Transmigrated into the Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Prime Minister - Chapter 58

Every year on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, the White Cloud Temple holds a Lantern Festival Dharma Assembly, and people specifically come to the temple to light lanterns, offer them to the Buddha, and pray.

When they reached the ferry, they took Lin Shuqing’s private pleasure boat to Puji Island. The two of them had originally planned to continue by carriage, but seeing the stream of people coming and going on the mountain path, they abandoned the carriage and walked up the mountain.

The two walked in front, with Lin Shuqing’s maid and groom following not too far behind.

Lin Shuqing gazed at the surrounding scenery, took a deep breath, and sighed, “The air in this forest smells so refreshing.”

As spring began, the weather gradually warmed, and the branches along the path were adorned with new buds. Listening closely, one could hear birds chirping in the woods.

“By the way, is that parrot still at your house?” Lin Shuqing withdrew her gaze and asked Lu Sheng.

“Yes, it is,” Lu Sheng nodded.

The Cockatiel was sensitive to cold; its feathers hardly moved after the twelfth lunar month began.

Lu Sheng had a carpenter make a large, square birdcage for it, which she covered with a thick cotton quilt.

For the past month or so, the little creature had basically been curled up inside, sleeping every day.

“That bird had a leg-ring on when it was brought here, and it only flew away once when it was let loose.” Lin Shuqing paused, looked at Lu Sheng, and smiled sweetly, “It seems it really likes you.”

The two walked for a while longer, and Lin Shuqing looked up at the cliff face on one side, saying, “Isn’t this the place where Xiao Sheng saved us?”

“I just helped; you two were lucky yourselves,” Lu Sheng looked up, “If that rock had fallen just a little later, it would have smashed right onto the carriage.”

“That wasn’t luck,” Lin Shuqing withdrew her gaze, her voice dropping a tone, “It was a miscalculation.”

“A miscalculation?” Lu Sheng was surprised for a moment, then realized.

She looked up and carefully examined the cliff face. It was covered with new vegetation, and there was no trace of the rock fracture or fall.

“Does Lu Sheng still remember my little niece?” Lin Shuqing turned to look at her.

“I have some recollection,” Lu Sheng nodded.

“My father,” Lin Shuqing paused, then continued, “They were four siblings in that generation.”

“The youngest aunt passed away young, and the eldest uncle died of illness last year. Only my cousin Ah Ling and I are left in the First and Third households of the family,” Lin Shuqing’s tone was flat, as if speaking of unrelated people.

“That rock didn’t fall early or late, but just happened to smash onto our carriage.”

So that’s how it was.

Lu Sheng didn’t need her to say the rest; she had already guessed it.

If both of them had met with disaster that day, only the Second household of the Lin family would have remained.

No wonder Lin Shuqing’s groom had been replaced with a burly, muscular man since that day.

The Lin family’s story was truly identical to the melodramatic wealthy family dramas Lu Sheng had watched before.

With a relative who wanted you dead every day, one certainly had to bring a bodyguard when going out.

Recalling Lin Shuqing’s complicated and difficult background, Lu Sheng felt a little more sympathy for her.

“Fortunately, we ran into Xiao Sheng, otherwise Ah Ling and I would probably not have survived.”

If Lu Sheng and the others hadn’t happened to pass by at the time, the killer would definitely have come down to check, and then the two of them would have surely died.

Lin Shuqing turned to look at her, a profound smile spreading across her lips, “So, Xiao Sheng, you truly are my life-saver.”

Upon hearing this, a trace of unnaturalness flashed through Lu Sheng’s heart. She felt that the words sounded somewhat strange, making her immediately think of that classic line.

Just as she was thinking this, she heard Lin Shuqing continue, “The operas often mention that a debt of life-saving kindness must be repaid by offering oneself in marriage.”

As Lin Shuqing spoke, her eyes were fixed on Lu Sheng. Seeing her brows unconsciously furrow, a trace of bitterness arose in her heart.

