Transmigrated into the Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Prime Minister - Chapter 109.2

The next day.

Qi Nan hid her feelings, speaking and eating with Liu Yun as usual, but she couldn’t help but steal glances at her.

“Is there something you want to tell me?” Liu Yun turned her head, catching her gaze, and asked.

Qi Nan shook her head, glanced behind her, and denied, “No, I’m just checking how much firewood is left.”

“There’s still quite a bit, it should last until the end of the month,” Liu Yun followed her gaze and glanced at the woodpile.

She ate the meal absentmindedly, and even the sugar bun in her mouth seemed tasteless.

A few days later, Qi Nan saw Liu Yun sewing a shoe sole. She took a look, and it didn’t look like Liu Yun’s shoe size, which made her heart sink.

Sure enough, she still has feelings for Lu Yu.

November 25th.

A white light had just appeared on the horizon. The cold wind howled into the prison cell through the corridor. Lu Yu curled up on the straw mat, pulled her dirty, messy prison uniform tighter, and stared blankly at the flickering candlelight before closing her eyes again.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

“Lu Yu! Get up! Hurry up!” The jailer loudly yelled at the cell, knocking the wooden column on the cell door with the handle of his knife. “Get up quickly! Time to go!”

After being arrested, Lu Yu voluntarily confessed all her crimes and even helped Princess Changning find the secret room in the Peng residence. Her merits offset her crimes, and she was given a lighter sentence, being spared the death penalty. She was sentenced to be exiled to Lizhou in Lingnan for five years of servitude.

Suddenly opening her eyes, the blankness in Lu Yu’s eyes vanished, replaced by a hint of joy.

She quickly got up and, without waiting for the jailer to urge her, rapidly approached the cell door.

It was the first time he had seen someone so eager to be exiled.

The jailer carefully examined the shackles on her hands and feet, found nothing unusual, fumbled with the key, and unlocked the cell door, muttering to himself, ‘She must have gone crazy from being locked up for so long.’

Completely ignoring the jailer’s strange look, Lu Yu followed him out of the county yamen’s prison. Just before reaching the door, she reached up and smoothed her hair, trying to look less disheveled.

As soon as she stepped out of the cell door, she was slightly blinded by the long-lost morning light. Lu Yu raised her hand to shield her eyes.

Once her eyes adjusted, Lu Yu quickly scanned her surroundings. Besides the jailer, there was only one other female officer with a saber outside the cell door.

The corner of Lu Yu’s mouth, which she had forced into a hopeful expression, instantly dropped. She lowered her head and forced a self-mocking smile.

She followed the escorting officer out of the county, walking toward the county’s outskirts. Even after walking past the city gate, Lu Yu did not see Liu Yun.

After another quarter of an hour, Lu Yu looked back. Behind her were only barren trees and a dirt road, and the county town of Binhe was completely out of sight.

Lu Yu dejectedly turned her head, only to see Zhuo Yu with a horse outside a small pavilion by the roadside.

Zhuo Yu exchanged a few pleasantries with the officer, smiled, and secretly slipped a small cloth bag into her hand.

It was over a thousand li from Binhe County to Luozhou, and it would take a month to reach the place of exile.

Along the way, the pace of travel and rest stops were entirely at the discretion of the escorting officer. If Lu Yu wanted to be slightly more comfortable, a bribe was essential.

The officer initially refused but then happily accepted the small cloth bag and walked a short distance away, giving them space to talk.

“Sister Yu,” Lu Yu forced a smile and said gratefully, “Thank you for your trouble.”

“Lu Sheng asked me to do it before she left.”

“I know,” Lu Yu nodded. At this moment, the only person still willing to help her was Lu Sheng.

Zhuo Yu nodded and handed her the bundle she was holding. “Liu Niangzi asked me to give this to you.”

Hearing her words, Lu Yu was stunned for a moment before she reached out and took the bundle.

Without opening it, she could tell it contained the clothes Liu Yun had prepared for her.

Lu Yu tightly clutched the bundle in her hand, her heart a mix of joy and sorrow.

Liu Yun still cared about her, but she refused to come and see her off. This bundle was the last bit of affection Liu Yun had for her.

Lu Yu’s eyes reddened. Zhuo Yu patted her on the shoulder, “Take care of yourself.”

That evening, at the post station, Lu Yu opened the bundle. Inside, besides a small bag of silver bits, there were the new winter clothes and three pairs of new shoes Liu Yun had made for her.

Lu Yu could no longer suppress her tears, which streamed down her face.

