Just as she was feeling proud of the occasional wicked ideas popping into her head, Xia Qingyu’s eyes widened the next moment. She watched in disbelief as Lu Yunxiao stepped forward to personally help Brother Ye up, saying indifferently, "We are among the common people here, not in the Imperial Court or the Capital City. There is no need for such formalities; just treat me as an ordinary person. I wonder where your village is? We missed our lodging and are at a loss as to what to do."
Brother Ye was helped up by the Young Marquis’s noble claws—oh, no, noble hands—and he was so flattered that he stammered, "Our... village is... Ye Family Village. It’s just... just at the end of that small path ahead, two miles away... we’ll be there soon. We will definitely... be able to make it back before the rain starts."
"Then we shall trouble the two of you." Lu Yunxiao smiled slightly and turned to look at Miss Sang: "Would you like to join us, Miss?"
"Yes, of course I would. With a village right there, who would want to sleep in the wilderness and get rained on?" Sang Luzhi nodded like a chicken pecking at rice, her heart overflowing with excitement. Although she had been quite certain of her guess before, having it confirmed by Xia Qingyu herself still made her unable to help but feel thrilled.
It really was him, that Young Marquis Lu who was skilled in both civil and military affairs and had a limitless future, the brother-in-law favored by the Emperor, the younger brother of the Imperial Noble Consort, and the uncle of two Princes. Oh my god, how could such a good thing suddenly fall into my lap? Hehe, if I could gain his favor and perhaps become the Young Marquis’s wife after he remarries, wouldn't I be a dignified First-Rank Imperial Consort? Compared to him, what is the son of the Ministry of Justice official that Father picked for me? Even though we are betrothed, would he have the guts to compete with Lu Yunxiao for a woman?
Miss Sang, who had fallen entirely into delusions, was so excited that she didn't know what to do after hearing Lu Yunxiao’s question. She followed closely behind him, actually taking the place of Zhao Yun and Mu Yun.
When the six of them arrived at the ox cart, they saw Xia Qingyu sitting with her legs stretched out, showing no intention of making room for them. Sang Luzhi couldn't help but frown, secretly thinking that this woman was truly shameless. Could it be that she thought she could find a new way to make the Young Marquis remember their past as husband and wife? Hmph! How could I let her get her way?
Just as she was about to speak, she noticed that the atmosphere around them seemed somewhat silent and serious. Her heart trembled, and she looked up at Lu Yunxiao, only to see the man standing quietly in front of the cart, looking at Xia Qingyu with an expressionless face.
Xia Qingyu stared back without showing any weakness: Damn it, I miscalculated. Who would have thought the scumbag would be so thick-skinned? He actually managed to put aside his status to sit on an ox cart. You jerk, do you know you are a Young Marquis? Aren't you afraid of lowering your status with something as low-class as an ox cart? Besides, I'm on the cart. Where did that cold, ruthless persona of yours go when you threw that Letter of Divorce at me? Sitting on an ox cart with me? Have you no shame?
Just as she was fiercely criticizing him in her heart, she saw Lu Yunxiao smile slightly. That smile was full of sarcasm and mockery. Then, he looked up and called out to the honest man who had just sat on the cart shaft: "Brother, I wonder where we should sit?"
Xia Qingyu’s expression stiffened. She finally understood what that mocking smile of the scumbag was about. Sure enough, the next moment, she heard Brother Ye’s panicked voice: "Miss Xia, how can you sit there? Hurry and make some room for the Young Marquis."
As he spoke, Sister-in-law Ye also climbed over clumsily. After Xia Qingyu unwillingly moved, she respectfully spread the blanket they had just bought in town across the middle of the ox cart, then lowered her head and said respectfully, "Please sit, Young Marquis."
Lu Yunxiao sat down on this "prime spot" with satisfaction. Sang Luzhi kept a little distance from him and sat on the edge of the blanket. In fact, she really wanted to sit right next to Lu Yunxiao, but considering that would be too unreserved and might make the Young Marquis mistake her for a loose woman, she had to settle for second best.
What does it mean to lift a rock only to drop it on one's own feet? I am exactly that right now.
Xia Qingyu clutched her forehead in annoyance, thinking: You were proud, weren't you? You were arrogant, weren't you? You underestimated the enemy, didn't you? Even if he is a cannon fodder scumbag, he is still Lu Yunxiao, a pillar of the nation valued by the Emperor. You cannot underestimate his intelligence too much. Well, it’s not that his intelligence is high, it’s that my intelligence dropped to zero because I was careless. Why did I expose his identity as the Young Marquis? Was I hoping that Brother Ye and Sister-in-law Ye would tuck their tails and run away upon hearing his identity? By what right? They aren't notorious bandits. Now it’s great, Brother Ye and Sister-in-law Ye don't even see me anymore. Wuwuwu, that blanket wasn't even taken out before; this double standard is too obvious. They don't even think about how I was the one who fed fresh grass to the ox when it was hungry.
Can this woman admit defeat too?
