The Prime Minister’s Little Wife

Chapter 45: Breathtakingly Handsome

After washing up in her space, Xu Zhizhi lay down on her bed.

Thinking about the house and the future, the excitement in her eyes was impossible to hide.

Eating well, drinking well, and living in a comfortable environment—this was a life even nobles and officials might envy!

Xu Zhizhi secretly thought to herself that not being reborn into a wealthy family was actually a good thing.

She didn’t rely on others to provide for her; she preferred to be self-reliant.

Looking at the house she had built bit by bit, she felt a deep sense of pride.

If she had been reborn into a noble family, constantly scheming and playing mind games, how exhausting would that be?

Thinking of noble families, she couldn’t help but think of Xiao Jingheng.

It had been over twenty days since she last saw him. She wondered how he was doing.

If only he hadn’t been born into a noble family! He was the first person she had taken a liking to in this ancient world, but alas, it was a pity.

As she thought about it, she gradually drifted off to sleep.

At this moment, Xiao Jingheng was sitting in the backyard of the medical hall, gazing at the starry sky.

The stars twinkled brightly, beautiful, just like her sparkling eyes.

After Xu Zhizhi delivered the medicine, the old man spent three days preparing the prescription. Xiao Jingheng took the medicine internally and applied it externally, combined with the old man’s acupuncture treatment.

Ten days later, the poison in his body was completely cleared. He felt more energetic, and his internal strength continued to grow, becoming even more profound.

Half a month later, the bones in his legs had almost healed. He could stand up on his own and walk slowly, but he still needed to continue exercising to regain full mobility.

Old Physician Shangguan was thrilled and excited. His medical skills had always been exceptional, but seeing Xiao Jingheng recover so well and so quickly made him feel that his skills had reached new heights.

He boasted about it constantly in front of Xiao Jingheng and often mentioned Xu Zhizhi.

Xiao Jingheng was also excited!

[He didn’t realize when he had started to think of the girl as his own.]

He really wanted to see his girl!

But since that day, he hadn’t seen her again! He didn’t know what she was busy with!

He pushed himself to practice walking, hoping to see his girl as soon as possible.

[He didn’t even realize that he should be thinking about revenge first!]

One day, the old man’s young apprentice saw him and exclaimed excitedly, “Heavens! Where did this handsome man come from? Did he take a wrong turn?”

From that day on, whenever he had time, he became obsessed with looking in the mirror, admiring his reflection.

Handsome and dashing, every movement and smile was like a painting, breathtakingly beautiful.

He had always been calm, reserved, and aloof, never caring much about his appearance.

Before this, he had been a notorious playboy.

When had he started caring so much about his looks?

He even smiled at himself in the mirror! This was unprecedented!

Perhaps, as the books said, love at first sight was all about appearance.

He really hoped that the girl would scream with excitement when she saw him.

He also thought about the man the girl liked, rumored to be the most handsome scholar in the village.

Could that poor scholar really be more handsome than him?

Or more talented?

What was so great about someone who only became a scholar at twenty?

He had become a scholar at twelve and a provincial scholar in the same year, making him the youngest provincial scholar in the Great Sheng Dynasty. He just hadn’t taken the imperial exams because passing them would lead to the palace exams.

He didn’t want to become an official at such a young age, nor did he want to pretend to perform poorly and upset his mother, so he feigned illness and didn’t take the exams.

Little did he know that he would actually be framed, injured, and forced to recuperate. The continuous plots and assassinations had led him to this state of wandering far from home.

Speaking of being framed, it all came down to the fact that he was too outstanding!

He was the top scholar in Luocheng.

At twelve, his extraordinary talent had shocked Luocheng. At that young age, he hadn’t yet faced plots or setbacks and still retained a childlike innocence and kindness.

But in the year he became a provincial scholar, he was framed by his siblings, plotted against by his stepmother, and unfairly treated by his grandfather…

By the age of thirteen, he had already experienced the harshness of the world and gradually realized that his previous comfort and ease were all due to his mother’s protection!

From then on, he became the number one playboy in Luocheng.

Even though he was idle and unruly, it couldn’t hide his brilliance.

Who asked him to be so outstanding?

So outstanding that it provoked jealousy and hatred!

Ah, he couldn’t dwell on it anymore. The past was too painful to recall.

He should sleep well and continue practicing walking tomorrow so he could see his girl as soon as possible.

The next morning, Xu Zhizhi washed up and had breakfast.

Tomorrow was the day chosen by the geomancer Qiu Dixian as auspicious for raising the roof beam.

According to local customs, on the day the roof beam was raised, flower-shaped buns would be steamed for the children who came to see the new house.

Xu Zhizhi didn’t know how to make them, so she prepared plenty of flour.

Fortunately, their family often hired workers and needed to prepare a lot of food, so they had several large trays at home.

After breakfast, the aunties started kneading the dough. They worked without hesitation.

This was a labor-intensive task.

Kneading the dough was something they couldn’t do alone.

Xu Zhizhi led her cousins in preparing lunch.

Wang Daya was still tending the fire. Since marrying into the Xu family, she had been helping her husband’s uncle’s family every day. The work wasn’t heavy, and the food was good.

What kind of life had she lived in the Wang family? The food was worse than what pigs ate, and the work was harder than what oxen did!

Mother Xu went to the neighboring village to invite her mother-in-law to come for dinner tomorrow.

The aunties prepared several large trays of dough, covered them with cloth, and let them rest for a while before shaping them into buns.

After lunch, they started steaming the flower-shaped buns.

Mother Xu hadn’t returned yet.

On the day the construction started, her mother-in-law hadn’t come. Later, she sent a message saying that Xu’s parents hadn’t invited her.

One of her sisters-in-law had come that day, eaten her fill, and even taken away a lot of things.

While Xu Zhizhi was busy, she heard Third Aunt calling her from behind: “Zhizhi, come quickly! Your grandmother is here!”

Third Aunt’s voice was sharp and loud, filled with surprise and a hint of strangeness.

Xu Zhizhi turned around and saw her mother leading an old woman and a middle-aged woman, followed by a dozen children of various sizes, walking toward her.

The old woman was about sixty years old, with gray hair neatly tied back. She wore a patched blue gown and walked unsteadily toward Xu Zhizhi.

The middle-aged woman beside her had bright eyes that scrutinized Xu Zhizhi without restraint.

The rumors were truly exaggerated. Who said Xu Zhizhi was dark, small, and looked like a malnourished monkey? Where did she look like a monkey?

And thin?

Her face was quite round—she could only be described as not fat.

And ugly?

With her big eyes, high nose bridge, and small lips, and not even that dark—if this was considered ugly, then were there any beautiful women in the world?

It was already August 21st. Xu Zhizhi had been in this ancient world for two months. She was now 1.56 meters tall, neither fat nor thin, with a standard figure.

Sun Yulan suddenly felt extremely regretful. If she had known two months ago that Xu Zhizhi looked like this, she would have definitely made her the wife of her eldest son when the engagement was broken.

She thought of her second son, who was fifteen this year. Being two years younger wasn’t a big deal. She was determined to have such a capable daughter-in-law who could earn money.

Xu Zhizhi felt extremely uncomfortable under the woman’s hungry wolf-like gaze.

She tightened her grip on Xiaowu’s hand. Xiaowu sensed his sister’s discomfort.

He asked his mother, “Mom, who is this? I don’t recognize them.”

(End of Chapter)