Transmigrated into the Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Prime Minister - Chapter 9

The red sun hung in the sky, the firmament was deep and clear blue as if freshly washed, and the floating clouds drifted along in a leisurely manner.

Chicken soup bubbled gently in the pot, the golden-colored chicken pieces enveloped in rich, sugary broth, filling the entire kitchen with a savory aroma.

Before pouring in the chopped potatoes, Lu Sheng tasted the broth; it was delicious and perfectly seasoned.

After covering the pot, Lu Sheng opened the other pot nearby. Inside was a bowl of bright yellow steamed egg custard.

Seeing that the time was right, she took out the egg custard and set it aside to cool, then turned to get the scallions on the stove.

The moment she turned back, her peripheral vision caught sight of a small, thin figure standing by the door.

Tangtang was wearing a pinkish-mauve undergarment, half of her tiny body hidden behind the door, revealing only a small, round head.

Her big eyes were wide open, looking towards Lu Sheng with curiosity and a little timidity, but upon seeing her, she quickly hid behind the wall, leaving only one small hand tightly grasping the doorframe.

Lu Sheng was amused by her interesting little appearance and deliberately drew out her voice, chuckling, “Oh? I clearly saw a cute little darling just now, but how did she disappear in the blink of an eye?”

The figure outside the door shifted, revealing a small tuft of hair on her head.

Lu Sheng stayed by the stove and continued to chuckle, “Aiya, this braised chicken smells so good. I wonder if our darling Tangtang will like to eat it.”

The small tuft of hair gently swayed. Lu Sheng ladled some chicken into a bowl, then, redoubling her efforts, continued to entice, “It seems the little darling doesn’t like to eat chicken, though. Looks like I’ll have to eat it all by myself.”

“Li-like it.”

The voice was small, but carried a hint of eagerness.

The little body emerged from behind the door. Lu Sheng pretended to be surprised and waved at her, “Ah, the little darling is here! Do you want to come and try the chicken and potatoes stewed by A-Niang (Mom)?”

The little person stood at the doorway without moving, but the expectant look in her eyes had already betrayed her inner thoughts.

“It’s super delicious~”

Lu Sheng smiled and walked toward her.

The little person released her grip on the door and took a small step back.

Lu Sheng stopped. She crouched down to be at eye level with the little person, smiling gently, “Do you want to eat this exceptionally delicious chicken with A-Niang?”

“And there’s also the steamed egg custard A-Niang specially made for darling Tangtang. It’s so smooth and tender, very, very tasty~”

“Mhm.”

The little person hesitated for a moment, then answered softly.

Lu Sheng opened her arms, tied the small ribbon on the child’s clothes, and picked her up.

The little person was startled at first, then nervously clutched her sleeve, looking at Lu Sheng cautiously.

Lu Sheng didn’t look down at her. She walked inside while holding her, asking casually, “Darling, do you prefer to eat chicken, or do you prefer to eat egg custard?”

This question truly stumped Tangtang. She forgot her nervousness, struggling over which one tasted better.

Looking at the distressed little person, Lu Sheng chuckled and pinched her cheek, “Since it’s so hard to choose, let’s just eat a little more of both.”

The little person suddenly understood and nodded, fully agreeing with Lu Sheng’s suggestion.

“Mhm.”

This time, the sound was no longer timid, but carried the excitement of joy.

Lu Sheng touched her little nose, smiling heartily, “Then, for now, shall we taste a piece of chicken first?”

“Okay.”

The sweet, milky voice was soft and gentle, melting Lu Sheng’s heart into a warm pool of water.

She picked up a small piece of chicken, blew on it by her lips, and fed it to Tangtang.

The little person imitated her, also blew on it, and then ate the meat in one bite.

The moment the chicken entered her mouth, the little person’s delicate eyebrows curved into two crescent moons, her dark, round eyes blinked rapidly, paired with a small bulge in her cheek; she looked extremely amusing.

