Transmigrated into the Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Prime Minister - Chapter 11

With the fleeting figure of Huang Yaozu disappearing around the street corner, Lu Sheng could no longer hold back and burst into laughter, clutching her stomach.

Such skill in running away. It seems he’s no stranger to such underhanded dealings.

In contrast to Lu Sheng’s hearty laughter, Qi Zhenshu, standing ten paces behind her, had a deep frown, clearly preoccupied.

Qi Zhenshu was actually aware of Lu Sheng’s private dealings with Huang Yaozu. When she first found out, Qi Zhenshu didn’t feel any sense of betrayal or anger. Instead, she felt a little happy.

This happiness was for herself, and also for Lu Sheng.

The customs in Liang Kingdom were open. It was common for women to remarry after being widowed or divorced, and they wouldn’t face censure.

Their marriages were both decided by Lu Huacheng. Lu Sheng obeyed her father’s command, while she was to repay a debt of gratitude for her upbringing.

She and Lu Sheng had no mutual affection, nor had love blossomed over time. Even their daughter, Tangtang, was merely a task from their wedding night.

Lu Sheng disliked her, and other than that one night, they never shared a bed again.

As for her, matters of the heart were not important either.

Qi Zhenshu knew that from the day her uncle traded her to the Lu family for a hundred jin of rice, her life no longer belonged to her.

Fortunately, Lu Huacheng gave her the opportunity to read and write. Although this opportunity was exchanged for her marriage, she held no resentment, instead feeling fortunate.

She had thought this life would continue like this, living ‘respectfully and courteously’ with Lu Sheng. However, she never expected Lu Sheng to find a sweetheart, and for Lu Huacheng to pass away unexpectedly.

Without Lu Huacheng as a constraint, Lu Sheng brought up the topic of divorce on the day of his burial.

She refused, not because she was reluctant, but because Huang Yaozu was not a good match.

After learning about Huang Yaozu, Qi Zhenshu had specifically inquired about him.

Huang Yaozu was from Qingzhou. The reason he came to Binhe County was that he had accidentally beaten someone to death while fighting for a songstress in a brothel in Qingzhou. His family spent a considerable amount of silver to smooth things over and sent him to Binhe County to lie low.

To Qi Zhenshu, Lu Sheng was less of a wife and more a responsibility to repay a debt of gratitude. Although Lu Huacheng had passed away, she could not abandon Lu Sheng and allow her to leap into a pit of fire.

She just hadn’t expected Lu Sheng to make the outrageous move of selling her biological daughter because of her refusal.

To prevent Lu Sheng from harming Tangtang again, Qi Zhenshu wrote the letter of divorce. This time, Lu Sheng refused and even said she wanted to reform and live a good life with her.

At that moment, just like the Lu Sheng who was laughing heartily before her, she felt an unsettling unfamiliarity.

Ever since she gave birth to Tangtang and her health declined, Lu Sheng’s temper had become increasingly sullen. She rarely laughed, let alone smiled, and didn’t like to socialize.

In the past two days, what Qi Zhenshu saw most were those beautiful, watery eyes that crinkled into crescents when she smiled.

And Lu Sheng had completely abandoned her usual solitary nature, chatting merrily with the wine shop assistants and even teasing Huang Yaozu with a few words.

All of this confirmed what was mentioned in books: fox spirits are astute, cunning, and skilled at disguise and bewitching people.

In stark contrast to the heavy heart of Qi Zhenshu, Lu Sheng was feeling lighthearted and happy at the moment.

The money pouch Huang Yaozu gave her contained over five liang of broken silver. She used the money to buy Tangtang sugar melons and pastries. When passing a general store, she bought a cloth tiger, and seeing a small vendor selling pomegranates, she bought three.

Qi Zhenshu followed behind her, watching her smile and chat with various vendors and assistants.

The proprietress of the pastry shop gave her two new pastries. The general store owner waived ten wen of change for her. Even the small vendor selling wild fruits gave her an extra piece of fruit.

