Transmigrated into the Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Prime Minister - Chapter 33

After discussing the chrysanthemum wine brewing with Lu Hualin, he decided to make a trip to Qinzhou in a few days, just in time for the Chrysanthemum Festival.

Lu Sheng also mentioned the tea grower introduced by Lin Shuqing, and to her surprise, Lu Hualin also knew the person.

Qinzhou has two large chrysanthemum gardens, and one of them is the Xianlin Mountain Villa that Lin Shuqing had mentioned.

The Imperial Chrysanthemums cultivated at Xianlin Mountain Villa are full in bloom, with a delicate and clear fragrance. The wine brewed from them is sweet and gentle, and has always been the most sought-after variety for making chrysanthemum wine in the Xiliang Kingdom.

The Imperial Chrysanthemums from the villa are perpetually in short supply, so they are only sold to regular customers.

Hearing this, Lu Sheng left the winery and went to Lin Shuqing’s mansion, but Lin Shuqing was not home.

The butler of the Lin residence received Lu Sheng and gave her a visiting card for Xianlin Mountain Villa, saying that Lin Shuqing had instructed him to give her the card if Lu Sheng came while he was away.

Holding the card, Lu Sheng felt that Lin Shuqing was truly thoughtful and considerate on the one hand, but on the other, she couldn’t help but recall what Qi Zhenshu had told her.

Lin Shuqing might indeed be overly familiar with her, but familiar as he was, Lin Shuqing had never done anything inappropriate.

Furthermore, Lu Sheng had been a widow for over twenty years, and she wasn’t so narcissistic as to think that Lin Shuqing, whom she had only met a few times, would have any special intentions towards her.

Considering Lin Shuqing’s family background and the disparity in their social status, Lu Sheng didn’t think there was anything about her that would warrant Lin Shuqing’s deliberate approach.

In the end, after much thought, she still felt it was probably due to the help she offered during their first meeting, as Lin Shuqing had mentioned more than once that he wanted to thank her.

She gave the card to Lu Hualin, then went to Lu Lizheng’s home.

Lu Lizheng’s health had basically recovered, but he still couldn’t recall what happened on the mountain that day.

Seeing that the weather was getting colder, Lu Sheng was afraid that the herbs would wither too quickly, so she planned to go up the mountain with Qi Nan first to cut the grass, and then clean and dry them all later.

After two consecutive days of cutting, Lu Sheng was so tired she could barely straighten her back.

The sun was setting in the west, and twilight enveloped the surroundings.

Lu Sheng entered the courtyard, pushing the door open with the bamboo basket on her back.

“Mommy!”

“Older Sister~”

Two figures, one small and one large, clung straight to Lu Sheng. The parrot landed on her shoulder, and the little one hugged her leg.

Lu Sheng took off her canvas gloves, rubbed each of their heads with a hand, and responded with a smile: “Good girls~”

She put down the basket, and instinctively rubbed her own sore waist. Looking up, she saw Qi Zhenshu standing at the kitchen door, with a slight frown.

After a brief exchange of glances, the crease between Qi Zhenshu’s eyebrows smoothed out, and she said slowly, “You’re back.”

“Mhm.” Lu Sheng nodded with a light smile.

“Isn’t Qi Nan with you?”

“Uncle called her for something just now, so she went back to the winery. She probably won’t be coming over.”

“Go wash your hands, I’ll put the noodles in the water and we can eat.”

“Okay.”

These past two days, while she was cutting grass on the mountain, Qi Zhenshu had been preparing all three meals a day, and even delivered food up the mountain for them at noon.

Although her cooking was a little bland, Lu Sheng didn’t mind it at all and ate with great relish.

At least it wasn’t turnip stew every meal.

That evening, Qi Zhenshu made clear broth noodles. Besides green vegetables and scallions, there was a poached egg in every bowl, but Lu Sheng’s bowl had two.

Lu Sheng looked at the extra egg, a bright smile quickly blooming on her face, and her eyes sparkled as she looked at Qi Zhenshu.

