Transmigrated into the Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Prime Minister - Chapter 111.1

Coming out of the courtyard behind the wine shop, Qi Nan hurried back to Deer Village, but she didn’t go back to her own home. Instead, she first went to see her elder sister, Qi Bei, at Doctor Ding’s place, and then visited the home of her master, Lu Hualin.

Hearing the small gate squeak open and then close, Liu Yun knew Qi Nan had left.

Her tensed shoulders relaxed, and she opened her eyes and got up from the bed.

After a night’s rest, the swelling in her knee had subsided a bit, but it still hurt when she put force on it to stand up.

Liu Yun limped slowly to the door, took the shoulder pole standing by the side to use as a crutch, and supported herself as she went to the kitchen.

The water jar was full, the teapot on the stove was steaming, and hot porridge and eggs were warming in the pot.

Every small detail warmed Liu Yun’s heart, but it also made her more conflicted and regretful.

The wine shop didn’t open on the first day of the lunar month (Chū yī), so after eating, Liu Yun went back to her room to rest.

Lying on the bed, as soon as Liu Yun closed her eyes, the scenes of her time with Qi Nan flashed through her mind. Thinking carefully, she felt more and more that Qi Nan was a wonderful girl, and she increasingly felt that she was completely unworthy of her.

Thinking that she must clarify things with Qi Nan once she returned, Liu Yun drifted off into a groggy sleep again.

When she woke up again, the first thing she saw was Qi Nan’s smiling face.

“Sister Yun, you’re awake?”

Qi Nan stood up from the stool beside the bed.

Liu Yun propped herself up to sit, and Qi Nan naturally placed a soft pillow behind her.

Glancing at the dazzling sunlight outside, Liu Yun realized she had slept for a long time.

“What time is it?” she asked.

“It’s been a while past noon. The food is warming in the pot. Should I bring it over now?” Qi Nan’s face was all smiles, radiating the joy of someone whose wishes have come true.

Looking at her smiling face, Liu Yun couldn’t bring herself to utter any words of refusal.

“Did you make it?”

“No.” Qi Nan vigorously waved her hands. “My cooking is too terrible. My Mistress made it.”

“Your Mistress?” Liu Yun was surprised.

Qi Nan’s Mistress was Yang Yulan, Lu Hualin’s wife.

“Did you sneak it over?” Liu Yun asked again.

Other than that, she couldn’t imagine how Qi Nan could openly bring food from the Lu family.

“No, no, I wouldn’t steal things.” Qi Nan quickly shook her head in denial. “My Mistress specially told me to bring it for you to eat.”

Seeing the confusion in Liu Yun’s eyes, Qi Nan explained, “This morning when I went back to Deer Village, I told my sister, my master, and my mistress about us.”

Liu Yun’s heart fiercely skipped a beat, and she looked at her in disbelief.

“Don’t worry, they didn’t object at all! My Mistress even gave me some vegetables and told me to take good care of you,” Qi Nan quickly continued, focusing on Liu Yun’s expression.

“They all agreed?” Liu Yun couldn’t believe what she had heard.

Her reputation in Deer Village was so bad, yet none of Qi Nan’s family, elders, or friends objected.

“Yes,” Qi Nan nodded earnestly.

“Yesterday you asked me to think carefully.” Qi Nan said, reaching into her bosom and pulling out a packet of silver money. “I have thought it through, and I want to be with you.”

“This is the silver I’ve saved over the years.” She scratched her head, a little embarrassed as she handed the money pouch to Liu Yun. “It’s not a lot of money, about fifty-something taels. It should be enough to buy a small house near the city gate.”

As Qi Nan spoke, she silently thanked Lu Sheng profusely in her heart. The new wine sold well this year, and Lu Sheng had Lu Hualin give everyone a big red envelope. Qi Nan received twenty taels, which gave her the confidence to mention buying a house in the county town to Liu Yun.

“If we buy a house at the city gate, it’ll be convenient for me to go to the winery in the morning. When I come back, I’ll pick you up, and we can open the shop together. The winery finishes work early, so I’ll come to pick you up as soon as I’m done.”

“I get two taels of wages every month, which should be enough for us to live on,” Qi Nan added, “And in two more years, when I become a Master Brewer, my wages can increase to three taels.”

Liu Yun had asked Qi Nan to think carefully about what she would face by being with her, but Qi Nan had turned her words into every practical detail of an ordinary life: where to buy a house, how much her wages were, and how they would live.

Qi Nan completely misunderstood Liu Yun’s meaning, yet every word resonated accurately with what Liu Yun truly desired.

The life Qi Nan described was too beautiful—so beautiful that it made Liu Yun both yearn for it and yet want to retreat from it.

“Qi Nan.”

Liu Yun called out to her, but didn’t dare to meet her gaze. She lowered her head, and her voice dropped as well.

“I had a miscarriage.”

The miscarriage had always been a wound in her heart, something Liu Yun never wanted to bring up in front of others, but at this moment, she felt she had to emphasize it to Qi Nan.

Even if she could truly be with Qi Nan in the future, she didn’t want this matter to become a thorn in Qi Nan’s heart.

Moreover, she and Lu Yu hadn’t formally registered their partnership at the local government office, but she had still carried a child, while Qi Nan was a maiden who had never been betrothed.

Putting aside everything else, this point alone made Liu Yun feel unworthy of her.

