Transmigrated into the Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Prime Minister - Chapter 10

Gusts of autumn wind blew, and the drifting clouds in the sky moved with the wind, leisurely floating.

The mountainside was covered with layers of lush vegetation, and the stream flowed down from the mountain gorge, merging into the village’s river.

The two left the house together. Seeing that Qi Zhenshu was not in the mood for conversation, Lu Sheng said little, focusing on enjoying the pleasant scenery along the way.

Passing by the banyan tree at the village entrance again, Lu Sheng heard the sound of people talking under the tree from afar.

“I heard someone went to the Lu family to repossess the house yesterday?”

“That’s true. I went to see it. Lu Sheng mortgaged the house to Zhang San, but the village head stopped it.”

“They can stop it once, but can they stop it a second time? I think, based on how she is, the house will most likely not be saved.”

“It’s a pity for Scholar Qi.”

“I think Scholar Qi will have to divorce her in a couple of days.”

“That may not be the case. If it weren’t for Lu Erlang back then, Scholar Qi would have been tormented to death by Qi Dashan and his wife long ago. How would he have survived to study and pass the scholar examination?”

“How about we bet ten wen to see if the two of them will separate.”

“No betting, no betting.”

“Lao Liu, he won’t bet with you, but I will. However, let’s change the bet. We’ll bet on how many months they can stay married before they separate. Whoever guesses the closest time wins, how about that?”

“Hey, Shuanzi, that’s a good way to bet. I bet one month.”

“Then I bet ten days. If Scholar Qi has a quick mind, she would have written the letter of separation yesterday.”

“Oh, Aunt Hua, are you so eager for them to separate? I think you must have other intentions?”

“What’s it to you! Are you trying to control me!”

“Hey, then I’ll change mine to fifteen days.”

“Count me in, count me in. I bet five days.”

“Shhh.”

Someone must have seen them, as the group immediately fell silent.

The original owner’s image as a spendthrift truly was deeply ingrained in people’s minds.

Everyone’s bet was not very harmful, but extremely insulting.

No one was optimistic about the couple’s marriage.

Lu Sheng secretly glanced at Qi Zhenshu’s reaction, only to find that she was frowning in deep thought, completely unaware of the voices under the tree.

Qi Zhenshu had been thinking about Lu Sheng ever since they left the house, and indeed hadn’t heard the conversation under the tree.

Originally, Qi Zhenshu could have gone to repay the money herself, but she was truly uneasy about leaving Lu Sheng and Tangtang at home together, so she had no choice but to take Lu Sheng with her.

Firstly, she was afraid that yesterday’s incident might happen again, and secondly, she was suspicious about the true identity of the current Lu Sheng.

Although stories of ghosts and spirits were often just legends, and Qi Zhenshu had never witnessed them herself.

However, Lu Sheng’s change was too sudden and vastly different from her original personality, which truly made her overthink things.

If Lu Sheng was really possessed by a fox spirit, should she find a Daoist priest to perform a ritual?

In the past, Qi Zhenshu had seen many Daoist priests perform rituals. Just recalling their exaggerated movements and performances, she felt they were nothing more than acts of deception.

If she found a fake Daoist priest, and the exorcism failed, and it angered the spirit, that would be bad.

She must find a foolproof plan.

Before that, she must not act rashly or cause Lu Sheng to become suspicious.

“Qi Zhenshu, have you run into some trouble?”

Lu Sheng held back for a long time, finally asking the question when they were about to reach the pawn shop entrance.

Hearing this, Qi Zhenshu turned back to look at her, confused.

“You’ve seemed preoccupied the whole way. Have you encountered any problems?” Lu Sheng explained.

Qi Zhenshu’s expression froze, and for a moment she was tongue-tied, unsure how to respond to her query.

“If it’s inconvenient, never mind.”

“It’s nothing.”

The two’s voices sounded simultaneously, and after hearing each other’s words, they both fell silent for a moment.

Lu Sheng broke the silence first, smiling faintly, “It’s good that it’s nothing. Let’s go in then.”

“Mhm.”

After paying sixty taels of silver, they successfully retrieved the pawn ticket.

Leaving the pawn shop, Lu Sheng said, “I want to go to North Street again. I promised Tangtang I’d buy her sugar melon on our way out.”

Qi Zhenshu thought for a moment and said, “I’ll go with you.”

There was a bookstore on North Street, and she could go and ask if there were any jobs for copying books.

Originally, with Lu Huacheng around, she focused solely on her studies and never worried about their livelihood.

The family’s income was only twenty to thirty taels of profit from the winery each year, but this money was probably only enough for the family’s expenses. Next year, she had to go to the provincial capital for the provincial examination, and the round-trip costs plus room and board would easily amount to ten taels or more.

There was also the fifteen taels borrowed from the village head, Lu Lizheng.

Additionally, if she truly had to hire someone for a ritual, that would be another significant expense.

Thinking of this, Qi Zhenshu couldn’t help but let out a deep sigh inwardly, and the look in her eyes as she gazed at Lu Sheng deepened.

While contemplating, her eyes lit up as she thought of a solution.

Arriving at the street intersection, the two agreed to meet back at the intersection in half an hour and went their separate ways.

North Street was the busiest street in Binhe County, with various shops lining both sides of the street.

Lu Sheng walked along, noticing that out of the thirty-odd storefronts on the street, there were three wine shops alone. If the food stalls selling wine along the street were included, there were over ten establishments selling wine.

At the end of North Street was the pier of Binhe County.

Via the river shipping route, the next stop after Binhe County was Qingzhou Prefecture, a three-day journey away. All merchant ships coming from the south usually stopped at Binhe County for resupply before heading to Qingzhou.

