Transmigrated into the Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Prime Minister - Chapter 34

A sickle-shaped crescent moon hung in the half-empty sky, its moonlight falling like a thin veil, spreading a layer of fine, crystalline silver light over the earth.

The night wind gently caressed the window lattice, and the tree branches swayed lightly with the breeze.

Lu Sheng kicked off her slippers and got onto the bed, but just sat there in a daze, watching the dancing tree shadows outside the window, not knowing what to do.

“Should I just take off my middle garment later?”

“I probably don’t need to take off my pants, right?”

“If I take off my middle garment, I’ll only be left with a dudou (a traditional Chinese brassiere/vest). If I lie on my stomach, won’t I expose myself?!”

“Maybe I should cover it with my elbow, otherwise it would be too embarrassing.”

Lu Sheng repeatedly rehearsed in her mind the posture for lying on her stomach, the direction of her face—left or right—and the position of her arms, which should be placed naturally at her sides.

“Relax, I must relax. I can’t let Qi Zhenshu see my nervousness.”

She took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, repeating this two or three times before finally adjusting her breathing.

Zhiya~

The wooden door’s joints rubbed, emitting a heavy sound, followed by unhurried footsteps growing closer. Lu Sheng’s body stiffened.

Tap, tap, tap.

Each step seemed to tread on Lu Sheng’s heart, raising ripples that plucked at her heartstrings.

It wasn’t until the sound was close to her ear that Lu Sheng quickly drew back her feet that were dangling over the edge of the bed.

A flash of bright light passed, and Qi Zhenshu looked at the person sitting on the edge of the bed with confusion, “What are you dazing about? Why aren’t you lying down yet?”

“Oh, oh.”

Lu Sheng felt her brain was somewhat malfunctioning, completely unable to think, only able to follow Qi Zhenshu’s words.

Extending her legs towards the foot of the bed, Lu Sheng made a movement as if to lie down, but was stopped by Qi Zhenshu grabbing her arm.

“What’s wrong?” Lu Sheng’s mind was blank, and she subconsciously asked.

“Your clothes are not yet undone,” Qi Zhenshu frowned slightly, wondering why this person was suddenly so sluggish.

Hearing her words, Lu Sheng’s brain finally started working, only its speed was a little too fast. Countless images of undressing, half-exposed shoulders flashed before her eyes.

Her heart began to pound uncontrollably, and heat quickly rushed to her cheeks. Lu Sheng hurriedly turned around, presenting her back to Qi Zhenshu.

She secretly gritted her teeth, trembling as she reached to untie the knot on her sash at her side.

Seeing her make a move, Qi Zhenshu found an empty spot on the edge of the bed and sat down, lowering her head to roll up her sleeves.

The middle garment was thin and silky. With just a gentle tug, the two sides of the opening came loose, and the skin of her chest was directly exposed to the air.

The mattress behind her slightly dipped, and the rustling sound of fabric rubbing reached Lu Sheng’s ears, stimulating every single one of her taut nerves.

“It’s already come to this, it would be strange not to take it off. Being hesitant is too timid.”

Lu Sheng hardened her resolve, bit her lip, and pulled the two pieces of the garment down.

When her warm skin suddenly met the cool air, Lu Sheng shivered, and goosebumps rose on her body.

Qi Zhenshu finished rolling up her sleeves and happened to see this scene. The pores on Lu Sheng’s rounded shoulders were slightly raised. She frowned and reached out to pull the slipped-down clothing back up.

“It’s just massaging the waist, why take off the middle garment?”

“Could this person have exhausted herself silly these past two days?”

“What’s wrong?” Sensing Qi Zhenshu’s movement, Lu Sheng stopped worrying about shyness and turned back to ask in a panic.

The oil lamp by the bed was dim, and Qi Zhenshu did not notice the abnormality on Lu Sheng’s face.

“It’s too cold. Just loosen it slightly and lift the hem of the garment, no need to take it off,” Qi Zhenshu said calmly.

She herself had washed her hands and face earlier, clearing her mind of distractions. At this moment, she simply thought Lu Sheng might catch a cold if she took off her middle garment.

“Oh, oh.”

Lu Sheng’s tightly strung nerves relaxed, and her runaway sanity slowly returned. She turned back to lie on her stomach by the bed and lifted the hem of her garment.

Seeing her settled, Qi Zhenshu opened the bottle cap, poured the medicated oil into her palm, and slowly rubbed her hands together until they were slightly warm before placing her hand on Lu Sheng’s lower back.

