Transmigrated into the Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Prime Minister - Chapter 69

With Lu Zheng’s reminder, Lu Sheng finally realized that her separation from Qi Zhenshu would last for much more than six months.

Qingzhou was north of Binhe County. If Qi Zhenshu passed the provincial examination, she could travel directly from Qingzhou to the capital to take the Metropolitan Examination.

If Lu Sheng did not follow her to the capital, the earliest they could live together again would be the following May, after Qi Zhenshu’s official appointment was finalized.

In the original novel’s plot, Qi Zhenshu passed the Provincial, Metropolitan, and Palace Examinations all at once, then stayed in the capital with the help of Princess Changning, avoiding an outside posting.

Lu Sheng couldn’t be sure now if Qi Zhenshu would still pass the exams so smoothly, but one thing was clear:

No matter what lay ahead for Qi Zhenshu, Lu Sheng was determined to be with her; wherever she went, Lu Sheng would follow.

However, before that, Lu Sheng had to find a way to earn more money. This way, no matter where they went, she would have some capital—whether to buy and rent out shops or start small businesses—so she wouldn’t have to rely solely on Qi Zhenshu for their livelihood.

“Did you hear what I said?” Seeing her remain silent for a long time, Lu Zheng nudged her with her elbow.

“I did,” Lu Sheng replied, collecting her thoughts and smiling. “She goes where she goes. If she passes the provincial exam, I’ll take Tangtang and go to the capital with her.”

“That works too,” Lu Zheng mused. “When the time comes, I’ll send a letter to our youngest aunt. When you arrive in the capital, you can stay with them for a bit, and then…”

She was speaking while pouring oil into the pot. Just as the oil heated up, Lu Zheng suddenly felt nauseous, covering her mouth and dry-heaving a couple of times. “Ugh~ Ugh~”

“What’s wrong?” Lu Sheng quickly asked.

“It’s nothing,” Lu Zheng waved her hand. “I haven’t felt well since yesterday. Maybe I ate too much cold food and upset my stomach.”

Seeing Lu Zheng’s face turn pale, Lu Sheng quickly said, “I’ll do the stir-fry; you go rest.”

During dinner, Lu Zheng threw up again for a while. Lu Sheng was thinking of calling for a doctor when she saw Zhuo Yu take Lu Zheng’s hand with unrestrained joy. He exclaimed excitedly, “Wife!”

Lu Zheng was stunned for a moment, then realized. Her physical reaction was definitely not an upset stomach; she was pregnant.

She had taken the fertility medicine early last month, and now was exactly the time to be newly pregnant. Moreover, her monthly flow had indeed been delayed.

Lu Zheng smiled and nodded at him.

“I’ll go get the doctor right now.”

Zhuo Yu smiled and dashed out of the door with rapid steps. Lu Zheng quickly instructed, “Be careful!”

“Aye!” Zhuo Yu answered from far away at the doorway, his voice full of uncontrollable delight.

Lu Sheng looked utterly confused, not understanding the tacit understanding between the two or why they were so happy about calling a doctor.

She looked at Lu Zheng with a question in her eyes. Lu Zheng glanced at her, laughing good-naturedly. “You’ve given birth before; why do you look so surprised?”

Lu Sheng instantly realized and said in surprise, “Sister, are you pregnant?”

“I think so,” Lu Zheng said with a smile. “I’d like to have another sister for Zhuo You, so the two girls can have a companion.”

She finished, then winked at Lu Sheng. “Why don’t you and Ah Shu have another one, too? While Tangtang is still young, it’s easier to raise two together.”

Lu Sheng: …

She and Qi Zhenshu had just progressed from holding hands to kissing; they hadn’t even reached the most intimate step. How could she be considering having another child?

And given Qi Zhenshu’s seemingly ascetic nature, Lu Sheng felt a second child was a long way off.

“Achoo!”

At that moment, Qi Zhenshu was sitting upright at a small desk, studying. Suddenly, a gust of cool wind blew in, and she couldn’t help but sneeze, scattering the papers on her desk to the floor.

Qin Feiyan, who was just opening the door, quickly stopped and bent down to pick up the papers, handing them to her. “My apologies, my apologies.”

“It’s fine,” Qi Zhenshu put down her book and reached out for the papers in Qin Feiyan’s hand.

Just then, a large wave struck, and the entire boat lurched violently. Qin Feiyan lost her footing and accidentally tossed all the papers she held.

And due to inertia, the papers, by unfortunate chance, all landed on Princess Changning, who was sitting across from her.

Qin Feiyan’s heart sank. She frantically collected the papers.

As she picked them up, she apologized repeatedly: “I apologize for the offense, truly sorry, I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Princess Changning’s face was as cold as frost. She secretly regretted that when she saw the escort assigned to her that morning was Qin Feiyan, she should have immediately asked Old Qin IV to replace her.

