the guests. From a distance, his girlfriend's sedan arrived. Her surname was Wang, and she could not come to the Chai family because of her rank. Ye Heng invited officials of the fifth rank and above. This was because only a girl, Wang Zijie, could attend the banquet. Outside the door, Wang Tiedan tied his horse to a hitch. He said, "Watch this." The guards from Ye Heng's mansion replied, "Don't worry, we're all guards from the prince's mansion. We'll do our job." Wang Jiaoniang helped her mother down from the sedan chair. Seeing Li Dong, she wanted to approach and speak, but her mother stopped her, "Speak less." Li Dong had seen it too. Ye Heng had taught him yesterday to respect himself, saying he could choose any woman who came today. He should find the one who suited him. Find the right person, don't have preconceived notions. You're excellent. So when he saw Wang Jiaoniang today, he only glanced at her briefly before turning to greet her. Gender was distinguished, and the women were led by Fu Min to a side hall, where four beauties served tea. Wang Jiaoniang noticed that the tea-serving ladies were all beautiful women, each more beautiful than herself, better dressed, and each wearing a jade hairpin. Fu Min introduced her as the wife of a sixth-rank official, Wang Zijie... and her daughter, Wang Jiaoniang. With that, she left. Sitting down, Ma Xiaohong looked at Wang Jiaoniang and felt she wasn't worthy of her son. She offered her a drink to everyone, then bowed and left. She went to the gate to find Zhang Baohua and whispered, "Wang Jiaoniang isn't very nice. I don't think she's worthy of my son." Zhang Baohua replied, "Yes, I've noticed that, too." Ma Xiaohong called Li Dong over and said, "You need to take a good look today to see which young lady is worthy of you through thick and thin. Wang Jiaoniang doesn't look down on you." Li Dong shared a feeling. "Wang Jiaoniang... my son also feels she's not magnanimous enough. I'll take a closer look." Ma Xiaohong said, "Okay, okay. You're knowledgeable. Take a closer look." Mother went to find Guoguo.

Ma Xiaohong walked steadily to find Guoguo and said, "Guo, come here, Grandma." Waving her hand, Guoguo walked over to Ma Xiaohong, "Grandma, just sit in the living room. Just be obedient and don't say too much. Watch and listen more." "Yes, Grandma knows. I'm just telling you to check on your uncle." Little Milk Bag: Don't worry, Grandma, Guoguo knows. After saying that, Guoguo ran away. Guoguo was busy. In their room, there was a computer, and several children gathered around the table, watching the scene outside. Little Milk Bag had placed hundreds of cameras in the yard, leaving no blind spots. Even the house had 360-degree cameras. Everyone's words and actions were clearly visible.

It was almost noon, and the meal was ready. A table for six, the men in the front courtyard and the women in the back, was set up. The main course was rice and steamed buns. There was a wide variety of dishes; while it wasn't a full-scale banquet, it wasn't bad either. There was fish, chicken, duck, roasted whole lamb, braised pork, stir-fried vermicelli noodles, stir-fried pork with green peppers, braised pork elbow—everything was available. Finally, there were soups with fish and tofu, seaweed, and lamb. Fruit was laid out on a long table, and anyone who wanted to eat could help themselves. There were plates and tongs nearby, along with watermelon, apples, durian, mango, grapes, raisins, and dragon fruit.

After the meal, the table was cleaned up. Tea was placed on the table. All the tables were moved out, leaving an open space in the middle for men and women to sit. The program, the talent show, began. Ye Heng Shang Tai said, "Please invite Li Dong to the stage. He is the protagonist today. This is a banquet held for Li Dong to find a wife. I hope to help him find a good person who can share the joys and sorrows. He is a carpenter who made water wheels to benefit the people. His contribution is to the country and the people of the world. But this young man does not like to be an official and only wants to be a carpenter. So he just wants to find a partner who can endure hardships and joys. I am good-looking, have both martial arts and literature, and have craftsmanship. I live a carefree life. I won't say much. Next, the talented women will perform." Then Li Dong saluted and the two of them left the stage.

