This palm-sized silver box alone could fetch several taels of silver.
Qingyin was beginning to understand Lu Zhaoling's temperament. She directly took out her own small dagger and, with a snick, pried open the small silver box.
Inside lay a jade pendant.
"Wow."
Lu Zhaoling picked up the jade pendant. It was warm to the touch, with a delicate texture, carved with auspicious patterns, truly a piece of top-grade jade.
Qingyin was not without discernment.
Nanny Qing taught them to be close to Prince Jin, naturally broadening their horizons.
She looked at the jade pendant and said to Lu Zhaoling, "Miss, this jade pendant also looks like it's from Mingbao Tower.
This kind of white jade carved with auspicious patterns was very popular with ladies a few years ago. It was usually bought as a gift for younger generations, hoping they would be healthy and fortunate."
But why was this jade pendant in a small silver box, buried under that tree?
"Could it be some young lady from the Lu family? Or Madam Lu's?" she wondered.
Lu Zhaoling's finger gently stroked the jade pendant. Qingyin couldn't see it, but at that moment, there was a faint layer of black mist on the jade pendant. It dissipated as her finger passed over it, revealing the jade's natural oily luster.
Although Qingyin couldn't see the black mist, she clearly saw the change in the jade.
Before, she had merely thought the jade pendant might have lost its luster from being buried in the soil for too long, but for some reason, after Miss gently stroked it, the luster was restored.
"This jade doesn't belong to the Lu family," Lu Zhaoling said.
"Not from the Lu family?" Qingyin was startled.
"This jade pendant carries no trace of any Lu family member's aura."
Qingyin immediately believed her.
She already knew that Miss had great abilities, but now she realized she knew too little.
"Then whose jade pendant is it?"
Qingyin wanted to ask, should they return it to the owner?
Lu Zhaoling handed the jade pendant to her, "It's ownerless. Take it to the pawnshop and pawn it, along with this box."
Ah?
Although Qingyin had many questions, seeing Qingbao approach, she immediately handed the items to Qingbao.
Qingbao had finished weaving the bracelet. The two dark green round stones strung on the black cord looked rustic and beautiful.
"Help me put it on."
Lu Zhaoling extended her right hand.
The bracelet fastened on her slender, fair wrist, looking exceptionally beautiful and fitting.
"Thank you, Qingbao, it's very pretty." Lu Zhaoling looked at it twice. The vitality from the small round stones nurtured her meridians, making her headache feel a few points lighter.
Her satchel had been found by Prince Jin's men; it was a good deed from him, adding ten points back to his score.
"You're too kind, Miss."
Seeing Lu Zhaoling satisfied with the bracelet she wove, Qingbao was also very happy. "This?"
She looked at the small silver box in her hand.
Qingyin then told her to take it to the pawnshop.
"This servant will go now," Qingbao nodded and was about to leave.
"After you've pawned it, buy some pastries back," Lu Zhaoling said.
"Yes."
After Qingbao left, Qingyin looked at Lu Zhaoling, feeling a little distressed, "Miss, you can't subsist on pastries long-term. Why don't I have Qingbao buy some pots and bowls, and I can set up a small kitchen here in Tingnuan Tower…"
She had thought that Lu Zhaoling, unable to confront Madam Lu, would just resort to buying pastries for herself.
Lu Zhaoling chuckled softly.
"A small kitchen can be set up; sometimes I can cook some medicinal meals or have an extra snack. However, they cannot reduce what they owe me daily."
She wasn't the type to silently endure injustice without speaking up.
Besides, this Lu Residence, it was all hers.
"Let's go, we'll go out for another stroll and pick up some more things."
Qingyin felt a strange anticipation. Could Miss actually pick up gold and silver jewelry again?
However, Lu Zhaoling's first destination was the kitchen.
She had woken up late today, so it was already well past breakfast time.
But what of it?
When Lu Zhaoling arrived at the kitchen, the cooks and maidservants were eating breakfast. Only after the masters had eaten could they relax and eat.
They were chatting as they ate, and the central topic of their conversation was Lu Zhaoling.
"Madam instructed us to make things difficult for the Second Young Lady, won't that cause any trouble?"
Originally, everyone in the Lu household thought Lu Zhaoling was also Madam Lu's biological daughter, but seeing their current interactions, how could a biological mother and daughter act like that?
"Madam said not to worry, so it must be fine. This is the Lu Residence, and Madam is still in charge. Even if the Second Young Lady is engaged to Prince Jin, she won't marry for another year.
The Lu family will always be her maternal home. If she dares to fall out with her maternal family, if anything happens in the Prince's manor later, she won't have anyone from her maternal home to help her."
Qingyin almost laughed in anger upon hearing this.
Given the Lu family's behavior these past two days, how could they support Miss in the future? Not dragging her down would already be a blessing.
Their Miss was a person of great ability!
"What did Madam Lu instruct you to do to me?"
Lu Zhaoling walked in, her tone quite light.
The cooks and maidservants were startled.
Sister Gui couldn't hold her bowl steady, and it dropped, smashing with a clang, spilling half a bowl of tremella and lotus seed soup onto the floor.
A faint sweet scent permeated the air.
Lu Zhaoling glanced at it and suddenly smiled.
"Could it be that she instructed you to drink tremella and lotus seed soup yourselves, and give me stale overnight steamed buns? And also, spicy pickled vegetables that someone spat in?"
Qingyin's face turned pale.
She had thought it was just a plate of spicy pickled vegetables; she hadn't expected someone had spat in it!
"Second Young Lady, although we are servants, you can't just accuse us so casually. We haven't done anything of the sort."
The several people straightened their backs and denied it.
Lu Zhaoling's gaze swept over their faces, then to the table full of dishes, and she said to Qingyin, "Flip the table for me."
"Yes!" Qingyin quickly stepped forward and overturned the dining table.
Instantly, dishes, soup, and spoons clattered and shattered everywhere.
Everyone screamed in fright.
"I don't care if you were following orders. As long as you did something against me, you get a beating first. Qingyin, hit them."
"Yes!"
Qingyin immediately waved her hand, and for a moment, palms flew through the air, and the sound of slapping echoed rapidly.
"We didn't spit in it…" Sister Gui's eyes welled up, and she quickly cried out her innocence.
But a skinny, dark-skinned maidservant next to her turned pale and tried to run away.
She was the one who spat.
But at the time, she had her back to everyone; no one saw her!
No one in the kitchen saw her, let alone anyone in Tingnuan Tower.
But how did Lu Zhaoling know?
"Qingyin, stop her."
Qingyin reacted quickly, sharply reaching out and grabbing the maidservant's collar, pulling her out.
"Was it you who did it?"
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