Transmigrated into the Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Prime Minister - Chapter 71

Lin Shuqing withdrew her gaze from the letter in Lu Sheng’s hand and smiled gently, “When does Xiao Sheng plan to go to Qingzhou?”

“The twenty-eighth,” Lu Sheng put the letter back into the bamboo tube, smiling as she said to her, “I’ll take Tangtang with me then.”

“That’s quite a coincidence,” Lin Shuqing’s eyes brightened, and she exclaimed in surprise, “I’m also planning to return to Qingzhou that day.”

“Oh? That really is a coincidence,” Lu Sheng said, surprised.

“Does Xiao Sheng want to travel with me?” Lin Shuqing asked with a smile.

“Sure,” Lu Sheng happily agreed.

The journey to Qingzhou was long, and it would certainly be a good thing to have company. Since she was bringing Tangtang, she would definitely need to buy a private cabin, and it would indeed be nice to travel with Lin Shuqing.

The two confirmed the time for their rendezvous, and Lin Shuqing then bid farewell and left.

Da, da, da.

The carriage slowly stopped in front of the Lin family’s gate. The gatekeeper quickly opened the large door. Lin Shuqing stepped down from the carriage, and the butler, Uncle Zhang, came out to greet her.

Lin Shuqing, with a smile in her eyes, instructed him, “Uncle Zhang, please rearrange things. Postpone the ship’s departure for the city by one day. We’ll leave on the twenty-eighth.”

“Understood, I’ll go arrange it right away.”

“Also, prepare some snacks and treats that children like.” Just as Uncle Zhang was about to bow and retreat, Lin Shuqing called out to him again, “And, the boat…”

Qingzhou.

At midday, the main street of Baihe Academy was bustling with people and very lively.

Princess Changning had just stepped out of the restaurant when a dazzling silver light flashed. She quickly reacted and took a step back.

Just then, a street vendor in a brown short tunic, holding a short sword, thrust it directly toward Princess Changning’s face.

Just as it was about to strike, the tip of the sword was tightly wrapped by a red soft whip. In the midst of the struggle, the vendor let go of the short sword in his hand, quickly drew a long knife from under the table, and began to fight with Qin Feiyan.

Due to the pull of the long whip, the short sword flew directly onto the doorpost of the opposite shop.

“Murder!” Suddenly, someone in the crowd shouted loudly.

In an instant, the pedestrians on the street scattered and fled. The area where Qin Feiyan was fighting the man was empty, but in front of the Princess were all the panicked fleeing common folk.

In the chaos, another white light came toward Princess Changning. This time, it was a woman dressed in a short jacket.

Qin Feiyan saw her situation out of the corner of her eye and wanted to go back and rescue her, but the man opposite her was equally skilled and his attacks were fierce, not allowing her any chance to disengage.

Princess Changning was forced to retreat two steps, directly into the restaurant. The people inside the restaurant had already fled completely.

The woman raised her knife and was about to slash at the Princess, but just as her front foot stepped over the threshold, the restaurant’s large door was slammed shut in front of her.

She was focused only on the retreating Princess Changning and had no time to react, so her calf was directly caught by the door.

“Ah!”

The woman cried out in pain, trying to pull her leg back, but she couldn’t move it at all, and the pain in her leg bone intensified.

She desperately slammed her shoulder into the door. The door panel shook, but then rolled back, crushing her again. The woman lifted her knife and slashed at the door, but just as she was about to strike a second time, a long sword slit the back of her neck, and she fell backward into a pool of blood.

Subsequently, a person in tight clothing leaped into the restaurant and knelt on one knee before Princess Changning in the hall.

“Your subordinate is late.”

Princess Changning’s expression was cold. She spoke to the person fighting with Qin Feiyan, “Leave him alive.”

“Yes.” A black shadow flashed and the next second appeared behind the assassin.

After the hidden guard left, Princess Changning’s brow relaxed. She took two steps forward, slightly nodded to the woman in white behind the restaurant door, and said, “Thank you, Scholar Qi, for the rescue.”

A golden, hazy glow rose on the horizon, waking the sleeping earth.

“Mama, Mama, it’s daylight!”

Half-asleep, Lu Sheng was awakened by a heavy weight on her chest.

She struggled to inhale, slowly opened her eyes, and saw a joyful little chubby face.

“Good morning, sweetheart!” Lu Sheng reached out and stroked the little head, smiling with curved lips.

The little one chuckled twice, climbed down from her, wiggled her little bottom to the foot of the bed, picked up Lu Sheng’s outer coat, and then climbed back to hand it to her.

“Mama, get up quickly, we have to go find Mommy!”