The moment their skin touched, Lu Sheng’s body trembled slightly. Qi Zhenshu’s hand paused for a moment and looked towards the head of the bed.

Lu Sheng was half-lying on the bed, burying her entire face in the crook of her arms. Qi Zhenshu’s eyes flickered, and putting together her series of dazed and silly reactions from the moment she entered the room, she instantly understood.

Finally sensing her bashfulness, Qi Zhenshu’s lips curved slightly, and she herself became calmer instead.

“Relax,” Qi Zhenshu said softly, her hand gently pressing and slowly moving on Lu Sheng’s waist. “If the knots aren’t massaged out, it will still hurt tomorrow.”

“Mhm,” Lu Sheng responded in a small voice.

“Is the force okay?” Qi Zhenshu slightly increased the pressure of her hands and asked again, “Does it hurt?”

“It’s fine, it’s very good.”

Lu Sheng buried her head in the pillow, answering muffledly, her shy emotions fully exposed.

Seeing her like this, Qi Zhenshu actually found it somewhat amusing, but her nature was consistently steady, and she didn’t get the idea to tease her. Instead, she shifted her gaze away from Lu Sheng’s smooth lower back and looked towards the lamp on the table.

The flame danced on the wick, emitting a faint orange-yellow glow. The shadows of the two people were elongated by the firelight, cast onto the distant wall, gently swaying with the flickering flame.

Light and shadow interwove, and time slowly flowed, bringing a rare sense of warmth and comfort to Qi Zhenshu’s heart.

Unlike her tranquility, Lu Sheng was simply enduring torment.

Every press of Qi Zhenshu’s palm was like tiny sparks, igniting on every piece of connecting skin between her hand and her waist. The small fire spread straight from her waist all the way to her heart.

Following this, Lu Sheng clearly felt the steaming heat on her face. She lifted her head from between the pillows, turning to face the wall as if unintentionally.

The next day.

Qi Zhenshu also went up the mountain with a bamboo basket, and called for Aunt Niu and her daughter-in-law to join Lu Sheng and the others in cutting medicinal herbs.

The five people were busy for another day and a half, finally gathering all the required ingredients for the fermentation starter.

Lu Sheng had intended to pay Aunt Niu and her daughter-in-law, but they absolutely refused to accept it. Finally, she thought about it and went to the county to buy two catties of pork and sent it to them.

Taking out the herbs that had been sun-dried for the past few days, Lu Sheng meticulously explained to Qi Nan the required fineness for grinding the herbs and the precise ratio for each type of herb.

As for the subsequent drying process, it was no different from the original fermentation starter, so Lu Sheng did not specifically instruct.

Three more days passed, and Lu Hualin, who was originally planning to leave for Qinzhou, accidentally twisted his waist while sun-drying grain.

“You already had an old injury and never fully recovered. Now you’ve twisted it again. You must rest in bed these days and must not get out of bed to work again,” Doctor Ding sternly warned him as he removed the acupuncture needles one by one from his waist. “If it gets any more serious, I’m afraid you won’t be able to do heavy labor in the future.”

“Then, how many days will I rest to get better?” Lu Huacheng asked anxiously.

“At least seven or eight days, up to half a month. The specifics depend on how well you recover,” Doctor Ding wiped the needles clean and put them into the needle box.

“Seven, eight days?” Lu Huacheng was surprised.

“Hiss!”

He instinctively tried to straighten his back but was immediately in pain and lay back down again.

Qinzhou’s Myriad Chrysanthemum Festival starts in six days. If he can only get out of bed after seven days, plus the three days of travel, by the time he rushes to Qinzhou, the chrysanthemums at Xianlin Villa would probably have been completely booked, and he wouldn’t even be able to buy a single petal.

To buy the Imperial Chrysanthemum from Xianlin Villa again, he would have to wait until autumn next year.

Last time, after listening to Lu Sheng, he was also very supportive of using chrysanthemum wine to launch the restaurant business. The Imperial Chrysanthemum from Xianlin Villa is highly renowned and favored by scholars, which would be a huge asset to their chrysanthemum wine.

“Th-th-this… what should we do?”

He thought about having Qi Nan go to Qinzhou to make the purchases, but upon closer reflection, he felt it wasn’t feasible.

He couldn’t get out of bed himself, and if he sent her to Qinzhou as well, the brewery would be left unattended.

Lu Hualin was so worried he was getting stressed, but out of the corner of his eye, he saw the two people walking in together at the door, and his eyes immediately lit up.

“Ah Sheng, Ah Shu, you’re here!”

“Is Uncle’s injury serious?” Lu Sheng asked as she entered and saw Yang Yulan.

