Transmigrated into the Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Prime Minister - Chapter 49

Yesterday was New Year’s Eve. Every household was either setting off firecrackers or having lively family dinners. No one paid any attention to the situation on the back mountain.

After asking around, there were no useful clues.

A total of four tombs had been burgled. After confirmation from living relatives, the somewhat valuable jewelry and burial objects in these graves had been completely looted, even the eight copper coins used to weigh down the coffin were gone.

Zhuo Yu examined them closely.

The burial holes for these tombs were all dug randomly, of different sizes, and showed no skill or pattern. Zhuo Yu concluded that this was not the work of professional tomb raiders.

But Zhuo Yu truly couldn’t understand why, after two years of good weather, without disaster or hardship, someone would still go to ordinary people’s cemeteries to dig up graves and rob tombs.

Many curious villagers had come to the graveyard, and the site was trampled and messy.

Unable to find a lead, Zhuo Yu could only plan to return to the yamen (government office) in a few days and send people to investigate properly, checking if other villages had experienced similar incidents.

On the way down the mountain, Qi Zhenshu spoke to Zhuo Yu about the day that Village Head Lu fell down the mountain.

“It sounds a little strange,” Zhuo Yu said, furrowing her brow in thought. “You mean that the incident that day might be connected to the grave robbery last night?”

“I don’t know either,” Qi Zhenshu shook her head. “I have already made a rubbing of the footprints on the back mountain. When we return to the county in the afternoon, I’ll let you take a look; I don’t know if it will be useful.”

“You’re quite capable,” Zhuo Yu looked at her with approval, then said with some regret, “If I didn’t know you were excellent at studying, I would really want to recruit you into the arrest squad.”

She was meticulous in her observation, calm and cautious in her actions, and knowledgeable. If the arrest squad had such a strategist, catching thieves would surely be twice as easy.

After discussing the business, the two arrived at the doorstep. Qi Zhenshu was thinking of asking Zhuo Yu a few questions, but felt a little shy.

She deliberated, and just as she opened her mouth, she was interrupted by Village Head Lu, who was anxiously asking about the situation.

“Sister Yu…”

“How was the back mountain? Was Cheng Ge’s tomb badly damaged?” Village Head Lu leaned on his cane and hurried over to ask when he saw the two approaching from afar.

Qi Zhenshu pursed her lips and swallowed the rest of her words. Zhuo Yu was focused on the Village Head’s leg and didn’t hear Qi Zhenshu call her.

“Not badly, not badly. Third Uncle has already found a bricklayer, and it’s being repaired now.”

In truth, Lu Huacheng’s coffin had been pried open, but perhaps because he hadn’t been buried for long and the smell of decomposition was too strong, the coffin was only pried a crack and they didn’t continue.

Zhuo Yu was afraid that saying too much would worry the elder, so she only told her the less serious details.

When they entered the main hall of the Lu family, everyone was clearing the dishes from the table. Qi Zhenshu glanced toward the inner room, only seeing the three children playing together, but not Lu Sheng.

Qi Zhenshu couldn’t help but frown, a vague sense of unease rising in her heart.

Had Lu Sheng not gotten up yet?

Thinking this, she turned and stepped out of the hall, walking towards the north room of the west wing.

Pushing the door open, she immediately saw the raised quilt on the bed.

Qi Zhenshu’s heart sank.

Since Lu Sheng arrived, she had never slept in.

Taking quick steps to the bedside, Qi Zhenshu leaned in with her hands supporting her.

Lu Sheng was curled up facing the wall, half her face buried in the quilt. Her eyebrows were knitted tightly, her eyes were shut, and the stray hairs on her forehead were damp with fine sweat. Her small face was flushed with an unusual redness.

She reached out to feel her forehead, but before her hand even touched, she felt a wet heat. Qi Zhenshu hurriedly called her softly.

“Lu Sheng.”

“Lu Sheng.”

