Chapter 469: Qi Dongjing

“Oh right.”

Mdm Peng turned her head and instructed Xiaolian, “Ask Xiaofen to keep a close eye on her. If Leya comes into contact with any indecent people, tell her to let me know. I’ll tell Old Master.”

Although Old Master Hua had a good personality and never cared about Leya’s friendships, he would definitely object if Leya wants to marry someone from the village.

She wanted to go against Leya. Leya had been unwilling to marry for so many years. Moreover, when she heard Old Master say that they were returning to Liu Yue Village, she could see the joy on her face clearly.

That d*mn girl must have someone she likes in this village.

Xiaolian nodded. “Yes!”

—————

The spring night breeze was very cool.

In the vegetable field, there were a few red lanterns hanging on the fence around them. They swayed in the wind.

Lan Yi reluctantly bade the cute little puppy farewell and returned to the Five Peaks.

After he left, Lu Sheng carried the cute little puppy back to the house.

In the blink of an eye, another day had passed.

Lu Sheng’s life had been very peaceful recently. After cooking breakfast for everyone in the morning, she continued to weed the fields with them.

Then, she went back to check on the progress of the house and the watermelons planted in the courtyard.

There was a feeling of leisure amidst this busyness.

“Lu Sheng.”

Lu Sheng, who had just finished looking at the house and was about to return to the vegetable field, was suddenly stopped by Leya.

“Sister Leya, where are you going?”

Lu Sheng turned back and greeted Leya with a smile.

Leya smiled at her and asked, “I want to go shopping in town, but I don’t have company. I wanted to ask you if you want to come along.”

“Then, wait for me. I’ll come over after making a trip to the vegetable field.”

“Oh, let’s take a carriage together.”

“No need.”

Lu Sheng waved her hand without turning back and strode back.

She returned to the vegetable field and told everyone that she might not be able to make lunch for them, so to make do with what they had.

Among the helpers in the field, there were also people with good culinary skills. However, everyone was used to eating Lu Sheng’s dishes. Everyone else’s dishes felt tasteless.

However, if Lu Sheng was not around, they would not starve to death.

Lu Sheng brought Lu Jiang and Lu Xin to the Liang family and asked Aunt Yu to take care of them.

When she came out of the Liang family, Leya waved at her and told her to get on the carriage quickly.

In the carriage, besides Leya, there was also her servant, Xiaofen.

“When we passed by Huang Yang Town a few days ago, it seemed to have changed a lot. It’s much livelier than eight years ago.”

Once Lu Sheng boarded the carriage, Leya pulled her to sit beside her.

Xiaofen sized Lu Sheng up and a hint of disdain flashed across her eyes.

As Lu Sheng was preparing to work in the fields, she was wearing an old shirt that had been washed white.

She did not comb her hair and only tied it up lazily, draping it loosely on her back.

However, her skin was very fair and her face was exquisite. Hence, even though she was wearing clothes of poor quality, it could not conceal her beauty.

Even so, it could not conceal the smell of mud and grass on her body as well.

Lu Sheng ignored Xiaofen’s scrutinising gaze and smiled at Leya. “After all, it’s been eight years. It’s only right for there to be some changes.”

“That’s true.”

Leya sighed and said nostalgically, “It was better when we were young.”

At that time, she did not have to care about the gender difference and could follow the person she liked without any worries.

Moreover, her mother was still around then.

Now, things had changed.

Lu Sheng smiled faintly. “It was good when we were young, but we naturally can’t go back.”

“Yes, we can’t go back anymore!”

Leya smiled bitterly and shook her head. She looked at Lu Sheng’s clothes and smiled. “I still have some cloth that I haven’t used yet. When I’m back, I’ll tailor some new clothes for you.”

“No need. I have a lot of new clothes in my closet.”

She was just too lazy to change. Moreover, she had washed this yesterday and it was very clean.

Anyway, Huang Yang Town was similar to the village to her, so she only changed into a pair of clean cloth shoes.

However, Leya did not believe her.

In the few days that she had been back, she had not gone to find out more about the Lu family.

Although Lu Sheng could bring out tribute tea, she was always wearing old clothes every time they met. Hence, her excuse made Le Ya mistake her for being embarrassed.

“A bolt of my Miss’s cloth costs at least ten taels. Other people can’t have them even if they want to.”

Xiaofen said sourly.

Leya glanced over coldly and said lightly, “I didn’t ask you to come along to be nosy.”

Lu Sheng glanced at Xiaofen with a faint smile. Then, she smiled and persuaded Leya. “Sister Leya, don’t be angry. She didn’t spoil my mood.”

