"Second Miss Lu, are you really not afraid?" Gu Qing couldn't help but ask Lu Zhaoling in a small, hushed voice.
"Afraid? Afraid of what?"
Lu Zhaoling ignored the stares of everyone else and was already digging into the food.
Hmm, the living conditions at the County Princess Mansion were indeed much better than the Lu family's. Even these vegetarian dishes were exceptionally delicious.
"You've offended the County Princess." Gu Qing watched her eat, her cheeks puffed out slightly, her eyes written with satisfaction and enjoyment. Gu Qing's own appetite was stirred, and as she spoke, she picked up a three-shredded roll.
"If I've offended her, then I've offended her. Isn't Prince Jin her elder? Prince Jin is there for me," Lu Zhaoling said.
She glanced at Gu Qing. "Eat quickly."
The others at the table ate in silence, but their attention was actually fixed on Lu Zhaoling.
Some were afraid, some were contemptuous, and some felt it was better to stay out of trouble that didn't concern them.
Hearing Lu Zhaoling speak so confidently now, they all exchanged looks.
How could Lu Zhaoling be so certain that Prince Jin would really back her up?
Over there, Qingbao quickly ate something to line her stomach before returning to swap places with Qingyin.
Lu Zhaoyun didn't want to sit with Lu Zhaoling at all, so she went to the table in the pavilion.
After sitting down, she picked up a cup of fruit tea and took a sip.
Lu Zhaohua sat beside her, not daring to speak out of turn.
Everyone had actually lost their appetite; their portions weren't large to begin with. Soon, they began to leave their seats one by one to wash their hands and prepare to copy the scriptures.
The Lu sisters didn't eat much either before standing up to prepare.
But with a quick sweep of her gaze, Lu Zhaoyun saw that Lu Zhaoling was still sitting there, her chopsticks moving and her mouth never stopping.
"Eldest Sister, should we tell Second Sister to stop eating?" Lu Zhaohua asked softly.
Why was she acting like a ghost of starvation? Eating so much at someone else's place was an embarrassment to the Lu family.
"You go tell her."
Lu Zhaoyun's expression darkened. She told Qiuju to grind the ink while she prepared to start copying the scriptures.
Lu Zhaohua froze.
How would she ever dare to tell her?
Thinking it better to stay silent, she hurried to a table to begin copying.
The others had already taken up their brushes.
Xuan paper was spread across the first table. The young ladies held their brushes with delicate hands, writing with composed elegance. It was a very beautiful scene.
Knowing that these copies might be presented to the Emperor, they had already put Lu Zhaoling out of their minds, striving instead to make their handwriting as perfect as possible.
The characters had to be beautiful, the paper clean, and the writing orderly.
Gu Qing had also started copying, but halfway through, she glanced at Lu Zhaoling and discovered she was still eating.
For such a thin person, did she really have such a large appetite?
Lu Zhaoling was the only one left at the table, and she seemed quite happy eating.
County Princess Changning had been calmed down by Shen Xiangjun. When the two returned, they also saw Lu Zhaoling still eating.
"Make her copy it later regardless! Even if her writing looks like ghost talismans, this County Princess will still send her page into the palace! We'll see then if Uncle Jin will protect her!"
County Princess Changning spoke with resentment as she pulled Shen Xiangjun along to copy scriptures.
Shen Xiangjun glanced at Lu Zhaoling and took a deep breath.
It was fine. Although Lu Zhaoling was completely unexpected, she was by no means impossible to deal with.
With such a reckless temperament crashing through everything without regard for social hierarchy she would bring a death sentence upon herself sooner or later.
It would be at least a year before Prince Jin could marry. Within a year, who knew how many times Lu Zhaoling would court death?
Even if Lu Zhaoling didn't seek death herself, Shen Xiangjun could give her a push.
But for today's scriptures, she had to copy them well.
Shen Xiangjun settled her mind, ignored Lu Zhaoling, and began to write.
At this moment, everyone was quite pious. No one spoke loudly; they all copied with great focus.