After calling twice with no response, Qi Zhenshu quickly pulled back the quilt from her face and immediately saw the bedding soaked with sweat.

Looking again, Lu Sheng was completely flushed, drenched in sweat, her inner garment clinging wetly to her body. She looked as if she had been pulled out of water, and her body was shockingly hot.

“Lu Sheng.” Qi Zhenshu wiped the sweat from her forehead and called her in a low voice again.

Sensing the cold hand on her forehead, Lu Sheng subconsciously rubbed against it, clinging to the palm as if trying to make herself more comfortable. Her dry lips moved, letting out a soft moan.

“Mama.”

The voice was low and soft, seemingly filled with endless reluctance and attachment. A glistening tear slipped from the corner of her eye.

Qi Zhenshu’s heart clenched fiercely, as if that tear had struck her very core.

Bending down to wipe away the wetness, Qi Zhenshu flipped over and got off the bed, taking three quick steps and rushing out of the room.

Just as she exited the door, she happened to run into Zhuo Yu and Lu Zheng coming out of the hall. She quickly called out, “Sister Yu, Lu Sheng has a fever. Please help me find Doctor Ding. I’m going to boil some hot water to wipe her down.”

“Sick? Don’t worry, I’ll go find Doctor Ding right away.” Seeing her anxious expression, Zhuo Yu finished speaking and hurried out of the courtyard.

“I just boiled some water on the stove,” Lu Zheng also quickly followed Qi Zhenshu to the kitchen. “She’s been fine this whole time, why is she suddenly sick? Did she catch a chill at night?”

Ever since giving birth, Lu Sheng’s body had always been relatively weak, and she would always fall sick once when the season changed and the temperature dropped.

In the past three months, she hadn’t been sick, so Qi Zhenshu had gradually forgotten about it.

Hearing Lu Zheng’s words, Qi Zhenshu paused, and inexplicably thought of the firecracker sounds from yesterday.

Was she startled?

“You take this over first, I’ll boil another pot,” Lu Zheng handed her the wooden basin and turned to fetch water again.

Without time to think much, Qi Zhenshu quickly carried the wooden basin into the room.

Wringing out a cloth, she helped Lu Sheng wipe the sweat from her face and neck. Lu Zheng also came in, and seeing her sister on the bed, soaking wet, she quickly said to Qi Zhenshu, “Her clothes are all soaked through, quickly change them for her.”

Lu Zheng then rushed out of the door to find clean clothes and bedding for Lu Sheng.

Qi Zhenshu couldn’t think too much and quickly pulled back the quilt to undress Lu Sheng.

Her inner garment was completely soaked in sweat. Reaching out, she untied the sash at her side, revealing the apricot-yellow embroidered dudou (undergarment/bodice).

Qi Zhenshu’s gaze paused, but she didn’t stop her hands. She bent down and lifted Lu Sheng’s upper body, helping her remove the inner garment.

Lu Sheng was incoherent, leaning softly and weakly against Qi Zhenshu’s shoulder, the heat sweeping over her with a surge of humidity.

The temperature inside the house in winter was too low. Qi Zhenshu felt tense inside, but her hands dared not slow down even a little.

The moment the clothes were removed, she quickly grabbed a cloth to help wipe the sweat from her back, then held her breath and untied the thin yellow straps, pulling the thin piece of cloth off Lu Sheng’s body.

After finishing all of this, Qi Zhenshu took a deep breath, raised her head, gently laid her on the bed, and quickly pulled a quilt from the side to cover Lu Sheng. She then turned to wash the cloth.

After wringing out the hand towel, she slowly exhaled the breath she had been holding. Qi Zhenshu returned to the bedside. This time, she lifted the quilt with her left hand and, with the cloth in her right hand, reached under the quilt to help wipe the sweat from the front of her body.

Perhaps because her eyes couldn’t see, her fingers became exceptionally sensitive. Qi Zhenshu could feel every contour of the skin beneath her palm.

