Transmigrated into the Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Prime Minister - Chapter 54

The crescent moon was high, its silver light draped over the earth like a thin veil.

Qi Zhenshu walked out of the washroom, wiping the ends of her hair that had been inadvertently dampened by water.

The room was much warmer than before. She glanced at the charcoal basin; a few new pieces of charcoal had been added, likely by Lu Sheng before she left.

The bed curtains were already drawn, and silence reigned inside the canopy. She figured Tangtang had been lulled to sleep by Lu Sheng.

She shifted her gaze towards the window, but the courtyard outside was pitch black. The lights of the east wing were not visible.

Had they already retired for the night?

After watching quietly for a while, Qi Zhenshu withdrew her gaze and slowly walked to the bed, blowing out the standing lamp on the bedside table.

Gently lifting a corner of the bed curtain, Qi Zhenshu did not get into bed. Instead, she sat with her back to it, looking at the small chrysanthemum lantern hanging on the bed frame.

A moment later, her slender, long legs stepped off the bed. She picked up a tinder from the nearby side table and lit the small lantern.

The petals woven from gold thread slowly unfolded and began to rotate gently. The candlelight flickered, and the light and shadow shifted with the turning petals, casting a brilliant, colourful glow.

The pretty, young girl’s face appeared in her mind; every smile and frown shone as brightly as this lantern.

So, this feeling of constant, recurring concern and longing was infatuation.

Unlike a certain little scatterbrain, Qi Zhenshu was adept at drawing parallels and inferring from one example to another.

The moment she realised her feelings, it took her only a moment to know, from their past daily interactions, that Lu Sheng felt the same way.

The corners of her lips curved slightly into an arc, a smile reaching her eyebrows, softening her usually aloof expression with layers of tenderness.

Qi Zhenshu, outside the bed curtain, felt at ease, while Lu Sheng, inside the curtain, was filled with anxiety.

What was Qi Zhenshu dawdling for?

If she didn’t get into bed soon, Lu Sheng would fall asleep.

Oh dear, her arm was already numb from her daughter pressing on it.

Lu Sheng stealthily lifted her eyelids a bit, furrowing her delicate brows, and peeked out with one half-closed eye.

Just as she opened her eye, she saw a flash of firelight outside the curtain, and the room plunged into darkness.

Lu Sheng’s heart jumped. She slammed her eyes shut, then quickly forced them to relax.

Relax, relax.

She couldn’t let Qi Zhenshu see through her this time.

The moonlight was bright, passing through the window lattice and scattering on the edge of the bed.

Qi Zhenshu lifted the bed curtain, and in the dim light, she immediately saw the high mound of bedding, her gaze pausing slightly.

No wonder she hadn’t seen the lights of the east wing earlier; it turned out Lu Sheng was sleeping here.

Lu Sheng’s sleeping face was serene. The little one in her arm was half-lying on her chest, her small mouth moving slightly, sleeping soundly.

The little one had gained weight recently. Sleeping pressed down like this, Lu Sheng’s left arm would likely be useless tomorrow.

Her movements upon getting into bed became gentle. Qi Zhenshu knelt on the bed, leaned over, and carefully moved Lu Sheng’s arm away, shifting the little one slightly to the side to sleep on her own small pillow.

“Mother.” The little one smacked her small lips, calling out in a murmur.

Qi Zhenshu lightly patted her with gentle movements, and the little one settled back into sleep.

Lu Sheng didn’t dare open her eyes, only pricking up her ears to listen to the movements around her.

When she felt the child in her arms being carried away, Lu Sheng’s heart started thumping even faster.

Once Tangtang was moved, would Qi Zhenshu push her to wake up and tell her to go back to her own room?

Should she pretend to be in a deep sleep? So deep that she couldn’t be woken up no matter how much she was pushed?

She made this decision mentally, but lacking experience, the moment Qi Zhenshu’s arm landed on her own, Lu Sheng’s nerves made her open her eyes instantly.

It was over. Pretending to sleep wouldn’t work now!

Their eyes met, and Qi Zhenshu’s extremely beautiful face was close before her.

