Chapter 75: What’s The Scheme In The Gourd?
The middle-aged man wasn’t foolish enough to ask why they were picking it up from the Lu Family; he just took it as the Lu Family’s way of flattering those above.
He put away the contract, thinking the ox couldn’t walk, and considerately asked if they needed the ox and cart delivered to their residence.
Shang Wan thought for a moment and said, “Deliver it to the city gate. I’ll make arrangements afterward.”
The middle-aged man took it upon himself to understand that Shang Wan planned to transport the ox outside the city, slaughter it, and then bring it back. He immediately showed a knowing smile and instructed the shop assistants to call two people to transport the ox.
City Gate.
“You two go back first.” Shang Wan waved her hand at the two laborers from the Carriage and Horse Shop. Xiao Huan stepped forward and gave each of them three qian of silver as reward money.
The two happily took the reward money and left.
Once the two had gone far away, Shang Wan took out the small porcelain bottle and, under the cover of the wheelchair, poured it into the ox’s mouth.
The ox tried to resist but was no match for Shang Wan’s strength and was forced to swallow the Spiritual Spring Water.
“All right.” Shang Wan patted the ox’s head and said to Xiao Huan, “It’ll take a bit for the medicine to take effect. Go find Shi Tou and have him drive the ox cart over.”
Earlier, to make their identities convincing, and since Shang Wan didn’t want to waste money renting a carriage, she had the Carriage and Horse Shop’s shop assistant transport the ox and cart frame first.
They made an excuse about buying some things and waited until they were far away before Shi Tou ran to the old man where the ox cart was stored, drove the ox cart over to pick up Shang Wan and the others, then got off early and walked to the city gate.
The two laborers had been reminded by the owner to keep a low profile, so they thought Shang Wan and the others were walking for the same reason and didn’t suspect anything.
Shang Wan observed the ox’s condition for a while, then stood up and dangled the tassel on the seal in front of Lu Chengjing twice. “Tell me, why does your study room have Lu Chengyuan’s personal seal?”
“Fake.” Lu Chengjing said, “I’ve seen his personal seal before and carved one just like it when I had nothing to do.”
Shang Wan raised an eyebrow. “Don’t tell me you carved it just for fun.”
Lu Chengjing stared at the red clay at the bottom of the seal, his long lashes lowering as he said softly, “Originally, it was just for fun.”
“The Xiucai Scholar is impressive—good at studying and at carving seals.”
Shang Wan put away the seal, reached out, and ruffled her own fox’s head, messing up his hair before smoothing it back down.
“After we get home and have dinner, I’ll ask you about that thing that’s been distracting you. If you’re bored right now, you can think about whether you want to tell me about it first.”
Lu Chengjing suddenly raised his gaze and looked straight at Shang Wan.
Shang Wan shrugged. “You don’t think you hid it well, do you?”
Lu Chengjing’s lips pressed together lightly. Shang Wan said nothing more and reached out to brush all his wind-tousled hair behind his ears.
“Moo~” The yellow ox behind them suddenly mooed and slowly stood up.
“Good ox.” Shang Wan smiled and patted its back, fitted the nearby cart frame onto the yellow ox, flipped onto the driver’s seat, and tried the commands Shi Tou had taught her, holding the reins and driving two laps.
The Carriage and Horse Shop’s ox was excellent—not only docile but also quick to respond to commands. Even a novice like Shang Wan had no problem driving it.
“Really a good ox.” Shang Wan praised again, got down to feed the yellow ox some fodder, and chattered to it, “From now on, you’ll be doing the city trips. Be good—if you throw a tantrum, I’ll slaughter you and eat the meat.”
The yellow ox mooed, unclear if it understood or was just feeling better and wanted to moo more.
Shi Tou drove the ox cart over, and Shang Wan waved for them to go ahead.
She lifted Lu Chengjing and Yuan Yuan onto the ox cart, then loaded the wheelchair, and drove the ox cart to follow.
The two ox carts traveled side by side on the dirt road. Shang Wan loosely held the reins, occasionally issuing “Whoa” and “Gee” commands to direct the yellow ox left and right.
Yuan Yuan sat in Shang Wan’s lap, her two dark eyes wide as saucers, little mouth pursed, mimicking the commands perfectly and amusing everyone.
Shi Tou said delightedly, “Buying an ox and ox cart in the East Market would cost at least ten taels of silver, and you’d have to train it from scratch. How could it be as handy as this? Sis is amazing—we just put on a show and got a huge bargain.”
“He wasn’t on guard this time. Probably won’t be so easy to fool next time.” Shang Wan reached out to pat the ox’s back, slowing it down since the Zhang Family’s ox couldn’t keep up.
Shi Tou didn’t mind. “We won’t buy from him anymore anyway.”
Shang Wan smiled, but her mind was on the personal seal.
For a simple outing, her fox had actually brought Lu Chengyuan’s fake personal seal—likely harboring intentions to trick Lu Chengyuan.
But for the Lu Family, that rental fee was truly insignificant.
Given how much Master Lu and Madam Lu valued their eldest son, they never restricted him on money matters. The steward, seeing the contract, would probably think it was from Lu Chengyuan’s socializing debts outside and settle the silver directly without drawing Lu Chengyuan’s attention.
If it didn’t make Lu Chengyuan feel upset, how was it a trick?
Shang Wan turned to glance at Lu Chengjing, who was resting with eyes closed. What exactly was this guy planning?
Perhaps sensing Shang Wan’s gaze, Lu Chengjing opened his eyes and tilted his head slightly toward her, his eyes holding a questioning look.
Shang Wan said, “It’s still a ways from the village. If you’re tired, there’s a cape on the Zhang Family’s ox cart—you can take it to cover up and sleep.”
Lu Chengjing shook his head. “No need.”
“Then after entering the village, do we go straight home or tell the villagers about the disaster relief grain first?”
Lu Chengjing thought for a moment and said, “The villagers are all hoping for the disaster relief grain. Let’s go to the Wu Family first, invite everyone over to explain the situation, and discuss it.”
Shang Wan nodded. “Okay.”
The two ox carts returned to the village one after the other. Shi Tou moved all the purchased items onto their own ox cart, then drove it to the Zhang Family to return.
The crack at the village entrance had been filled. Shang Wan saw wooden sheds set up in many places, the young and strong men bare-chested carrying wood everywhere, bustling about energetically.
The villagers saw Shang Wan and her group and waved in greeting.
“Xiucai Scholar’s Wife, did your family buy an ox cart?”
“Whoa, that ox looks top-notch—must’ve cost a lot of silver.”
“Yuan Yuan, what’s that you’re holding?”
“Xiucai Scholar’s Wife, how’s the city? Is it chaotic?”
Shang Wan knew this was the villagers’ way of showing goodwill. For the barrage of questions, she picked a few to answer and smiled through the rest.
The village roads were narrow, so the ox carts moved slowly. Passing others’ fields, enthusiastic aunts would stuff a couple of bok choy onto the cart, freshly pulled from the field with mud still on the roots.
Some young wives chatted with Xiao Huan, but Shang Wan didn’t stop and wait, telling her to go home later by herself.
“Whoa~”
The ox cart stopped at the Wu Family doorway. Shang Wan unloaded the wheelchair first, then carried Lu Chengjing down.
Yuan Yuan obediently waited for her mother to finish carrying daddy before being carried herself, holding the refilled milk bottle in her small hands and taking sips now and then.
Aunt Yao heard the commotion and came out to look. Seeing it was Shang Wan and her family of three, she hurriedly invited them inside.
Shang Wan lifted the wheelchair over the threshold and asked, “Aunt, is Uncle Wu home?”