The hand holding the chopsticks paused slightly, and Qi Zhenshu said in a calm voice, “It was originally prepared for Qi Nan.”

Oh.

She had been overthinking.

Lu Sheng felt a slight pang of disappointment, but the smile on her face remained unchanged as she took the chopsticks from her hand.

Even if it wasn’t made specifically for her, the extra one was still given to her, wasn’t it?

“How many more days will you be cutting?” Qi Zhenshu stirred the noodles with her chopsticks, asking in a seemingly casual manner.

“Two or three more days, maybe,” Lu Sheng said, raising her eyes to look at the herbs in the courtyard. She nodded, “That should be enough.”

“Mhm.”

After dinner, Lu Sheng rested for a while, then washed up early and went back to her room with Tangtang.

After playing with her on the bed for a while, the little one fell asleep in Lu Sheng’s arms.

Lu Sheng carried her back to the east wing. As she bent down to put her down, she couldn’t help but sit on the edge of the bed and rub her sore lower back.

“Are you injured?” Qi Zhenshu walked in from outside and looked at her.

“No.” Lu Sheng stood up and walked out. “I just bent down too much, it’s a bit sore. I’m going back to rest now.”

“Mhm.”

Watching her leave the room, Qi Zhenshu turned and walked to the bedside, pulling the blanket over the little one who wasn’t sleeping still.

The night was soft, with a cold half-moon hanging in the sky.

‘Sister, that Ding Laizi went to the mountain cave again today.’ Yu Ling gripped a Golden-cherry, standing at the head of Lu Sheng’s bed, nibbling as it spoke.

“Did he take the thing away?” Lu Sheng was lying on her stomach on the bed, rubbing her waist.

She had been too busy these past few days to go up the mountain to find out what exactly Ding Laizi had hidden.

She had visited that mountain cave once as a child. It was big and deep, and after walking in seven or eight meters, you could barely see the sunlight, and bats often roosted on the rock walls.

The little sparrow has poor night vision, so it only followed up to the cave entrance and didn’t fly in. It only knew that Ding Laizi had hidden the item in the cave, but didn’t know the exact location or what he had hidden.

‘He took something else in.’

Yu Ling finished the last bite of the Golden-cherry, flapped its wings and flew to Lu Sheng’s lower back.

‘I’ll help massage, Sister.’

It nodded quickly, using the upper part of its beak to tap Lu Sheng’s waist.

“Oh, those little skills are pretty good.” Lu Sheng was amused by its action.

Hearing her praise, the little technician bird worked even harder, nodding its small head vigorously, and asked proudly: ‘Is it comfortable, Sister~’

“Comfortable~, so comfortable.”

“A little lower, yes, that’s right, right there, use a little force.”

“Mmm~”

“Comfortable!”

Although Yu Ling’s strength wasn’t great, the tapping on her lower back was quite effective. Lu Sheng sighed in relief.

Outside the door, the hand Qi Zhenshu had just raised paused, and after suppressing some strange associations in her mind, she knocked on the door.

The strange sounds in the room stopped, followed by a lazy female voice.

“The door’s not closed.”

Qi Zhenshu pushed the door open, her gaze naturally falling upon the bed.

Lu Sheng lifted the bed curtains, revealing her body turned sideways. Her clothes were loose, and her semi-wet, long hair was spread out across her chest. The pearly white skin, rising and falling between the black tresses, was particularly dazzling.

Qi Zhenshu’s expression suddenly stiffened, and she hastily averted her eyes, lowering her gaze to the footstool by the bed.

“Did you need something?” Lu Sheng saw her, smiled, and got out of bed.

A pair of bare jade feet extended from the bed curtain, slowly entering Qi Zhenshu’s sight. The skin was fair and translucent, glowing with a pink luster. Her toes were plump and round, like lotus buds, and they playfully curled slightly as they touched the footstool, looking cute and lively.

Suppressing the deep color in her eyes, Qi Zhenshu silently lifted her head, pretending to be normal. She placed the porcelain bottle on the small side table. With a dry catch in her throat, she slowly said, “This is liniment for relieving soreness.”

