Transmigrated into the Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Prime Minister - Chapter 46

The night was deep, the starlight sparse.

Lu Sheng turned over, facing the outside of the bed, looked at the empty spot beside her, and sighed softly.

She had been lying in bed for an hour, yet she had no sleepiness at all.

“Sister, can’t you sleep?”

In the bamboo basket by the window, a round bird head moved under its wings, letting out a soft chirping sound.

As if her thoughts were seen through by a bird, Lu Sheng’s face immediately flushed. She held her breath and remained motionless in her original posture, pretending to be fast asleep.

It wasn’t like she couldn’t sleep without Qi Zhenshu!

Lu Hualin’s waist injury hadn’t fully healed, so Lu Sheng went to the winery to help on the second day of her return to Deer’s Village.

After five or six days of continuous work, Lu Sheng and the winery staff together removed the cores from five hundred catties of imperial chrysanthemums, washed and dried them, and then added brown sugar and wolfberries to brew fifteen hundred catties of chrysanthemum wine.

After making the chrysanthemum wine, Lu Sheng went to the back mountain again. Seeing that the golden cherries on the mountain were basically ripe, she also brewed a thousand catties of golden cherry fruit wine.

Both the chrysanthemum wine and the fruit wine would need about a month to mature, and the five-grain wine brewed a few days ago had mostly completed distillation.

Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, it was the twelfth lunar month.

Lu Sheng took some time to go to the carpenter’s shop and learned that the wooden furniture for the shop would be finished in a few days. She then went to Lu Lizheng’s home to discuss the opening of the wine shop with Lu Hualin.

Lu Hualin specifically hired someone to calculate an auspicious date, and finally set the opening day for the twelfth day of the twelfth lunar month.

Five days before the opening day was also an auspicious day, so Lu Sheng chose that day to move to the new house.

The area of the new house was much smaller than the one in Deer’s Village. The south side was the main house, the east side of the main house was the bedroom with a study, and the west side was the main hall.

There was a room on each of the east and west wings. The east wing was a bedroom, and the west wing was the kitchen and dining hall.

There was a small covered walkway between the backyard and the front shop. On the east side of the walkway, there was a small side door, allowing access to and from the backyard without passing through the front shop.

Since the study was in the main house, Lu Sheng gave the main house to Qi Zhenshu and Tangtang to live in, and she lived in the east wing.

In fact, Lu Sheng wanted to live in the main house with Qi Zhenshu, but she only dared to think about it in her heart and completely dared not mention it to her.

Looking at the little one happily rolling around on the new bed, Lu Sheng silently shed tears of envy in her heart.

The next day, Lu Sheng sent the little one to the private school.

The private school was affiliated with the Binhe County Official Academy. When Lu Sheng and Qi Zhenshu brought Tangtang, Lu Zheng was already waiting at the entrance.

She worked as a teacher at the academy, just happening to be leading a class for newly initiated young children, and her daughter, Zhuo You, was also in this class.

“You have to be obedient and listen to your auntie,” Lu Sheng put her down, squatted down with some reluctance, and stroked her little head.

“Tangtang should stay with little sister Xiaoyou and not run around by yourself, got it?”

“Mommy will be waiting for you at the gate after school in the afternoon.”

“You have to get along well with the other little friends.”

“If anyone bullies you, go find your auntie.”

Lu Sheng chattered endlessly, telling her everything she could think of. Lu Zheng smiled and shook her head, reminding her, “It’s almost time.”

“Be good, okay.” Lu Sheng still instructed her one more time, and handed the little one’s hand she was holding to Lu Zheng.

“Got it, Mommy.”

Perhaps feeling Lu Sheng’s nervousness, the little one, Tangtang, nodded very obediently.

Before letting go of Tangtang’s hand, Lu Sheng asked Lu Zheng expectantly, “Big sister, can I go in and watch for a while?”

If the little one wasn’t used to the school, she could help comfort her, couldn’t she? After all, she was only three years old. Leaving home and coming to a new environment, she would definitely be scared.

Lu Sheng had seen a video of a kindergarten opening day in her original world, where the little children cried in a mess, and the teachers couldn’t console them.

She was indeed a little worried.

