Transmigrated into the Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Prime Minister - Chapter 27

The firmament was vast, deep, and boundless.

Qi Zhenshu took a step forward, walked in front of her, and looked at her, saying, “This is already the best outcome.”

“Mhm.” Lu Sheng nodded, saying softly, “I know.”

She understood the reasoning, but still felt a sense of loss due to her powerlessness.

Qi Zhenshu noticed her low spirits, thought for a moment, and started to speak, “You.”

The first word had just left her mouth when she paused again.

“Mhm?” Lu Sheng looked up at her.

She saw Qi Zhenshu frown, looking at her, her eyes flickering. She swallowed the words she had originally intended to say and hesitantly changed her question, “Would you like some chicken?”

Lu Sheng didn’t understand her meaning and asked in confusion, “What?”

Qi Zhenshu looked at her and repeated, “Do you want to go buy a chicken to cook and eat?”

“You want to eat chicken? Then…”

Lu Sheng’s words trailed off midway, and then she instantly understood Qi Zhenshu’s meaning.

She was startled at first, then looked at Qi Zhenshu in surprise.

Had this person noticed her bad mood and therefore asked her if she wanted to eat chicken?

In Qi Zhenshu’s eyes, eating chicken could make her happy?!

No, that’s not right. Why would Qi Zhenshu think that eating chicken would make her happy?

Was it because she was so happy the first time she ate chicken?

“Cough.” Lu Sheng cleared her throat and said softly, “Actually, it’s alright even if we don’t eat chicken.”

Her previous comfort was enough.

Qi Zhenshu looked at her, puzzled. Lu Sheng felt too embarrassed to voice her thoughts, so she could only say, “Then let’s go buy the chicken, okay!”

After speaking, she quickly walked ahead, quietly fanning her hands to cool the heat on her face.

The next day, as the sky was barely lighting up, Lu Yu and Liu Yun came over.

The two had sold their village land and were preparing to move to the county for a new life. They specially came over before leaving to thank Lu Sheng and Qi Zhenshu for their help the day before.

Lu Sheng saw that despite their tired faces, they were full of happiness, and she was genuinely glad for them.

Two more days passed, and the unconscious Village Head Lu woke up. However, due to her severe injuries, her mind remained unclear, and she only remembered events before she went up the mountain.

As for how she got up the mountain, what happened on the mountain, and why she fell down the slope, she couldn’t remember anymore.

During this time, people from the Second Branch came to visit once. Lu Sheng and Qi Zhenshu saw their composed expressions and heard them repeatedly mention returning to the winery, so they speculated that the Village Head Lu’s accident had little to do with them.

Sure enough, the next day, Yu Ling learned from a little sparrow sister that a tall man had gone to the graveyard before Village Head Lu, but it had only flown past there by chance and hadn’t seen what happened afterward.

Moreover, it didn’t recognize the man; he wasn’t from Lu’er Village.

This made Lu Sheng somewhat suspicious again. If he wasn’t from Lu’er Village, why would he appear here?

Did the Grand-Aunt encounter something she shouldn’t have seen by accident?

Or was that person deliberately trying to murder her? And what was his motive for killing the Grand-Aunt?

Or perhaps they were overthinking it, and the Grand-Aunt rolling down the slope was just an accident.

“If the culprit intended to kill the Grand-Aunt, since she is currently unharmed, would he try to harm her again?” Lu Sheng asked worriedly.

Qi Zhenshu shook her head, “If the culprit wanted to kill the Grand-Aunt, he would have come back to act that very night. Why wait until she woke up?”

Lu Sheng then shared her doubts with Qi Zhenshu. Qi Zhenshu also couldn’t confirm the exact reason, so the two agreed to keep it hidden from Lu Hualin and the others for now, and discuss it with Zhuo Yu when she returned from Qingzhou Prefecture before deciding what to do.

The moon was bright and the stars were sparse. The silvery light poured down from the sky like water, spreading a layer of clean, jade-like radiance over the earth.

After Lu Sheng had coaxed Tangtang to sleep, she went to the study.

