Rebirth: Making a Fortune in Ancient Times

Hearing Twelve's words, Lu Min'er's eyes showed confusion, but at the same time, her heart was in turmoil. When she saw Madam Wang and Jiu'er enter together, both dressed as maids, she had suspected that she and the Prince had been deceived. But who was this woman whom Twelve called a princess? She looked at Xia Yu sitting in the main seat, muttering to herself.

"Princess? You're a princess?"

Xia Yu propped her head up with one hand, not answering her question, but speaking again.

"Where is the Prince now? Please think carefully before answering, Consort. After all, your aunt is still in the Lu residence. I wonder if Commander Lu will send Consort Pan away in order to distance himself from the rebel king."

Aunt Pan was Lu Min'er's birth mother. Xia Yu's words were subtle, but Lu Min'er understood her meaning. She knew her father well; he would truly expel her and her aunt from the family register to sever ties with Prince Ding'an. He couldn't do anything to her in the Prince's mansion, but he would definitely harm her aunt.

Seeing the worry in her eyes, Xia Yu glanced at Twelve, who understood and began to offer words of comfort.

"Consort Lu, to Prince Ding'an you are just a concubine he casually married, someone he can disregard. But to Aunt Pan, you are her whole life, her destiny. Think it through carefully, is it worth putting yourself and Aunt Pan in danger for such a man?"

Over the past month, while posing as Lady Wang and interacting with Consort Lu, Twelve had gained a thorough understanding of her thoughts. In Consort Lu's eyes, the most important thing was not the Lu family, not the Prince, and not even her personal glory. In her heart, the most important person was the timid and cowardly Aunt Pan.

Having discovered this, they had sent someone to steal Consort Pan from the Lu residence half a month ago. However, the Lu family didn't even bother to search for her and simply kept the matter a secret. Whenever Lu Min'er sent things to the Lu residence, Madam Lu would take them and send over the needlework that Consort Pan had made in her spare time, instead sending over the things that Consort Pan had made to appease Lu Min'er.

But Lu Min'er knew nothing about these things. The thought of her mother dying quietly in some corner of the Lu mansion caused her unbearable heartache.

"The prince left through the secret passage." Consort Lu's voice was very low, almost like a murmur, but everyone standing or sitting in the room knew martial arts, so even though her voice was soft, everyone could hear her very clearly.

"Where is the entrance to the secret passage? Where does it lead? Are there any mechanisms inside?" Xia Yu continued to ask.

"The entrance is in the Prince's study. Turn the sky-blue vase on the left as you enter to the right to open it. The exit is in the mountains ten miles west of the city. They've been gone for an hour. I don't know where they went after they came out of the secret passage. I don't know if there are any traps in the secret passage, as I've never been in one before." Since she had already spoken, Consort Lu told her everything she knew.

"Why didn't the concubine come with them?" Xia Yu asked, looking at her again.

Hearing Xia Yu ask this, Lu Min'er lowered her head.

"I'm worried about my mother. If I don't protect her, she'll be eaten alive by those wolves in the Lu family."

"Waaah...waaah..." A familiar sobbing sound suddenly came from behind. Lu Min'er's body trembled, and she turned around abruptly to look behind her, just in time to see her mother covering her mouth and sobbing.

“Mother…” Lu Min’er’s hands were tied behind her back. She tried to stand up and run to Aunt Pan’s side, but she fell to the ground halfway up because of her balance.

Aunt Pan rushed over, feeling sorry for Lu Min'er, and hugged her tightly, stroking her all over.

"Min'er, did you hurt yourself? Let your aunt take a look." As she spoke, she reached out to touch Lu Min'er's knee.

"Mother, I'm not in pain, why are you here?" Lu Min'er looked Aunt Pan up and down anxiously, trying to see if she had any injuries.

“I’ve been by the princess’s side for over half a month now, and the princess and the others have been very kind to me,” Aunt Pan said to Lu Min’er, wiping away her tears.

Lu Min'er looked at Xia Yu in disbelief, then at her mother.

"Mother, I sent someone to deliver bird's nest to you yesterday, and you also had the maid bring me back two pairs of shoes that you embroidered yourself. How could this be?"

"Consort Lu, Consort Pan has been by the princess's side since half a month ago when she went to the market with her maid to buy silk thread. It's just that your father kept this a secret. He thought Consort Pan had been kidnapped by the city's garrison. For the sake of the Lu family's reputation, he didn't have anyone look for Consort Pan. I wonder if the person who delivered the bird's nest to you saw Consort Pan with their own eyes?" Twelve explained.

Hearing this, Lu Min'er turned her gaze to Mingzhu, who was kneeling at the door. Mingzhu had been listening to the conversation in the hall and naturally understood what Consort Lu meant by looking at her. She quickly answered.

“Miss, when I returned to the manor, I did not see the concubine. Only Xiao Yun, who was by the concubine's side, came out and said a few words to me. She said that the concubine had stayed up for two nights without sleep in order to make embroidered shoes for you. When I went there, she had just fallen asleep and told me not to wake her. Then she asked me to bring the embroidered shoes back to you.”

"The Lu family is heartless." Hearing Mingzhu's words, Lu Min'er was so angry that she almost ground her teeth to powder.

After berating the Lu family, she kowtowed three times earnestly to Xia Yu.

“Lu Min’er thanks Your Highness for saving my mother and me. I am deeply sinful and dare not ask for Your Highness’s forgiveness. I am willing to accept punishment. But my aunt has nothing to do with this matter. I beg Your Highness to spare her life. After the war, just give her a few taels of silver and a house so that she can have a place to live and retire. Your Highness’s kindness is too great for me to repay in this life. I will repay Your Highness’s kindness in my next life.”

Hearing Lu Min'er's words, Aunt Pan began to weep again. But she knew this wasn't the time to grieve, and was about to plead for mercy when Xia Yu waved his hand at Lu Min'er.

"You'd better take care of your aunt. I have too many things to do to worry about Aunt Pan's retirement."

"..." Lu Min'er stared blankly at Xia Yu, not understanding the meaning behind her words for a moment.

Twelve urged from the side.

"The princess has pardoned you and is now allowing you to personally care for Aunt Pan in her old age! Hurry up and thank the princess!"

After Twelve's explanation, Lu Min'er instantly understood. Overwhelmed with excitement and gratitude, she quickly kowtowed to Xia Yu.

"Min'er thanks the princess for giving her a second life, and for sparing her life. Min'er will definitely set up a longevity tablet for the princess at home, and burn three sticks of incense every morning to pray for the princess's health, longevity, and all the best."

Hearing her words, Xia Yu felt a sense of foreboding, as if she were about to die, and that she was burning three sticks of incense every day. Seeing Xia Yu frown slightly, Lu Min'er's words of gratitude, which she wanted to say again, were cut off. She could sense that the princess seemed unhappy, but she didn't know why.