Lu Sheng glanced out the window. The sky was still gray, with only a little light.

She helplessly yawned and said to the excited little one, “It’s still early, sweetheart.”

“If we leave early, we can see Mommy sooner!” She got clothes for Lu Sheng, and then went to get her own.

The little one put on her clothes herself, but because her arms were too short, she couldn’t tie the side straps.

Lu Sheng sat up against the bed, pulled the little one beside her, and helped her tie the straps.

Seeing Lu Sheng still lying down and not moving, the little one urged her anxiously, “Mama, put yours on quickly too.”

“It’s no use if we go early, you know,” Lu Sheng pinched her little nose and explained, “The boat won’t leave until the time is right, you see.”

“Huh?” The little one’s curved eyebrows immediately furrowed, looking very disappointed.

Lu Sheng hugged her close and asked with a gentle smile, “Tangtang misses Mommy?”

“Mhm,” the little one buried her head in Lu Sheng’s arm, responding muffledly, “I want to see Mommy sooner.”

“Is that so,” Lu Sheng patted her little bottom with a smile, “Then let’s stay in Qingzhou for a few extra days, so sweetheart can spend more time with Mommy, how does that sound?”

“Mhm, mhm.”

The mother and daughter lay in bed for a while longer before finally getting up. After they had eaten, Lin Shuqing’s carriage had already arrived outside the door.

Lu Sheng gave Liu Yun a couple of instructions, then carried the child and got into the carriage.

“Auntie,” Tangtang greeted Lin Shuqing politely when she saw her.

“Tangtang is so well-behaved,” Lin Shuqing’s smile was warm, “After a few days, the little one seems to have grown a lot, and you’re getting more and more handsome.”

The child had grown taller, her small round face had slimmed down quite a bit, making her look more like Lu Sheng, and increasingly similar to the little person in her memory.

“Hehe, thank you, Auntie.” The little one was very embarrassed by the praise. She tilted her head to look at Lu Sheng, “Is Auntie also going with us to see Mommy?”

“No,” Lu Sheng reached out and touched the wisps of hair on the little one’s forehead, explaining with a smile, “Auntie’s home is in Qingzhou. She’s also going home today, so she’s just traveling with us.”

Looking at the two similar smiling faces in front of her and listening to their conversation, Lin Shuqing’s expression dimmed slightly, and a hint of regret flashed in her heart again.

If only she had returned to Binhe County earlier.

Or, if she hadn’t left back then.

Then this mother and daughter pair might have been hers…

“How come I don’t see your luggage?” Lu Sheng finished talking with the child, looked up and saw that Lin Shuqing’s hands were empty, and casually asked.

She had packed not only clothes but also prepared some food for the journey.

Her wandering thoughts were interrupted by Lu Sheng’s words. She suppressed the disappointment in her heart and replied with a gentle smile, “It’s already been loaded onto the boat.”

Hearing her reply, Lu Sheng felt her question was a bit silly. Why would Lin Shuqing need to carry her own luggage when going out? She must have had her maid carry it ahead of time.

She guessed that not only Lin Shuqing would be traveling with them, but also her maid and guards.

She hadn’t seen a maid outside the carriage just now, so they must have boarded the boat early.

Lu Sheng also guessed that with Lin Shuqing’s wealth and generosity, she might have even instructed the maid to reserve an entire private cabin for her.

The carriage arrived at the pier. When Lu Sheng lifted the curtain and saw the luxurious boat anchored by the shore, with its two-story wooden cabin and observation deck, she realized how shortsighted she had been.

So, when Lin Shuqing asked if she wanted to travel with her the other day, this was what she meant.

Lin Shuqing got out of the carriage. Seeing Lu Sheng standing still, she asked, “What’s wrong?”

She had already guessed Lu Sheng’s reaction. She had deliberately not made it clear the day before, fearing that Lu Sheng might refuse to travel with her if she knew.

“I thought you meant taking a passenger boat together,” Lu Sheng said, feeling embarrassed.

Suddenly upgrading from public transport to a private luxury charter boat felt like getting a huge bargain to Lu Sheng, which made her feel a little uneasy.

Lin Shuqing also seemed to just realize, and apologized, “It was my fault for not making it clear.”

“It’s not your fault, I was just a bit surprised.”

Lu Sheng was not a person who would be overly shy. Since she was already here, she couldn’t turn around and say she’d take a regular passenger boat instead.

Carrying the child, she boarded the boat from the gangplank. Lu Sheng observed carefully. Besides the three of them, there were seven sailors, three maids, and the carriage driver visible outside the cabin.

When they came aboard, the maids hurried forward to greet them. Lin Shuqing waved her hand, and the maids dispersed to attend to their tasks.