Though displeased, she restrained herself out of self-cultivation and dignity, only giving Qin Feiyan a threatening look without uttering a reproach.

Qin Feiyan gathered the scattered papers but then noticed one had landed between Princess Changning’s legs.

Qin Feiyan cursed her bad luck internally. She forced a difficult smile and respectfully called out, “Your Highness.”

Princess Changning lifted her gaze from her book, her beautiful phoenix eyes holding a cold, chilling glare.

“That… there’s a paper that fell on you,” Qin Feiyan said, bracing herself as she briefly glanced at the area between the Princess’s legs.

Lightly raising her eyelids, Princess Changning composedly picked up the paper, placing it on the table without expression. However, when her peripheral vision caught the content on the paper, her eyes paused, and she reached out for the rest of the manuscript.

Seeing that she wasn’t being blamed, Qin Feiyan hastily reached out to take the paper, but her hand missed the paper and instead completely grasped Princess Changning’s hand.

The skin in her palm was fine and smooth as fat; compared to it, her own calloused hands felt like tree bark.

Being a martial artist, Qin Feiyan reacted quickly. The moment her hand closed, she immediately let go, stepping back and bowing her head. “I apologize for the great offense, Your Highness, please forgive me.”

Seeing her eagerness to avoid contact, the displeasure caused by her clumsiness only intensified.

Princess Changning’s eyes were half-closed, a thick layer of icy coldness already covering her lowered gaze. Her entire being exuded a menacing, awe-inspiring chill.

If she didn’t still have a use for Qin Feiyan, she would have directly ordered someone to drag her to the lake to feed the fish.

“Madam Qin’s actions were unintentional, so how could this Princess punish you?”

In a snap of the fingers, before anyone else could notice, Princess Changning had already concealed the murderous intent in her heart and spoke kindly to Qin Feiyan.

She finished, then lowered her gaze to look at Qi Zhenshu’s manuscript in her hand.

Seeing the Princess engrossed in reading, Qin Feiyan did not press to take the paper back. Instead, she straightened the papers in her hand and took them over to Qi Zhenshu.

When the wave had struck just now, the papers in Qi Zhenshu’s hands had also been scattered all over the bed. She had been focused on bending over and tidying them up, her back to the other two, so she hadn’t witnessed the previous scene. She only turned around when she heard Qin Feiyan’s footsteps.

Qi Zhenshu turned and took the papers. “Thank you.”

“It’s all my fault for making a mess,” Qin Feiyan said, feeling embarrassed.

After dinner, Qi Zhenshu and Princess Changning had both been engrossed in reading their books. Bored, Qin Feiyan had decided to go outside to look at the river scenery. Who knew that the moment she opened the cabin door, she would immediately encounter a strong gust of wind?

Qin Feiyan sighed. She should have just gone to bed early; why did she have to go outside?

If she hadn’t opened the door, none of this troublesome business would have happened.

After handing the papers to Qi Zhenshu, Qin Feiyan returned to her own bed and lay down, regretting her actions for quite some time.

Causing so much unpleasantness on the first day, the next six months were probably going to be even more difficult.

If she had known this would happen, she should have asked her father to switch the escort guarding this woman the moment she saw Princess Changning.

After taking the papers, Qi Zhenshu saw that Princess Changning was reading one of them. Her heart tensed. She quickly flipped through the papers in her hand and immediately realized which one was missing.

Princess Changning focused on the article in her hand. This paper discussed the vassal king system, but the article was incomplete, lacking a beginning and an end. The text sharply criticized the pros and cons of the vassal system, using incisive language that directly addressed the core issues.

The vassal king problem had been a chronic ailment of Xiliang. Since the reign of Princess Changning’s Imperial Grandfather, the court had planned to reduce the power of the vassals, but it had never successfully been implemented.

At the founding of Xiliang, amidst internal and external turmoil, the founding emperor had no choice but to appoint three vassal kings of different surnames to guard the state’s borders.

The enfeoffment of vassal kings was a reluctant move forced by circumstance, but it laid hidden dangers for the governance of the dynasty. Over a hundred years, the power of local vassal kings had grown increasingly strong, especially the Yunzhou King, who commanded a formidable private army.

Moreover, based on the intelligence Princess Changning had gathered, the Yunzhou King had likely already developed treacherous intentions.

After closely reading the article, all the unpleasantness Princess Changning felt toward Qin Feiyan had been cast to the winds. Her heart swelled with delight.

She turned her head to look at Qi Zhenshu, suppressing her joy, yet still maintaining a refined and dignified demeanor as she asked, “Scholar Qi, was this essay written by you?”

The article on the paper was a summary Qi Zhenshu had repeatedly refined. She had not intended for it to be seen by others when she wrote it, which allowed her to use more incisive and direct language.