In the blink of an eye, she turned away, seeming to return to normal, and said with a slight smile, “However, I am getting engaged in a few months, so this life-saving kindness cannot be repaid by offering myself. Therefore, the help I can offer Xiao Sheng is insignificant compared to Xiao Sheng saving my niece and me. Xiao Sheng shouldn’t take it too much to heart either.”

“Huh?” Lu Sheng was surprised, “You are getting engaged?”

The confusion in her heart dissipated slightly, but there was still some indescribable discomfort.

“The twenty-first of the sixth lunar month,” Lin Shuqing’s voice was filled with laughter.

…

In Binhé County, the County Office Patrol Division.

“I wrote to a patrol officer I know in Qingzhou, asking her to help me investigate my uncle’s movements in Qingzhou before he passed away,” Zhuo Yu picked up the letter from the desk and handed it to Qi Zhenshu, “This is her reply.”

Qi Zhenshu took it and read it carefully. “The letter mentions that Father originally agreed to take a boat back to Binhé County with a fellow villager, but didn’t show up when the day came? Have you confirmed this with Fang Wei?”

“I went to ask yesterday,” Zhuo Yu nodded, “Fang Wei and my uncle took the same boat to Qingzhou. The day before they returned, they ran into each other on the street while chatting, and my uncle even told him that they would go back together the next day.”

“Then the decision that led Father to change his mind and take the mountain road must have happened after he saw Fang Wei,” Qi Zhenshu pondered for a moment, then added, “Is this Fang Wei under suspicion?”

“I checked his movements afterward; he is not a suspect. He and my uncle were not very close either,” Zhuo Yu wondered, “Since he was supposed to take a boat back, why did he change to the mountain road?”

“Perhaps something delayed him, and he missed the boat?”

“If he missed the boat and was rushing back, he would take the mountain road.”

The two spoke simultaneously. Zhuo Yu’s was a guess, but Qi Zhenshu’s tone was certain.

“You figured it out?” Zhuo Yu asked in surprise.

“Yes,” Qi Zhenshu’s expression was serious, “The next day was Lu Sheng’s birthday.”

In order to rush home for his daughter’s birthday, this must have been the reason why Father was unwilling to wait another day, even if he missed the boat, and insisted on taking the mountain road back.

Thinking of this, Qi Zhenshu felt pity and unworthiness for Lu Huacheng. The original Lu Sheng was waiting for her lover, Huang Yaozu, on her birthday.

And based on Qi Zhenshu’s understanding of her, selfish and cold-blooded as she was, even if she knew Lu Huacheng died trying to rush back in time to celebrate her birthday, she would not feel the slightest guilt.

“I’ll write her another letter, asking her to help check carefully who else my uncle met after seeing Fang Wei.”

“Mm.”

With only this one clue, they could only follow it.

After writing the letter, Zhuo Yu called her subordinate to have it taken to the Qingzhou County Office. She then turned to Qi Zhenshu and said, “It’s the fifteenth today, let’s have dinner at my house tonight.”

“No, Tangtang and Lu Sheng agreed this morning to go home together to roll yuanxiao after she finishes school,” Qi Zhenshu’s lips curved upward.

Seeing her in a good mood, Zhuo Yu smiled and teased, “Judging by your expression, it seems like Zither’s method for Xiao Sheng worked?”

Qi Zhenshu raised an eyebrow upon hearing this, but didn’t take her bait. “It’s about time, I’ll head back first.”

As she spoke, she lifted her foot to walk out. Zhuo Yu quickly called her back. Her wife had given the order to help her wooden sister-in-law open up.

“Hey, wait a minute. Zither asked me to go home for lunch. I think it’s about time, I’ll go with you.”

Zhuo Yu hadn’t wanted to agree, but her wife’s nighttime attack was too fierce. She really couldn’t resist the temptation, and within moments, she surrendered, vowing to share her wife’s worries.

“You are just too serious,” Zhuo Yu laughed, getting up from her desk and walking quickly to her side, “It’s fine with others, but you can’t be like that with your own wife.”

