"Did Minister Jia return to Chang'an with you?" Prince Teng seemed to remember something and turned to ask Jia She.
Minister Jia was none other than Jia Yuanchun, the eldest daughter of the Jia family.
Jia Yuanchun had been selected to serve as a lady-in-waiting in the palace at a young age, responsible for tasks such as writing documents.
She had the opportunity to be favored by the emperor, but Emperor Ling did not. Instead, she was appreciated by Empress He and promoted to the position of Lady-in-waiting of Changqiu Palace, specifically responsible for writing documents for Empress He. Because of her position by the empress's side, her status was quite high.
Unfortunately, Emperor Ling disliked Empress He, his wicked wife. After Empress He became pregnant, he never favored her again, and consequently, all the women around Empress He were disliked as well.
"She has already arrived in Chang'an and is residing in the old palace. Without Her Majesty the Empress's decree, I'm afraid she cannot return home," Jia She said. Although his relationship with his brother was not good, he thought highly of his niece, who served as a lady-in-waiting to the empress.
Simply because of her status and position. "Why not have the ladies of the house prepare lavish gifts and visit the Empress in the old palace? Lu Ming wields immense power, slaughtering countless people in Liangzhou and levying exorbitant taxes. If he comes to Chang'an, where will we find a place to live? It would be better to have the Empress intervene; only then can this beast be kept in check!" Shi Nai muttered softly. The Shi family also owned considerable land outside the city.
Lu Ming's style was to seize fertile land, then cultivate it, finding a reason to leave them speechless.
"Now the court is short of food. You are subjects of the Han Dynasty, your ancestors have enjoyed the Han's bounty for generations. If you do not think of serving your country now, how are you any different from beasts?"
"Mainly, Lu Ming's reputation is not good, and this practice of land annexation easily makes people wonder what he really wants; perhaps he is plotting a rebellion!"
"However, with Wang Yi's passive skill, as long as he doesn't seize the throne, basically no one will suspect him, even if he goes too far." Just like Dong Zhuo sleeping in the emperor's bed, at most he was hated and accused of treason, but that was far more than that; his reputation was simply ruined.
"That makes sense. We should hurry back to the manor and make preparations." Wang Ziteng thought it made sense, and he was thinking further ahead—it would be better to pay a visit to the Empress; there was no harm in it.
As for visiting Prince Liu Bian, he wasn't that foolish. He knew this was the time of the succession struggle, a time of undercurrents, and the Wang family didn't need to gamble.
Half a month later, Lu Ming returned from Hanzhong.
He led his troops to pursue the bandits, then brought Hanzhong under his control, and incidentally, also took control of the crucial Yangping Pass.
Siege warfare was Lu Ming's least forte.
He preferred other tactics to a direct assault: sending disguised soldiers to infiltrate the city, then transporting weapons in batches, finally capturing the city gates and advancing unimpeded.
This tactic would be perfectly timed now; if the Han dynasty were in disgrace and warlords were fighting amongst themselves, things would be different.
Back in Didao, Lu Ming originally intended to summon Jia Yingchun for his own pleasure.
However, Jia Yingchun claimed to be pregnant and wanted her maid, Siqi, to serve him in her place.
As a result, even the maidservant in his room became pregnant, leaving neither mistress nor servant unable to serve him.
Even Hu Zhen, the mother of his newly acquired concubine Deng Ai, was pregnant.
Left with no other option, he had to seek solace with Lady Fan and the others.
Still unsatisfied after the passion, Lu Ming was about to go find his sister, Lu Qing.
Upon arriving at his mother's courtyard, he found his sister Lu Qing chatting with his mother and a fair-skinned young woman.
Lu Ming remembered this young woman; although they hadn't met often, he still remembered her.
Her appearance exuded four parts confidence, three parts radiance, two parts arrogance, and one part allure.
On her perfectly oval face, thick, slightly upturned eyebrows framed long, fan-like eyelashes and a pair of clear, expressive phoenix eyes.
Her straight nose exuded confidence, and her beautifully curved lips, barely larger than a cherry, were so soft and delicate that one almost wanted to take a bite.
This was her older sister!
Her long-lost sister, Lu Xue!
"Sister, when did you arrive?" Lu Ming asked patiently, somewhat surprised.
"Anmin, long time no see!" The older sister, Lu Xue, beamed, pulling her younger brother to sit down. "I came a couple of days ago, intending to look for you, but I heard you went to war, so I stayed at home. How are you? Are you hurt?"
"He wouldn't be hurt at all, he's as strong as an ox." The younger sister, Lu Qing, wrinkled her nose, getting up and pulling Lu Ming into the room. "Ugh, brother smells terrible, go take a shower first."
"You child, sigh." Their mother, Dong Ya, smiled and shook her head, saying nothing.
Having both daughters is an unattainable dream for many.
Some people keep having sons, some keep having daughters—what can you say?
You can only say, it's fate! Watching her younger sister and brother enter the room, Lu Xue said with a hint of envy, "Their relationship is so good!"
"It's always been like this, Xue. Is there something you need this time? If you need your brother's help, just say so." Her mother understood her daughter well. Although she rarely came back to visit, she would always send some things back during festivals, which showed her filial piety.
In ancient times, daughters were considered like water spilled from a stream—they couldn't be taken back, and were often used as tools for marriage alliances.
Lu Xue had previously married into a county in Hanzhong. Her husband was a local powerful figure and also a county magistrate.
Life was comfortable, and she wasn't looked down upon.
However, Lu Xue had never had children, so her situation wasn't very good.
This time, she heard that her brother had become the governor of Luzhou, and coupled with the pressure from her husband and mother-in-law, she wanted to return home to visit.
Lu Xue shook her head, somewhat saddened. "No, it's just that my mother-in-law keeps saying I can't have children, and she's been taking concubines. She hasn't even given me a maid. I was only able to come back to visit my family this time because of my younger brother."
Hearing this, her mother felt a pang of sadness. Women are like that; they don't believe it's the men's fault, they're born thinking it's the women's fault for not being able to have children.
She reached out and took her eldest daughter's small hand. "If you don't feel comfortable going back, then don't go back yet. Stay at home. With your brother here, in Liangzhou, no one will dare bully you."