After she finished the chicken, Lu Sheng gave her a small piece of potato.

The floury potato had absorbed the savory broth and melted instantly in her mouth.

The little person’s eyes lit up even more. Compared to the slightly chewy chicken, she preferred the soft, mushy potato.

Lu Sheng noticed her preference and prepared to serve her some more from the pot.

She held the child with one hand and used the shovel to open the pot lid with the other.

“What are you doing?!”

Qi Zhenshu’s startled and angry shout came from outside the door, scaring Lu Sheng so much that she nearly dropped the pot lid in her hand.

Lu Sheng turned around, and before she could react, her arms were empty; Qi Zhenshu had already taken Tangtang.

Meeting Qi Zhenshu’s eyes filled with rage, Lu Sheng was somewhat stunned. She slowly pointed to the pot where the chicken was stewing.

“Tangtang likes potatoes, so I wanted to give her some more.”

The deep, cold eyes were imbued with frost, and the gaze was like an icy knife, piercing to the bone, just like the way she had looked at her yesterday at the marketplace.

Lu Sheng couldn’t quite understand. She was at home holding Tangtang, so why was Qi Zhenshu reacting so strongly?

Could it be that the original host selling the child had such a profound impact on her that she developed a psychological shadow? Was that why her reaction was so intense?

Now, she wasn’t even allowed to hold her?

Qi Zhenshu looked at the pot bubbling with heat, her expression faltered slightly, a look of surprise fleeting across her face, and the cold light in her eyes somewhat dissipated.

She had just read Miscellaneous Talks on Monsters and then found two more miscellaneous books on ghosts and monsters. One of the books mentioned that fox demons specialized in bewitching young children, cooking and eating them.

Arriving at the kitchen and suddenly seeing Lu Sheng holding the child next to the stove, Qi Zhenshu was anxious and mistakenly drew the wrong conclusion, leading to this misunderstanding.

Lu Sheng only thought Qi Zhenshu had a stress disorder and was overprotective of Tangtang.

She looked at Qi Zhenshu and once again solemnly promised, “Um, I really won’t hurt Tangtang again.”

“If you don’t believe me, I can swear!” ”

The temples in Liang State were numerous, and the common people all believed that there were gods three feet above their heads, so they would not easily make solemn vows.

Qi Zhenshu still did not speak, merely watching her quietly, as if waiting for her to make the vow.

Lu Sheng raised three fingers, “I, Lu Sheng, hereby make a solemn vow: If one day I ever do anything to harm my daughter Lu Qi, may I not have a good en—”

“Forget it.” Qi Zhenshu interrupted her.

It wasn’t that Qi Zhenshu felt bad that Lu Sheng would violate the oath and suffer divine retribution, but rather Qi Zhenshu felt that if Lu Sheng was truly possessed by a fox demon today, then swearing on Lu Sheng’s life would be useless.

Qi Zhenshu had read the books of sages for over a decade and always adhered to the belief that the Master did not speak of strange occurrences, feats of strength, disorders, and spirits. She found the suspicion of fox demon possession to be bizarre and ridiculous.

During the meal, Qi Zhenshu often casually glanced at Lu Sheng from the corner of her eye, watching her put pieces of chicken into her mouth and then spitting out bones without any residue.

Qi Zhenshu’s mind was a complicated mess, and she felt a deep, unspoken melancholy.

Compared to the high level of tension from her mother, Qi Zhenshu, the little child Tangtang was clearly much closer to A-Niang Lu Sheng. Every time Lu Sheng fed her, she would arch her small eyebrows and return a sweet smile.

After the meal.

“This morning, Auntie gave me fifteen taels. I just spent one tael on the chicken, so I have fourteen taels left.”

Lu Sheng handed the red paper packet to Qi Zhenshu. Qi Zhenshu frowned, counted out ten taels of silver, and handed the rest back to her.

