Transmigrated into the Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Prime Minister - Chapter 42

The red sun was setting, and dusk was rising all around.

Qi Zhenshu paused slightly, turning her head to look at Princess Changning, who was seated at the head. Princess Changning raised an eyebrow slightly and smiled gracefully, “Scholar Qi, you speak first.”

Nodding slightly to her, Qi Zhenshu turned to Huang Yunran and said, “Their next target should be the clinic in the east of the city.”

“Why?” Huang Yunran asked, puzzled.

“The method they use is singular. If they were to find clinics too close to each other, the clues would be easily discovered. That’s why every clinic they’ve targeted is far apart.”

Huang Yunran instantly understood. Without waiting for Qi Zhenshu to continue, she immediately bent over to look at the map of Qinzhou City on the table and analyzed, “According to their movement trajectory over the past two days, the two clinics the day before yesterday were in the south and west of the city. Today’s were in the north and the center of the city.”

“Then the next most likely place will be the east of the city!” Huang Yunran’s eyes sparkled with excitement.

Qi Zhenshu nodded, adding faintly, “All we need to do next is to focus on checking these four clinics in the east of the city, and ask if any woman brought a child with diarrhea to see a doctor today. We should basically be able to confirm their next target.”

“That makes sense!” Huang Yunran clapped her hands and smiled.

“One more point, rather than arresting them on the spot, it’s better to secretly follow them all the way to find their residence and capture them all in one fell swoop,” Qi Zhenshu paused, and then continued, “They might still have other children in their hands.”

Huang Yunran had initially thought that once the people were arrested, they could naturally be questioned to find their accomplices, but now, hearing Qi Zhenshu’s method, it seemed more secure and thorough.

After a moment of thought, she turned to Princess Changning, bowed, and asked, “Does the Princess have any instructions?”

“That is exactly my intention.”

Princess Changning’s gaze swept over Qi Zhenshu nearby, her beautiful eyes lifting slightly, filled with appreciative praise and a hint of probing.

Their eyes met, Qi Zhenshu nodded slightly, and calmly withdrew her gaze, devoid of any emotional ripple.

This scene was nothing special, but seeing it, Lu Sheng suddenly felt a subtle sense of crisis.

She subconsciously moved closer to Qi Zhenshu. Sensing her movement, Qi Zhenshu quietly asked, “What’s wrong?”

Lu Sheng came back to her senses with a start. She gently shook her head.

She laughed at herself for overthinking. Qi Zhenshu was a married woman, and someone of Princess Changning’s status would never have any ideas about her.

As a member of the imperial family, marriage must be to a noble and prominent family; she would never marry an ordinary person, let alone become a concubine or a replacement wife.

Although she comforted herself with these thoughts, Lu Sheng still felt a bit low until the two finished dinner and returned to their room.

After the two finished washing up, Qi Zhenshu leaned against the head of the bed, holding a scroll. Seeing someone climb into bed preoccupied, she spoke, calling out, “Lu Sheng.”

Lu Sheng turned her head at the sound, momentarily not paying attention to the quilt at her feet, and tripped, plunging forward.

Seeing her forehead about to hit the wall, Qi Zhenshu quickly reached out to cushion the impact.

“Hiss~”

The forward momentum was too great, and her knuckles scraped against the rough wall, causing Qi Zhenshu to gasp in pain.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.”

Lu Sheng sat up straight and immediately grabbed her hand to examine it.

The back of the fair hand was completely red, the skin imprinted with rough granules from the wall, and the knuckles were swollen from the greatest impact.

Lu Sheng was instantly alarmed and quickly climbed off the bed to wring a clean cloth, helping her wipe off the dust from her hand.

Her movements were so swift that by the time Qi Zhenshu reacted, she found Lu Sheng supporting her left hand with one hand and covering the back of her hand with the other.

Lu Sheng gently massaged her knuckles, constantly muttering questions.

“Is the pressure okay?”

“Does this hurt?”

“Sigh, it’s all my fault for being so clumsy.”