“Not serious, not serious,” Lu Hualin quickly waved his hand, rushing to speak.

Yang Yulan gave him a gentle glare and teased, “It’s not serious, it just requires half a month of complete bed rest.”

Yang Yulan’s words choked Lu Hualin, and he quickly changed the subject, saying, “Ah Sheng, I was originally planning to leave for Qinzhou the day after tomorrow, but now it seems I can’t go.”

Lu Sheng had already thought of this matter when she heard about Lu Hualin’s injury.

Chrysanthemum wine must be brewed with fresh chrysanthemums; if they miss the blooming season, they can only wait another year.

She figured that if Lu Hualin couldn’t go to Qinzhou, then the chrysanthemum wine would have to wait until the following year. She could perhaps try brewing some fruit wine with the wild fruits when they ripen on the mountain to see if the restaurants would like it.

“How about Ah Sheng goes to Qinzhou on my behalf to purchase the chrysanthemums?”

Based on Lu Sheng’s recent performance, Lu Hualin was completely at ease letting her handle the purchasing and believed she would definitely do a good job.

“Me?”

Lu Sheng herself had never considered this. Firstly, because the original owner had never left Binhe County and knew nothing about the outside towns. Secondly, this body’s physical strength was truly too weak. Although Lu Sheng had been consciously exercising since arriving, she wasn’t strong enough to safely travel alone.

Lu Hualin nodded. This time, he had already anticipated Lu Sheng’s concerns and said, “Yes, I had already arranged it with Qin Si this time. They are going to Qinzhou the day after tomorrow to escort a shipment and will return seven days later. This way, you can travel with them both ways.”

Qinzhou Prefecture and Binhe County are separated by over 200 li. A carriage ride takes at least three days. The journey is long and arduous. Lu Hualin had originally planned to hire a strong escort from a security company (Biaoju) to go with him, and it just so happened that they were already escorting a shipment to Qinzhou.

Qin Si of Qinwu Security Company is the husband of Yang Yulan’s sister, making him Lu Hualin’s brother-in-law. The two have a very friendly relationship and frequent interactions.

Originally, when traveling to other prefectures, Lu Hualin wouldn’t have thought of finding a security company to travel with, but the last time Lu Huacheng delivered goods to Qingzhou Prefecture, he was robbed and killed by bandits on the way back, leaving Lu Hualin with lingering fears.

Hearing that a security company would be accompanying her, Lu Sheng felt much more at ease and was somewhat persuaded.

The day Lin Shuqing mentioned the Chrysanthemum Festival, she had thought that if she had the chance, she must go and see it.

“In that case, I can go,” Lu Sheng said, turning to look at Qi Zhenshu, “What do you think?”

No matter what, Qi Zhenshu was her wife in name, so it was better to discuss it with her before going out.

Her pair of bright, clear eyes were full of the words “I want to go,” making it impossible for Qi Zhenshu to ignore or refuse.

Qi Zhenshu sighed softly in helplessness and said, “I will go with you.”

“You’re coming with me?” Lu Sheng asked doubtfully.

If Qi Zhenshu went with her, what about Tangtang?

Should they take her along? But the child was too young, and traveling such a long distance with her would ultimately be inconvenient.

“Then what about Tangtang…”

Just as Lu Sheng was about to speak, Lu Hualin interjected, “Send her over to our house. It just so happens that I can’t go out, so the little one can keep me company and cheer me up.”

That was a good idea.

Lu Sheng looked inquiringly at Qi Zhenshu.

Qi Zhenshu nodded.

That had been her intention all along.

After settling the matter with Lu Hualin, the two went back and asked the little one for her opinion.

Although the little one was reluctant, she knew that her mother and niangqin were going out to handle business, so she nodded her small head and innocently agreed.

Before Lu Huacheng passed away, Tangtang was always looked after by her wet nurse, who often took her to the lizheng’s (village head’s) home to play in her spare time.

Now that she had to stay there for a few days, the little one didn’t mind. Moreover, Lu Hualin said he would have Zhuo You come over to join them so she would have a playmate, which made the little one agree even more happily.

The day scheduled with the security company was the day after tomorrow. After Lu Sheng and Qi Zhenshu went home for lunch, they took another trip to Qinwu Security Company in the county to inform them that Lu Hualin was injured and they would be going instead, and also to confirm the departure time for the day after tomorrow.

By the time the two of them left the Qinwu Security Company, the sky was already dim.

The two bought some snacks from a food stall, and as they turned around, they saw an acquaintance standing at the entrance of a residence across the street.

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