When Leya heard that, she retracted her gaze and smiled apologetically at Lu Sheng. “This is a servant my stepmother bought for me. I haven’t had the chance to train her yet.”

Xiaofen’s face paled immediately. How could she not tell that Leya was saying that she was uneducated?

She bit her lip, but did not dare to retort.

Lu Sheng glanced at Xiaofen meaningfully and smiled faintly. “I see. No wonder.”

It turned out that she was Mdm Peng’s spy. She knew it. Why would Leya, who knew the big picture, have such a jealous and vain servant by her side?

After being warned by Leya’s gaze, Xiaofen did not dare to speak again until they reached town.

“It’s really changed a lot. It’s even more prosperous than eight years ago.”

Looking at the various people coming and going, Leya could not help but sigh.

After taking a look, Xiaofen said softly, “It’s smaller than Yu Xi Town.”

Leya glanced at her and said lightly, “Huang Yang Town is not smaller than Yu Xi Town. This is only South City. Huang Yang Town has three other cities.”

Xiaofen was stunned. “There are actually three other cities?”

This way, it was indeed much bigger than Yu Xi Town.

Lu Sheng smiled faintly and asked Leya, “Sister Leya, what do you want to buy?”

Leya smiled and shook her head. “I don’t know what to buy either. I just wanted to take a walk.”

Lu Sheng nodded. “Then, let’s shop around.”

The two of them passed by a bookstore. Leya said she wanted to take a look as she wanted to buy two books.

Lu Sheng looked up at the plaque of the bookstore. On it were the words ‘Peach Garden Bookstore.’

She felt that the name of the bookstore was familiar, as if she had heard it before.

“Lu Sheng, what’s wrong?”

Seeing her suddenly stop, Leya turned back in confusion.

“Oh, nothing.”

Lu Sheng retracted her gaze and decided to give up on that sense of familiarity.

“What books do you three ladies need?”

A magnetic voice came from behind the bookshelf.

After a while, a tall man walked out.

The man was very young. He had a face that was even more beautiful than a woman’s. His phoenix-like eyes were slightly narrowed as he leaned against the counter with his arms crossed over his chest. He looked quite lazy.

Xiaofen stared at the man in shock for a while. When she regained her senses, her face reddened immediately.

Compared to Xiaofen’s shock, Leya and Lu Sheng looked exceptionally calm.

After all, both of them had someone in their hearts that they thought was unparalleled.

“Sister Leya, what book do you want to buy?” Lu Sheng asked Leya.

“I want to buy two books. Young Master, please help me find them.”

Qi Dongjing looked at the two of them in surprise.

In the past, almost every girl who saw him was surprised.

However, the two women in front of him did not show any emotions after seeing his face. This surprised him.

“Miss, what kind of notes do you want? Do you want the notes from Huang Yang Town, the entire Xuan Yue Country, or other miscellaneous notes elsewhere?”

Leya pondered for a moment and smiled faintly. “Just our Xuan Yue Country and Huang Yang Town.”

Qi Dongjing nodded slightly. “Miss, please wait a moment. I’ll get them for you now.”

“Lu Sheng.”

The two of them were standing in the bookstore when someone suddenly shouted for Lu Sheng.

Lu Sheng and Leya turned their heads at the same time and saw Duan Zhen and two scholars standing outside the door.

“What’s the matter?” Lu Sheng raised her eyebrows and asked faintly.

“He is...?”

Leya looked at Duan Zhen and found him familiar.

“He’s Duan Zhen.”

When Leya heard that, she finally understood. “So it’s him? He looks quite a poser.”

“Who are you? How dare you say that about our Brother Duan?!”

The fat scholar following Duan Zhen looked at Leya unhappily.

“You are... Leya?”

Duan Zhen looked at Leya in surprise.

Leya’s appearance did not change much, so Duan Zhen recognized her immediately.

Leya raised her eyebrows. “What has that got to do with Scholar Duan?”

Duan Zhen smiled faintly. “I didn’t expect to see you again after eight years.”

If it were in the past, he would be very happy to see Leya again.

But now...

His gaze landed on Lu Sheng again, but she did not look at him.

Duan Zhen’s eyes darkened and he smiled. “Lu Sheng, you’re here to buy books too?”

“I can’t read.” Her tone was impatient.

Qi Dongjing walked out with two notes. His gaze scanned Leya and Lu Sheng before landing on Lu Sheng.

“You’re Lu Sheng? From Liu Yue Village?”

Lu Sheng looked up and stared at him suspiciously. “You know me?”

Qi Dongjing smiled. “So, you’re Lu Sheng?”

Previously, Chu Sihan had come to find him to help take care of a lady. He even asked for a jade pendant from him, saying that he would give it to that lady.