Lu Yunxiao looked straight ahead, seemingly watching the fields on both sides of the path, but in reality, his peripheral vision was always on Xia Qingyu. He thought this vicious woman wouldn't admit defeat so easily and would surely think of other ways to provoke him, such as secretly kicking him off the cart. Of course, if it were the Xia Qingyu before the divorce, she definitely wouldn't dare to do such a thing, but after the divorce, he just felt that such things were not beneath that foolish woman. Therefore, he remained on guard, not intending to give his ex-wife even the slightest chance to act out.
"So you are that renowned Young Marquis Lu."
Sang Luzhi pondered for a long time on how to start a conversation and appropriately show her "intimate" relationship with Lu Yunxiao in front of Xia Qingyu. However, after thinking for a long time, she ultimately had no novel opening, so she had to start with the most ordinary dialogue.
Lu Yunxiao nodded, and then heard Sang Luzhi smile slightly again: "I heard that the Young Marquis is here on an imperial order to provide disaster relief in Jiangnan. I wonder why you are here? If you aren't with the Imperial Envoy Team, won't there be trouble?"
Lu Yunxiao glanced at her and asked inexplicably: "What kind of trouble could there be?"
Sang Luzhi blinked, stunned for a moment, and secretly thought: I... I just said that casually. That's right, what trouble could the Imperial Envoy Team have? They can't exactly have a mutiny or anything.
Just as she was feeling awkward, she heard Brother Ye in front call out in surprise: "So you are the Disaster Relief Imperial Envoy."
"That's right." Lu Yunxiao smiled slightly, looking at Brother Ye’s back: "Why? Has your village also been hit by the disaster?"
"No, no, our village is fine. We are still far from Zhoushan. However, there has been quite a lot of rain this spring. Fortunately, there are no rivers, lakes, or seas around here, so at most the fields are a bit waterlogged, and we can still do some farming."
Brother Ye explained honestly. They didn't grow rice here, but rather millet, soybeans, sweet potatoes, and the like. However, his family didn't have much land, so in his spare time, he would collect local cloth and old grain in the village to sell at a market thirty miles away. Because Jiangnan was hit by the flood disaster, these things were selling very well now.
Lu Yunxiao suddenly recalled the doubts he had along the way. After thinking for a moment, he said in a deep voice: "On my way south, I saw many common people fleeing the disaster. Jiangnan has always been a land of fish and rice. Although it was hit by the disaster this spring, causing the canal and several sea dikes to burst due to days of heavy rain, both the imperial water and land disaster relief teams are on the way. As long as they endure for a few days and receive relief, they should be able to get by, and it wouldn't be too late to farm again. Why would it reach the point of having to leave their hometowns?"
Brother Ye laughed: "If you ask others about this, they might not know. But since I happen to have relatives from Zhoushan staying at my house, I know a bit about the inside story." He was, after all, a commoner. Although he was shaken by Lu Yunxiao’s identity, as he spoke, he forgot to refer to himself as a commoner.
Lu Yunxiao didn't mind. Hearing that Brother Ye understood the inside story, he quickly straightened his expression and said: "Since Brother Ye is an insider, please enlighten me."
"I heard that in Jiangnan, taking advantage of this natural disaster, some people are purchasing large amounts of land. They offer generous amounts of silver, and it’s hard not to be tempted. So those who have some land couldn't help but sell it, thinking that they can make a living anywhere. My relative’s family originally had five acres of fertile land, and they also sold it, bringing a large sum of silver to find me, intending to settle in our village. Good heavens, with that money, they could buy twenty acres of superior quality fertile land here and still have some left over. Young Marquis, you tell me, who wouldn't do such a profitable deal?"
When Brother Ye said this, he heard Sister-in-law Ye snort: "Don't just talk about that. Not everyone is blinded by greed. Can ancestral property be sold so easily? My cousin also said that although many people in their village sold their land, at least half of them still refused to sell, waiting for the imperial relief."
Brother Ye quickly laughed: "Yes, yes, yes. In front of the Young Marquis, I couldn't help but feel proud and forgot about that."
Lu Yunxiao smiled slightly, then heard Sang Luzhi next to him smile and say: "I wonder what kind of person has such a mind. When the disaster struck, the common people happened to need silver to get by, so he bought the land at a high price. In fact, the land in Jiangnan is fertile; after this disaster passes, can that still be considered a high price? He gained thousands of acres of fertile land for nothing. In a few years, this silver should be earned back. The Imperial Court has been encouraging farming in recent years, likely to prepare for future border troubles. When that time comes, the need for grain and fodder will be of the utmost importance. This person is quite far-sighted."
She was purely showing off in front of Lu Yunxiao. As she spoke, she stole glances at Lu Yunxiao, but saw that there was no expression on his face, which made her feel a bit disappointed. Looking at Lu Yunxiao’s gaze, it was actually resting on those medicine baskets, which made her even more annoyed. Yet, on the surface, she smiled and said: "Madam, there are quite a lot of medicinal materials in these baskets. Do you go up the mountain to gather medicinal herbs every day?"
Xia Qingyu had remained silent ever since she realized it was not advisable to be enemies with Lu Yunxiao for the time being. However, since it was Sang Luzhi who initiated the conversation, she couldn't act cold, so she nodded. Then she heard the other woman smile and say: "Does Madam also know how to process medicinal materials?"
"More than just processing medicinal materials? My Madam can diagnose and treat illnesses, gather herbs, and make medicine; there is nothing she cannot do."
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