“Women like gentle, considerate, and sweet-talking men. Usually…”

Zhuo Yu kept muttering all the way out. Qi Zhenshu didn’t interrupt, knowing she was listening. Like pouring beans from a bamboo tube, Zhuo Yu told her everything she could think of.

Besides daily interactions, she even implicitly mentioned little tips for increasing intimacy between wives.

When they reached the intersection of North Street, Zhuo Yu had completed her task and intended to part ways with Qi Zhenshu. Just as she looked up, she happened to see Lin Shuqing’s carriage in front of the wine shop.

“Is that Xiao Sheng getting out of the carriage?”

Qi Zhenshu turned her head to look and saw Lin Shuqing getting out of the carriage. It seemed like she hadn’t stood firm as she got out, and Lu Sheng, who was beside her, raised her hand to steady her. Lin Shuqing paused, half-leaning on her shoulder.

This scene did not appear particularly unusual in Zhuo Yu’s eyes, but it was somewhat irritating in Qi Zhenshu’s.

“The person next to her seems to be Miss Lin Qi from the Qingfeng Restaurant?” Zhuo Yu distinguished carefully, “It really is her. How did Xiao Sheng become acquainted with her?”

Qi Zhenshu withdrew her gaze and asked, “Sister Yu knows her?”

“I ran into her last time I went to Qingzhou,” Zhuo Yu frowned, “I also heard about her from friends in Qingzhou. This person is not simple.”

“How is she not simple?”

“That’s a long story.”

Zhuo Yu noticed the seriousness in her eyes, then glanced back at the two people saying goodbye at the wine shop entrance. She instantly had a guess and pointed to a tea stall nearby, “Let’s sit over there and talk.”

“Old Master Lin of Qingzhou’s Qingfeng Tower had four children in total. The youngest daughter died young, nothing much to mention. Of the remaining three brothers, the third young master was originally the most capable and was valued by the old master at a young age, but unfortunately, he died young.”

“This Miss Lin Qi, Lin Shuqing, is the only descendant of the Third household, but she doesn’t have a good background; she is the child of a concubine. Originally, the Lin family only took her back to continue the family line.”

“Wealthy families place the highest importance on lineage and status, and there is always a distinction between the legitimate and the illegitimate. Naturally, she was not valued in the Lin family. Someone with her status would usually be a pawn for an arranged marriage.”

“But this one is extraordinary. She managed to go from an unknown illegitimate daughter to the granddaughter most valued by Old Master Lin.”

“The Lin family may look glorious on the outside, but it’s rotten on the inside. It’s said that the Third household’s carriage was pushed off the cliff by the Second household, who colluded with outsiders, and the eldest grandson of the First household who died of illness last year was also poisoned by the Second household.”

“The most formidable, however, is this Miss Lin Qi. After the deaths in the Lin family’s Third household, the Second household was the most influential. But then, some time ago, the two brothers of the Second household suddenly turned against each other for unknown reasons, which ultimately resulted in one being disabled and the other dead. It’s said to be this person’s doing.”

“The Second household is now essentially finished. The Lin family will most likely be in her hands from now on,” Zhuo Yu took a sip of tea and continued, “It’s best not to let Xiao Sheng have too much contact with such a person.”

…

After saying goodbye to Zhuo Yu, Qi Zhenshu returned home.

As she walked into the courtyard, Lu Sheng happened to be coming out of the kitchen with a dish. Seeing her, her large eyes curved into crescent moons, and she happily said, “You’re back.”

“Mm.”

Infected by her smile, the unpleasantness in Qi Zhenshu’s heart vanished completely.

“Hurry up and wash your hands so we can eat.”

Remembering Zhuo Yu’s incessant chatter along the way, Qi Zhenshu pressed her lips together. In the end, she couldn’t bring herself to say things like, “Wife, you worked hard,” or “It smells so good.”

Walking slowly to Lu Sheng’s side, Qi Zhenshu reached out to take the plate from her hand and said gently, “I’ll carry this.”

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