“This is enough. You keep the remainder yourself.”

“You should also keep some silver for self-defense.”

“No need.”

Seeing her resolute attitude, Lu Sheng reluctantly accepted the silver.

Qi Zhenshu turned to clean up the dishes.

Holding the silver, Lu Sheng smiled at the little person beside her, “Then I’ll use this silver to buy delicious things for Tangtang. What do you say, darling?”

“Good,” Tangtang happily nodded her small head.

“Then, darling, what do you like to eat?”

Given Qi Zhenshu’s reaction just now, Lu Sheng did not dare to get too close to the child, only sitting across the table from her to talk.

“Tangtang likes… likes to eat meat, and also potatoes.”

“And likes fish, and vegetables.”

“And sugar melons, and sweet pastries, and tanghulu (sugar-coated hawthorns)…”

Tangtang shook her small head, counting on her fingers the things she liked to eat.

This was the first time A-Niang had asked her what she liked to eat. She had to tell A-Niang everything she loved.

The small tuft of hair on the little person’s head swayed with her movements, looking especially adorable.

Lu Sheng smiled and reached out to gently stroke her round little head, “So many things! Can darling’s little tummy hold all that?”

The little person thought seriously for a moment, then nodded, her voice soft and sweet, “Mhm, slowly eat it, it can hold it.”

“Then A-Niang will have to work hard to earn silver, or else I won’t be able to afford to raise little darling Tangtang.”

“You can afford it, you can afford it.”

“Tangtang only eats a little bit.”

The little person got scared when she heard Lu Sheng say she couldn’t afford to raise her. She anxiously tugged at Lu Sheng’s sleeve, pinching a tiny distance between her two small fingers.

“Don’t be scared, don’t be scared. A-Niang can afford to raise darling Tangtang no matter how much you eat.” Lu Sheng stroked her head to comfort her.

The warmth of her palm eased the little person’s worry. She thought for a moment, and a touch of expectation returned to her eyes. She looked at Lu Sheng and stammered timidly, “Mother also eats very little.”

Lu Sheng froze for a moment and subconsciously looked at Qi Zhenshu.

Qi Zhenshu had her back to them, washing dishes, her hands moving without pause, seemingly not listening to their conversation.

Seeing that Lu Sheng hadn’t spoken for a while and was looking at Qi Zhenshu, Tangtang assumed she didn’t want to support Mother. She raised her voice in worry and repeated, “Mother eats very little! A-Niang, don’t drive Mother away.”

“A-Niang must also support Mother.”

Tangtang was so anxious because she had repeatedly heard the original host’s scolding, saying that one day she would divorce Qi Zhenshu and drive her out of the Lu family.

The little person’s voice was urgent and high-pitched. Even if Qi Zhenshu hadn’t been paying attention earlier, she surely heard it now.

This was truly awkward.

Saying ‘to support her’ sounded like a veiled confession, no matter how you heard it.

She felt too embarrassed to say it in front of Qi Zhenshu.

But seeing that the little one would burst into tears if she didn’t agree soon, Lu Sheng had to bite the bullet and concede, “Okay, okay, we’ll support both, we’ll support both.”

As she spoke, Lu Sheng used her peripheral vision to look at Qi Zhenshu. Seeing that she still hadn’t turned around, she secretly let out a sigh of relief.

“Mhm, Mother eats little and is also very obedient.” The little person was still worried, and she began counting Qi Zhenshu’s good points on her fingers again. “Mother can also read, and she is pretty too.”

“Mhm, mhm.” Lu Sheng quickly interrupted her. “Darling, did you like the tanghulu from yesterday?”

This time, Lu Sheng cleverly steered the conversation away, avoiding any topic related to Qi Zhenshu.

A while later, Qi Zhenshu finished washing the dishes. Her expression was as usual, and she said to Lu Sheng, “If you are free later, come with me to the pawnshop to repay the debt.”

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