Qing Bao was so livid she practically stomped toward the door. "Miss, I'll go get him right now!"
Meanwhile, Qing Yin moved quickly to open a hidden cabinet.
Lu Zhaoling had instructed them to carve this secret compartment out just two days prior. Inside lay their silver and banknotes not a single tael was missing.
However, the clothes and fabrics originally folded neatly inside the main wardrobe showed obvious signs of being rummaged through. Even though they had locked the cabinet, it hadn't mattered; the lock had been picked.
"Miss, the lock was opened."
Qing Yin took the three thousand taels they had received from the Prince's Mansion and placed them inside the hidden compartment, pulling the inner partition back into place to conceal them.
The back of that partition was plastered with a talisman Lu Zhaoling had drawn. Logically speaking, since the wardrobe had been searched, it shouldn't have been hard to notice that the partition looked a bit odd.
Yet, the intruder had failed to discover the secret compartment entirely. It proved that the talisman Miss had drawn was truly effective.
At the time, Zhaoling had told them it was a Breath-Concealing and Trace-Hiding Talisman.
She said it could be used on people or objects.
The maids hadn't quite understood it then, but now they did. It was meant to ensure no one could discover this hidden mechanism.
"Hmm, it seems Madame Lu has some minor talents," Zhaoling remarked. "It's fine. As long as the silver isn't lost, we can continue using that secret cabinet."
"Miss, are you saying the one who searched the room was Madame Lu?" Qing Yin asked curiously.
How did Miss know? And how was she so sure the silver was safe before they even checked?
"It was her."
Lu Zhaoling had already laid down arrays throughout the courtyard and inside the rooms. Anyone who entered would leave behind a trace of their aura, which she could capture. If it had been a stranger, she might not have recognized it immediately, but since it was Madame Lu...
She had sensed it instantly.
Furthermore, because the hidden compartment hadn't been touched, the talisman's power hadn't fluctuated. That was how she knew the silver hadn't been discovered.
Zhaoling was no longer poor; she had at least ten thousand taels in her possession. Once her body and spiritual energy fully recovered and she found the right materials, she could create even better things. For now, she was somewhat limited.
"Since they dared to come, they'll have to pay a price in blood."
"Let me see if anything else is missing," Qing Yin said.
Just because the silver was there didn't mean everything else was. Qing Yin began a thorough inventory.
As she checked, she realized things really were missing.
Qing Yin's face went stiff. She found the Lu family truly speechless. Madame Lu was the wife of an official, after all how could she be so petty?
Lu Zhaoling looked at her maid's expression and found it slightly amusing. "What's gone?"
"Qing Bao and I embroidered two silk handkerchiefs for you one with a peony and another with a 'magpie on a branch' motif. They're both gone. Two small pouches embroidered with gold ingots and fortune patterns are also missing.
Then there's the Plain Moon Gauze we cut for your summer clothes; the remaining four feet of it are gone too. I even used the scraps of the Plain Moon Gauze to make a few silk flowers, and those were taken as well!"
Qing Yin paused, her voice dripping with disbelief. "She even took a box of pastries and a half-used box of incense we bought outside."
Perhaps the thief was afraid that taking large, whole bolts of fabric would be too conspicuous, so they had opted for small, scattered items instead.
Did she really think she wouldn't be found out this way?
Lu Zhaoling didn't have much to begin with. Most of her things were gifts from the Prince's Mansion and the Fu family, along with a few presents from Madame Lin. The total volume was quite small.
Qing Yin and Qing Bao had packed everything personally; they knew the inventory by heart.
Were the Lu family servants usually so careless that Madame Lu assumed all maids were equally muddled?
"Pfft."
Lu Zhaoling wasn't even angry. She simply pictured Madame Lu scurrying away like a sewer rat, clutching a bunch of random trinkets, and found the image utterly ridiculous.
When Qing Bao found Lu Ming, he was currently in a foul mood.
This was because Madame Lu had failed to find what they were looking for.
"If it really comes down to it, we should just ask that brat directly," Madame Lu muttered. "She's already been granted a marriage to Prince Jin by the Emperor. She wouldn't keep clinging to that old engagement, would she?"
"Do you think, given her temperament, she would just hand over the Marriage Contract to us?" Lu Ming snarled in anger.
Lu Ming had brought Zhaoling back for three reasons: that Porcelain Statue of a Young Maiden, the marriage contract, and as a safety measure.
He had received news that an old acquaintance was returning to the capital soon. That person was his enemy. However, Lu Zhaoling looked exactly like her deceased mother. If that man saw her face, he would likely lose the heart to seek revenge.
Using Lu Zhaoling as a shield didn't weigh on his conscience at all. If the man didn't soften his heart upon seeing her face, it didn't matter; Lu Ming had other tricks up his sleeve.
However, he kept these plans hidden even from his wife.
"You should have kept that thing yourself back then. Why did you give it to that woman?" Madame Lu said, her heart filled with resentment.
Years ago, she had come to the Lu family young and naive, with no one to rely on. Wanting to secure her future, she had crawled into Lu Ming's bed.
Back then, it wasn't as if Lu Ming and that woman had any genuine affection as husband and wife. That woman was always cold toward him, locking herself in her courtyard and refusing to even see him.
So, was it really her fault for taking her chance?
If a wife didn't know how to cherish her husband, couldn't she do it instead? She truly loved Lu Ming, and their relationship after marriage had always been excellent certainly something that other woman could never compare to. Lu Ming had been much happier with her.
"Enough. Why bring up things from so long ago? The Marriage Contract must still be hidden in the manor. We'll just keep looking," Lu Ming said, his mood worsening.
Nothing was going his way.
"Has the news about Yun'er reached the palace yet?" Madame Lu asked, her concern shifting. "If Consort Shu hears about it, she'll be even less willing to acknowledge this match."
"For now, Consort Shu can't exactly make a scene about choosing a different bride for the Second Prince. We still have time," Lu Ming said with a darkened expression.
Fortunately, the customs of Great Zhou weren't too hurried regarding marriage age. Plenty of people didn't arrange matches until eighteen or nineteen, though they usually wed quickly after that, rarely delaying past twenty.
"If all else fails, I'll go find Daoist Priest Wuyi," Lu Ming gritted his teeth.
Madame Lu's eyes lit up.
"Daoist Priest Wuyi is back? Master, you should ask him to think of something! Use some methods to force that brat to tell us where she hid the Marriage Contract!"
"Fine, fine, I'll handle it. You went to search Tingnuan Tower you didn't leave any traces, did you?"
Madame Lu's heart skipped a beat. She guiltily avoided his gaze. "No... you know how good I am with locks. Who could possibly find out?"
"That's good. We can't afford any complications right now..."
"Master Lu!"
Qing Bao's voice rang out loudly from outside.
"What is she doing here?" Lu Ming stood up.
"Master Lu, our Miss requests your presence at Tingnuan Tower."
Lu Ming frowned. "I'll go take a look. It's the perfect time to ask what Prince Jin was in such a hurry to see her about."
"Master..."
Madame Lu tried to call him back, but she was a step too late. Lu Ming had already strode out.
"Could that brat have actually noticed something?" Madame Lu hesitated for a moment before chasing after him.
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