Life After Being Claimed by the Disabled Dragon Lady - Chapter 50

Time flew by, and soon it was early summer.

The vegetables Long Ling planted in spring had yielded a great harvest. She had previously asked Butler Marcia to arrange for someone to plant strawberries. She thought Butler Marcia would have the farm manager plant about ten acres, but Butler Marcia had people plant a hundred acres of strawberries.

Long Ling stood on the field path, watching basket after basket of strawberries being transported out of the field. The strawberries were all plump and large, and their sweet, fragrant scent wafted directly into people’s noses.

“I didn’t ask Nora to buy that much plant nutrient solution, so why did everything ripen at once?”

Butler Marcia said beside her, “His Grace the Duke said you like to eat them, so we could plant more. The farm was short-handed, so we hired more farmers from outside. The plant nutrient solution and labor costs were all paid for by His Grace the Duke.”

Violet was usually so busy; would she really manage such trivial matters? Didn’t Violet dislike her doing such boring things the most?

Long Ling thought strawberries were delicious eaten fresh. The strawberries grown on her own farm were sweet and sour with a full, rich fruit flavor.

She remembered that Eloise had been helping her when the tavern first opened, providing many vegetables, which allowed her tavern to keep running. Long Ling had Nora load up a few cartloads of strawberries and sent them to Eloise as a gift of appreciation.

Also, due to the abundant harvest, Long Ling needed to process these strawberries quickly. To earn more money, she planned to ferment the strawberries that couldn’t be eaten in time into fruit wine or make them into jam and dried fruit; to pay off the part of the debt she owed Violet.

The liquor in the tavern had been out of stock for some time. She had read the daily operating logs Nora sent; the original aged wines in the tavern were completely sold out within three days.

The price of liquor was fifty times that of a dish. Furthermore, once brewed and stored, it could be sold at any time without needing to be made on demand. The longer it was stored, the better the taste and the higher the price.

In truth, it was also because she hadn’t left the manor. Even if she earned a lot of money, she had no way to spend it.

However, the days of counting money every day were also very happy. With Violet not in the manor, no one managed what she wanted to do.

The tavern’s daily income had gradually risen from the initial ten thousand silver coins to over one hundred thousand silver coins per day. Travelers occasionally rented the second-floor guest rooms for a period, which was an additional source of income.

If she could add fruit wine and other fruit products, the profit would certainly increase exponentially.

Long Ling was full of energy. She ordered large wine barrels early, ready to produce more strawberry fruit wine. After harvesting the spring vegetables, she quickly arranged for people to plant hops. Once the strawberry fruit wine sold out, she could make craft beer to sell.

The method for making strawberry fruit wine was relatively simple: just wash the strawberries and put them in a clean barrel with sugar to ferment. With many servants helping, hundreds of barrels of fruit wine were filled within just a few days.

Long Ling used her free time to make a strawberry pudding. This was what she planned to eat with Violet, to thank Violet for contributing to her farm vegetable business during this time.

Just as she finished plating the strawberry pudding, Nora delivered a letter and a return gift.

“Miss Long Ling, I have already delivered the strawberries to Eloise. She is very grateful for your gift. This is her reply and gift to you.”

Long Ling unwrapped the package and found that Eloise had given her an exquisite knife set. The elves’ forging skills were superb, and the knife handle was inlaid with many sparkling gems, which looked quite valuable.

Long Ling tried it and found it very useful for cutting fruit, which increased her good impression of Eloise.

Just as she was about to open the letter, Nora suddenly said, “Miss Long Ling, His Grace the Duke asked me this morning what you’ve been busy with lately.”

Long Ling paused: “What did you say?”

Nora said cautiously, “I said you were busy brewing strawberry wine. His Grace the Duke seemed a little angry.”

In fact, after following Miss Long Ling for so long, Nora also noticed a conflict between Miss Long Ling and His Grace the Duke.

They were two dragons set to marry, sleeping together every day—what conflict couldn’t be resolved by entwining their dragon tails?

Long Ling didn’t say anything. After all, Violet had many Alpha admirers, and she was just one of them.

Violet still kept her captive like a small pet in the manor. Even if she strongly objected, Violet wouldn’t care if she was happy or not.

If she didn’t try to be cheerful, she would have become depressed long ago.

“Why don’t you talk to His Grace the Duke? His Grace the Duke must miss you and has asked me several times. Every time, I can only reply to His Grace that you are cooking, farming, or brewing wine.”

Nora recalled the duke’s expression at the time, eyes filled with anger, and couldn’t help but shiver slightly.

That’s why one could say Miss Long Ling had a good attitude; she managed to stay safe with His Grace the Duke every day. But alas, she also had a mission: she could only try her best to bring Miss Long Ling and His Grace the Duke together.

“As long as you coax His Grace the Duke, His Grace will definitely allow you to move about freely. Sometimes, an Omega just wants a way out, and His Grace the Duke was injured, so it’s normal to be in a bad mood.”