“I’ll be in the academy. What are you worried about? The academy doesn’t allow outsiders in. Just come to the gate to pick her up after school, okay? Don’t worry too much.”

Lu Zheng shook her head helplessly but could understand Lu Sheng’s feelings. Many parents who send their children for the first time react this way.

“Oh.” Lu Sheng nodded disappointedly. “Then I’ll come to pick her up at shen shi (3-5 PM).”

Lu Sheng stood at the academy gate until Lu Zheng led the little one into the courtyard and out of sight, still lingering at the gate reluctantly.

Qi Zhenshu patted her shoulder and comforted her, “Tangtang is more well-behaved than average children, she won’t cry in school. You don’t need to worry.”

Compared to Lu Sheng, Qi Zhenshu was not worried. She herself started school at the age of three. Lu Qi’s personality was like hers, and she was more precocious than average children.

She had never cried when she first went to school.

Qi Zhenshu only went to school for one day before a change occurred in her family, so she remembered this experience even more clearly.

Lu Sheng’s reaction today was exactly like her mother’s.

Thinking of her birth mother, Qi Zhenshu’s eyes darkened slightly.

“I asked Big Sister. Tangtang’s classmates are all older than her. Do you think she will be bullied?” Lu Sheng was still a little uneasy.

Qi Zhenshu restrained the worries in her heart and continued to comfort Lu Sheng, “No, with Big Sister and Zhuo You there, no one will bully her.”

That afternoon, Lu Sheng was already distracted right after lunch. She pulled Qi Zhenshu to the academy before wei shi (1-3 PM).

As soon as the gong for the end of school rang, a certain person couldn’t wait any longer, stretching her neck to look into the academy. As soon as she saw the little one’s figure, her eyes fixed on her, carefully observing the little one’s condition.

It wasn’t until she got closer and found no abnormalities that she hugged the little one and asked a bunch of questions about what happened during the day. Only after finding that everything went smoothly did she truly breathe a sigh of relief.

Lu Sheng’s nervousness lasted for many days. She only slowly relaxed after seeing that the little one had indeed adapted to going to school.

On the twelfth day, when the sky was just dawning, Lu Hualin brought everyone from the winery to the wine shop.

At the auspicious hour, after a burst of lively gongs and drums, Lu Family Wine Shop officially opened.

The cost of five-grain wine was cheap, but Lu Sheng did not directly lower the selling price. Instead, she used a buy-two-get-one-free promotional method for sales.

Anyone who bought five-grain wine would get one liang free for every two liang purchased.

It was the first time for the people of Binhe to see such a selling method. Upon careful calculation, it was six wen for three liang of wine, and one liang was only two wen.

The five-grain wine was not only better tasting than the original distilled spirits, but the price was also much cheaper. Many regular customers rushed to buy it upon hearing the news.

Just on the opening day, Lu Sheng’s shop sold nearly five hundred catties of five-grain wine in bulk, plus a large number of pre-ordered batches from some customers, totaling nearly three thousand catties of five-grain wine sold.

Coupled with the approaching New Year, people had many relatives visiting, and every household would buy wine to entertain guests. Lu Sheng’s wine shop remained prosperous from the opening until the twenty-ninth day of the twelfth lunar month, when it closed for the holiday.

On the thirtieth day, Lu Sheng got ready early to go shopping for New Year’s goods with Qi Zhenshu, planning to take them to Lu Lizheng’s home when they returned to Deer’s Village in the afternoon.

The North Street was full of shops, and with the festive season approaching, the street was lined with small stalls selling New Year’s goods. The stalls were crowded with people, bustling with activity.

The two walked not far from the entrance when they saw a crowd gathered at the street corner.

Initially thinking it was just someone performing street artistry or acrobatics, Lu Sheng didn’t pay much attention. However, as they were about to walk away, a familiar voice reached her ears.

“Please, I beg you, loan me some medicine. I will definitely pay you back in a couple of days, just two more days.”

The woman’s voice was choked with sobs, full of grief and pleading.

Lu Sheng turned her head and exchanged a look with Qi Zhenshu. Seeing that Qi Zhenshu had also recognized the voice, she quickly pushed through the crowd and walked in.

“My lady, it’s not that I’m heartless. Our medical hall is not a charity. If this were just a few tens of wen for the medicine, then fine, but how can I loan you ten liang of silver for the medicine?” The old doctor shook his head in distress.