Lu Zhaoling finally finished eating and stood up.
Qingyin asked softly, "Miss, are we going back now?"
"Go back? No. Aren't we supposed to copy scriptures?" Lu Zhaoling walked toward the empty table beside Lu Zhaohua. It was the only spot left, likely reserved for her.
"You're really going to copy them?" Would her lady even know how?
But since Lu Zhaoling had said she would, they hurried to help her grind the ink.
"Second Sister, the scripture has already been placed on the table for you. Just copy according to that book," Lu Zhaoyun said, inwardly delighted to see her actually coming over to copy.
Lu Zhaoling flipped open the scripture on the table.
This one didn't even have the name of the scripture written on it.
Once opened, it was filled with dense lines of text. The language was obscure; most people seeing it for the first time would struggle even to read it aloud, let alone copy it smoothly.
Lu Zhaoyun watched Lu Zhaoling. Seeing her looking at it so seriously, she couldn't help but find it hilarious.
With only the two years of schooling she'd had at the age of three or four, could she even recognize ten characters on that page?
Much less write them.
"Second Sister, be careful and just copy the characters as they are. The Emperor will see your sincerity then," she remarked.
It would have been fine if Lu Zhaoling didn't copy at all, but if she actually dared to pick up the brush, she was in for it.
To her surprise, Lu Zhaoling actually began to write.
Lu Zhaoyun was so excited her face turned slightly red. Writing is good!
The scripture was long, and she couldn't afford to keep watching Lu Zhaoling. She hurriedly buried her head in her own work.
The group copied for over an hour and a half.
By the time their wrists were about to break and they stopped to rest, they discovered that Lu Zhaoling was already gone.
"Where is Second Miss Lu?"
County Princess Changning had also put all her effort into copying since it was to be sent to the palace; she didn't dare treat it as a joke. In her focus, she hadn't noticed Lu Zhaoling leaving.
"Second Miss Lu said just now that she finished. She said the scripture would be sent to Prince Jin's Manor and someone from there would deliver it to the palace," a maid hurried to report.
"She really finished?" County Princess Changning didn't believe it.
The maid nodded. "Yes, I saw a full page of writing, it's just..."
"Just what?" Everyone was curious.
"It's just that it looked like it was drawn," the maid said.
In truth, she didn't know how else to describe it.
"Pfft."
Lu Zhaoyun couldn't help but laugh out loud, then quickly explained, "County Princess, my second sister probably only knows a few characters.
She probably had to learn the characters from the scripture stroke by stroke as she went. Perhaps... she wrote them too large? Or maybe they look like earthworms crawling?"
"She only knows a few characters? Hahaha."
County Princess Changning laughed as well. "Then her handwriting must be like a dog's crawl! Just wait, I'll send word to the Empress Dowager to ensure she makes Prince Jin's Manor send Lu Zhaoling's page to the palace!"
Someone asked, "Since she took it with her, could she be looking for someone to write it for her? Substituting the fake for the genuine?"
"That paper is for imperial use only; you can't find it outside. When the time comes, if the paper she sends isn't this paper, we can naturally call her out for her mistake!" A smirk played on County Princess Changning's lips.
Lu Zhaoyun breathed a sigh of relief.
Excellent.
The one she had picked for Lu Zhaoling was the Rebirth Mantra!
The Rebirth Mantra was a prayer used to deliver the souls of the deceased. If Lu Zhaoling copied the Rebirth Mantra and sent it to the palace, the Emperor would surely be enraged.
He might rescind the imperial marriage edict on the spot and then have Lu Zhaoling's head cut off.
Because a mere daughter of a low-ranking official actually wanted to pray for the passing of the Retired Emperor's soul! Sending him to his early rebirth!
This was an act of high treason!
Lu Zhaoling was finished.
Lu Zhaoyun was filled with excitement as she picked up her own copied scripture. Suddenly, a sharp, agonizing cramp seized her stomach, and the area of her "exhaust port" gave a violent, sudden twitch.
"Pfft!"
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