As the few women gradually approached, Sang Luzhi suddenly noticed that Lu Yunxiao's expression changed. His hands were tightly clenched into fists, and his eyes narrowed into slits, as if he had encountered some enemy. A few traces of fighting spirit even emerged throughout his entire body.
That this man, who was always cold and indifferent, could harbor such intense emotions toward a few women—and thinking of how she had followed him for nearly a day without him even glancing back—a great sense of dissatisfaction and anger rose in Sang Luzhi's heart. Since she could not vent this dissatisfaction and anger on Lu Yunxiao, she had no choice but to direct it at the three women who were approaching while laughing and talking. It was also at this moment that she heard Zhaoyun behind her give a low cry: "My... my heavens, how... how could it be the Eldest Madam? How could they be here?"
Eldest Madam? Sang Luzhi's heart tightened, and her eyes narrowed instantly as well.
"Our luck is good today; we found quite a bit of kudzu root. This thing can be eaten or used as medicine, especially for treating colds and flu—it's indispensable. We owe it all to Bai Kou. If she hadn't heard that fox cry and insisted on going west, how could we have found that treasure trove?"
Xia Qingyu was carrying a heavy, large basket. Although the kudzu root and several types of medicinal herbs inside were bending her waist, it could not dampen her enthusiasm and spirit. She spoke excitedly to the two maidservants beside her, who were exhausted and listless. Then, she looked back at the Great Green Mountain and took a deep breath, saying with satisfaction: "Great! We've already gathered quite a few medicinal herbs along the way, but if we want to treat illnesses and make money, this is far from enough. So, before we enter the Jiangnan region, we need to linger in this area for a few more days. Once we have those herbs dried or processed, we won't have to worry once we reach Jiangnan with medicine in hand."
"Why must you go to such trouble, Madam? You are going to Jiangnan to treat illnesses, not to open a pharmacy. It should be enough to just be responsible for prescribing medicine. Why must you go up the mountain to gather herbs every day? Being tired is one thing, but this servant is only worried that you might get bitten by snakes, insects, rats, or ants. I've heard there are many poisonous creatures in the south. If you get bitten, what will happen? Wouldn't all the herbs you gathered be in vain?"
Bai Kou sighed, but she heard Bai Wei beside her give a wry smile: "Alright, you don't need to persuade her. Don't you know what kind of temperament the Madam has? She wouldn't let such a business with no capital investment—other than some hard work—slip by, would she?"
"Exactly, Bai Wei understands me better." Xia Qingyu clapped her hands: "Besides, it's still a while before the snakes, insects, rats, and ants run rampant. If we don't make good use of this timing, heaven would condemn us. Furthermore, the medicinal herb resources on these mountains are so abundant; if we don't gather them all and process them to wait for profit, even heaven wouldn't tolerate me. Prescribing medicine and having people go to the pharmacy to get it filled—how could that possibly earn as much as our one-stop service of treating illnesses, prescribing, and dispensing medicine?"
Well, this Madam had simply burrowed into the money pit. Bai Kou and Bai Wei shook their heads, but wisely chose not to say those words out loud.
"Huh?"
Suddenly seeing Xia Qingyu slow her pace and frown while looking ahead, Bai Kou and Bai Wei hurriedly followed her gaze. They saw a few people standing on the official road in the distance, who also seemed to be looking in their direction. Although the distance was a bit far and they couldn't see their faces clearly, the other party's figures and postures made a sense of indescribable familiarity rise from the bottom of their hearts.
"What are those silly birds doing standing on the main road? The sky is already turning gloomy; do they want to get caught in the rain?"
Xia Qingyu criticized them in a low voice without holding back, but as she walked further, her eyes widened. When she finally saw the faces of those people on the road, the former Eldest Madam of the Marquis's Estate could not help but stop in her tracks.
"Oh my, is heaven playing with me? Can I really run into them like this?"
She muttered to herself, then grabbed the sleeves of Bai Kou and Bai Wei: "You... you help me look. My eyes seem to be having problems. How... how did I see the figure of that scumbag? Or is it just two people who happen to look alike?"
Soon, Xia Qingyu knew it wasn't her eyes that were the problem, because the bodies of Bai Kou and Bai Wei had already stiffened like corpses. They stared in shock at the man twenty-some steps away, their mouths wide open, unable to make a sound.
How could this arrogant, hateful woman be here too? Was she still hoping to manufacture some kind of chance encounter? What a joke! Did she think I would give her a chance to turn back? Since leaving the Marquis's Estate, she has become even more unreasonable. Not to mention virtue, appearance, speech, and work, she doesn't even have a shred of decency in her speech. Who is she calling a scumbag? Why doesn't she look at her own hateful and detestable virago appearance?
Lu Yunxiao's expression was cold, but he could not say those words in his heart; otherwise, wouldn't he be like a shrew cursing in the street? That woman didn't care about her reputation, but he couldn't abandon the demeanor of the Heir of the Marquis's Estate.
The two groups stared at each other, and a strange and unfriendly atmosphere flowed through the air. Even Sang Luzhi could feel this atmosphere. She secretly glanced at Lu Yunxiao and saw that although the man she had fallen in love with at first sight still had a calm expression, his face had already turned as black as the bottom of a pot. It was clear that he hated the three women opposite him to the extreme.
