Chapter 30: Going Too Far

Lu Zhaoling rubbed her forehead, feeling a slight headache.

"Is there a way to get a message to him? I’ll go to the palace gate and wait for him; it won’t take much of his time."

She just needed to get close to him, to siphon off a few breaths of his energy. In a way, he owed it to her. If she hadn't entered the palace yesterday to save him and preserve a sliver of the Retired Emperor's life, why would she be so weak right now?

Qingyin and Qingbao exchanged glances. Both maids were incredibly curious as to why Lu Zhaoling insisted on seeing the Prince at such a time, but they dared not ask.

"There must be a way within the Prince's residence." Even if the Prince had entered the palace, the Prince's residence would certainly have a way to send a message inside.

"Qingyin, you go find someone from the Prince's residence to deliver the message. Qingbao, you and I will go ahead and prepare to wait at the palace gate."

"Understood."

Qingyin dared not delay and hurried back to the Jin Prince's residence.

Qingbao wanted to grab a cloak for Lu Zhaoling. She was injured, and since they were going out, what if the wind was strong? But the thought had barely crossed her mind when she remembered that her mistress was penniless. Apart from the silver she had just retrieved today, she only had the ill-fitting clothes she was currently wearing and three patched-up old garments in the bundle the Prince had helped her retrieve.

Qingbao felt a wave of sorrow. Who would understand? Her mistress was truly miserable!

Lu Zhaoling did not notice the maid’s sorrow. She wrapped up the root carving again and held it in her arms. "Let’s go."

"Miss, let me carry it," Qingbao said, reaching out to take the carving, unable to bear the sight of her mistress holding it herself.

Lu Zhaoling dodged. "It’s not safe for you to hold."

She hugged the carving and headed outside. Qingbao paused for a moment before hurriedly following.

To get to the Imperial Palace, walking was certainly not feasible. Even though Lu Zhaoling had once been able to ride the wind—so fast that no carriage could catch her—she was now nothing more than an incredibly weak mortal on foot.

When the steward heard she wanted a carriage, he looked troubled. "Second Miss, there are no spare carriages left in the house."

Qingbao was furious. "No carriages?" Lu Ming was, after all, an official in the Ministry of Rites, and the residence they lived in was quite large. Looking at the clothes and jewelry worn by the women of the Lu family, they were certainly not poor. How could they claim there were no carriages?

"Master has gone to the palace and taken one carriage. Another belongs to the Madam, who has an appointment with several other ladies and is about to leave. And there is one more, which the Eldest Miss is using."

So, there were still carriages? The Eldest Miss’s carriage was also property of the Lu manor. Her mistress was a young lady of the Lu manor as well.

Qingbao suppressed her anger and decided to try reasoning. "Then just let it take our mistress first. We are not leaving the city; it won’t take long."

If Lu Zhaoyun wasn’t leaving immediately, borrowing the carriage shouldn't be a big deal, right?

The steward’s eyes flickered, and he called over a servant. "Go ask the Eldest Miss; tell her the Second Miss wants to borrow a carriage."

The servant glanced at Lu Zhaoling with contempt and darted off. Within the blink of an eye, he returned. He did not even look at Lu Zhaoling as he said, in a casual tone, "Steward, the Eldest Miss says she might need the carriage later, so she cannot lend it out."

The steward looked at Lu Zhaoling with an apologetic smile. "Second Miss, the Eldest Miss needs the carriage too, you see... this is..."

Qingbao said angrily, "He was gone for so little time, he couldn't have even seen her! He didn't even ask; he's clearly trying to fool us!"

Hearing her indignant accusation, the servant wore an expression of total indifference. "Who is fooling you? That carriage belongs to the Eldest Miss."

Although the Second Miss had been betrothed to the Prince of Jin by imperial decree, no one in the Lu family took it seriously. This was because Madam Lu and Lu Zhaoyun had casually remarked that the Prince of Jin would be in mourning for at least a year. The betrothal had been so sudden that it was highly likely the Retired Emperor had been on his deathbed when the Prince entered the palace. The Retired Emperor had wanted to see the Prince married before he passed, so the decree was likely just a way to soothe the Retired Emperor and let him depart in peace.

As for why Lu Zhaoling was chosen, it was only because she held the status of an official’s daughter without being of high nobility; she could be sacrificed to save face, and there would be no need to worry about family opposition if the engagement were called off later. If it had been any other noble lady in the capital, who would be willing to be used by the Prince of Jin so casually?

Lu Zhaoling had been chosen precisely because she had offended the Prince, and he couldn't be bothered to pick anyone else. So, wanting to be the Princess of Jin? That was highly unlikely.

Everyone in the Lu household felt this theory held water. Since Lu Zhaoling would eventually be cast aside by the Prince, how could they possibly treat her as the future Princess of Jin?

"You!" Qingbao was furious and stepped forward, ready to strike.

Lu Zhaoling pulled her back. "I’m in a hurry." She didn't have time to bicker with them now; she would deal with them later.

"Miss, they are bullying you too much!" Qingbao’s eyes were red with rage.

"Let’s get out of here first." Lu Zhaoling glanced at the steward and the servant. With a light flick of her finger, she borrowed a trace of black energy from the root carving and flicked it into the servant’s body.

"Second Miss, take care," the steward said, bowing slightly with a look of feigned politeness, though a contemptuous smile curled his lips as he looked down. *Look at that, what can she possibly do?*

Watching Lu Zhaoling leave, the servant’s eyes darted around. "I’m going to tell the Eldest Miss so she can be on guard against her trying to borrow the carriage again."

"You little rascal, you’re just trying to get a reward, aren't you?" the steward teased.

"Heh heh, Father, don't expose me." It turned out this young servant was the steward’s son.

Lu Zhaoling walked out of the gate and toward the bustling street ahead.

"Miss, why do the people in the Lu family treat you like this?" Qingbao still couldn't suppress her anger. Besides, how was her mistress going to walk all the way to the Imperial Palace?

Lu Zhaoling smiled. "Qingbao, it's not worth getting angry over people like them."

"But they are bullying you."

"Am I someone so easily bullied?" Lu Zhaoling said. "I am a very petty person, so they will be in for some bad luck very soon."

Qingbao blinked. "Can you read fortunes, Miss?" Otherwise, how could she know they were about to have bad luck?

Lu Zhaoling’s expression remained indifferent, and she said nothing more. She would have her revenge. Qingbao would understand once she returned.

Seeing that she didn't answer, Qingbao was itching with curiosity but dared not press further. She had to change the subject. "But Miss, what should we do now?" If she had known, she would have asked Qingyin to bring a carriage from the Prince's residence to pick up her mistress. But going back and forth would waste time.

As they spoke, they arrived at a busy street. It was called "busy," but there were just many people; because of the mourning period for the Retired Emperor, the pedestrians and vendors dared not make much noise. There were no hawkers shouting or street performers on the corners.

Lu Zhaoling stood there and looked around. She saw a carriage parked outside a shop ahead, and a maid was just helping a lady into it. She paused for a moment and walked in that direction.

"Excuse me, Madam."

Madam Wu had just stepped into the carriage when she heard a clear, crisp voice. She raised her eyes to look, and was taken aback.