As if infected by the scorching heat of Lu Sheng’s body, Qi Zhenshu felt her own body slowly starting to heat up.

After wiping her body, Qi Zhenshu settled her onto the dry side of the bedding.

When she stopped, she was already drenched in sweat. Qi Zhenshu quickly carried the water out of the room, washed her own face, and then brought a new basin of hot water to the west wing.

Zhuo Yu was just returning with Doctor Ding when she bumped into Lu Zheng. Thinking of Lu Sheng’s current condition, Lu Zheng led Doctor Ding into the room herself and directed Zhuo Yu to the main hall.

Qi Zhenshu was re-wringing the cloth to wipe Lu Sheng’s face. Seeing Doctor Ding arrive, she quickly made room for her.

After taking Lu Sheng’s pulse, Doctor Ding prescribed two doses of medicine to reduce fever and induce sweating. She instructed Qi Zhenshu: “If she sweats, help wipe it off in time, and don’t let the cold worsen. Give her some hot water to drink once she’s a little more conscious.”

Qi Zhenshu nodded in agreement. Lu Zheng followed to fetch the medicine, leaving Qi Zhenshu in the room to care for Lu Sheng.

The booming sound of explosions kept ringing in her ears. The girl’s face was covered in dust, and her white undershirt was stained with blood and various unknown dirt.

Dark clouds covered the sky, and the light was growing darker. She was already exhausted and covered in sweat, but she refused to stop her feet, quickly moving through the streets that were already unrecognizable.

Faster, faster, she was almost home.

The girl suddenly stopped, looking at the collapsed house in front of her. An endless despair suddenly rose in her heart.

No, no, no.

It wasn’t supposed to be like this.

In a flash, the scene before her changed.

The dark clouds dissipated. There were no explosions, no rolling flames. The surroundings were peaceful.

The girl lifted her head. The collapsed house was completely new, standing firmly in its original place.

Squeak, the main door gently opened, and a middle-aged woman with a gentle smile walked out.

The girl’s eyes filled with moisture, and she softly called out: “Mama.”

The scene shifted again, presenting a completely different setting.

It was midsummer. The bright sunlight brought scorching heat, baking every inch of the land. Cicadas on the trees chirped endlessly.

The weather was stifling and unbearable, without the slightest breeze. The air felt thick, as if solidified.

A slender finger grasped the back of a chair, gently pulling it out from the desk. A pale, long leg stepped over, and a white figure leaned sideways onto it.

“This weather is too hot,” the girl complained, taking a bite of a popsicle.

She wore her hair in a youthful ponytail, a white undershirt paired with a light blue short skirt, looking young, fresh, and full of youthful vibrancy.

She casually grabbed a book from the desk and began to fan herself. Her deskmate next to her saw her action and quickly reached out to snatch the book from her hands.

“Ouch, your hands are all wet!” The deskmate cherished the book and pulled it back from her hands.

“It’s just a novel, why are you being so precious about it?”

The girl narrowed her eyes, glancing at the title: The Unparalleled Prince Consort of the Genius Commandery Princess.

Looking at the title, she knew it was a melodramatic novel.

She teased with a laugh, “Is the protagonist your ideal type again?”

Her deskmate read countless books, and her greatest hobby was reading novels. Moreover, every time she read one, she changed her ideal partner.

“This time is true love.” The deskmate narrowed her eyes, her face filled with longing admiration. “The female lead in this book is exactly the type I love most—a cold, gorgeous beauty, and a super beautiful-strong-miserable one.”

The deskmate prattled on, first praising the female lead to the high heavens, then recounting her tragic experiences and how she ultimately succeeded in her revenge to kill her enemies.

“Oh, right, can you guess what her awful woman (slut/scum) ex-wife is called?” the deskmate asked with a mischievous look.

Having listened to a whole melodramatic revenge story, the girl truly couldn’t muster any interest. She carelessly bit the last of her popsicle and said indifferently, “What’s her name?”

“Lu Sheng.”

Support