Chapter 23: Picking Up Money Everywhere

Lu Zhaoling looked at these few pouches and recalled that they were the gifts the "poor little Lu" had prepared for the Lu family.

The "poor little Lu" had known that she would be unwelcome upon returning to the Lu household in the capital. She was also aware that there were hidden reasons for her being abandoned in the countryside for ten years, but being powerless and alone, she only wanted to get along with them temporarily. She hoped to establish a foothold in the capital first and then slowly uncover the truth about what happened years ago.

That was why she had prepared gifts for everyone in the Lu family. However, as she had been treated like a beast of burden in the countryside and had suffered immensely, she naturally could not prepare anything of value. The small pouches were sewn from scraps of fabric she had saved for a long time, containing handmade silk flowers. Three others were filled with a few stones she had picked up from the river behind the mountain—very beautiful ones she had intended to give to the three young masters of the Lu family.

But now that these items were in Lu Zhaoling’s hands, they would certainly not be given away. They did not deserve such thoughtfulness.

Lu Zhaoling poured the small stones onto the table, and her gaze was immediately drawn to two small, dark green rounded stones. These two pebbles actually contained vital energy. What was the use of this energy? Simply put, if placed in a fish tank, the fish would not die from lack of oxygen, and if placed at the roots of green plants, they would thrive!

She herself was in urgent need of such vital energy, as it would help her cultivation recover as quickly as possible. Lu Zhaoling had not expected such a harvest.

She remembered something else. A few years ago, because the people of the old Lu family wanted to snatch a pendant from her, she had dug a hole by the river behind the mountain and buried it there. When she was suddenly summoned back to the capital, she had been too worried about dealing with the Lu family to go back and retrieve it; it remained hidden there. It seemed that after her health improved, she would have to make a trip back to the countryside to retrieve that pendant. She remembered it was a keepsake from her mother.

"Miss, the Lu family has gone too far." Qingbao returned, complaining indignantly. "Yesterday, I clearly told the kitchen staff that you were injured and needed light, nourishing food, but look at what they sent for breakfast today!"

She brought over a tray containing a small dish of pickles—looking bright red and likely quite spicy—and a bun the size of a small fist. The bun looked yellowish, clearly made from inferior flour. Lu Zhaoling picked it up and squeezed it; it was hard as a rock, likely leftovers from the previous day.

"What about your breakfast?" she asked, tossing the bun back onto the plate.

Qingbao looked aggrieved. "Qingyin and I each only got a bun."

And they were missing a dish of pickles. It was clearly a deliberate attempt to bully their mistress.

Qingyin brought over some warm water and sighed, "Miss, I just asked the housekeeper for some fine salt for you to wash up, and he only gave me this small bottle." She handed over a small bamboo tube containing yellowish salt grains.

In the Prince’s manor, they would use fine-bristled willow twigs dipped in fine salt to brush their teeth; this was standard for families in the capital, though the quality of the items varied. However, these yellowish salt grains were something only poor commoners used. It was clear that the Lu family intended to disgust Lu Zhaoling with these petty things.

"Madam Lu said that Master Lu is an upright official with clean hands, and since the household has many mouths to feed, they have to be frugal with everything, including food and clothing. She told you not to be angry." Remembering the smug and provocative expression on Madam Lu’s face when she said those words, Qingyin felt her teeth itch with irritation.

Lu Zhaoling stood up and asked Qingbao, "Do you know how to braid a decorative cord? Help me string these up."

Qingbao actually knew how. "I'll take the stones to get them drilled." Without a hole, they couldn't be strung. But the two small stones were beautiful, almost like jade.

Lu Zhaoling casually removed a silver hairpin from Qingbao’s hair and poked the tip against the small stones. *Pop.* With one poke for each, the pin pierced cleanly through the stones.

Qingbao and Qingyin stared in shock. Wait, didn't the Miss have no martial arts skills? Neither of them could have managed that!

"I'll go get the colorful cord right away," Qingbao said, hurrying off.

Lu Zhaoling washed up and glanced at the bun again.

"Miss, why don't I go tell the Prince?" Qingyin suggested. The Prince would surely stand up for her.

Lu Zhaoling shook her head. "No need. Help me go for a walk outside. I'm going to pick up some silver."

"Pick up silver?" Qingyin was puzzled, but she obediently helped Lu Zhaoling out of the room.

The "poor little Lu" didn't have a single copper coin to her name. She couldn't always rely on the Prince of Jin to fight her battles, and with her head injury and her spirit still unstable, she wasn't going to fight Madam Lu directly for now—but the Lu family would definitely suffer some financial losses over the next few days.

Lu Zhaoling had always had excellent luck with money. Furthermore, she could calculate the flow of wealth, especially the wealth that had been lost. The weather was quite nice today.

Once outside, Lu Zhaoling stood in the courtyard and surveyed her surroundings. Although the Tingnuan Pavilion courtyard was small, it was filled with lush flowers and plants. It was said that whenever the ladies of the Lu family hosted banquets, they were almost always held here. Lu Zhaoyun and Lu Zhaoyue often invited their friends here to chat, drink tea, and admire the flowers.

Qingyin helped Lu Zhaoling walk, unsure of what her mistress was planning. A moment later, Lu Zhaoling pointed in a direction and said, "Move those two ornamental stones and take out what's inside."

"Ah?" Qingyin was stunned for a moment, then replied, "Yes."

Lu Zhaoling was pointing at two stones next to a cluster of purple chrysanthemums. They weren't very large, but an ordinary young girl shouldn't have been able to move them. There was a gap between the stones, and they were covered in moss, suggesting they had been there for a long time. Qingyin didn't know what was there, but she obediently moved the stones.

Once the stones were moved, an earring was revealed in the crevice below. Qingyin picked it up in surprise. It was a solid gold earring with significant weight. She weighed it in her hand, inspected the style, and hurried back to hand it to Lu Zhaoling.

"Miss, I’ve seen this earring at the Mingbao Pavilion in the capital. A pair sold for fifty taels, so this single one should be worth twenty-five taels of silver." Of course, there was craftsmanship involved. If melted down into a gold nugget, it would be worth less, but it should still fetch twenty taels.

"Good, keep it. Go and exchange it for silver."

Qingyin was excited. "Miss, how did you know there was gold there?" Twenty taels wasn't much to her after ten years in the Prince’s manor, but the way they had found it was exhilarating!

"There was a small aura of wealth there," Lu Zhaoling said.

Aura of wealth? Qingyin didn't quite understand, but she didn't ask further because Lu Zhaoling pointed in another direction.

"Dig under that tree."

This time, Qingyin didn't hesitate; she ran over and began to dig. A moment later, she unearthed a small silver box, no bigger than a palm and slightly dented.

"Break it open," Lu Zhaoling said.