Lu Zhaoling slept until the sun was high in the sky.
When she got up, there was a bundle placed on the table.
Perhaps because she felt it was dirty, a piece of cloth had been placed underneath it.
She thought it looked familiar and after a moment, she remembered that this was the bundle that 'she' had brought back from the countryside.
When the Lu family had sent someone to the countryside to pick her up, the pitiful Lu had only packed such a bundle, and even had to hide it from those people in the old Lu family in the countryside.
But when she was robbed on her way back to the capital, the bundle had been lost.
"Miss, the Wangye told me to bring this back," Qingyin said.
Lu Zhaoling was surprised. "He actually had the time to help me pick up a bundle?"
Moreover, how did he find it? Even she couldn't remember where she had lost it.
However, she had thought about calculating the bundle's whereabouts once she felt better, so this saved her the trouble.
"The Wangye said that it was found on a mountain road not far from the capital," Qingyin said.
Lu Zhaoling got up and walked to the table, opening the bundle.
"What else did your Wangye say?" she asked.
Qingyin hesitated and took out two folded sheets of paper, presenting them to her with both hands.
"Regarding the question you asked us yesterday, Miss, this is mine and Qingbao's contract of indenture, according to Wangye's instructions."
Lu Zhaoling glanced at the two contracts of indenture, "Prince Jin doesn't want you anymore?"
Hearing those words, Qingyin and Qingbao smiled bitterly at the same time.
"Miss, the Wangye told us to choose for ourselves."
Qingling, who was more talkative, explained more carefully to Lu Zhaoling.
"We have been taught by Granny Qing all along. Originally, we were waiting for the Wangye to return to the capital, and Qingyin and I would become first-class maids, personally attending to the Wangye."
Lu Zhaoling's gaze swept across their faces.
"Personally, huh....."
Was it the kind of personally she was thinking about?
She had heard that the young masters of some noble families had their head maids as bed warmers.
Handmaidens.
They felt that there had to be someone in their room to prevent these young masters from going wild outside. After all, those raised by their side knew everything.
Lu Zhaoling's ambiguous words made the two maids' faces flush red.
They didn't deny it.
Because that's how Granny Qing had always trained them.
"But the Wangye said that he doesn't need anyone in his room. Even if we return to the residence, we'll basically only be doing the work of second-class maids."
In reality, Prince Jin had also said something very cold.
"If anyone dares to try to climb into my bed, I don't mind personally chopping them up and throwing them out to feed the wolves."
At the time, they had seen the killing intent in the Wangye's eyes.
But there was no need to tell Miss Lu those words, right?
Lu Zhaoling raised an eyebrow. Was Prince Jin really so self-disciplined?
Could it just be because he was afraid of people seeing the strange shadow serpent on his chest?
But he could just not take off his clothes.
Bah. Lu Zhaoling felt that her thoughts were getting a little immoral. She quickly reined them in.
"Then isn't it better for you to stay in the Prince Jin's Residence?"
Qingyin pulled Qingbao down to kneel.
"Miss, Qingyin and I have thought about it carefully and we both want to follow you."
Qingyin had told Qingling about her killing someone last night and about how Lu Zhaoling had helped her wash away the invisible filth on her hands.
Now, the Emperor had even bestowed a marriage upon Lu Zhaoling. In the future, she would be the future Princess Consort Jin.
"The Prince's Residence doesn't lack maids, but there's no one by Miss's side," Qingling said.
Yesterday, they had seen Miss having to face the entire Lu family alone, and they felt sorry for her.
If it weren't for them here, no one in the Lu Residence would have even poured tea or water for Lu Zhaoling, and even her daily meals were haphazard.
They weren't at ease.
Moreover, as long as Lu Zhaoling truly married the Wangye in the future, they could still return to the Prince Jin's Residence with her.
The two handed over the contracts of indenture that they had retrieved to Lu Zhaoling.
Lu Zhaoling, seeing their facial features, which were clearly different from yesterday, smiled slightly and accepted the contracts of indenture.
"Then you two can follow me from now on."
From the moment they willingly chose to follow her, the hint of death in their faces had disappeared.
Lu Zhaoling didn't tell them that if they stayed in the Prince Jin's Residence, they would both die within half a month.
Qingyin and Qingbao breathed a sigh of relief.
Actually, they didn't know why, but at the moment they offered their contracts of indenture, they both felt a sense of relief, as if a layer of dust had been brushed away.
Lu Zhaoling then said to Qingling, "Change your name. The character 'Ling' clashes with your destiny."
Qingling was stunned.
Lu Zhaoling was somewhat gratified that they had voluntarily chosen her, so she didn't mind saying a few more words to her.
"Do you not have a major illness every three years? Is it always in July? And do you get sick for no apparent reason?"
Qingling's eyes widened. She blurted out, "How does Miss know?"
It was true that Qingling would have a major illness every three years. Imperial Physician Fu was helpless, and she would be bedridden for ten days or so each time, losing several pounds before strangely recovering.
Even though she ate and lived with Qingyin, doing the same things, Qingyin was perfectly fine.
Even the Wangye didn't know about this, and Lu Zhaoling had just returned to the capital, so there was no way she could have investigated her affairs. But she just said it so easily.
Qingling immediately said, "Please bestow a name upon me, Miss!"
She believed it, she really believed it!
Lu Zhaoling looked at her again, "Just call yourself Qingbao."
There was also something else she didn't say. Since Qingling would be by her side often in the future, "Ling" sounded the same as "Ling" in her name. With her own strong destiny, Qingling would not prosper if she kept that name.
Giving her a silly name could perhaps elevate her destiny.
Qingling, or rather, Qingbao from now on, immediately knelt down and kowtowed to Lu Zhaoling.
"Qingbao thanks Miss for bestowing a name."
After getting up, she inexplicably felt that her body was much lighter.
She had been uneasy about being sent to the Lu Residence and hadn't been sleeping well. This morning, her nose was a little stuffy and she had a slight headache, but those symptoms had disappeared just now!
Seeing Qingbao's radiant expression, Qingyin quickly asked, "Miss, do I need to change my name too?"
"No, you don't."
"Yes, Miss. We'll go get breakfast and hot water."
"Go on."
After Qingyin and Qingbao withdrew, Lu Zhaoling opened the bundle.
Inside were several sets of neatly folded clothes.
Of course, they were all old clothes. Two sets even had patches on them, although the stitches were neat and tidy. There was also a set that looked better on the outside, without any patches, and the color was relatively bright, but when she turned it inside out—
There were even more patches.
Besides those, there were also some undergarments and a thin padded jacket, the cuffs of which were faded from washing, and the batting inside was thin and lumpy.
But these clothes had all been washed clean.
Tucked inside the clothes were a few sachets embroidered with fine cotton cloth.
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