Sensing her dejection, Qi Nan moved closer to her.

She tentatively took Liu Yun’s hand. Seeing that she didn’t pull away, Qi Nan happily curved her eyebrows and said in a gentle voice, “I know, Sister Yun.”

“You don’t mind?” Liu Yun froze for a moment, looked up at her, and asked seriously.

Qi Nan shook her head quickly.

She had never dared to think about children, yet Liu Yun had already thought further ahead than she had.

Qi Nan’s face was flushed, looking very shy, and she stammered, “If, if you want a child in the future, I can give birth to it. If you don’t want one, it’s fine for just the two of us to live together too.”

The scene of Liu Yun’s miscarriage that day had truly frightened Qi Nan. Her hands had trembled for a long time after she carried Liu Yun to the clinic.

At the time, she thought that if she were Lu Yu, she would never let Liu Yun have another child again.

Later, Qi Nan secretly overheard the doctor telling Lu Yu that Liu Yun was already frail, and the miscarriage had harmed her vitality. If she didn’t recuperate properly, she might not be able to have children again.

Having seen Liu Yun covered in blood and as pale as a sheet that day, Qi Nan sincerely felt that if they wanted children, it should be her who gave birth; her body was very healthy.

Liu Yun realized that Qi Nan had completely misunderstood her meaning, but from the intent of her words, Liu Yun knew she didn’t need to ask any more questions.

Liu Yun agreed to Qi Nan on the first day of the lunar month. On the sixth day, Qi Nan brought an almanac, saying that Lu Hualin had chosen several auspicious dates suitable for marriage, and asked her to decide which one to choose.

With the marriage decided, buying a house was also put on the agenda. Qi Nan first asked for Liu Yun’s opinion, and after they agreed on an area, Qi Nan looked at many houses with a property agent by herself. Then, she took Liu Yun to see a few suitable places, and finally chose a house that Liu Yun liked.

The tenth day of the third lunar month was an auspicious day suitable for marriage.

Qi Nan and Liu Yun held a wedding ceremony, bowing to each other in the small, newly bought courtyard, witnessed by a small number of close friends and family. Lu Sheng and Qi Zhenshu had gone to the capital and couldn’t return to attend, but they sent them a big red envelope.

“Master, Mistress, please take care on your way.”

“Dashan, be careful when driving the ox-cart.”

Qi Nan and Liu Yun saw the guests off together. Qi Bei, with her sleeves rolled up, walked out of the kitchen, called her daughter aside, and said to Qi Nan, “The dishes and bowls are all tidied up. You can use the ox-cart tomorrow to take the tables and chairs in the courtyard back to the village.”

There weren’t many people at the wedding feast, only two tables. The tables were large round ones borrowed from the Deer Village Ancestral Hall.

“Got it, Sister,” Qi Nan said.

“Thank you, Sister,” Liu Yun also thanked her.

Qi Bei had been busy for over half a month helping with Qi Nan’s marriage.

“We’re family, no need for formalities,” Qi Bei smiled, and teased, “Since there’s nothing else, I won’t stay and disturb your wedding night.”

Wedding banquets in Binhe County are usually in the afternoon, and it was just getting dark, so talking about the wedding night was indeed a bit early.

After saying that, Qi Bei left with her daughter, leaving the newlywed wives in the courtyard, both blushing intensely.

“I’ll go boil water for a wash.”

As the words left her mouth, Qi Nan’s face flushed even more. She felt she smelled of wine and wanted to wash up, but the way she said it sounded a little like rushing to wash up for the wedding night.

Being a little more mature than her, Liu Yun was shy but not as severely as Qi Nan. “Go ahead. I’ll sweep the courtyard a bit more.”

Seeing that Liu Yun didn’t misunderstand, Qi Nan also relaxed a little. She walked a few steps, then turned back and instructed, “Okay, just sweep, but wait for me to heat up the water to collect the tables and chairs.”

“I understand,” Liu Yun said with a smile.

Since they got together, Qi Nan’s care for Liu Yun was even greater than before, not letting her do any heavy tasks that required much effort.

As night fell.

The red candle flickered, emitting a warm, orange-yellow glow.

After bathing, most of the wine smell on Qi Nan had gone, but she felt her head was even dizzier and her body felt warm.

She walked into the room, where Liu Yun was tidying up the red dates, peanuts, longans, and lotus seeds on the bed. Qi Nan naturally picked up a bamboo sieve to help.

“I’ll boil you a sweet soup tomorrow,” Liu Yun said with a faint smile, grabbing a handful of the ‘may you quickly give birth to noble children’ assortment and placing it in the sieve.

After washing, both were only wearing thin red inner garments.

Liu Yun was naturally fair-skinned. She had been tanned from working in the fields before, but working in the wine shop for over a year had restored much of her fairness. Now, wearing the red wedding clothes made her look even more delicate and beautiful.

“Mhm.”

Qi Nan nodded softly, her face red. She placed the bamboo sieve on the small table nearby, then turned around to see Liu Yun pulling the festive quilt to make the bed, which made her face heat up even more.

It was a large red quilt embroidered with mandarin ducks, and there was only one.

Although Qi Nan had slept in the same bed with Liu Yun during the days when Liu Yun’s leg was injured, they each had their own quilt then, and they were not married. Qi Nan dared not have any disrespectful thoughts towards her.

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