Since then, he was especially interested in this ‘Miss Lu’ who could attract Chu Sihan’s attention.

However, as he waited, he realized that Miss Lu had never come to find him.

Later on, he forgot about it.

He only vaguely remembered this when he heard Duan Zhen call Lu Sheng.

He did not expect Chu Sihan to like such a fair and spirited girl.

“Young Master, who are you?” Lu Sheng blinked and looked at him in confusion.

She tried to recall and realized that she did not know this person.

“I’m Qi Dongjing, the owner of this bookstore. I’m also Chu Sihan’s friend.”

Upon hearing his words, Lu Sheng suddenly remembered the words ‘Peach Garden Bookstore.’

When she first met Chu Sihan, he had invited her to Tian Xiang Restaurant for a meal and even gave her a jade pendant.

He even told her to take that jade pendant. If she needed help in the future, she could go to Peach Garden Bookstore to find the owner there for help. However, she rejected him.

“So Young Master is Lord’s friend!”

After knowing that Qi Dongjing was Chu Sihan’s friend, Lu Sheng’s guard was instantly lowered.

Qi Dongjing raised his eyebrows and smiled. “Since we’re friends, I’ll give these two books to you.”

“How will that do?”

Leya shook her head. “As the saying goes, even biological brothers should settle scores. Furthermore, Lu Sheng did not buy these books. I did. I have to pay for them.”

“It’s just a few dozen coins. It doesn’t matter.”

Qi Dongjing passed the books to Xiaofen and said to the two of them, “There’s a teahouse nearby. I wonder if you two ladies would be so kind as to have a meal together?”

He actually wanted to understand Lu Sheng more and see how she was different from other girls and why she could make Chu Sihan bloom.

“Well...”

Lu Sheng looked at Leya, but she looked at her.

Lu Sheng smiled and said, “Next time, when the Lord comes back.”

“Alright.”

Qi Dongjing pursed his lips and nodded.

“Boss, are you still selling books?”

The scholar who came with Duan Zhen spoke impatiently.

Qi Dongjing narrowed his eyes and glanced coldly at the scholar.

The scholar retreated in fear.

Duan Zhen’s face paled and he hurried forward. “Since Boss Qi has something on, we’ll come again another day.”

He glanced at Lu Sheng with a complicated gaze before leaving with the other two scholars.

“Brother Duan, didn’t you want to buy books? Why did you leave?”

The fatty who was shouting earlier was very puzzled.

Duan Zhen’s face darkened. “Do you know who he is? How dare you be rude to him.”

“Who... who’s he?”

Wasn’t he just a small boss from a bookstore?

“You don’t even know Qi Dongjing?”

Duan Zhen smiled coldly. “You should have heard of General Qi Long, right?”

The fatty nodded. “Of course. General Qi Long is the general of Xuan Yue Country.”

“Qi Dongjing. He’s General Qi Long’s son.”

“What?”

The fatty’s face paled. “Then... Then why did he open a bookstore in Huang Yang Town?”

“Why?” Duan Zhen’s face darkened. “I heard that he’s lazy and doesn’t like to be restrained. That’s why he came to Huang Yang Town to be the boss of a bookstore.”

“Then... What should I do? He won’t find me, right?”

When he thought of his attitude towards Qi Dongjing just now, the fatty felt a lingering fear.

Another scholar sneered. “Don’t worry, he won’t think much of you.”

Those big shots should have forgotten about them in the blink of an eye.

—————

On Qi Dongjing’s side.

Lu Sheng and Qi Dongjing nodded and were about to leave when Yun Ting and Shi Yi arrived.

“Miss Lu!”

Shi Yi shouted her name from afar.

Lu Sheng, who was being watched by passers-by, was speechless.

“Miss Lu, why are you here?”

The duo jogged over and asked with a smile.

Lu Sheng sighed helplessly. “I accompanied a friend to buy books. Why are the two of you here?”

Yun Ting smiled faintly and said, “We came to find Brother Qi for some tea.”

“Miss Lu, when will the crayfish be served? I’ve been waiting for a long time. I’ll be returning to the capital soon.”

Shi Yi looked at her pitifully and asked.

He had been waiting for this new dish of crayfish for a long time. In the end, the Lu family’s restaurant had released a lot of new dishes recently. The taste was also better than the previous, but there was still no crayfish.

Lu Sheng chuckled. “I’m afraid there won’t be any this year. Don’t wait anymore.”

Shi Yi’s eyes widened. “Why?”

Lu Sheng shrugged. “Because the younger ones have to kept so that they could be raised. The older ones have been eaten up by you.”

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