Chapter 43 My people, no matter how powerful they are

This isn't just acting coquettishly, it's seduction, right?

Shang Wan was not sure and decided to wait and see.

Seeing that Shang Wan didn't say anything, Lu Chengjing pursed his lips and looked up at her. The corners of his narrow eyes were stained with a hint of rouge at some point, and his cold and charming look was seductive.

Shang Wan: “…”

This is seduction! Even if the king of heaven comes, this is still seduction!

How come there is someone who looks so much like her?

Shang Wan grabbed the beautiful hand on the sleeve and kneaded it upwards along the fingers, "Speak, I'm listening."

The ears hidden under the black hair turned red. Lu Chengjing struggled slightly to pull his hand back, but Shang Wan held it tightly and glanced at him, "That's what I said."

Lu Chengjing curled his fingers slightly, finally fulfilling Shang Wan's wish and stopped struggling.

"Do you know why I don't want to be Li Wenhua's advisor?"

Shang Wan concentrated on playing with his beautiful hands, and said without raising his head: "Don't keep me in suspense, tell me quickly."

Trying hard to ignore the unfamiliar feeling on his hand, Lu Chengjing said, "Li Wenhua is a man who seeks fame and reputation, and is good at deceiving his superiors and subordinates."

"Four years ago, a flood affected countless villages. The imperial court sent relief grain to Dongning County. Li Wenhua pretended to be sympathetic to the people's suffering, but secretly replaced the imperial grain with moldy and rotten grain from the warehouse, mixed with stones and gravel."

"When the disaster victims were complaining, he opened his private warehouse and released grain for three days, which made the victims grateful to him and called him a living Bodhisattva who saved people from suffering. Some people even set up longevity tablets for him at home."

"Despicable and shameless." Shang Wan finished his evaluation and asked doubtfully, "How do you know he exchanged the food?"

Lu Chengjing said in a low voice, "Half of the old grain comes from the Lu family."

Shang Wan tutted his words in confusion, and didn't ask Lu Chengjing why he didn't tell the truth. He just said, "Isn't Lord An an honest man? Did he get fooled by Li Wenhua?"

"The person in office at the time was not Lord An. Besides, Li Wenhua was not the only one who replaced the disaster relief grain."

Shang Wan understood that the officials were protecting each other and colluding with each other.

She asked, "What does this have to do with the disaster relief grain?"

"Although Li Wenhua's actions were despicable, his reputation as an official has spread far and wide. Now that Lord An is in charge of the county, he will do his best for both the people and his reputation. He will definitely not do worse than Li Wenhua."

Shang Wan understood that Lu Chengjing was taking advantage of an information gap.

The villagers had suffered from floods before and were cheated by Li Wenhua's behind-the-scenes disaster relief grain, so they lost their trust in the so-called disaster relief grain.

The solution proposed by Lu Chengjing and the other elders was a preemptive measure. Even if there were still problems with the relief grain sent by the imperial court, the villagers would naturally ask for it, as Lu Chengjing and the others had said so.

Lu Chengjing knew that there would be no problem with the disaster relief grain, but the villagers didn't know.

Farmers don't have much, but they have strength. On balance, a little hard work is nothing for the sake of solid food.

"How do you convince Uncle Wu and the others to take the risk with you?"

Lu Chengjing chuckled, "They are from Yushu Village."

The old people may not be willing to take risks with Lu Chengjing, but their strong sense of belonging to Yushu Village makes them unwilling to see Yushu Village become like Liushu Village described by Shen Qier, where people are in panic and in disarray.

After being induced by Lu Chengjing's words, he agreed without much hesitation.

Shang Wan raised his eyes and looked at Lu Chengjing carefully. The more he looked, the more he felt that this vase of his looked like a fox, scheming against people in a series of ways.

Lu Chengjing felt a little uneasy when she looked at him. He looked away and stared at the soft and rotten vegetable leaves at the bottom of the bowl.

Since Shang Wan called him a vase several times, he knew that in Shang Wan's eyes, he was pretty, but fragile, and in need of care and protection. These could also be seen from the way Shang Wan treated him.

This was the first time he took the initiative to show his aggressive side in front of Shang Wan. He was nervous about Shang Wan's reaction, but also looking forward to seeing Shang Wan's reaction.

Will it be... the same as my mother?

Noticing Shang Wan's gaze on him, Lu Chengjing stared at the rotten vegetable leaves, quietly waiting for Shang Wan's reaction.

"You...are you so nervous?" Shang Wan raised their clasped hands and shook them. "You've squeezed my hand until it's red."

At some point, Lu Chengjing had become the host, tightly holding the soft white hand that had been playing tricks on his palm. The veins on the back of the hand bulged, as if he was worried that the owner of the hand would throw him away.

Reminded by Shang Wan, Lu Chengjing let go of his hand as if struck by lightning, a flicker of annoyance flashing across his eyes. He hid his hand in his wide sleeve and quietly clenched it into a fist.

Seeing his overreaction, Shang Wan chuckled, shook his hand, and said with a smile, "Scholar, there's no need to be so strong when holding hands. Be gentler next time."

Hearing the teasing tone, Lu Chengjing's cheeks flushed, his eyebrows drooped, and he dared not look directly at the person beside him.

Shang Wan came closer to him, stretched out his index finger and hooked his chin, "My people, no matter how powerful they are, are fine."

Lu Chengjing suddenly raised his eyes, his dark pupils looking straight at Shang Wan.

Shang Wan didn't shy away, and a delighted smile curved the corners of her lips. "Although the clumsy vase is cute, I prefer the smart fox."

"You..." Lu Chengjing opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but his heart seemed to have been installed with an accelerator, beating faster and faster.

The pounding sound of his heartbeat disturbed his thoughts, making him forget what he wanted to say. He just stared blankly at the face in front of him, the outline, the eyebrows, the expression, carefully, bit by bit, quietly depicting and secretly cherishing it.

"Is there something on my face?" Shang Wan raised his hand and touched his face in confusion.

Lu Chengjing: "..."

He turned his face away, his red ears flickering under his black hair, and said muffledly: "No."

Shang Wan:?

Why are you getting awkward again?

She stood up with the bowl of soup in her hand. "The soup is cold. I'll get you a hot bowl."

Yuanyuan, who was full, was crawling around on several connected benches. Without Shang Wan to block her, she bumped into Lu Chengjing.

The little guy raised his hand and touched it, then tilted his little head back to look at his father.

Huh? So red!

Her big black eyes blinked, and Yuanyuan hugged Lu Chengjing's arm to gain leverage and stood up. She pouted her little mouth and blew cool air on his red ears, "Hu~hu~ It hurts, it hurts, I'm flying."

The soft, baby-like voice was full of concern. Lu Chengjing reached out and embraced the little guy, saying softly, "Daddy doesn't hurt."

"It hurts." Yuanyuan pointed at her red forehead with her little hand, thinking it was her turn, "Huhu."

Lu Chengjing lowered his head and blew gently, and at the little guy's strong request, he kissed him again.

I was just about to tease my daughter, but the little one twisted her butt and crawled away quickly along the bench to play with her friends.

Lu Chengjing: "..."

After breakfast, everyone started to move.

First, everyone cleaned their own house, put the usable items aside, and piled the unusable items together, and the village would deal with them together.

After finishing their own work, they would go to help nearby, approaching the big elm tree in the middle of the village from four directions, leaving no one behind.

Shang Wan handed Yuanyuan to Lu Chengjing and started working with Xiaohuan and Shitou.

A strange light flashed in her round, black eyes, and she muttered, "Come... busy..."

(End of this chapter)