The shallow moonlight streamed down obliquely from her forehead, catching her eyes, which were like black jewels, glittering with tiny specks of light, deep and captivating.

Lu Sheng’s breathing hitched immediately, stunned.

Her blank, expression made Qi Zhenshu truly believe she was still drowsy from sleep.

Qi Zhenshu had noticed Lu Sheng’s hand was outside the blanket just now, and intended to help her put it in, but she hadn’t expected to wake her up.

Their thoughts were different, completely at opposite poles.

In a daze, Lu Sheng recalled the hundred times she had copied “Honesty” the day before, and the reason that had been clouded by beauty finally returned.

Her mind raced. She pretended to yawn, looking at Qi Zhenshu with sleepy, blurry eyes.

“Is Tangtang asleep?” Lu Sheng propped herself up slightly on her elbow, her movements extremely slow, and her words muffled, “I should go back.”

She half-closed her eyes, ‘drowsily’ fumbling to lift the blanket. Just as her fingers grabbed the quilt, someone pressed her hand down.

Lu Sheng’s heart instantly rejoiced, but her face remained ‘sleepy and hazy’. She turned her head in slow motion to look at Qi Zhenshu.

“Sleep here tonight,” Qi Zhenshu gently patted her shoulder, motioning for Lu Sheng to lie back down.

“Oh.”

To prevent herself from giving away her ruse, Lu Sheng quickly closed her eyes and resumed pretending to sleep.

Just as she was about to lie down, her left arm felt like a thousand ants were crawling on it—it was completely numb.

Her uncontrollable arm had no strength whatsoever. With her left hand unable to support her, Lu Sheng stumbled and was about to fall backward.

“Careful.” Qi Zhenshu was quick to reach out and pull her.

Fortunately, her actions were timely, or Lu Sheng’s back of the head would have hit the headboard directly.

However, the pulling motion was too vigorous. By the time she reacted, the two of them were intimately close, near enough to clearly feel each other’s breath.

The air solidified at this moment and quickly warmed up.

“Hiss~”

When Qi Zhenshu pulled her numb arm, a dense, prickly ache shot through it, and Lu Sheng couldn’t help but gasp.

“Is your hand numb?” Qi Zhenshu also snapped back to awareness, letting go and helping her lie down.

“Mm.”

Lu Sheng felt glum inside. She should have endured it just now; the perfect atmosphere was ruined.

Pulling up her sleeve, Qi Zhenshu knelt beside her and rubbed Lu Sheng’s arm with her palm.

The soft palm brought a little warmth. Her movements were gentle, gradually easing the numbness in the hand. Lu Sheng stared blankly at her actions, her mind a complete blank.

“Is it better?” Her tone was warm and soft, completely unlike her usual indifference.

This version of Qi Zhenshu was so gentle, so gentle that Lu Sheng had the illusion that she was being treated like a treasure.

“It’s, it’s better.” Lu Sheng nodded dazedly.

Qi Zhenshu placed her hand back under the covers, then lifted the blanket and lay down herself.

Feeling the warm body temperature beside her, Lu Sheng remembered her plan and couldn’t help but feel her face flush, her heart rapidly beating again.

No, no, she was too nervous. She needed to calm down first.

Lu Sheng closed her eyes, slowly regulated her breathing, and tried to relax.

Perhaps her emotions had been too tumultuous moments before, because Lu Sheng closed her eyes, and before long, she was dizzy and went to meet the Duke of Zhou (fell asleep).

She completely forgot her purpose for staying.

When she woke up again, the sky was already faintly bright.

Lu Sheng felt a weight on her body in her sleep, and her chest was somewhat constricted. She slowly opened her eyes, and saw a fair, tender little face before her.

“Mother.”

Seeing Lu Sheng wake up, Tangtang happily stuck her face against hers, burying her head and affectionately rubbing against her neck.

Lu Sheng smiled, reaching out to pat her little bottom. Just as she was about to say a few words to her, the weight on her body lightened, and the little one in her arms was lifted away.

She turned her head to look and saw that Qi Zhenshu was already fully dressed. She was bending over, standing beside the bed, holding the little one who looked startled.