The officer was a woman in her twenties. Seeing her cry so heartbrokenly, she couldn’t help but feel a little sympathetic and offered comfort, “You’re still young. When five years pass, you can start over properly. It’s not too late.”

“It’s too late, it’s already too late,” Lu Yu shook her head and sobbed loudly.

For the two months since Qi Nan realized her feelings, she had deliberately maintained an appropriate distance from Liu Yun, yet at the same time, she couldn’t help but want to be kinder to her.

Knowing today was the day of Lu Yu’s exile, Qi Nan made a point of delivering the wine to the shop earlier than usual.

When Qi Nan arrived, Liu Yun had just opened the shop door, and the helpers hadn’t started work yet.

“Why are you so early today?” Liu Yun asked casually as she removed one of the door panels.

“I woke up early, so I thought I’d come over sooner,” Hearing her question, Qi Nan immediately became nervous and gave the reason she had prepared long ago.

The truth was, Qi Nan was afraid she would be late and miss Liu Yun if she had already gone out, and then she wouldn’t be able to see her or eat breakfast with her today.

She finished speaking, got off the ox cart, and reached for the door panel in Liu Yun’s hand. “Let me, let me. The door panel is heavy.”

“My body is much better now,” Liu Yun did not let go and moved the door panel aside herself.

Ever since her miscarriage, whenever Qi Nan was around, she would take over any slightly heavy task.

At first, Liu Yun saw Qi Nan as simply warm-hearted, but as time went on, Liu Yun vaguely noticed some unusual behavior.

For example, Qi Nan would sometimes secretly look at her, and quickly turn away when Liu Yun looked back.

Also, the occasional look of adoration on Qi Nan’s face was all too familiar to Liu Yun. She had often seen it on Lu Yu’s face before catching her secretly kissing her.

She hadn’t understood it before she went through it, but now, a single look was enough to identify the same feeling.

When she realized Qi Nan had feelings for her, Liu Yun was surprised, but mostly felt helpless.

Qi Nan was only a year older than Lu Yu, and in Liu Yun’s eyes, she had always viewed her as a little sister.

Moreover, she was already mentally and physically exhausted from her previous relationship and only wanted to live a quiet, stable life alone, with no intention of remarrying.

Liu Yun thought that people their age were all similar to Lu Yu, acting on their impulses and wanting things immediately.

She had planned to firmly reject Qi Nan the moment she couldn’t help but bring it up, leaving her no room for hope, and preventing herself from repeating the mistakes of the past.

But to her surprise, Qi Nan was much more restrained than Lu Yu, and her affection was more cautious.

Other than exchanging a few extra words when delivering wine, Qi Nan didn’t overly pester her or express any romantic feelings.

If Liu Yun hadn’t occasionally caught the look of longing in Qi Nan’s eyes when they fell upon her, Liu Yun would have genuinely thought she was being self-centered and had misunderstood Qi Nan.

However, since Qi Nan never said anything, Liu Yun pretended not to notice. Perhaps in a few days, a more suitable young woman would appear in her life, and her attention would shift.

“Why are you so early too?” Qi Nan took down the remaining door panel and tried to sound casual as she probed.

On a day like today, even if Liu Yun didn’t deliberately keep track, she could never forget it.

Lu Yu’s final suicidal madness had completely extinguished the last bit of affection Liu Yun held for her, so Liu Yun hadn’t visited her after she was imprisoned.

Even though her heart ached, Liu Yun forced herself to cut ties with Lu Yu and completely extinguish any hope Lu Yu might have.

The clothes she sent were the last remnants of her affection.

“I have something to go out for later, so I got up a little early,” Liu Yun said intentionally.

She wasn’t going to see Lu Yu off, but she also didn’t want to give Qi Nan hope. It was better for Qi Nan to misunderstand that she still had feelings for Lu Yu.

A girl like Qi Nan should find a better person, not a woman like herself, who was infamous and physically broken.

Sure enough, as soon as her words fell, Qi Nan’s eyebrows drooped.

“I made some porridge this morning. What else would you like to eat? How about I make two scallion pancakes?”

Seeing her disappointment, Liu Yun felt both satisfied and a little uneasy, so she spoke again.

She had woken up early but had been too lazy to get up. Only when it was time to open the shop did she realize she had forgotten to make breakfast, so she hurried to light a fire and cook a pot of porridge.

Making Qi Nan two of her favorite scallion pancakes would serve as compensation for hurting her feelings.

“Mhm,” Qi Nan’s eyebrows lifted again, and she replied happily.

Being able to eat with Liu Yun was enough for Qi Nan. She didn’t dare to ask for anything more.

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