Wine-scented Beauty

Chapter 78: Farewell (Part Two)

"In that case, I'll take my leave." Lu Yu nodded slightly and prepared to leave with Ji Meiqing.

After packing her things, Ji Meiqing left the post station. She couldn't help but recall the princess's appearance earlier, which seemed somewhat sad.

"Don't be sad. You'll see each other again if you have the chance in the future."

"I'm not sad." Her face was dark, and it was impossible to tell what she was thinking. After a long while, she finally looked up. "I'm suddenly somewhat glad that I was abandoned by the Ji family."

Lu Yu paused, looking down at Ji Meiqing standing beside him. She showed no emotion, as if she were talking about something unrelated to him.

"Otherwise, you'll be powerless to control your own destiny in the future." She smiled, her eyes as bright as the moon, yet inexplicably making people feel sorry for her.

Despite being homeless and abandoned by his family, he still...

"I've thought it through." She suddenly became serious, and Lu Yu subconsciously pressed, "Thought it through what?"

"As for me... if I get married in the future, I will raise my child well. I will take him to parades, and no matter if he is a boy or a girl, I will not interfere with his love life." She paused, then smiled and said, "However... it's still a bit early. These are just hopes. When the time comes, everything will be up to fate."

"Everything will be as you wish." He stroked her hair, as usual. But for some reason, he remembered her words and kept them in his mind, repeating them over and over again.

She walked forward without looking back.

Upon returning to the Lu family home, the first thing she did was to inspect the two plots of land at the back. Madam Li also ran over, following behind her, and tentatively asked, "This plot looks quite nice. I wonder what we should plant there?"

"I won't plant anything." She squatted down, touched it carefully, and then looked into the distance.

Mrs. Li was somewhat surprised, "Why buy such a good piece of land if you're not going to plant anything there?"

“Build a shed. We can’t keep brewing wine at home forever; we need to find a place for mass production.” She clapped her hands, stood up, and looked at her, saying, “How’s the Qiu family’s matter? Has it been resolved?”

Li nodded and said carefully, "From now on, we will have no further connection with the Qiu family."

"That's good. Now that your matter is settled, you can focus on the brewing for a while. You don't need to worry about anything else."

"Yes..." She lowered her head in fear, not daring to look Ji Meiqing in the eye.

Once things were mostly settled, she gathered a group of people to start building a shed behind the building. Because she found their axe-wielding too slow, she personally made a saw for them to use.

The remaining task was to prepare the banquet hall. Li Ming was an expert in this area, so she directly asked him to come over. The responsibility of cooking at home fell directly on Lu Yu's shoulders, and without hearing any complaints from him, they began.

Ji Meiqing likes modern technology, but in this backward ancient times, there are only a few technologies available.

While discussing greenhouse matters with Li Ming, she unknowingly became distracted. When she came to her senses, she saw Li Ming calling her name repeatedly.

"Ah, what did you say?"

“We can dig another cellar in this area to store wine. This place, and this place, are too damp and not suitable for storing wine.”

"Oh..." She looked closely and saw that the terrain there was low-lying and damp, and maybe some mushrooms would grow there.

She yawned, and the dark circles under her eyes were impossible to hide.

Li Ming felt a little sorry for her and advised, "Why don't you go and rest for a while? You're yawning all the time, you probably won't remember anything."

She didn't refuse and fell asleep at the table next to him. Li Ming continued to revise the drawings, occasionally marking any parts he didn't understand with a pen.

The room was quiet; both of them were still. One was working quietly, the other was sleeping quietly.

The window was open, and Qiu Jiaming stood outside, glaring angrily at the people inside. His eyes were venomous as he stared intently at them.

Li Ming was unaware and continued to carefully examine the blueprints.

He watched for a while and then left; there were quite a few people on the road. He happened to run into his companion.

"Brother Ming." They called out and came over one after another, with fawning smiles on their faces. They seemed very happy to see Qiu Jiaming.

They walked up to him. "Ming-ge, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing." Then, changing her mind, she added, "I just came back from over there, do you know what I saw?"

"What."

"That little woman from the Lu family and Li Ming and the others are in the room..." He didn't finish his sentence, but the lewd smile on his face made others understand a bit, and they didn't ask any further questions.

"Although Ji Meiqing isn't exactly a beauty, she's still quite pretty. Besides, she's the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy family in town. I wonder what it's like..."

"Shall we guys try it sometime?"

"Sure, sure." They all laughed, but the smiles on their faces were truly disgusting.

She didn't wake up until dusk. Still feeling tired, she stretched her limbs and felt a little better.

"Thank you." She smiled, her eyes still somewhat glazed. When Li returned from outside and saw her there, an unnatural smile appeared on her face.

Ji Meiqing didn't mind, said a few words to her, and then left.

After watching her leave, Li went back and pulled Li Ming aside, anxiously checking him over. "Are you alright?"

"What do you want?" Li Ming asked curiously, looking down at his mother.

"When I came back just now, I heard him talking about how Ji Meiqing and you are doing this and that..."

She still looked tense, and her eyes showed worry.

Li Ming chuckled twice, not caring about such things. "Miss Ji was just too tired and took a short rest. Don't overthink it, she's not that kind of person."

"But public opinion is a fearsome thing!" she said, and the two fell silent.

Li Ming didn't know what to say about his mother's thoughts, so he just gave her a few perfunctory words and saw her out of his room.

Ji Meiqing returned home, the candlelight flickering softly. The air was filled with the unique aroma of food. She stretched and said happily, "The greatest happiness in life is coming home to a meal after a long day of work."

Lu Yu smiled, still remembering the apron she had made by hand around his waist.

"Wash your hands and let's eat."

"Okay." She went to the back with a smile.

Lu Yu watched her retreating figure, his smile fading. He stared at the food, lost in thought.

After a while, she came over and said excitedly, "Li Ming is quite talented. He finished the design plan for the wine shed in just one afternoon. I thought it would take some effort, but now it's great, I don't have to worry about it at all."