Lu Sheng got off the bed, walked over in her slippers, and took the oil with a beaming smile. “Thank you.”

Qi Zhenshu held her breath, took a deep breath, and looked up at her.

By now, Lu Sheng had adjusted her clothing. The collar of her undergarment was neatly resting against her collarbone, only exposing half of her pale neck.

Her hands, clasped behind her back, loosened and tightened again. Qi Zhenshu quickly looked away once more and whispered, “It’s nothing.”

Lu Sheng held the liniment, joy evident in her brows. Her bright eyes curved into two small crescent moons, and waves of cheerful excitement surged in her heart.

Qi Zhenshu knew her waist was sore, so she specifically brought her the liniment.

This counts as caring for her, right?

So, what should she do now? Should she ask Qi Zhenshu to help rub her waist?

If she did that, wouldn’t she have to take off her clothes in front of Qi Zhenshu?

The thought made her a little shy!

To take off her clothes for her to see so soon—was that moving too quickly?!

It was indeed too fast!

Cough, she should still be a little reserved.

“I’m going to study now.”

Qi Zhenshu’s clear, cold voice interrupted Lu Sheng’s happy, conflicted, and yet eager thoughts.

“Oh, oh, okay.”

The small surging waves in her heart instantly subsided, and Lu Sheng nodded, momentarily stunned.

Qi Zhenshu kept her gaze elsewhere and didn’t notice the fascinating changes in Lu Sheng’s expression.

However, just as she was about to leave, her peripheral vision noticed a flash of yellow crest feathers subtly appearing under the bed curtain.

Her foot immediately froze. Her eyes darkened, and Qi Zhenshu turned around, blurting out without thinking, “Your injury is on your lower back. It’s not convenient for you to apply the medicine yourself. Let me help you.”

“Hmm?”

Lu Sheng was following behind her on her way out. She didn’t expect Qi Zhenshu to stop abruptly, and she bumped right into her embrace.

The soft sensation next to her cheek caused her to freeze for a moment. Then, as she realized what it was, a blush quickly spread across her face.

“I…”

Lu Sheng quickly took a step back. She looked up, just about to apologize, but her gaze met the red mole on the side of Qi Zhenshu’s neck.

The lower part of the oval red mole was darker, becoming lighter towards the top, like a budding flower, delicate and unique.

The apology was caught in her throat. An inexplicable warmth ignited in Lu Sheng’s heart, making her lips and tongue dry.

She really wanted to touch that red mole.

“Did I bump you?” Qi Zhenshu’s voice came from above her head.

“No.”

Lu Sheng tugged at her sleeve, controlling her restless fingertips, and gently shook her head.

“It’s inconvenient for you to apply the medicine yourself. Let me help you.”

Qi Zhenshu thought she hadn’t heard what she just said and repeated it.

“Huh?”

Lu Sheng finally heard Qi Zhenshu’s words clearly, and the little flame in her heart flared up even brighter.

Qi Zhenshu actually volunteered to help her apply the medicine?!

Although she was tempted, she still felt a bit embarrassed about undressing in front of Qi Zhenshu.

“No need, no need, I can manage myself,” she said, waving her hands and refusing repeatedly.

“It’s hard to rub the lower back area yourself.” Qi Zhenshu frowned. “If you don’t rub it out today, it will definitely be more sore tomorrow, and then you might have trouble even climbing the mountain.”

Hearing this, Lu Sheng hesitated again.

Her waist was indeed too sore right now. If she didn’t relieve it, she definitely wouldn’t be able to work tomorrow.

Her stamina wasn’t great to begin with, and Qi Nan had cut most of the herbs. If she ended up being in too much pain to work, leaving Qi Nan to cut the herbs alone, that would be truly regrettable.

To ensure she could continue going up the mountain to work tomorrow, she hardened her resolve and nodded, “Then I’ll trouble you.”

“Mhm.”

Qi Zhenshu took the medicine bottle from her hand and pointed to the bed. “You go lie down there first. I’ll go wash my hands.”

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