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Lu Zhaoling rubbed her forehead, a slight headache coming on.
"Is there a way to send him a message? I'll wait for him at the Palace Gate; it won't take up much of his time."
She just needed to rub against him, absorb a few breaths of energy, that's all.
It could even be said he owed her.
If she hadn't entered the palace yesterday to save him and preserved a sliver of the Emperor Emeritus's life, why would she be so weak now?
Qing Yin and Qing Bao exchanged glances.
The two maidservants were very curious, wondering why Lu Zhaoling absolutely had to see the Prince at this time.
But they didn't dare to ask.
"The Prince's Manor definitely has a way." Even if the Prince entered the palace, the Prince's Manor could surely send a message in.
"Qing Yin, you go find someone from the Prince's Manor to deliver the message. Qing Bao and I will prepare to wait at the Palace Gate."
"Yes."
Qing Yin didn't dare to delay and hurried back to the Prince Jin's Manor.
Qing Bao wanted to get Lu Zhaoling a cloak; she was injured, and if she went out, what if the wind was strong?
But as soon as the thought arose, she remembered that her young lady was as poor as a church mouse. Besides the silver she had just picked up today, she only had the ill-fitting clothes she was wearing and three patched-up old garments in the bundle the Prince helped retrieve.
Qing Bao was overcome with sadness.
Who understood? Her young lady was truly miserable!
Lu Zhaoling didn't notice her maidservant's sadness. She rewrapped the root carving and hugged it herself.
"Let's go."
"Young Lady, let this servant carry it." How could Qing Bao let her carry the root carving herself? She reached out to take it.
Lu Zhaoling dodged her.
"It's not safe with you holding it."
She hugged the root carving and headed outside.
Qing Bao froze for a moment, then hurried after her.
To get to the Imperial Palace, walking alone was certainly not an option.
Even if Lu Zhaoling could once move with the wind, faster than a carriage, now she was just an incredibly weak two-legged shrimp.
When the steward heard she wanted a carriage, he looked troubled.
"Second Young Lady, there are no idle carriages at home."
Qing Bao fumed, "No carriages?"
Lu Ming was still an official in the Bureau of Receptions of the Ministry of Rites, and the mansion they lived in was large. Looking at the clothes and jewelry worn by the Lu Family women, they weren't poor at all, yet they claimed no carriages?
"The master went to the palace, using one carriage. Another is the madam's; the madam has an appointment with a few other madams and is about to leave. There's one more, which the First Young Lady is using."
So, weren't there still some?
The First Young Lady's carriage also belonged to the Lu Residence.
Their young lady was also a young lady of the Lu Residence.
Qing Bao suppressed her anger and decided to speak properly.
"Then just send our young lady off first. We aren't leaving the Capital, so it won't take long."
If Lu Zhaoyun wasn't going out, borrowing a carriage shouldn't be a big deal, right?
The steward's eyes flickered slightly, and he called a servant. "Go and ask the First Young Lady, just say the Second Young Lady wants to borrow a carriage."
The servant glanced contemptuously at Lu Zhaoling and quickly left.
In just a few blinks of an eye, he returned, not even looking at Lu Zhaoling, and said indifferently, "Steward, the First Young Lady said she might need her carriage later, so she can't lend it."
The steward looked at Lu Zhaoling and offered an apologetic smile.
"Second Young Lady, the First Young Lady also needs her carriage, so you see, this…"
Qing Bao angrily retorted, "He barely left for a moment; he couldn't have seen her, could he? He didn't even ask; he's deliberately misleading us!"
Hearing her angry accusation, the servant remained unfazed, displaying a "dead pig not afraid of boiling water" attitude.
"Who's misleading you? That carriage belongs to the First Young Lady anyway."
The Second Young Lady was bestowed marriage to Prince Jin, but no one in the Lu Family took it seriously.
This was because Madam Lu and Lu Zhaoyun had inadvertently mentioned that Prince Jin would observe filial piety for at least a year, and this marriage bestowal was so sudden,
it was highly likely that when Prince Jin entered the palace, the Emperor Emeritus was already experiencing a brief recovery before death.
The Emperor Emeritus wanted to see Prince Jin get married before he passed away, so this marriage bestowal was likely just to comfort the Emperor Emeritus and let him die peacefully.
As for why Lu Zhaoling was chosen, wasn't it because she had the status of a scholar-official's daughter, but wasn't too noble, so she could sacrifice her reputation so casually, and there would be no worries about family opposition if the engagement were to be broken later.
Which other noble young lady in the Capital would be willing to be used so casually by Prince Jin?
Lu Zhaoling was chosen precisely because she had offended Prince Jin, and Prince Jin was too lazy to bother choosing again.
So, wanting to be Princess Consort of Jin?
Not very likely.
Everyone in the Lu Residence felt this conjecture was well-founded.
Lu Zhaoling would eventually be repudiated by Prince Jin, so how could they truly treat her as the Prospective Princess Consort of Jin?
"You all!"
Qing Bao was furious and stepped forward, about to act.
Lu Zhaoling pulled her back. "I'm in a hurry."
So, she wouldn't bother with them for now; she'd deal with it later.
"Young Lady, they are too much!" Qing Bao's eyes were red with anger.
"Let's just go out first."
Lu Zhaoling swept a glance at the steward and the servant, then lightly flicked her finger, borrowing a wisp of dark aura from the root carving and flicking it into the servant's body.
"Second Young Lady, please take care."
The steward bowed slightly, looking very polite, but as he lowered his head, a faint sneer curled at the corner of his mouth.
See? What could she do?
Watching Lu Zhaoling leave, the servant's eyes darted about. "I'll go tell the First Young Lady. We need to be wary of her trying to borrow a carriage again."
"You little brat, are you trying to earn a reward?" the steward chided with a chuckle.
"Hehe, Dad, don't expose me." It turned out this young servant was the steward's son.
Lu Zhaoling walked out, heading towards the bustling street ahead.
"Young Lady, why do the Lu Family people treat you this way?" Qing Bao was still seething. Besides, how was her young lady going to get to the Imperial Palace?
Lu Zhaoling smiled. "Qing Bao, it's not worth getting angry over these people."
"But they bully Young Lady."
"How am I someone easily bullied?" Lu Zhaoling said. "I'm a very petty person, so they'll be out of luck very soon."
Qing Bao blinked. "Does Young Lady tell fortunes?"
Otherwise, how would she know they would be out of luck?
Lu Zhaoling's expression was calm, and she said nothing more.
She would get her revenge.
Qing Bao would know once they returned.
Seeing that she didn't answer, Qing Bao's heart was itching with curiosity, but she didn't dare to press further, so she changed the subject. "But Young Lady, what do we do now?"
She should have thought to have Qing Yin bring a carriage from the Prince's Manor to pick up the young lady.
But going back and forth would also waste time.
As they spoke, they had already reached the bustling street.
Now, while it was called bustling, it simply meant there were many people. However, due to the Emperor Emeritus's recent passing, pedestrians and vendors on the street didn't dare to make too much noise. There were no hawking calls or acrobatics.
Lu Zhaoling stood there, looking around. She saw a carriage parked outside a shop ahead, where a maidservant was helping a Madam into it.
She paused, then walked towards them.
"Madam."
Madam Wu had just gotten into the carriage when she heard a clear, crisp voice. She looked up, startled.
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