Knock, knock, knock.

Qi Zhenshu looked up and saw her, then stopped writing and asked her, “Did you need to see me?”

“Mhm.”

Lu Sheng walked over, her peripheral vision catching sight of the paper on the desk. Written on the paper was a “Strategy for Governance” (Zhian Ce) analyzing the pros and cons of the vassal state system and proposing its rectification.

Observing the slightest sign to know the future, being mindful in times of peace to anticipate danger, one should always be vigilant. It is better to be prepared without need than to be complacent and allow it to happen, otherwise unforeseen calamity will surely arise from this.

The reduction of the vassal states is imperative, but it must not be rushed to the detriment of success, leading to military revolt and harm to the common people.

These short two lines allowed Lu Sheng to see Qi Zhenshu’s political talent and high ideals.

It also gave Lu Sheng a new understanding of her.

She had always thought that Qi Zhenshu’s reason for studying and taking the imperial exams was mostly to fulfill Lu Huacheng’s dying wish and adhere to her promise.

Lu Sheng felt this way because Qi Zhenshu was such a cool and detached person. Ever since Lu Sheng transmigrated, apart from the very first day when she saw an angry Qi Zhenshu, she had never seen her display any particularly strong emotions.

Take the imperial exams, for instance. After Lu Sheng arrived, she had seen book stalls selling large quantities of study guides and practice books like the Selected Classics, Histories, Masters, and Anthologies and Selected Exam Papers, but she never saw Qi Zhenshu buy any.

During her last conversation with Lu Zheng, Qi Zhenshu also didn’t show extreme enthusiasm for the exams. Instead, it was Lu Zheng who urged her to seize the opportunity and not delay her studies at Baihe Academy due to miscellaneous matters.

It wasn’t until she saw this policy essay today that Lu Sheng realized that beneath this person’s transcendent and elegant exterior lay profound political ambitions for the country and its people.

Thinking of this, Lu Sheng felt a bit more relaxed.

It seemed that the matter she was about to discuss would mostly align with Qi Zhenshu’s intentions.

“There is one thing I wanted to discuss with you,” Lu Sheng looked at her, her tone gentle, “I want to buy a shop with a back courtyard on North Street.”

“Buy a shop?”

“Yes, the weather is getting colder, and selling wine on the street every day is cold. Secondly, going back and forth every day is inconvenient.”

“Currently, the winery only has rice wine and five-grain wine, but in the future, we need to brew more different varieties, or brew some wines that are more favored by restaurants.”

Lu Sheng didn’t finish all the latter part of her sentence, but Qi Zhenshu understood immediately.

Relying solely on setting up a stall at the dock could only sell low-priced grain wine, and the profit was relatively low. To earn more money and further enhance the reputation of the Lu family’s winery, they needed to brew some wines suitable for scholars, refined people, and wealthy families, and sell the wine to more high-end restaurants.

In this case, owning an independent storefront was an indispensable facade.

“Have you looked at any shops?”

Qi Zhenshu thought that since Lu Sheng had already made up her mind, she must have looked at some shops already.

“I only asked about the price. Smaller ones are around four hundred taels. I haven’t looked at the specifics yet.” Lu Sheng smiled at her, “After all, buying a property is a big matter, so I definitely had to discuss it with you before making a decision, right?”

Qi Zhenshu’s eyes paused, and an indescribable emotion rose in her heart—surprise, yet also feeling it was quite normal.

The current Lu Sheng was neither spoiled nor willful. She could listen to others’ advice, consider things for the family, and would discuss her actions with her.

Lu Sheng was open and sincere, with only one exception.

Her true identity.

After interacting for many days, Qi Zhenshu was already able to confirm that the person in front of her was no longer the original Lu Sheng ever since the day they returned from the real estate agency on North Street.

However, Qi Zhenshu couldn’t guess her origin. Judging by Lu Sheng’s words and actions, Qi Zhenshu suspected she was not from Xiliang, nor even from any surrounding country.

