"Water alone won't wash it off. Come back."
Lu Zhaoling called out to Qing Yin.
Qing Yin could only walk back.
"Hold out your hand."
Qing Yin extended her right hand before her, looking at Lu Zhaoling in confusion.
Lu Zhaoling's hand gently covered hers.
Qing Yin suddenly felt her hand grow cold.
Lu Zhaoling moved her hand away and lightly flicked it.
Qing Yin looked at her hand, her pupils contracting. Because in that short time, she clearly saw a layer of gray-black dust gradually emerge from the skin of her palm and fingers.
It was as if her hand was stained with soot.
But her hand had been perfectly clean before!
And she had watched that layer of gray-black ooze out from her skin with her own eyes!
"Go soak mugwort and pomegranate leaves in water and wash three times," Lu Zhaoling said.
Qing Yin immediately turned and ran out.
Because she was in such a hurry, she almost bumped into Qing Ling as she exited the door.
"Qing Yin, why are you so clumsy?" Qing Ling was startled. Nanny Qing had taught them never to be so clumsy, so what was wrong with Qing Yin?
She then saw Qing Yin's raised hand. "Why is your hand so dirty?"
Qing Yin's voice trembled slightly. "I-I'll go wash my hands first!"
With her hand still raised, she couldn't do anything else until it was clean!
Qing Ling watched her run off in a hurry, then entered the room confused.
"Miss Lu, Qing Yin, she—"
"Her hand was just dirty," Lu Zhaoling said weakly, leaning on the bed. "Is something wrong?"
"This servant has prepared hot water. Does Miss Lu wish to bathe?"
Lu Zhaoling immediately sat up.
"Of course."
Qing Ling helped her go bathe.
Meanwhile, Qing Yin went to the kitchen to ask for mugwort and pomegranate leaves but was met with resistance.
The kitchen servants rolled their eyes at her several times.
"Who has time to find those things for you now? We're busy!"
Turning her head, she sneered at the person next to her, "I don't know where these two wild servants came from. They're just servants themselves,
yet they're putting on airs in front of us. That one just came to boil a large pot of hot water, and this one wants pomegranate leaves."
"Exactly. We're already busy enough serving the legitimate masters of the estate. Now we have to run errands for them? Bah."
Qing Yin's expression turned cold.
When Qing Feng sent them over, he had directed them straight to Ting Nuan Tower. The Lu Manor's steward only knew that Qing Feng was Prince Jin's guard,
but he wasn't clear about these two maids—whether Prince Jin had sent them to temporarily monitor Lu Zhaoling or to care for her.
So, he hadn't mentioned much to the servants, only saying that two outside maids would temporarily be at Ting Nuan Tower.
These kitchen staff truly didn't know that they were sent by Prince Jin.
"You can also tell me where to pick pomegranate leaves, and I'll go pick them myself," Qing Yin said.
In the imperial city of Great Zhou, families commonly planted pomegranates because they symbolized numerous offspring and blessings. This was especially true for well-off families and high officials.
Mugwort was also typically kept in residences. Servants would burn some in summer to repel mosquitoes, and if a madam or young lady caught a cold, it might be used to boil water for bathing.
Therefore, these two items were not difficult to find.
"The courtyard is only so big. Go look for them yourself. Do you expect us to drop our work and pick them for you?" the servant woman said.
The Madam and Eldest Young Lady clearly disliked the Second Young Lady, so what status could someone from the countryside have? Especially these two who were temporarily serving her.
"I can go pick the pomegranate leaves myself. Where is the mugwort?" Qing Yin suppressed her anger.
This was the Lu Manor.
They themselves weren't quite sure if the Prince intended for them to stay with Lu Zhaoling permanently or just to care for her during her injury, after which they would return to Prince Jin's Manor.
"Doesn't mugwort have a smell? Just follow the scent, and you'll find it," the servant woman pushed her away. "Go away, go away, our Madam and Eldest Young Lady want to eat bird's nest. Don't delay things!"
The Eldest Young Lady, they heard, had been slapped by the Second Young Lady and cried so much she couldn't eat anything all day. How pitiful.
Qing Yin gritted her teeth.
She turned and went to the garden, quickly finding a pomegranate tree and picking some branches and leaves. As for the mugwort, she would just have to find it!
Based on experience, it was usually in the utility room next to the kitchen.
By the time she found the mugwort and returned to Ting Nuan Tower, she had soaked these two items in water and washed her hands once, but the layer of black grime still hadn't completely come off.
It took three washes to finally clean them.
Qing Yin was shocked. It really did take three washes!
She had tried with plain water before, and it didn't come off at all.
After Lu Zhaoling finished bathing and came out, Qing Yin went in to help her dry her hair, her mood very complex. Several times she opened her mouth but didn't know what to ask.
Lu Zhaoling's injury on the back of her head, she noticed while drying her hair, had healed quite a bit.
Originally, they thought her injury was too severe to wash her hair, but Lu Zhaoling insisted, so Qing Ling could only carefully wash it bit by bit.
Over there, Prince Jin placed the Retired Emperor's spirit tablet on the ancestral temple's altar.
He knelt and kowtowed, looking at the spirit tablet, then thought of Lu Zhaoling and couldn't help but say in a low voice.
"Imperial Father, the girl you saw before, her name is Lu Zhaoling. Your son wants to get engaged to her. Do you agree?"
As soon as he finished speaking, the spirit tablet suddenly clattered and fell over.
Prince Jin was startled.
There was no wind here.
He got up and set the spirit tablet upright.
"This is also a spirit tablet your daughter-in-law helped write. It's placed here, close to the Imperial Palace and Prince Jin's Manor. Are you happy?"
Clatter!
The spirit tablet fell down again.
Prince Jin frowned. What was going on? He had already had a base made for it, and it was clearly stable on the altar!
He picked up the spirit tablet again, and this time, he tried shaking it; it was indeed stable.
"You want me to marry the daughter of Prime Minister Shen, but I'm not interested in that girl and won't marry her. You know my body, I'm afraid there's no hope for heirs, so I don't want any secondary consorts or concubines."
Before he could finish his sentence, for the third time, clatter!
The spirit tablet fell down again, landing heavily on the table.
Prince Jin was utterly stunned.
He picked up the spirit tablet, this time saying nothing more, and turned to leave the ancestral temple.
Behind him, amidst the curling incense smoke, the Retired Emperor's spirit tablet stood quietly.
Qingfu Marquisate.
Zhu Minghao, the heir apparent, had just woken up and was shouting loudly.
"That bitch! How dare she hit this heir apparent! Ow ow ow, it hurts so much!"
Marquis Qingfu and his wife were both by his bedside, looking at him with pained hearts.
"Son, don't move. The medicine was just applied; don't rub it off."
"That little bitch, bring her back to me. I'll whip her a hundred eighty times and strip her clothes off before whipping her!"
The more Zhu Minghao shouted, the more his whole body hurt, making him yell in pain, but in his heart, he venomously hated Lu Zhaoling.
"And Prince Jin!" He turned to look at Marquis Qingfu. "Father, please go to the palace for me and find the Empress Dowager. Tell her that I was bullied by Prince Jin and ask her to get justice for me!"
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