Just before reaching their meeting spot, Qi Zhenshu turned a corner and stopped following her, taking a detour through another alley.

When Qi Zhenshu arrived, Lu Sheng wasn’t there. It took another half an hour before she finally showed up.

Seeing the person’s arms full of food, with no space left, her fingers hooked around a charmingly clumsy cloth tiger, her cheeks puffed out, and a bit of sauce staining the corner of her mouth, she looked particularly amusing, much like a little squirrel hoarding food in the wilderness.

Would a demon be so gluttonous and fond of sweets?

For a moment, Qi Zhenshu didn’t know what expression to use to respond.

Seeing the cloth puppet about to fall from Lu Sheng’s hand, Qi Zhenshu quickly stepped forward to catch it and took some of the food into her own hands.

In addition to the pastries and wild fruits she had just seen, Lu Sheng had also bought braised food, preserved fruit, and roasted nuts. The heaviest of these was a bag of mixed grains. She opened it and saw more than ten small cloth bags inside, each filled with a different kind of grain.

Qi Zhenshu was very puzzled and looked at her with confusion.

Lu Sheng raised an eyebrow and gave a cryptic smile, “I can’t tell you yet. You’ll find out later.”

She had carefully examined the wines in the various wine shops. They were all fermented rice wines, and the raw material only used glutinous rice.

However, for distilled spirits, there were many more raw materials that could be used for winemaking: sorghum, corn, wheat, barley, tartary buckwheat, or even potatoes and pumpkins. Any food containing starch could be used for fermentation and distillation into wine.

But even among wheat, different varieties grown in different regions had varying starch contents. That’s why she bought all the grains from the grain store to test if they were suitable for winemaking.

Qi Zhenshu hesitated for a moment, slightly pursed her lips, and offered some advice with a hint of helplessness, “Given the current situation of our family, we should be more frugal.”

They ate meat yesterday, chicken today, and bought quite a few things in the county.

At this rate of spending, the four liang of silver on her might already be used up.

Regardless of Lu Sheng’s current identity, the money spent was real silver, and it was borrowed from her grand-aunt, which would have to be repaid later.

If she had known Lu Sheng would be like this, she should have taken the four liang of silver earlier.

Lu Sheng seemed to read her mind, pulled out the remaining four liang of silver from her pocket, and handed it to her, “I bought these with the money left over from selling clothes. I haven’t spent the money grand-aunt gave me. Why don’t you hold onto it for now?”

She still had the five liang of silver she had tricked from Huang Yaozu, so she generously gave the four liang of silver to Qi Zhenshu.

Qi Zhenshu was stunned for a moment and didn’t take it.

“Take it. If it’s with me, I won’t be able to resist spending it,” Lu Sheng said with a beaming smile.

This time, she no longer hesitated and took the money.

After the two returned to the village and put their purchases away at home, Qi Zhenshu went to Granny Niu’s house to pick up Tangtang.

Lu Sheng took out some roasted nuts and candy and handed them to her, “Give some to Granny Niu. We keep bothering her to help watch the child.”

Granny Niu’s house was below the high slope of the Lu family’s house. She had a granddaughter, Niu Jiaojiao, who was the same age as Tangtang.

Lu Huacheng was a charitable person and got along well with the surrounding neighbors. However, the original Lu Sheng looked down on hunter families like the Niu’s and never interacted with them.

Accustomed to her unusual behavior, Qi Zhenshu was no longer surprised. She simply reached out and accepted the paper package, “Mhm.”

Tangtang had fallen asleep at Granny Niu’s house. Qi Zhenshu carried Tangtang back, the little head resting on Qi Zhenshu’s shoulder, her eyes half-closed and not fully awake yet.

Lu Sheng handed her the bought cloth tiger. The originally groggy little eyes instantly lit up. She hugged the cloth tiger dearly, even forgetting about the sugar melon she had been longing for.

Watching her adorable little demeanor, Lu Sheng couldn’t help but reach out and gently rub her head twice.