The more mysterious she was, the more endless the curiosity she inspired.

Sometimes, Qi Zhenshu really wanted to ask her directly: Who exactly are you, and why have you become Lu Sheng? Where has the original Lu Sheng gone? Will she ever return?

But deep down, she inexplicably didn’t want to ask her.

Lu Sheng was the one who changed; shouldn’t she be the one to be honest with herself?

“So, how about we go look at the shops together tomorrow?”

Lu Sheng was completely unaware of Qi Zhenshu’s complex and troubled thoughts, and she smiled as she said to her, “Once we move to the county seat, we can send Tangtang to the county school’s elementary class.”

“That way, you won’t have to teach her to read every day, and you’ll have more time to study on your own.”

The girl’s bright eyes were like water, her smile was radiant, and a subtle flush of peach color adorned her snow-white, creamy skin, making her look fresh and charming.

Qi Zhenshu’s eyes gradually deepened, and the desire to uncover the truth surged in her heart again.

Lu Sheng, who exactly are you?

The next day, after finishing breakfast, the two of them carried Tangtang and went to the county seat together.

Originally, Qi Zhenshu had planned to leave her with Auntie Niu, but Lu Sheng smiled and said that Tangtang was also a member of the family, so naturally, such an important event as buying a property should include her.

“Mama, are we going to ride a boat and then eat yummy food?” Tangtang asked happily, tilting her small head.

“No, we’re going to buy a new house for our little darling Tangtang to live in later.”

“A new house?”

“Mhm, how does Tangtang feel about moving to the county seat to live in the future?” Lu Sheng asked her, smiling.

“If we move to the county, can we eat osmanthus cakes and sugar melons every day?” The little one’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Well, you’ll have to ask your mother about that.” Lu Sheng immediately threw the question to Qi Zhenshu.

This question was difficult to answer. If she said yes, the little one would be happy, but a certain person would surely give her the cold shoulder. If she said no, a certain person would be fine, but the little one would be unhappy.

Hearing her say this, the little one didn’t look at Qi Zhenshu and immediately changed her question, “If we move to the county, can we often eat osmanthus cakes and sugar melons?”

What a little clever ghost!

Lu Sheng poked her nose, “I don’t know! You still have to ask your mother!”

“Oh.” The little one secretly glanced at her mother, then lowered her head, pouting, and tugged at the cloth tiger’s little ear.

She looked up again to secretly look at Qi Zhenshu, then lowered her head to tug at the cloth tiger’s little ear again.

Lu Sheng was amused by her conflicted yet wronged little look. After glancing at a certain person who kept her gaze straight ahead, she secretly whispered in Tangtang’s ear, “Later, Mama can secretly buy some for you.”

The little one immediately beamed with smiles and carefully responded to Lu Sheng, “Mhm!”

Upon arriving at the county seat, they went straight to the real estate agency.

Although Lu Sheng had inquired beforehand, seeing them in person was quite different.

The shops on North Street had frequent foot traffic, and most businesses were doing well. There weren’t many truly vacant shops.

They looked at several. Some were either in too remote a location or the buildings were very old.

Only one was close to the dock, the building was relatively new, with a storefront in the front and a courtyard in the back.

However, the price was indeed beyond their budget, requiring five hundred and fifty taels.

Lu Sheng had originally planned for the shop to be around four hundred taels, plus about fifty taels for renovation and new furniture, leaving them with some savings for emergencies.

Lu Sheng thought about negotiating the price down, but the agent said that the landlord insisted on the price and would not sell for less than five hundred and fifty taels.

“In that case, we’ll trouble you to keep an eye out for us. We’ll take a look again when something suitable comes up.” Lu Sheng was helpless and could only resign herself to buying a shop when a more suitable one became available.

“Alright, I will certainly let you know if anything suitable comes up.”

The two were speaking and walking towards the exit when, just as they stepped out the door, they happened to run into an acquaintance.

“Lu Sheng?”

The person, upon seeing her, instantly smiled broadly and greeted her warmly, “What a coincidence.”

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