The pier was bustling with people coming and going, and both sides of the road were mostly cheap food stalls catering to travelers and laborers.

After strolling for a while longer, Lu Sheng saw that the time was about right and prepared to head back. As she turned around, a man dressed in flowery silk sudden appeared and blocked her path.

When the man saw her, he flicked his folding fan open and smiled eagerly, “Sister Lu, I finally found you.”

The man’s name was Huang Yaozu, the nephew of the Binhe County Magistrate’s wife’s family, and he was also the “adulterer” who had encouraged the original owner to sell her daughter.

In truth, when it came to the identity of ‘adulterer’ or ‘paramour’, Huang Yaozu was not worthy of the name; the original owner and he had only met seven or eight times in total, and the two had never had any inappropriate intimacy.

The first time the two met was three months ago during the Qiqiao Festival (Double Seventh Festival). The original owner got separated from her family while watching the lantern display and happened to be pestered by two hooligans. Coincidentally, Huang Yaozu passed by and quickly scared the two men away.

Huang Yaozu was tall and, while not extraordinarily handsome, had well-defined features and a very masculine look.

Combined with this hero-saving-the-beauty scenario, the original owner was instantly smitten.

Subsequently, Qi Zhenshu rushed over and helped her offer thanks. The two of them didn’t exchange a single word.

If the two had no further interaction, the story would have ended there, but things happened to be so coincidental. Ten-odd days later, the original owner went shopping but unfortunately forgot to bring money, which led to the shopkeeper mocking her.

Just as the original owner was feeling ashamed and angry, Huang Yaozu once again stepped in to help. He not only paid the silver to relieve her from the embarrassment but also severely scolded the shopkeeper, forcing him to apologize to the original owner. This helped her vent her frustration and saved her a lot of face.

It was also this time that Huang Yaozu asked for her name and vaguely expressed his affection for her.

Aware of her status as a married woman, the original owner did not act inappropriately. She even told Huang Yaozu that she was married, thanked him, and then hastily left.

But from then on, she couldn’t help but think about Huang Yaozu, often recalling his disappointed expression.

Three days later, Huang Yaozu secretly sought her out and expressed his affection to her again.

The two thus began to have private interactions, though mostly they just met in secret a few times. Huang Yaozu not only had a way with words but also liked to buy trinkets that girls enjoyed to make her happy.

Lu Sheng was not the original owner. Putting aside the fact that she naturally did not like men, just the thought of Huang Yaozu knowing the original owner was married yet still enticing her to cheat made him seem shameless.

This fact alone proved that Huang Yaozu was not a good person. Moreover, in his final meetings with the original owner, Huang Yaozu was always dropping hints and encouraging her to sell her daughter and elope with him.

Upon careful reflection, Lu Sheng felt that the situation was not as simple as the original owner had perceived.

“Sister Lu, I made an appointment with you yesterday, why didn’t you come? Did something happen at home?” Huang Yaozu looked worried and asked anxiously.

“The child was sick last night,” Lu Sheng replied indifferently.

Actually, even if Tangtang hadn’t been sick last night, Lu Sheng wouldn’t have gone to the appointment.

Huang Yaozu’s expression stalled for a moment, but he immediately reverted to a tone of concern, “Was the illness serious?”

“She’s already recovered.”

After taking the medicine that morning, Tangtang was already better. Her appetite for lunch was normal, and before Lu Sheng and Qi Zhenshu left in the afternoon, she had taken Tangtang to see Doctor Ding again.

After the examination, Doctor Ding said she was mostly recovered and just needed to take two more doses of medicine to stabilize.

Sensing the coldness in Lu Sheng’s attitude, Huang Yaozu cursed inwardly, but maintained a look of deep affection on his face, “Sister Lu, my mother’s birthday is in ten days. I’ve already written to her saying I’ll bring the woman I love back to meet her. The old lady is very happy and is waiting to see you in Qingzhou.”

Even if Lu Sheng was an unmarried maiden, if Huang Yaozu brought her back privately, it would be a secret relationship. What respectable mother-in-law would like a daughter-in-law like that?

This was like burning ghost money at a grave—fooling the spirits!

“Really?” Lu Sheng first showed a hint of surprise, but then sighed softly, lowering her eyes and speaking with a sense of suppression, “However, I’m afraid I’ll have to disappoint Auntie this time.”

Following that, Lu Sheng slowly exhaled, as if she had made an incredibly painful decision, and murmured through gritted teeth, “Huang-lang, I’m afraid the fate between you and me cannot continue.”

Her voice became increasingly subdued, and by the end, it carried a slight catch in her throat.

It was just an acting contest, and she was determined to out-act him!

Seeing her expression of surprise, Huang Yaozu was pleased with himself, but before he could be happy for two seconds, Lu Sheng poured cold water on him. Sensing the regret and suppression in her words, he felt that Lu Sheng’s decision wasn’t firm, and there was still a chance for things to turn around.

“Why?” Huang Yaozu quickly asked her.

“Alas!” Lu Sheng looked mournful, hesitating to speak, and finally let out a heavy sigh, “Never mind. It’s getting late. I still need to go to the pawnshop to get some money for food for the family.”

After she finished speaking, she turned to leave. Huang Yaozu quickly pulled out his money pouch from his bosom and stuffed it into her hand: “Here’s over ten taels of small silver. Take it for now.”

“This, this might not be appropriate,” Lu Sheng refused to take it.

“Take it, just take it,” Huang Yaozu said generously.

Lu Sheng reluctantly accepted the money pouch. Seeing this, Huang Yaozu eagerly asked, “Just tell me…”

Unexpectedly, Lu Sheng suddenly interrupted him, saying nervously, “Huang-lang, hurry and leave! I see Qi Zhenshu!”

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