Qi Zhenshu set her down. Tangtang held the cloth doll with one hand and Lu Sheng’s leg with the other. She looked up, her big eyes sparkling, and said sweetly, “Thank you, A-Niang (Mother).”

Lu Sheng’s heart melted into a pool of warm water, filling with a cozy warmth.

She bent down, intending to pick her up, but then Qi Zhenshu’s slightly cool voice came from above her head, “Tangtang, have you practiced your writing today?”

The large and the small figure across from each other both froze. Lu Sheng slowly lowered her raised hand, and the curve of Tangtang’s mouth also dropped, her eyes filling with anticipation as she looked at Lu Sheng.

When Tangtang turned three, Qi Zhenshu had begun her education. A three-year-old is naturally active and has some resistance to the tedious practice of calligraphy, often trying to avoid it.

Lu Sheng now had to watch Qi Zhenshu’s expression even to speak more to her child, so how could she dare to interrupt and interfere with matters of education? She could only give Tangtang a look of helplessness.

The little round head drooped down, resting on the cloth tiger in her arms.

Lu Sheng gently comforted her, “A-Niang also bought pastries. How about we eat them together after you finish practicing your writing?”

The lost expression instantly vanished. The little one immediately looked up and responded cheerfully, “Okay.”

Seeing this scene, Qi Zhenshu’s brows furrowed tightly. Tangtang, who was clearly closer to her, showed signs of defecting after just one day, giving her the illusion that her daughter was about to be snatched away.

Is this the fox spirit’s ability to bewitch people?

Lu Sheng watched them enter the study, then went to the backyard to find a bamboo basket and a sickle before leaving the courtyard.

To brew good spirits, the most crucial first step is to make good yeast starter (jiu qu).

The yeast starter used at the wine shop is more suitable for rice wine. Today, the rice wine was distilled directly to salvage the loss, but if she was going to make distilled spirits directly in the future, she needed to improve the jiu qu. This would result in a mellower and more fragrant spirit, and the yield would be higher.

According to the original owner’s memories, the raw materials she needed for the jiu qu could be found on the mountain behind the Lu family’s back gate.

Half an hour later, Lu Sheng had gathered all the plants she needed. Just as she reached the doorstep, she heard a faint, distressed chirping from the bushes.

‘Ouch! Ouch! It hurts me to death! My wing, my butt, it hurts me to death!’

Hearing the familiar bird language, Lu Sheng stopped, parted the bushes, and indeed saw a certain parrot that had been freeloading food and drink.

‘Who! Don’t come closer! Be careful, I’ll peck you to death!’

‘I told you not to come closer! I won’t be polite if you take another step!!’

‘I’ll fight you to the death!!!’

Perhaps hearing her footsteps, the parrot struggled and flapped its wings with all its might.

One of its wings was injured, so it wanted to fly but couldn’t, only chirping and using its sharp cries to threaten the approaching person.

Lu Sheng looked at it, amused, “With your current bald state, you still want to peck people? Can you even fly?!”

Recognizing that the person was Lu Sheng, the parrot immediately stopped struggling, its sharp cries turning into mournful wails, ‘Wuwuwu, Sister, save me!’

Lu Sheng reached out and grabbed it, “Why should I save a little liar like you?”

‘Sister, I was wrong. I’m so miserable…’ Feather Ling (the parrot) complained to Lu Sheng, its bare wing sticking out awkwardly.

The sound of a door creaking open rang out. Lu Sheng looked up and saw Qi Zhenshu looking at her with a strange expression.

Hearing the sound outside the door, Qi Zhenshu opened the door to check and saw Lu Sheng talking to a parrot.

The hand resting on the door frame trembled slightly. Qi Zhenshu suppressed the emotions churning in her heart and forced herself to remain composed, saying, “The day after tomorrow is A-Die’s (Father’s) third seven-day memorial. How about we go to Baiyun Temple together to light a long-burning lamp for A-Die and pray for blessings?”

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