Seeing Long Ling’s hesitant expression, Nora volunteered, “If you’re really too embarrassed to go, I can help you deliver the dessert. Just say you miss her, and I’ll prepare the wine and medicine for you. You will definitely reconcile.”

Wouldn’t that still mean she had to bow her head to Violet? Long Ling knew that if she bowed her head once, there would be countless times waiting for her in the future.

She didn’t want to quarrel with Violet either, but Violet was too domineering, and she didn’t want to be constantly bullied by her.

And the last time she took that medicine, her heat came early. Long Ling thought of the frenzy of that night; if Violet hadn’t been by her side, she would have truly been doomed.

Long Ling took a deep breath: “No need to buy medicine. I made strawberry pudding. When His Grace the Duke returns, you help me invite her to come and eat it together.”

Nora looked at Long Ling in surprise. When Miss Long Ling first arrived at the manor, she still needed medicine, but now she could fully cope. Truly worthy of Miss Long Ling.

Nora happily replied, “Alright, I’ll go to the manor gate now and wait for His Grace the Duke.”

Long Ling picked up the knife, cut a few fresh strawberries, and arranged them on the strawberry pudding. She remembered the strawberry dragon Violet protected and was reluctant to give to Lorraine last time, and thoughtfully tried carving and assembling a strawberry dragon that looked like Violet to place beside it.

Long Ling set the strawberry pudding aside, washed her hands, and then remembered she hadn’t opened the letter sent by the elf.

She tore open the letter, expecting the usual mutual greetings and checking on safety, but this time Eloise asked her to leave the manor and take her to meet someone.

Long Ling had never encountered such a thing and was temporarily at a loss.

Long Ling read the letter carefully again. It said that she had found a way for her to permanently leave Violet. As long as she came out of the manor once, and discussed it with her first, they would wait for her outside the manor.

Eloise had helped Long Ling a lot these days. If it weren’t for her constant back-and-forth comforting letters, she might not have been able to stay peacefully in the manor all this time.

Long Ling felt she should trust her, but she couldn’t stop worrying about Violet. She once thought she would marry Violet, and they would even have a dragon egg. Did she really want to leave Violet forever?

Violet’s leg injury hadn’t healed yet, and she had to massage Violet every day.

If she left, who would take care of the injured Violet? The money she earned at the tavern over the past few months was enough to buy the ingredients for Violet’s medicated wine soak. Massaging with the medicated wine would allow Violet to recover faster.

Logically, she needed to stay as far away from Violet as possible, but emotionally, one day as husband and wife creates a bond for a hundred days of kindness. She had taken care of Violet for so long; she couldn’t just abandon Violet.

Long Ling’s heart was deeply conflicted. She bit her lip, her brows furrowing deeper, unsure whether she should go out to meet her.

Could someone truly allow her to leave Violet forever?

If she wanted to leave the manor for a trip, it was actually simple. By using the excuse of transporting the strawberry fruit wine out to the tavern, she could hide in one of the empty barrels and easily fool those arrogant Dragon Guards.

Long Ling had a plan in mind but couldn’t make a decision immediately.

Just as she was hesitating, she suddenly heard Nora running over and saying:

“Miss Long Ling, His Grace the Duke is here.”

Long Ling suddenly felt the letter in her hand was hot and hurriedly stuffed it into her pocket.

She was inexplicably nervous, so she walked out of the crystal kitchen and took the initiative to go and greet Violet.

Violet thought Long Ling had finally come to her senses and stopped sulking with her, and she slightly curved her lips.

She waved her hand, signaling the surrounding servants to retreat, leaving only her and Long Ling alone there.

Violet knowingly asked, “What do you want with me?”

Long Ling’s eyes were clear: “I made you strawberry pudding. Thank you for helping me buy a lot of nutrient solution. Now that the strawberries have had a big harvest, and since you like strawberries, I also brewed some strawberry fruit wine for you to drink.”

It was quite rare for the little dragon to finally take her words to heart.

Violet’s lips curved into a subtle smile: “Will you feed me like before?”

Long Ling looked at Violet. Violet was sitting in a wheelchair, her jawline clear and perfect in the sunlight. Other than her leg injury, Violet was a very perfect and beautiful dragon, certainly possessing the capital to be arrogant.

She nodded slightly: “Yes, I’ll feed you.”

Violet was in a good mood. Long Ling walked over, took the initiative to push her wheelchair to the dining table, and brought over the plate of strawberry pudding.

She scooped up a spoon of pudding and brought it to Violet’s lips. The strawberry pudding looked springy and pink, slightly shaking on the silver spoon.

Violet saw that Long Ling had carved another small strawberry dragon for her and placed it next to the plate. This one was better looking and more carefully made than the last, which meant she truly wanted to reconcile with her.

Violet slightly opened her red lips and ate a mouthful of the pudding. The sweet strawberry flavor, just like the little dragon, was fresh and smooth. After tasting it carefully, there was also a faint scent of cream, melting on her tongue.

She couldn’t help but praise it: “It’s quite good. You put effort into it.”