Transmigrated into the Scumbag Ex-Wife of the Prime Minister - Chapter 99

The heat in the room rose sharply. Lu Sheng’s originally straight back slowly slid down along the inner wall of the wooden tub, and Qi Zhenshu’s long arm curved, pulling her back again.

Lu Sheng raised her left hand and grasped Qi Zhenshu’s collar, panting softly, she whispered in her ear, “Why don’t you wash together too?”

It felt like too much of a loss to let only herself be watched.

As the words fell, Lu Sheng’s hand also came to the sash of Qi Zhenshu’s inner garment. Her index finger circled the sash twice, and with a gentle flick, Qi Zhenshu’s outer robe came loose, revealing the inner lotus-root pink dudou (an ancient Chinese brassiere).

Mischievous, wet fingers ran up along the edge of the dudou, simultaneously pinching the two silk straps, one above and one below. With a slight pull, the light, soft, and smooth silk cloth fell into the water.

Water droplets from Lu Sheng’s fingertips slid down the curve of her back, reached the low point in front, and then followed the curve downwards to gather at the peak, dripping into the water again.

The water beads sliding over her skin caused a slight tickle. Qi Zhenshu straightened her waist and looked deeply at Lu Sheng. Lu Sheng instantly felt a little uneasy.

Her body instinctively flinched, but her gaze remained fixed on the wet clothes on the other person’s chest. Lu Sheng “talked back” with a very guilty tone, “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

Raising an eyebrow, Qi Zhenshu wore a faint smile and graciously took off her clothes.

Qi Zhenshu’s figure was slender, well-proportioned, and shapely. Lu Sheng felt a wave of heat surge into her nasal cavity.

She raised her hand to remove the wooden hairpin from her hair. Her dark long hair draped over her shoulders. With the other hand, she gathered all her hair together. Her fair wrist turned slightly, and her nimble fingers fixed the three strands of dark hair behind her head again.

The movement of tying her hair was simple and crisp, making Lu Sheng stare blankly. By the time she reacted, Qi Zhenshu had already stepped over the tub’s edge with her long leg and entered the bath.

The water level reached above her collarbone, reflecting specks of light, gently swaying with Qi Zhenshu’s movement as she entered.

The tub was not large, and with another person, it seemed a bit crowded. Lu Sheng leaned back, pressing tightly against the tub wall behind her.

Qi Zhenshu’s long legs had nowhere to rest and could only cross and press against Lu Sheng’s legs.

Completely ignoring the other person’s increasingly flushed face, Qi Zhenshu reached for the washcloth she had used to cover herself and began to wash herself.

With Qi Zhenshu’s movements, the water surface gently swayed, ripples spreading out, and scattered specks of light drifting about.

The slippery touch underneath the water, brushing against her from time to time, made Lu Sheng feel restless.

“Do you want me to scrub your back?” Lu Sheng asked in a husky voice.

Qi Zhenshu stopped her hand movements, glanced up at Lu Sheng’s dislocated arm, and smiled lightly, “No need to trouble my lady.”

As she spoke, she moved her whole body closer to Lu Sheng, her dark eyes shimmering with tiny lights, deep and captivating.

In the main room, Tangtang lay alone on the bed, looking out the window at the sky, counting the little stars, waiting for her mother to come back and tell her a story.

The night was deep, and even the stars had hidden behind the clouds to sleep.

Lu Sheng leaned diagonally in Qi Zhenshu’s arms, letting her put on her inner garment.

Tonight, Lu Sheng truly understood what it meant to “plant a willow and it grows without intention.”

A few months ago, she had calculatedly tried to “plant a flower,” but her little darling had ‘spoiled the scene.’ Today, she had no intention, but it was an unexpected success, and she experienced all the methods she had heard from her elder sister that day.

“All done.” Qi Zhenshu patted her back. Lu Sheng rubbed her head against Qi Zhenshu’s chest, unwilling to leave, and mumbled one word, “Tired.”

“I’ll carry you back,” Qi Zhenshu stroked her hair.

Thinking of the little one still in the room, Lu Sheng shook her head and moved away from Qi Zhenshu’s embrace.

“It wouldn’t be good for the child to see, I’ll walk back myself.”

“It’s fine, maybe she’s already asleep.” Qi Zhenshu made a move to turn around.

Lu Sheng stopped her, shaking her head, “She only sleeps after hearing a story every night.”

Walking all the way from the bathing room back to the main room, Lu Sheng mentally rehearsed the ‘explanation’ she would give her daughter before returning to the room.

“Bao…” Lu Sheng’s curved lips froze, and her words halted.

On the bed at this moment, the little one was lying sprawled out in the center, her little chest rising and falling, sound asleep and snoring softly.

