The Steward, his face pale, took his son out to find a doctor.
Lu Ming felt a throbbing headache. He turned his head to see Lu Furen and Jin Pozi looking as if they'd seen a ghost, which made him irritable.
"Jin Pozi, if you're injured, stay home!"
Seeing her like that, Lu Ming found it inauspicious.
"My lord," Lu Furen suddenly grabbed his hand. "Jin Pozi says that Lu Zhaoling just now was different from the one she brought back from the countryside!"
Lu Ming was startled, "How is she different?"
"Her temperament is completely different, Jin Pozi, you tell him!" Lu Furen quickly urged Jin Pozi to explain clearly.
Jin Pozi recounted everything about the Lu Zhaoling she had brought back, insisting that the previous Lu Zhaoling would never have dared to speak loudly to Lu Ming.
Lu Ming listened, his brows deeply furrowed.
"I remember, when she was born, she had a small, light-red crescent birthmark on her right ankle."
Lu Furen immediately stood up, "I'll send someone to check."
Checking an ankle shouldn't be difficult!
"Don't cause too much of a stir. Before the Retired Emperor's grand funeral is properly handled, if any trouble gets out, I'll be in serious trouble."
If it weren't for the mourning period, why would he be so cautious? The Emperor himself had said that during this time, no household should cause trouble, so as not to disturb the Retired Emperor's new soul.
"I know." Lu Furen dismissed Jin Pozi and hurried off to make arrangements.
Qing Yin soon returned to Tingnuan Tower with food.
This time, the kitchen indeed didn't dare to cause trouble, bringing a rather generous selection of small dishes, rice, and a soup.
The taste was quite good.
"Miss, I'll be driving the carriage back to the Prince's Manor later. Should I pick up some clothes, shoes, and socks for you? Qingbao and I both know how to make clothes, so buying some fabric would also work."
They could see that Lu Zhaoling didn't yet have the energy to bother with Lu Furen over these things. But their mistress couldn't go without new clothes.
"Yes, go ahead and buy what you see fit. Don't get too much; I'll get more from the Lu family later."
Lu Zhaoling felt sleepy after eating. She was truly exhausted today and didn't know how long she would need to sleep to recover. She hadn't even found the mental energy to prepare tonic medicines for herself.
It was a pity that Prince of Jin was in the Imperial Palace and it would be troublesome for him to leave, otherwise she would certainly go and take a few more sips from him.
This body was too weak, so weak that she thoroughly disliked it.
"Yes."
Qing Yin told Qingbao to guard Lu Zhaoling well, then left with some silver.
Back at the Prince's Manor, Nanny Qing immediately pulled her aside to ask about Lu Zhaoling.
Upon hearing that Lu Zhaoling had even gone to the Imperial Palace gate to see the Prince of Jin today, and that the two of them had spent some time in the carriage doing who knew what, the wrinkles at the corners of Nanny Qing's eyes deepened a few more lines.
"Could it be that Second Miss Lu really has a good relationship with our Prince?"
Such an inseparable bond.
"Miss is very good," Qing Yin said.
Nanny Qing's curiosity about Lu Zhaoling grew. The two maidservants she had trained were kind-hearted, but their personalities weren't soft; under her deliberate education, they even had a bit of arrogance.
After all, she intended for them to serve the Prince of Jin, so they had to be different from ordinary maidservants and not see themselves as too lowly.
But in just three days, Lu Zhaoling had won them over!
Although it was the Prince of Jin who sent them to the Lu family, it now seemed that Qing Yin and Qingbao were quite protective of Lu Zhaoling.
This showed that Lu Zhaoling had her exceptional qualities.
"Is the Lu family really that outrageous?"
Qing Yin still told Nanny Qing a bit about the other members of the Lu family.
"Yes, thankfully, Miss doesn't seem too sad about it."
Nanny Qing pondered, "Since she is now our Prince's person, then our Prince of Jin's Mansion cannot stand idly by. Let's go, I'll get some things for Second Miss Lu."
"Some things" was an understatement; when Qing Yin left the Prince of Jin's Mansion, she returned in the Prince's Manor's carriage again, laden with items.