This was a scene that should have made her secretly happy, but she felt no joy in her heart. Her mind was only filled with the common saying: "Deep love leads to harsh criticism." If he didn't love her so deeply, how could there be such intense hatred now? The pitiful runaway woman only knew that there was a virago in the Marquis's Estate and that she had finally been divorced by the Young Marquis because he could no longer tolerate her. She did not know that the other party had "harmed the Young Marquis's flesh and blood." Because of this, she easily linked this hatred and love together.
Just as Sang Luzhi developed intense jealousy and anger toward Xia Qingyu because of this, she saw the three women on the opposite side walk over as if nothing had happened.
"I said that bumping into a crow when going out today meant nothing good would happen. Oh well, having it manifest in this way is better than losing money." Xia Qingyu waved her hands as if shooing away mosquitoes, while brainwashing Bai Kou and Bai Wei: "You didn't see anything, you saw absolutely nothing. Those few people in front are just scarecrows, they were just made very realistically..."
"Hey! How can you talk like that?"
Zhaoyun finally couldn't help it: How could this Eldest Madam be even more hateful and sharp-tongued now that she had fallen into such dire straits? That mouth of hers was becoming increasingly unforgiving. Thinking of Lu Yunxiao's status, he naturally disdained to trade barbs with the other party. Muyun was honest and loyal, so the heavy responsibility of winning glory for his master could only fall on him.
Unexpectedly, Xia Qingyu pulled Bai Kou and Bai Wei around them to a spot ten steps away as if avoiding a plague, and then walked past without looking sideways. Bai Kou and Bai Wei were still timidly echoing from the side: "Yes, the Madam is right. We didn't see anything; those are just a few scarecrows..."
"Near vermilion, one gets stained red; near ink, one gets stained black." Zhaoyun beat his chest in grief: Bai Kou and Bai Wei were such good maidservants, but after leaving the estate with this master for less than a month, they had actually learned to be so sharp-tongued.
"Forget it, why bother with such an ignorant idiot?"
Unable to swallow this insult, Zhaoyun was just about to step forward to regain some glory for his master, but was stopped by Lu Yunxiao reaching out a hand. He turned his head and saw his master's brows slightly furrowed, as if he were thinking about something, so he hurriedly leaned in and whispered: "What is the Master thinking about?"
"I am thinking, where are they staying?"
It was true that Lu Yunxiao hated Xia Qingyu, but he was, after all, a talent in whom the Emperor placed high hopes, so he quickly buried this hatred in his heart and began to think about the most critical problem. Just as his voice fell, he heard a "moo" sound from afar. Looking up and following the sound, he saw an ox cart coming leisurely. On the cart shaft sat a man and a woman in simple clothing, looking like a couple.
"Brother Ye, Sister-in-law Ye, you're back? How was business today?" Xia Qingyu led Bai Kou and Bai Wei forward and greeted the couple warmly. Then, the ox cart slowly stopped, and the old yellow cattle pulling the cart let out another "moo." Xia Qingyu patted its head and casually pulled a handful of wild grass from the basket behind her to feed it into the yellow cattle's mouth, laughing happily: "You stingy ox, you've become addicted to eating my grass every day, haven't you? My medicinal basket space is so precious, yet I still have to specially clear some out to pack fresh grass for you."
Lu Yunxiao watched helplessly as she finished talking to the ox and then climbed onto the ox cart. Her movements were agile and fluid, without the slightest bit of awkwardness or pretension. Even with his self-control, he couldn't help but open his mouth wide, looking at the scene before him in extreme shock. Only one thought echoed in his heart: "Hell, I must be seeing things. That woman... she... how could she speak so peacefully with village folk? In her eyes, weren't these lowly mud legs not even fit to carry her shoes?"
Zhaoyun and Muyun's eyes were also about to pop out of their sockets. Suddenly, they saw Brother Ye on the ox cart look toward them, hesitated for a moment, and then said to Lu Yunxiao: "Where is the young master heading? Within a hundred miles, there are only a few scattered villages. It looks like it's about to rain. If you have nowhere to go, why not take my ox cart and stay in our village for the night?"
Before Lu Yunxiao could speak, he heard Xia Qingyu on the ox cart say "Oh my," and then she shook her head and laughed: "Brother Ye, you are too honest. 'Being overly eager is not a good business deal.' Haven't you heard the common saying that kindness is often treated like a donkey's lungs? If you invite them so enthusiastically, I'm afraid they will think we are running a black shop. To tell you the truth, that is Young Marquis Lu, the Heir of the Shouning Marquis Manor from the Capital City. You are worrying that they have nowhere to spend the night—isn't that just worrying for nothing?"
The couple was clearly frightened by the title of Young Marquis. The two hurriedly jumped off the cart shaft and kowtowed on the ground, stammering: "This commoner was impolite, please do not blame us, Young Marquis."
Xia Qingyu was stunned, then she annoyedly tapped her head, thinking she had been careless. As a transmigrator woman, she wouldn't take any Young Marquis to heart, but these common people probably hadn't even seen a county magistrate in their entire lives; how could they withstand the three words "Young Marquis"? But fortunately, this way, Brother Ye would likely extinguish the idea of entertaining the scumbag. Hmph! Don't blame me for being mean; who told you to be such a scumbag? You can't even see through your own concubine. If this were a novel, you would just be cannon fodder; you could never be the male protagonist. The male protagonist is an all-wise, all-powerful existence who can read minds—how could it be an idiot like you?
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Ao wu, have you ever thought that this pair of enemies would reunite so quickly? Heh heh heh! Quickly give me Recommendation Tickets and add me to your Collection to encourage me, ao wu!
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