Qi Zhenshu could not discern the Princess’s thoughts, nor whether she was pleased or displeased. She could only nod and answer truthfully, “It is.”

“You need not be nervous. This Princess finds the insights in this article unique, and simply wished to borrow it for a quick read,” Princess Changning said, her voice softening to soothe her.

Hearing no blame in her tone, Qi Zhenshu felt a slight relief.

“May I see the rest of the article?” Princess Changning continued to ask.

Qi Zhenshu found the remaining sections and respectfully handed them over. “Your Highness, please examine them.”

“Thank you,” Princess Changning’s lips curved into a slight smile.

The article consisted of three main parts. The part she had just read was the middle section, criticizing the pros and cons. The first part contained historical facts and situational analysis, and the last part offered a solution. In addition, the article even included a step-by-step deduction of how the vassal kings might react and proposed countermeasures.

It was truly deeply insightful and flawlessly considered.

The handwriting throughout the entire article varied in size, depth, and shade. Besides the initial neat, large characters, there were also small-print annotations, and some parts had been crossed out and rewritten.

However, regardless of the old or new writing, the handwriting was all the same.

Only then did Princess Changning truly believe that the article had indeed been written by Qi Zhenshu.

After carefully reading the article from beginning to end, Princess Changning felt greatly moved.

Many of the ideas in the article perfectly aligned with her own, yet there were slight differences. And those differences, coincidentally, complemented her own proposals.

If she had met Qi Zhenshu five years earlier, and the two of them had collaborated to write a “Strategy for Peace and Governance” on reducing vassal power, they would not have allowed the Yunzhou King to develop to his present strength.

Princess Changning had already recognized Qi Zhenshu’s exceptional talent in Qingzhou. Now, having read her article, she was truly certain that this person was a rare talent for governing the world.

She absolutely must form a close friendship with such a capable person and seek her counsel.

Princess Changning put down the papers. Instead of directly commenting, she praised her with a slight smile. “Scholar Qi is indeed worthy of being the top scholar of Binhe County’s county exam—a truly brilliant and preeminent talent.”

“Your Highness overpraises me; Zhenshu does not dare accept it,” Qi Zhenshu responded humbly, though her suspicion grew deeper.

Princess Changning’s words of praise were the same as those she had used during the Lantern Festival. Her words clearly indicated that she had known about Qi Zhenshu for a long time.

Why would Princess Changning, who resided far away in the capital, know her?

Qi Zhenshu felt somewhat troubled. She wanted to ask, but it seemed slightly presumptuous.

“Scholar Qi, you may speak your mind directly.”

Princess Changning had been raised in the palace since childhood and was highly skilled at observing people. Even though Qi Zhenshu showed little on her face, the Princess still detected her suspicion from her attitude and subtle movements.

Since she intended to form a bond with Qi Zhenshu, she naturally had to help Qi Zhenshu lower her guard.

Since the Princess had made it so easy, Qi Zhenshu no longer hesitated and spoke frankly: “Did Your Highness know me before our journey to Qin Prefecture?”

Seeing her straightforwardness, Princess Changning was pleased and raised an eyebrow in admiration. “Scholar Qi is truly quick-witted.”

She picked up the teapot on the table, poured a cup for herself, and then poured a second cup, which she offered to Qi Zhenshu.

The Princess personally pouring tea—while Qi Zhenshu was briefly confused, she immediately understood the implication.

The Princess was showing respect for talent. How could she refuse to accept?

Qi Zhenshu received the teacup with both hands and respectfully offered her thanks: “Thank you, Your Highness.”

Her posture was straight, her attitude composed, and her manner was measured—humble but not servile.

Princess Changning was aware of Qi Zhenshu’s background, knowing her family was poor and that she was a live-in son-in-law to the Lu family.

To possess such character despite a difficult youth was truly rare.

Princess Changning took a sip of tea, looked at Qi Zhenshu with a warm smile, and answered her previous question.

“Someone has naturally mentioned you to this Princess before.”

From her tone, Qi Zhenshu guessed that the person Princess Changning spoke of must be quite familiar with her and share a good relationship.

After careful thought, Qi Zhenshu recalled one person and asked, “Could it be Lord Lu Shaoping?”

The Lord Lu Shaoping she referred to was the youngest daughter of Village Head Lu, Lu Huamin, who currently served as the Deputy Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.

Given Princess Changning’s status, the people she could interact with would definitely hold high rank. Other than Lu Huamin, Qi Zhenshu couldn’t think of anyone else.

“Exactly,” Princess Changning chuckled. “Ziyan has praised you to me more than once.”

Talking with a clever person required no wasted words; it was truly delightful.

Ziyan was Lu Huamin’s courtesy name. The fact that Princess Changning called her that indeed proved they had a close relationship.

With this, Qi Zhenshu finally began to relax slightly.

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