The Prince's Manor even sent several maidservants to help carry the items into Tingnuan Tower.
The Lu family members dared not intervene.
Lu Zhaoling, however, remained asleep and did not wake up.
Lu Zhaoyun and her sisters heard about this and couldn't help but come to look.
They saw beautifully dressed maidservants entering in a steady stream, each holding items.
Three bolts of shimmering brocade, an exquisite dressing case, two sets of jewelry sparkling with pearls and gems, a pure white, soft cloak, two intricately carved charcoal stoves, a candlestick, and a bronze mirror.
Although the items were all for daily use and not rare treasures, their craftsmanship, materials, and styles were clearly extraordinary.
The Lu family certainly couldn't afford such opulent and noble items!
And those bolts of brocade were clearly not something one could casually buy from an ordinary cloth shop outside.
As those items passed before the Lu family sisters' eyes, they were all captivated by their luster.
"Big Sister, is that tribute silk?" Lu Zhaoyue's gaze clung to the bolts of brocade.
If those brocades were made into new clothes for her, how beautiful would that be?
If she wore them out, her little sisters would surely die of envy!
And those two sets of head ornaments were also very noble and expensive, inlaid with gold and jewels. Each set must have cost over a hundred taels!
Perfect to match new clothes!
Lu Zhaoyun looked at these things, almost grinding her teeth.
Her mother deliberately didn't prepare anything for Lu Zhaoling, even giving her a worn-out dress, hoping Lu Zhaoling would beg and flatter them, so they could thoroughly humiliate her.
But now, she actually had so many good things!
Qingbao was also a little surprised, secretly tugging at Qing Yin and whispering, "Isn't the Prince still in the Imperial Palace? These things..."
"Nanny Qing told me to bring them back. Didn't you know? The Prince's Manor has a storeroom that Nanny Qing manages. She has the authority to decide on these things and will just inform the Prince later."
The Prince of Jin's Mansion never had a mistress, but occasionally there were social exchanges and gifts from others, so there was a separate storeroom, with the key in Nanny Qing's hands.
These items were actually insignificant to the Prince's Manor.
"The Prince probably couldn't attend to it because he's in the Imperial Palace, otherwise he would give Miss even more, right?" Qingbao felt that the Prince wasn't stingy and surely wouldn't let Miss live so miserably.
"Anyway, let's put these away first."
Qingbao nodded, glancing at the three Lu family sisters at the courtyard gate, seeing the greed in their eyes, and snorted disdainfully.
It was clear they wanted these things, their eyes were truly shallow.
"Is that Eldest Miss Lu really engaged to the Second Prince? Why haven't I heard about it?" Qingbao asked curiously.
Qing Yin also glanced at Lu Zhaoyun, "I asked Nanny Qing, and guess what?"
"Hmm?"
"Nanny Qing said she hadn't heard about it either!"
"Oh?"
But before, from what Lu Furen and others implied, Lu Zhaoyun did have an engagement with the Second Prince. What was going on?
"Nanny Qing said she would go and inquire about it." Qing Yin said.
Mainly, since Lu Zhaoling was already considered their prospective Princess Consort of Jin, they naturally had to care about the Lu family's affairs.
Before, the Lu family had never caught Nanny Qing's eye; she simply hadn't paid them any attention.
"I heard the Second Prince is extremely favored by the Emperor." Qing Yin thought of this and couldn't help but feel a little worried.
📢 MASSIVE UPDATE FOR BINGE-READERS! 📢
Hello everyone! Thank you so much for reading and supporting my work! ❤️
A lot of you have asked for an easier way to unlock all 400+ Advance Chapters at once without dealing with a monthly commitment.
I listened to your feedback! I have completely restructured the full-story bundles on my P a t r e o n to make them much more accessible for everyone.
If you want to unlock Lifetime Access to massive 100, 200, or 500+ chapter bundles and binge the story at your own pace, it has never been easier!
👉 Search for [ flokixy ] on P a t r e o n and look for the new Full-Story Bundles!
(As always, my standard tiers for daily chapter updates are still active too! Thank you for supporting the story!)