Seeing the unprecedented disappointment on Haitang's face, she took the initiative to hold Haitang's hand and apologized: "Haitang, I'm sorry, I was too excited just now, I shouldn't have said those words."
Haitang turned her head away, unwilling to look at her.
Xin Yi apologized for a long time, and then her mood gradually calmed down and she turned back to find Lu Ling.
^^^
At this time, Lu Ling was still flipping through the account books in the room, drawing with a brush in his hand, and several black ink spots were splashed on his chest and clothes.
Because she hadn't slept enough in the past two days, there were two groups of light blue marks on her eyes, and there were also a few red blood streaks on her eyeballs.
When Haitang came in, she put her left hand wrapped in thick gauze on the table and used only her right hand to turn pages and write, which seemed a bit clumsy.
"Miss..." Haitang walked over slowly.
"What's wrong?" Lu Ling asked, staring at the account book, "Did the maid choose the right one?"
"Well..." Haitang faltered, "Originally I chose Mo'er who lives in the young master's room, but..."
Lu Ling's writing hand paused and he looked up at Haitang.
Haitang sighed deeply and quickly explained: "Miss, I was asking Mo'er if she would like it, but Xin Yi accidentally overheard her and she said she wanted to serve the young master..."
Lu Ling put down the pen in his hand.
She wasn't too surprised.
After thinking for a moment, she asked Haitang: "Does Xin Yi really want to serve Acheng?"
Haitang nodded: "She is very determined."
Lu Ling lowered his eyes and thought for a while, then said:
"Okay, in that case, you go and tell Xin Yi that I will think about it in the next few days and let her take care of her mother with all her heart and not slack off."
Haitang raised her eyebrows and said unexpectedly: "Miss, do you want to promise Xin Yi?"
Lu Ling shook his head: "Not sure yet. Let's talk about it in two days."
Haitang said oh.
Since the young lady said she had been thinking about it for a few days, it meant that Xin Yi still had hope.
She quickly conveyed Lu Ling's words to Xin Yi.
And Lu Ling, the reason why he said this was to drag Xin Yi.
Now she is still doubting Butler Du and will need to confirm it in two days.
If Butler Du is loyal, Lu Ling will naturally fulfill Xin Yi's wish.
But if Butler Du really did something to harm the Lu family, there was no way Lu Ling would let him go.
When the time comes, Xin Yi will not serve his mother or his younger brother with all his heart.
On the other side, Xin Yi heard that Lu Ling wanted to think about it and asked her to take good care of Mrs. Lu. She felt happy and thought that she would definitely be able to do so.
With joy in her heart, she showed great patience when taking care of Mrs. Lu.
When she was free, she ran to Lu Cheng's study and found an excuse to make tea for him and study ink...
Two days later, Lu Ling finally went through the Lu family's account books for the past three years.
At noon, Haitang came in from the outside and said in confusion: "Miss, Manager Liu is waiting for you at the corner gate. He also brought two strangers with him and mysteriously said he wanted to see you!"
After Lu Ling heard this, he put down his work and went to see him.
However, when Haitang returned to the house after a while, she saw that her face was covered with dark clouds.
"Miss, what happened?"
Lu Ling sighed deeply, raised his eyes and asked Haitang: "Tell me, how likely is it that a servant who has been with the master for more than twenty years will betray the master?"
Haitang was stunned and quickly shook his head: "Miss, I don't know. But I will never betray you!"
Lu Ling looked at Haitang's worried face and smiled bitterly: "I believe you."
Haitang breathed a sigh of relief.
"Uncle Du has been busy in the ink-making workshop since I came back?"
"Yes, miss, Butler Du has done his best for our Lu family."
Lu Ling didn't respond. He stood up and said, "Let's go, take me to find those account books, and let's go to the workshop to take a look."
"Miss," Haitang was stunned, "I heard that the ink-making workshop is dirty and messy, and your injury hasn't healed yet, so you have to go there again -"
"No need to say so much, just follow me." Lu Ling went to get a cloak from the clothes rack, put it on and walked out.
He ran into Song Wenzhou head-on.
But seeing a letter in his hand, he opened his mouth and said, "Ling'er, a letter from father..."
Lu Ling didn't even look at him, as if he was nothing more than air.
Song Wenzhou frowned and took steps to catch up.
"Ling'er, where are you going?"
Lu Ling suddenly stopped and turned his head to look at the letter in his hand.
"What did your father say in the letter?"
"Father said that I need to go back to manage the family, and my eldest brother is back from the army this month. I want to ask how you are recovering from your injury. When will you return to the Song family?"
Hearing this, Lu Ling lowered his eyes and thought for a while, then raised his head and stretched out his right hand to touch his chest, saying: "I've been hurting my muscles and bones for a hundred days, and I'm afraid I won't be able to bear the bumps for a while.
"Since my eldest brother is coming back, I need you to prepare for the reception at home. You can go back first and pick me up again in a month."
Song Wenzhou squinted his eyes when he heard this, looked at her outfit, and then asked, "Are you going out?"
Lu Ling raised his eyebrows and smiled: "I'll go to the ink-making workshop to have a look."
Song Wenzhou's eyebrows twitched subconsciously, he paused, and said with a smile: "I heard that the ink-making workshop is very dirty. Ling'er is so delicate and clean. What are you doing there?"
Lu Ling sneered and said, "I'm not some delicate lady. I'm not afraid of getting dirty, and I don't need my husband to worry about me. Oh, go back quickly. I'll have someone prepare a carriage for you."
Song Wenzhou put the letter in his sleeve and said, "If you're not busy, I'll go with you to learn more."
Lu Ling gave him a puzzled look, somewhat doubting his purpose of following him.
After a while, the servant hitched a carriage and drove the two of them to the ink-making workshop.
The workshop is four miles away from Lu Mansion. The road is paved with gravel, which is smooth and easy to walk on, and also convenient for transporting raw materials and finished products in and out.
As soon as the carriage stopped, Song Wenzhou saw in front of him a workshop that was three times the size of the Lu family's house.
There are more than a dozen large vats placed at the entrance of the workshop. In front of each vat stands a man holding a wooden stick, vigorously stirring the mixture of tung oil and lard in the vat.
When the workers heard the noise, they stopped what they were doing and looked up.
They didn't know these two people.
The coachman driving the horse hurriedly stepped forward and said, "The eldest lady and uncle are here. Call Butler Du out quickly."
Um?
Miss? A married lady?
The workers working in the field all showed some astonishment.
After taking a closer look, everyone's eyes showed some surprise:
Miss, she looks so eye-catching?
A shirtless young man licked his lips and diligently went inside to call Butler Du.
After a while, Butler Du ran out of the workshop in a hurry. He was still five or six steps away from Lu Ling. He said with concern: "Miss, why are you here in person? It's full of smoke and dust. Your dress is stained."
He never expected that Lu Ling would come.
After all, during the more than twenty years he has been in the Lu family, he has grown up watching Lu Ling.
In the past, when Mr. Lu was still alive, Lu Ling refused every time he wanted to take Lu Ling to the ink-making workshop.
At that time she was most afraid of getting dirty.
