Lu Zhaoyun felt a stir in her heart when Madam Lu mentioned the plan.
"Mother, I think it's feasible."
Madam Lu was still a bit conflicted, "I think she's a bit eerie. She just returned to the capital and showed her face in front of Prince Jin. Physician Fu also treats her exceptionally well. If we let her go out again, who knows if she'll gain more helpers."
The maid's idea was that once outside, they could surely find an opportunity to make Lu Zhaoling take off her shoes and socks to verify the birthmark.
Moreover, Prime Minister Shen's daughter, Shen Xiangjun, must have already known about the imperial marriage edict and might not let Lu Zhaoling off easily.
Lu Zhaoyun smiled and held her arm, "Mother, think about it, what are we going to do?"
"Copy scriptures."
"That's right, we are all going to copy scriptures. Then Princess Changning can take those scriptures into the palace, and perhaps the Emperor, Empress Dowager, and Empress will all take a look. This is an opportunity for me to show my face, but Second Sister was raised in the countryside."
Madam Lu immediately understood her meaning.
"That's right, your grandmother and your Third Uncle didn't let that girl study. She only learned for two years before she was six, it would be good if she could write her own name, let alone copy scriptures?"
Lu Zhaoling before the age of six also lived in the capital. At that time, she also studied the Four Books and Five Classics, learned to write and do needlework, but only for two years.
After being sent to the countryside, Old Madam Lu definitely treated Lu Zhaoling like a maid, and it was said that she had to do manual labor every day in the countryside, with no opportunity to touch a pen at all.
If she went to copy scriptures, wouldn't that be making a huge fool of herself?
Madam Lu suppressed the corners of her mouth that wanted to turn up, and then thought of another problem, "But will she go?"
"She doesn't even know what she's going to do. Just say that everyone is going, and since she's already been granted a marriage, not going would be an insult to Prince Jin's face," Lu Zhaoyun said.
"Alright, you go tell her."
So Lu Zhaoyun went to Ting Nuan Tower.
Lu Zhaoling was surprisingly trying on new clothes.
The three bolts of silk sent by Prince Jin's Manor were about to be tailored for Lu Zhaoling by Qing Yin and Qing Bao. Before that, they had bought two new outfits for Lu Zhaoling.
"Second Sister, you look so beautiful."
Lu Zhaoyun was let in and saw the new dress on Lu Zhaoling, feeling a bit vexed.
Because before, Lu Zhaoling wore her clothes, and it was one she disliked. That outfit had somewhat vulgar colors and patterns, and Lu Zhaoling wore it too loosely, making her look like a pheasants whose feathers were about to fall out.
This was Lu Zhaoyun's own feeling.
But now, Lu Zhaoling was wearing a light blue dress embroidered with white magnolias, making her appear slender and graceful like a lotus, looking elegantly unparalleled.
Lu Zhaoyun had to comfort herself: she suffered in the countryside for ten years, her frame is like a bean sprout, only her facial features are good-looking.
"You came just in time," Lu Zhaoling glanced at her, "When is the monthly allowance for the Lu Residence distributed?"
"Monthly allowance?"
"Are you going to say there isn't any?" Lu Zhaoling narrowed her eyes slightly.
She had some silver to spend now, but why should she spend her own?
"No, there is, but our family is of average means. Relying solely on Father's meager salary, we can't give much," Lu Zhaoyun said.
"Then how much do you get each month? How many sets of clothes do you have made in a year?" Lu Zhaoling asked again.
Lu Zhaoyun originally wanted to say less, but facing Lu Zhaoling's eyes that seemed to see through everything, her heart skipped a beat, and she told the truth, but still kept a little secret.
"Zhaohua gets three hundred cash a month, and one new outfit for each of the four seasons. If the family is well-off at the end of the year, she might get one more set."
Qing Yin and Qing Bao frowned, three hundred cash?
Is the Lu Family that poor?
"I'm asking about you," Lu Zhaoling, however, did not follow Lu Zhaoyun's lead at all.
Lu Zhaoyun secretly gritted her teeth.
Why was this brat so hard to fool?
Zhaohua was a daughter of a concubine, not born from her mother's womb, so how could she be given much?
"It's because I often have banquets and meet princesses and noblewomen from time to time, representing the Lu Family's reputation, so Mother gives me a little more."
Lu Zhaoling smiled, "So, how much is it?"
She was truly good-tempered now, asking about the same thing several times. If it were before, she would never ask a second time.
"One tael a month, and eight sets of clothes a year," Lu Zhaoyun still gritted her teeth and answered.
She was the legitimate daughter!
She had an engagement with the Second Prince!
She was a good friend of Princess Changning!
She was also a well-known noble lady in the capital. So, of course, she couldn't be treated the same as Zhaohua.
"Then, for the ten years I spent in the countryside, shouldn't I be compensated for that?"
Lu Zhaoling paused, then said clearly, "According to one tael of silver a month, that's twelve taels a year, and one hundred and twenty taels for ten years. Eight sets of clothes a year means I should be compensated eighty sets of clothes now.
However, I don't trust Madam Lu's aesthetic, so let's convert these eighty sets into cash. I'll buy them myself, with a discount for her, so one set is two taels of silver, which makes eighty sets one hundred and sixty taels."
She spoke a bit fast, and Lu Zhaoyun was completely bewildered, only hearing the final result.
"Give me two hundred and eighty taels in total."
"This doesn't even include the value of jewelry and other items. Also, I should receive gifts every New Year and birthday, right? Let's convert these into silver too, say twenty taels, to round it up to three hundred taels."
"You, you, you," Lu Zhaoyun was so shocked she couldn't speak properly, "How can there be any compensation for that? Didn't you also eat and wear things in the countryside for those ten years?"
Lu Zhaoling's eyes turned cold.
"I wore old clothes from my three elder cousins above, and I ate wild vegetables I dug from the fields and mountains. Does that count? Did it cost money?"
Lu Zhaoyun was furious.
Three hundred taels, why doesn't she just rob someone!
"Second Sister, three hundred taels, our family really can't afford that. No matter what, we're family. In the future, Mother will also give you a monthly allowance, and now we'll have someone tailor you a few new outfits, alright?"
She still needed to coax Lu Zhaoling to the small banquet.
"That's for the future. For the past, three hundred taels, not a single tael less."
"Don't be so insensible. It's not easy for Mother to manage the household, and there are so many mouths to feed. If it all goes to you, what about everyone else?"
Lu Zhaoling looked at the carved gold bracelet on her wrist.
"The Lu Family is so poor, how much is that gold bracelet on your wrist worth? How much is that peony flower gold hairpin with shattered jewels on your head worth?"
Just those two items alone were probably worth several dozen taels!
And she was talking about being poor?
Lu Zhaoyun's expression changed slightly, and she instinctively pulled at her sleeve, trying to cover the bracelet.
"Three hundred taels, I want it today. Otherwise, I don't mind inviting Prince Jin to help me collect the debt."
Lu Zhaoyun almost jumped up in anger.
"Second Sister! Do you really need to trouble Prince Jin with such family trivialities?"
"Why not? He's my fiancé. He can't let me, his prospective princess consort, be bullied and live such a shabby life." Lu Zhaoling said righteously.
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