Qi Zhenshu placed her daughter at the foot of the bed, her voice cool as she said, “You are big now. In the future, you are not allowed to press on Mother like this again.”

The little one looked at her mother blankly, completely unable to understand.

Yesterday she could still sleep on Mother’s chest, so why couldn’t she do it anymore?

“Do you remember?”

Seeing that she didn’t respond, Qi Zhenshu lowered her eyes, glanced at her, and spoke.

“I remember.”

Although she couldn’t understand why, the Mother with the stern face was too scary, so Tangtang could only nod obediently.

“It’s late. Time to get up.”

Qi Zhenshu took a small outfit from the side, placed it next to her, and gave her a look to dress herself. The little one picked up the clothes and started putting them on.

After instructing her daughter, Qi Zhenshu turned to Lu Sheng, who was still stunned, her voice softening slightly, “Did you forget what happened last night?”

At the mention of last night, Lu Sheng instantly snapped back to full awareness.

Last night!

How did she fall asleep last night?!

Why didn’t she use any of the tricks her elder sister taught her?!

Looking at the fully dressed Qi Zhenshu before her, Lu Sheng felt dejected.

Sure enough, the trick of ‘capturing the body first, then the heart’ was not suitable for her.

Her light brows swept across the person who was staring down in a daze. Inadvertently catching sight of a touch of goose-yellow colour inside the transparent white inner garment, Qi Zhenshu’s eyes darkened. She turned and picked up an outer garment from the side, handing it to her, and reminded her, “It’s already 6:45 AM (Yin Shi six-quarters).”

Eh? In just another two quarters of an hour, the doors should be opened.

Hearing this, Lu Sheng put aside her frustration and quickly took the outer garment to put it on, “I’m getting up right now.”

By the time Lu Sheng had washed up and opened the shop door, it was exactly 5:00 AM (Mao Shi).

Liu Yun had arrived early at the door. Seeing her open up, she quickly came forward to help lift down the door boards.

“Sister Yun, did you come over really early?” Lu Sheng saw her face was slightly red from the cold, so she must have been waiting outside for a while.

“Not really.” Liu Yun replied with a faint smile.

“If you arrive early in the future, just knock on that door.” Lu Sheng pointed to the side door and told her, “It’s so cold; staying outside for too long will make you sick.”

Hearing her say this, Liu Yun felt a warmth in her heart. She quickly waved her hand and said, “No, no, I just got here. I won’t get cold.”

Just as the two of them finished taking down the door boards, Qi Nan arrived with two wine shop assistants and a ox cart.

Lu Sheng introduced Liu Yun to them, then pulled Liu Yun aside to talk about the tasks needed in the shop.

The light fog dissipated, and a faint morning glow appeared in the sky. The flow of people on the street gradually increased.

Since it was Liu Yun’s first day, Lu Sheng had her help ladle wine behind the counter while Lu Sheng herself sold the wine and collected payment at the front.

There were several breakfast stalls next to the wine shop. On a cold winter morning, many people would come to the shop to buy a small cup of wine (two liang) to warm up after eating at the stalls.

Liu Yun was quite good-looking, and many customers who came in gave her a noticeable glance.

“Oh, Miss Lu, is this the new wine-selling lady in your shop?” A talkative regular customer smiled and asked Lu Sheng.

“Yeah, she’s so pretty. Why don’t you introduce her to us?”

The speaker was in his early twenties. He often pestered Lu Sheng to introduce him to a beautiful wife, seeing that she was also married to a good-looking person.

Their eyes didn’t hold any malicious intent, but it still made Liu Yun somewhat fearful. She was afraid she would encounter the same trouble she had at the restaurant.

“This is my older sister,” Lu Sheng took the wine pot from Liu Yun’s hand, handed it to him, and said with a smiling, half-threatening tone, “She is already taken, so don’t even think about it.”

“I’m warning you all: don’t bully my sister. If anyone bullies her, I’ll chop them up and throw them into a wine jar to steep.”

“We wouldn’t dare, we wouldn’t dare.” The regular customers quickly waved their hands and laughed.

Support