The little one’s eyes were wide as she looked around, unreservedly praising, “This boat is so pretty.”

“Thank you for the compliment, Tangtang,” Lin Shuqing smiled.

“Huh?” The little one blinked in confusion, then looked at Lin Shuqing and asked, “Is this Auntie’s boat?”

“It is,” Lin Shuqing also blinked like her, smiling, “Tangtang is very smart.”

A four-year-old child had figured out that the boat belonged to her just by a few words between adults, which was indeed clever.

“Hehe,” the little one smiled bashfully.

She wiggled her bottom, wanting to walk on her own, so Lu Sheng let her down.

Lin Shuqing slightly bent down, held out her hand to the little one, and smiled warmly, “Come on, Auntie will take you to see this beautiful boat.”

The little one didn’t reach out immediately but turned to look at Lu Sheng. Lu Sheng smiled and instructed, “Walk slowly.”

Lin Shuqing held the little one’s hand and said with a beaming smile, “Auntie will take you to the cabin first.”

“Okay.”

Lin Shuqing led them into the wooden cabin on the boat. The cabin had covered corridors on both sides and a total of three rooms from front to back.

She pushed open the door of the second room and said gently to the little one, “Tangtang will sleep in this room with Mama tonight.”

The room was large, featuring not only a double bed, but also a table and chairs, a dressing table, a large wardrobe, and a chaise lounge, clearly a fully furnished bedroom.

Unlike the common elm wood outside the boat, the furniture inside the room was made of excellent nanmu wood, carved with exquisite patterns.

It was truly understated yet luxurious.

Lu Sheng only knew that Lin Shuqing was wealthy, but she hadn’t expected her to be this rich. Any piece of furniture in this room was probably worth several years of her own earnings.

She silently withdrew her gaze. Lu Sheng thought to herself that after she saved up enough money, she would also get a comfortable small boat and take the ‘retired’ Qi Zhenshu out for trips every day.

That scene sounded wonderful.

“Thank you, Auntie.” The little one said happily, “The room is so pretty too.”

“You can see even prettier river views upstairs. Do you want to go up and see with Auntie, Tangtang?”

“Yes, please.”

Lu Sheng put down her luggage and followed them out the door.

The second floor was a lounge with a terrace. The terrace had bamboo rocking chairs and a small table, on which were tea and delicate small pastries.

Lin Shuqing took the little one to see the scenery. Lu Sheng watched with them for a while, then went to lie down on a rocking chair.

These past few days, because of the long journey and the change of seasons, Lu Sheng had thoroughly cleaned and sorted everything in the house, washing many items. She was already somewhat tired.

After being woken up too early by the little one this morning, the warm sunlight now made her feel very sleepy.

After sleeping for a good while, Lu Sheng heard someone approach. She subconsciously opened her eyes. Lin Shuqing was standing beside her, holding a thin quilt.

Seeing Lu Sheng wake up, she smiled gently and handed her the quilt, “It’s windy when the boat is sailing, so you should cover up.”

“Thank you.” Lu Sheng took the quilt and looked aside. She saw the little one sitting happily on the rocking chair nearby, eating a pastry.

“Mama.”

Seeing Lu Sheng wake up, the little one, holding a pastry, climbed down from the chair, scurried over to Lu Sheng, and offered the pastry to her pleasingly.

“Mama, this pastry is delicious. Mama, you should try some too.”

Lu Sheng smiled and ate the half-piece of pastry, nodding in agreement, “Mhm, it tastes good.”

It was a crisp pastry with a milky black sesame filling, crunchy and sweet.

Lu Sheng noticed her little greasy hands, reached out and pinched her little nose, “Your hands are all oily. How many pieces of pastry did you eat?”

“One and a half.” The little one held up her small hand to demonstrate, and then said in a very grown-up manner, “Mommy said you shouldn’t eat too many pastries, two at most.”

Lu Sheng sat up straight, picked up the child, took out a silk handkerchief to wipe her small hands, and smiled, scolding her gently, “You little smarty-pants!”

The little one hugged Lu Sheng’s neck, rubbed against her affectionately, and nestled on Lu Sheng’s body. Lu Sheng pulled the thin quilt over her legs and covered the child with it too.

“Mama, when can we see Mommy?” Her voice was soft and sweet.

Sensing her sleepiness, Lu Sheng patted her back and whispered, “Sweetheart will see Mommy tomorrow.”

The boat swayed gently, and Mama’s embrace was soft and fragrant. Tangtang felt a little drowsy.

Lin Shuqing watched the mother and daughter interact, her eyes growing increasingly soft, but the loneliness in her heart intensified.

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