“Doctor, I beg you, please loan me one dose of medicine first. I will bring the money to you tomorrow.”

As the woman spoke, she was about to kowtow to the doctor. The old doctor quickly pulled her up and sighed helplessly, “One dose of medicine is one liang of silver. I can’t afford to loan that either.”

The old doctor was sympathetic, but he had no other option but to sternly refuse. He had just stepped out of the medical hall to diagnose her wife out of good will.

He could forgo the consultation fee, but he absolutely could not loan the money for the medicine.

If everyone who came to see a doctor loaned the money, then his medical hall would no longer be able to operate.

The woman’s face immediately lost all color upon hearing this, becoming as pale as paper.

“Madam Liu.”

As Lu Sheng just squeezed into the crowd, she saw Lu Yu covered in blood on the ground and hurried forward to call out.

“Lu… Little Mistress Lu.”

When Liu Yun saw her, a glimmer of hope instantly appeared in her faded eyes.

“What happened to you two? Lu Yu, she…”

Lu Sheng hadn’t finished her sentence when Liu Yun grabbed her wrist, “Little Mistress Lu, please save Lu Yu, please…”

“Don’t panic, I…”

Lu Sheng hadn’t figured out the situation yet. Seeing how panicked Liu Yun was, she had to first offer comfort.

Qi Zhenshu understood the situation faster than her and said to the old doctor nearby, “Doctor, just prescribe the medicine. We will pay for her medicine. Can you ask an assistant to help carry her inside for a careful examination?”

“Yes!” The old doctor was also extremely worried. Hearing that someone was willing to pay for the medicine, he quickly agreed and called an assistant from the medical hall to help carry the person.

“Thank you, thank you!” Liu Yun repeatedly expressed her gratitude.

“We are family,” Lu Sheng patted her hand to comfort her, helping her stand up from the ground.

Perhaps because she was too worried about Lu Yu, Liu Yun found Lu Sheng to be a pillar of support and was so nervous that she forgot to let go of her hand, holding onto her tightly until the assistant came to help Lu Yu into the room, at which point she finally let go to help.

Inside the medical hall, the old doctor carefully took Lu Yu’s pulse again and found a female doctor to help treat her wounds. Lu Yu was covered in bruises and scrapes.

Hearing Lu Yu’s painful moans, Liu Yun’s expression involuntarily tensed up again, and she subconsciously reached out to grasp Lu Sheng’s wrist.

Lu Sheng knew she was worried about Lu Yu, so she didn’t mind too much and let her hold on, helping her to relieve stress.

“What happened to you two? How did she get so badly injured?”

Lu Sheng thought of asking her some questions to distract her since she was so nervous, and also to find out the whole story.

Liu Yun, while trembling, told her about the two of them.

The incident was that Lu Yu got into a conflict with a customer at the eatery for her sake. The owner of the eatery didn’t say anything, but a few days later, another customer took the opportunity to harass her. Lu Yu was angry and fought with the person. Later, the owner of the eatery dismissed both of them.

Since then, Liu Yun had not gone out to work, only taking on laundry jobs at home, while Lu Yu went to the pier to do odd jobs like unloading cargo or running errands.

Their lives had been relatively peaceful, but for some unknown reason, Liu Yun noticed that Lu Yu seemed off a few days ago. When she returned home the day before yesterday, her face was even gloomier.

Liu Yun asked her what was wrong, but she didn’t say, only telling her not to worry.

“Then this morning, she left home early, but in less than an hour, I saw her lying covered in blood at our doorstep.”

The more Liu Yun spoke, the more panicked she became. Her hand clutching Lu Sheng’s trembled even more, and her eyes changed from sorrowful worry to terror and helplessness.

“Why? She was only out for less than an hour…”

“Don’t panic, don’t panic. We’ll wait until she wakes up and ask her properly about what exactly happened,” Lu Sheng quickly patted her hand to comfort her.

Qi Zhenshu paid the consultation fee and medicine costs to the doctor in the front hall. As she stepped into the back hall, she saw Liu Yun leaning on Lu Sheng’s shoulder, and Lu Sheng hugging her and speaking softly to comfort her.

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