First, the daughter of the Minister of War took the stage. Little Milk Bag, who had arrived at some point, said, "Sister, how old are you?" "I'm Zuo Xiaoqian, the daughter of the Minister of War. I'm sixteen years old, and my performance is a dance." Little Milk Bag asked, "Are you attracted to my uncle, Li Dong?" Zuo Xiaoqian nodded and glanced at Li Dong. Little Milk Bag had noticed her from the video. "My uncle only knows carpentry and doesn't want to be an official. Are you willing to not be one?" Zuo Xiaoqian said, "I'm just a nice guy. It doesn't matter if I'm an official or not." "Okay, go ahead." "Thank you, Sister Guoguo." Zuo Xiaoqian, dancing gracefully with long sleeves, drew applause from the audience. Several more performers followed, and the banquet continued until mid-afternoon. Ye Heng, Chai Zhen, Li Guang, and Li Dong all gathered around the computer to watch as Xiaodong, the registrant, unanimously chose Zuo Xiaoqian. Little Milk Bag was also pleased.

Parents of young ladies with high official positions had high hopes for them, so when they heard they weren't going to be officials, they all backed off. Only Zuo Xiaoqian didn't care. The Minister of War's entire family stayed for dinner. Zuo Feng, his wife, Li Hong, had a son and a daughter. "I also started from the bottom. I just want my daughter to be well." The two families met. Ma Xiaohong took out a night-shining pearl and handed it to Zuo Xiaoqing, saying, "This is an engagement token. It'll illuminate the night." The young woman refused, saying it was too valuable and that she could give it to her after the wedding. She said she didn't want anything. Little Naibao took out a set of jewelry and asked Li Dong to give it away. The young woman accepted it. "Thank you." Li Hong took out a family heirloom, a jade pendant, and asked her to give it to Li Dong. "I hope you will accept it," Chai Zhen said in a final remark. "Xiaodong is our son-in-law. We live together. We're all farmers, not officials. It's not too late to change your mind now; it will be too late after the wedding." The girl's family of four had no objection, except for one thing, "As long as you have food to eat, my daughter will have food to eat as well." Li Dong said, "I won't let Xiaoqing go hungry. She'll be the head of the family. My parents are farmers, so it's fine as long as you don't mind that my family is farmers." Li Hong: "No, I can tell from your parents' faces that they are good people. I feel at ease with my daughter staying with you." Ye Heng: "Okay, let's spend some time together and see how it goes. If we get along, we'll start exchanging gifts. Li Dong will arrange a carriage to send the relatives off." Xiao Naibao sent out ten men in black to secretly escort them all the way.

Chai Zhen finally sat down comfortably. He went to the toilet and changed his tea. Just as he poured it, someone came to report. Ye Heng took him outside, "Someone tried to assassinate the prince, but they were all killed." Ye Heng: "Not a single one was left alive?" The man in black: "We know who it is. It's the person Wang Jiaoniang hired." Ye Heng: "Go down." Ye Heng went out to find the secret guard, "Whisper a few words." The secret guard went to do his job.

A few days later, Wang Xiaojie was thrown into death row, and Wang Jiaoniang and her mother were sold to a brothel. But that’s another story.

Little Naibao had a secret guard secretly follow the Zuo family and listen to their gossip. Ten days later, the guard returned and was a good person. The family was open-minded, hardworking, and the daughter worked alongside her mother. Her brother was studying at the academy, and Zuo Feng had never done anything wrong in his position at the Ministry of War.

Ye Heng personally informed Chai Zhen that it was time to send a matchmaker. Li Guang, Ma Xiaohong, and Li Dong also used their own savings to buy jewelry and fabrics for the girl as a betrothal gift. Chai Zhen asked Guoguo to take out the night-shining pearl as a betrothal gift and place it in a separate box. He also prepared a hundred sets of cups, as well as porcelain and other beautiful items Guoguo had purchased in modern times. Early that morning, sixty-four boxes filled with silks, satins, pure cotton, white and colorful, enough for a lifetime of quilts. There were three hundred kilograms of cotton and cotton seeds, and a letter inside, clearly stating when and how to plant. The Chai family prepared dozens of dowries for Li Dong.

Later, the Zuo family prospered by growing flowers, and everyone in the family lived a prosperous life. Not a single one of them committed a crime.