“It’s nothing, it will be fine in a couple of days.” A strange feeling flowed through her heart, Qi Zhenshu was stunned for a moment, and subconsciously pulled her hand back.

As soon as it left her palm, it was caught by a soft grip. Lu Sheng hooked her fingers, directly holding Qi Zhenshu’s fingertips.

The oil lamp in the room was too dim, so Lu Sheng pulled her hand closer to examine it carefully, “It hasn’t been massaged properly yet.”

The warm breath sprayed on the back of her hand, like a gentle feather brush, making Qi Zhenshu unconsciously curl her fingers. When she realized it, she quickly tried to pull it back again.

“No, it needs to be treated with medicated oil to heal faster.” Lu Sheng let go of her hand and turned to crawl off the bed.

Completely focused on the injury on her hand, Lu Sheng did not notice the blush that had appeared on Qi Zhenshu’s usually calm and placid face.

Grabbing her outer garment from the hanger, Lu Sheng put on her shoes and hurried out the door.

Qi Zhenshu watched the small figure run far away, only to rush back quickly a moment later, holding a small porcelain bottle in her hand.

Hanging the outer garment casually back up, Lu Sheng kicked off her shoes and climbed back into bed, pouring the medicated oil into her palm and quickly rubbing her hands together to generate heat.

“Luckily the skin isn’t broken, otherwise I wouldn’t be able to apply the medicine.”

Lu Sheng said, looking at Qi Zhenshu, gesturing for her to offer her hand.

Qi Zhenshu hesitated for a moment in her heart, then slowly raised her hand.

The distance between their hands was a bit far, so Lu Sheng simply moved forward, kneeling by Qi Zhenshu’s waist, and holding her hand, began to massage it.

The girl was half-bent, her skin was fair and smooth, flushed with a slight pink color from her recent running. Her dark long hair slipped from her shoulder, draping across her chest.

Where black and white intersected, a faint, light pink hue entered Qi Zhenshu’s eyes, and beneath that delicate color was concealed the boundless, graceful, and enchanting allure of spring.

Her breathing suddenly hitched, Qi Zhenshu closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

“Does it hurt a lot?” Feeling her sharp intake of breath, Lu Sheng lightened the pressure on her hand, looking up nervously to ask.

Qi Zhenshu raised her right hand to support her forehead, shook her head with her eyes closed, and replied hoarsely, “It doesn’t hurt.”

Hearing the restraint in her voice, Lu Sheng felt even more guilty and dared not continue the massaging movements.

“How about I blow on it for you?”

With that, she brought Qi Zhenshu’s hand to her lips and began to blow on it, puff by puff.

The gentle breath swept across the skin on her hand, cool and refreshing, like a breeze that dispersed the heat from the injury, very comfortable.

But the next instant, that breeze turned into a light, pure feather, meandering across the back of her hand, stirring up waves of tingling itchiness.

In an instant, goosebumps rose on Qi Zhenshu’s arm.

Qi Zhenshu’s spine stiffened, and her palm involuntarily tightened, clutching Lu Sheng’s hand tightly.

“Does it still hurt a lot?” Lu Sheng looked up at her, her eyes filled with worry, and said remorsefully, “Next time don’t block it for me…”

Qi Zhenshu had seen this face thousands of times, but looking at it now, she felt it was greatly different.

Qi Zhenshu couldn’t help but scrutinize her.

Fringe hair was scattered across her forehead, her eyelashes were long and curled, her nose was delicate and straight, and her eyes, like washed water, were clear and clean. Speckles of lamplight falling into them made them even more radiant.

The girl in front of her was too beautiful and lively, giving her a sense of stunning wonder, as if seeing her for the very first time.

“Qi Zhenshu?”

Not getting a response for a long time, Lu Sheng reached out and waved her hand in front of Qi Zhenshu’s eyes.

Qi Zhenshu collected her thoughts, calmed the ripples in her eyes, and said with her eyes lowered, “It doesn’t hurt anymore.”

