Qingfeng was a bit stunned by Lu Zhaoling's words.
He looked at Lu Zhaoling in disbelief.
The tightly clasped hands and the mutual affection he had seen earlier were fake? How could she turn around and talk about the price? And three thousand taels at that!
Good heavens, with that one sentence, the Second Miss dispelled all the deep affection in that room.
Qingfeng sympathetically shifted his gaze to his own Prince.
Sure enough, the Prince's face was a bit dark.
"You go to Granny Qing to get the silver." Jin Wang's words were spoken with a bit of gritted teeth.
Lu Zhaoling heard it, though.
In front of them, she didn't say anything, nodding and walking out.
"Miss."
"Second Miss Lu, how is the Prince?"
Qingyin, Qingbao, and Granny Qing all came to greet her.
The steward, not caring about anything else, quickly entered the room with Assistant Physician Fu, preparing to help prepare a medicinal bath for the Prince.
The Prince was solitary and exceptionally handsome. Starting from the age of ten, maids had repeatedly tried various means to stick to him or put their personal belongings on his bed. After several such incidents, no women were allowed to enter the Prince's room.
Although this ban did not include Granny Qing, she consciously abided by it.
Even when she could enter, the Empress Dowager often used her status to pressure her into "sending" things into the Prince's room.
For example, she would bestow clothes on her, and when she entered the Prince's room wearing those clothes, she would leave a scent in the room as she moved.
She herself had been secretly given an antidote, but the Prince did not have one.
The Prince was only about ten years old at the time, and they had actually used a drug on him to stimulate lust.
That time, the Prince soaked himself in cold water for a full half hour until Assistant Physician Fu came to give him acupuncture to detoxify him.
Since that time, Granny Qing consciously followed the rule of not entering the Prince's bedroom.
Those who could enter were Qingfeng, Qinglin, and others, who all had martial arts skills and had been following the Prince for a long time. It was not so easy to tamper with them.
Even the steward, Yun Bo, actually had martial arts skills, but outsiders didn't know.
"He won't die for now."
Lu Zhaoling answered Granny Qing's words, but when she saw a layer of greyish-black on Granny Qing's face, she paused.
"Thank you for your hard work, Second Miss. Please sit here. Have a cup of tea, eat some snacks, and rest for a while."
Granny Qing didn't notice that Lu Zhaoling's eyes were a little off; she was still greeting her.
Fu Cheng noticed, though. He looked at Lu Zhaoling and then at Granny Qing.
Was there something wrong?
"Miss, did you see something?" Qingyin was also observant; she noticed it too.
Qingbao was still confused. "What did Miss see?"
She looked around, but she didn't see anything strange.
Granny Qing looked at Lu Zhaoling in confusion after hearing Qingyin's words.
"Don't go under the pagoda tree tomorrow." Lu Zhaoling said this to Granny Qing.
Granny Qing was taken aback for a moment but quickly smiled and spoke gently, "I'll listen to whatever the Second Miss says. However, there are no pagoda trees planted in the Prince's mansion, and this old woman rarely goes out."
The Second Miss Lu's talismans might be powerful, and she might have some real skills, but she wouldn't necessarily understand everything. If she could really calculate everything without omission, wouldn't that be like a living immortal?
But she respected Lu Zhaoling and naturally wouldn't let her lose face, only smiling and agreeing.
Lu Zhaoling didn't have the habit of chasing after people to make sure they promised.
She said what she had to say, but she couldn't control whether others listened or not.
She sat down, picked up a teacup, took a sip, and looked up to meet Fu Cheng's overly bright eyes.
Second Miss Lu was finally looking at him!
"Fu Cheng greets Second Miss Lu!" He quickly bowed.
A teenager in his teens, sunny and handsome, his mood written all over his face.
"Is your body alright?" Lu Zhaoling nodded to him, asking politely.
After all, she had accepted silver from the Fu family before. Asking this was like after-sales service?
Fu Cheng was delighted, feeling that Lu Zhaoling must be concerned about him. His face was a little hot. "I'm fine now. I listened to your advice. I've been sunbathing in the courtyard when the sun is good these days."
After saying this, he asked Lu Zhaoling if there was anything else he should pay attention to, whether he needed to supplement his diet or avoid certain foods.
Granny Qing glanced at Fu Cheng.
Was Assistant Physician Fu's grandson usually such a talkative person? And why was his face a little red when he spoke?
He looked about the same age as Second Miss Lu...
Lu Zhaoling answered Fu Cheng a few words, drank a cup of tea, ate a piece of snack, and then turned to Granny Qing.
"This time I made a house call, the fee is three thousand taels. Jin Wang said to get it from you."
Fu Cheng's heart skipped a beat.
Second Miss Lu was also charging silver for helping Jin Wang?
Then—
Her position in Jin Wang's heart wasn't much different from his?
Granny Qing was also a little surprised, but she didn't show it. "Please wait a moment, Second Miss. I'll go get it."
A maid who came in to add tea followed her out with the teapot.
"Granny!"
Granny Qing slowed her steps and looked at her. "What is it?"
Previously, Qingyin and Qingbao had been making tea, but later the wait was a little long, so Granny Qing asked someone to add tea.
Qingyin and Qingbao were originally prepared for the Prince. After the two maids left, there were no maids in the Prince's courtyard.
Today, this was a second-class maid called Liuer, who had been called from the front yard.
Liuer followed Granny Qing, a little curious. "Was that Second Miss Lu just now the one who was betrothed to the Prince?"
"Yes."
"Then what is she doing here today? Could it be that she has become a disciple of Physician Fu and wants to learn medicine?"
Just now, Second Miss Lu said 'house call'...
Was she making a house call with Physician Fu? Liuer hadn't been qualified to enter the Prince's courtyard before, and she didn't know what had happened.
"Of course not." Granny Qing was also very kind to the servants in the mansion. "Second Miss has some skills. Anyway, remember, in the future, when Second Miss comes to the Prince's mansion, you must serve her well."
Liuer's eyes flashed, her tone puzzled. "But she's the future Princess Consort, why does she still need to charge the Prince money? And three thousand taels right off the bat."
Granny Qing didn't know what Lu Zhaoling was doing in the room, but Physician Fu and Qingfeng and others trusted Second Miss Lu very much. She must have done something important.
"This is a matter between the Prince and Second Miss."
As a servant, asking so much was wrong. Granny Qing also saw that Liuer was still young and had more patience to teach her.
In the future, when Second Miss married in, the back courtyard would always need a few more maids to serve her. The Prince didn't need them, but the Princess Consort would.
Liuer was beautiful and seemed to be quick and efficient. In the future, she could let her follow Qingyin and Qingbao and become a second-class maid in the Princess Consort's courtyard.
"Don't ask too many questions, but you can do more work. Go get a basin of water and let Second Miss Lu wash her hands." Granny Qing said.
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