Qi Zhenshu stepped forward with a smile, embraced her, and kissed her cheek, “My lady worried too much. Our daughter really has grown up and is sensible.”

Lu Sheng nudged her with her elbow and let out a light snort.

The next day.

Before going out to eat, Qi Zhenshu pulled two books from the bookshelf, found the silver notes inside, and handed them to Lu Sheng.

“This money hasn’t been used up yet. From now on, you should keep it.”

To be prepared for any urgent need for money, Lu Sheng had intentionally left twenty taels of silver with Qi Zhenshu. Since Lu Sheng would be with her from now on, Qi Zhenshu didn’t have places where she needed to spend money, so Lu Sheng should naturally keep it all.

“Do you have any money on you?” Lu Sheng asked, taking the silver notes.

“I have some broken silver left.” Qi Zhenshu nodded, then pulled a letter out of the desk drawer and handed it to Lu Sheng, “Keep this too.”

“Hmm?” Lu Sheng took the letter in confusion, opened it and looked inside, then pulled out two ten-tael silver notes, surprised, “Where did this money come from?”

“The Principal Clerk of the Prefectural Yamen gets a ten-tael salary every month,” Qi Zhenshu explained with a smile.

The last time Lu Sheng had come and gone in a rush, Qi Zhenshu had forgotten to tell her about this.

Lu Sheng had always thought Qi Zhenshu was working as a ‘temporary intern’ for Princess Changning in this role as Principal Clerk, and hadn’t expected there to be a salary.

And the salary was quite substantial.

Just a temporary Principal Clerk could earn ten taels a month.

No wonder her grand-aunt had repeatedly told her to bear with it when she first transmigrated, saying that they would have a good life once Qi Zhenshu started her official career.

It seemed that the Imperial Examination, for ordinary folks, truly was a chance to leap like a fish over the dragon gate and increase one’s value a hundredfold.

“I get to keep this too?”

With the wine shop’s business getting better and better, twenty taels wasn’t much to Lu Sheng, but thinking that this was Qi Zhenshu’s ‘salary’ she was handing over, Lu Sheng felt delighted.

Qi Zhenshu noticed her little thought and smiled, “Haven’t you always been the one keeping the family’s money?”

In the past, every penny she spent was earned by Lu Sheng. Now that she had a salary, she naturally had to hand it over to Lu Sheng.

Lu Sheng happily put the money away.

Half a month passed in a blink of an eye. Lu Sheng and Tangtang’s arms had both recovered, and Xiliang ushered in the triennial Provincial Examination.

The Provincial Examination lasted for six days. Candidates entered the examination hall and could only leave after completing all subjects and the gates of the hall were opened again.

Lu Sheng prepared food and changes of clothes for Qi Zhenshu and accompanied her and their child to the examination hall in Qingzhou.

On the sixth day, she arrived at the examination hall early. The wooden fence in front of the gate was surrounded by people. Lu Sheng led the child and found a less crowded spot to wait.

Dang! Dang! Dang!

Following three heavy strikes of the bell, the crimson gate of the examination hall opened again.

Scholars walked out one after another, in various states—some looked energetic and held their heads high, while others looked dispirited and dejected.

When the crowd slightly dispersed, Lu Sheng finally saw Qi Zhenshu’s figure.

Qi Zhenshu came out with Ruan Peng. They were walking and talking, their expressions serious but also with a hint of ease.

Lu Sheng watched them, thinking they were exactly like the honor students she remembered from her memory, checking answers after an exam.

Before Lu Sheng could approach with the child, Qi Zhenshu seemed to sense her gaze, turned her head, and looked in her direction.

A smile blossomed on her cold face. She said something to Ruan Peng, then quickly walked towards Lu Sheng.

“Mama.” The little one ran towards Qi Zhenshu with a smile when she saw her approaching.

Qi Zhenshu picked up the child, walked to Lu Sheng, took her hand, and asked softly, “Have you been waiting long?”

When the person got closer, Lu Sheng noticed the fatigue on her face and the blue circles under her eyes.

“Not long.” Reaching out to take the bundle from Qi Zhenshu’s shoulder, Lu Sheng said with a little heartache, “Why do you look like you’ve lost weight?”

“It’s alright, I’ll recover in a few days.”

When Qi Zhenshu was alone in Qingzhou, apart from having lunch at the yamen, she usually just grabbed a bite to eat outside for the other two meals.

Since Lu Sheng arrived, they had been eating at home, and the food had greatly improved.

“Let’s go home first.” Lu Sheng wanted to take the child from her arms, but Qi Zhenshu waved her hand, “Your hand just healed. Don’t hold her for now.”

Upon returning home, Qi Zhenshu washed up, hastily ate a couple of bites of food, and then lay down on the bed and fell asleep.

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