She slowly withdrew her hand, pulled the quilt on the side over herself, and said in her usual calm voice, “It’s getting late. We should rest early.”

“Oh, alright.” Lu Sheng also pulled her own quilt and turned onto her side to lie down.

Before long, the oil lamp by the bed was blown out by Qi Zhenshu, and the room was plunged into darkness.

The room was utterly silent.

Her courage amplified by the night, Lu Sheng hesitated, then turned over to face Qi Zhenshu, and whispered, “Qi Zhenshu.”

Qi Zhenshu was lying on her back, her hands clasped over her abdomen.

Hearing her voice, she slightly turned her head to look at her, and softly asked, “What is it?”

Lu Sheng rested her head on one hand, keeping her voice as level as possible, and asked very casually, “What do you think of Princess Changning?”

“Princess Changning?”

Qi Zhenshu was very puzzled, not knowing why Lu Sheng would suddenly bring her up at this time.

“Mm.” Lu Sheng softly affirmed.

“I don’t know much about her,” Qi Zhenshu turned her head, closed her eyes, and said indifferently.

“Oh.”

Seeing her cold attitude, completely devoid of any special regard for Princess Changning, Lu Sheng secretly rejoiced in her heart. Satisfied, she turned over, ready to fall asleep.

But before she could close her eyes, Qi Zhenshu’s slightly cool voice sounded from behind her, “Why did you ask about her?”

“Huh?” Lu Sheng was stunned for a moment, then turned back to her and said, “I just thought of her suddenly.”

Qi Zhenshu had also turned her head at this point, a pair of deep, dark eyes fixed on her.

“What’s wrong?” Lu Sheng felt inexplicably flustered and asked with some discomfort.

The light in the room was too dim for Lu Sheng to see clearly, but she vaguely felt that Qi Zhenshu’s gaze had darkened a little.

Lu Sheng grew increasingly nervous, thinking that Qi Zhenshu couldn’t possibly have guessed her probing intention.

Surely not?

Qi Zhenshu shouldn’t be so smart as to guess that her brain had momentarily gone crazy, that she felt the two of them were strangely compatible after seeing them in the afternoon, right? And that she was indirectly probing her about it here, right?

Looking at Qi Zhenshu, she seemed quite slow when it came to feelings. She probably wouldn’t guess, would she?

After a long while, Lu Sheng’s heart was pounding. Just as she was thinking of a reasonable explanation, she heard Qi Zhenshu gently acknowledge her.

“Mm.”

She turned her body, returned to the supine position, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.

Her restless heart settled back into place. Lu Sheng quietly let out a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to turn over again, Qi Zhenshu’s voice rang out in her ear once more.

“Lu Sheng.”

Lu Sheng’s body stiffened, and she slowly turned her head back, asking haltingly, “W-what is it?”

“Lu Sheng, we are wives bound by a marriage contract.”

Qi Zhenshu articulated clearly, each word spoken low and powerful, serious and carrying an invisible pressure.

The next day.

It was just past Shenshi (3-5 PM), and Miao Fang excitedly dashed back to the posthouse.

“We caught them, we caught them!” Miao Fang was sweating profusely from the run. He snatched the cup from Yan Hua’s hand, drained it in one gulp, and said cheerfully.

Yan Hua gave him a helpless glare but still picked up the teapot on the table and refilled his cup.

Miao Fang grinned at him, “We followed them all the way to their lair. There were eleven people in total, and we caught every single one.”

“Scholar Qi, you are truly amazing!” he said, giving Qi Zhenshu a thumbs-up.

“Were there any other children there?” Qi Zhenshu’s eyebrows relaxed slightly.

Hearing her question, Miao Fang’s eyes immediately drooped, and he shook his head dejectedly, “No.”

The eleven human traffickers were not from Qinzhou. They had been moving and committing crimes in different prefectures. In each place they went, they would extort four or five clinics. Before leaving that area, they would kidnap a few children with poor health and take them to the next location to commit more crimes.

They came from Maizhou and had kidnapped a total of six children. One died on the way. By today, the remaining five had all been murdered by them.

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