Lu Dagang followed Ji Chenghe all the way to 9 Xinghua Street and found that Lu Ye and his wife were also inside.
Fearing he might accidentally reveal himself and be crushed by Lu Ye's wife's fingers, Lu Dagang quickly ran back to report to Zhang Lanlan.
When Ji Chenghe returned to the small courtyard, all the grain had already been transported to the grain store by Wen Zhi Mo.
Seeing Ji Chenghe's somewhat dejected expression, Bai Sheng and Lu Ye could roughly guess what had happened.
Ji Chenghe forced a smile, "The magistrate won't even see me. However, the memorial has been handed over by the guard at the door. I suppose... even if the magistrate receives it, he won't read it."
Lu Ye patted his shoulder and comforted him, "Brother Ji, don't be discouraged. Let's think of other ways. In this world, there are many paths. If you no longer wish to be an official, there are other avenues."
Ji Chenghe adjusted his emotions and rallied his spirits, "To be a good official and benefit the local people has been my childhood dream. I won't give up just yet."
"It's best that you think this way. Bian Prefecture has more than just the county magistrate," Lu Ye's voice carried a habitual firmness.
Bai Sheng linked her arm with Lu Ye's, smiling confidently, "Don't worry, we still have a backup plan. Brother Ji, please rest at home. Wait for our good news."
"Are you two going out?" Ji Chenghe just realized that they seemed to be on their way out.
Bai Sheng nodded, "We're going out for something. We'll probably be back tonight. There's food left in the kitchen, so Brother Ji can eat if you're hungry."
"Then, you go quickly and attend to your business. I can take care of myself," Ji Chenghe gestured towards the door.
This time, Bai Sheng planned to sell a cartload of fresh fruits and vegetables at the Prince Yu's manor, and it would be inconvenient for Ji Chenghe to accompany them.
The county town was crowded, and it wasn't dark yet, making it inconvenient to release the dark clouds and the camel cart. Bai Sheng intended to first go to the streets to see if there were any rice seeds. Her spatial area had expanded considerably, and she should be able to plant rice now.
Alas, as someone from the Yangtze River basin, she was too fond of rice.
Disappointingly, after visiting many seed shops, they found no rice seeds. Even the rice available was coarse rice mixed with corn and other grains.
This was understandable. Tasha Prefecture was mostly desert, and rice could not be grown there at all. Even in the entire Great Xia Kingdom, there were very few places that grew rice. Apart from the imperial palace and noble families in the capital, ordinary households rarely got to eat pure rice.
Lu Ye mentioned that the former Qinghuang Kingdom was rich in rice, and of excellent varieties. If they had time in the future, they could go to the areas occupied by the Great Xia Kingdom. Those places were closer to Tianshui Town than the capital.
Bai Sheng nodded, resigned to this.
Passing by a cosmetics shop, Bai Sheng pulled Lu Ye inside. She was not interested in makeup herself, but she was very interested in selling cosmetics. In any era, women loved beauty, and the cosmetics industry had always been extremely profitable.
She wondered if she could get a piece of the pie in this Great Xia Kingdom.
In her previous life, she had watched many videos on Douyin about making lipstick from cochineal insects. Cochineal insects parasitized cacti, and Tianshui Town was abundant in cacti. However, due to drought in the past two years, all the cacti had been consumed.
Bai Sheng was very interested in understanding the current market for cosmetics in Great Xia, as it might be a business she could engage in later.
As soon as the two entered the shop, they saw a familiar figure – Zhang Lanlan.
At that moment, she was purchasing rouge and powder with a young woman in white, followed by a small maid.
Bai Sheng and Lu Ye paused for only a moment before acting as if they hadn't seen them, walking to the side and looking at the goods themselves.
In fact, Zhang Lanlan had seen them the moment they entered the shop.
At this moment, while she appeared outwardly calm, she was inwardly extremely shocked.
The rumors from Huangsha Village were indeed true. Lu Ye's lowly wife had actually removed the dark spots on her face and suddenly become much prettier.
She didn't know what stroke of luck this lowly woman had, not only snatching the man she liked but also having him follow her around all day!
However, no matter how good her luck was, this lowly woman was still just a lowly slave, and that would never change. She, Zhang Lanlan, would definitely not let her have an easy time!
Suppressing her surprise and anger, Zhang Lanlan took a few steps closer to Lu Ye and exclaimed in a sweet voice, "Oh my, Little Ye Ge Ge, what a coincidence, you've come to the county town too?"
Lu Ye looked up, gave her a bewildered glance, and ignored her directly.
The woman in white next to Zhang Lanlan, seeing that the man Zhang Lanlan was greeting, although he had an excellent physique, was too ill-mannered. Someone greeted him politely, and he simply ignored them!
The woman in white was about to step forward and reprimand them when she suddenly froze.
This man was truly handsome. His black hair was half-tied, his thick eyebrows arched over deep phoenix eyes, his nose was sculpted, tall and straight with a subtle softness, and the thin, well-defined lips curved slightly upwards.
He was probably the most handsome man she had ever seen in her life. The young masters in the county town instantly turned into misshapen gourds in comparison.
But why was he ignoring Lanlan when she spoke to him? And who was the woman beside him? Her appearance was also... not ordinary.
To dare to humiliate her in public!
Zhang Lanlan's fingers, clutching her handkerchief, gradually turned white. After a moment of gritting her teeth in hatred, she pulled the woman in white a little further away and whispered into her ear, "They were simply driven out of our village. I was just being polite by greeting them."
"Driven out of your village?" the woman in white asked, surprised.
Zhang Lanlan nodded and continued whispering, "This man is called Lu Ye. His mother was a female slave. Relying on her looks, she flirted with many people in the village, causing unrest. His father was also extremely foolish. He doted on such a wife and constantly got into fights with the men his wife had affairs with. As a result, he angered many people in the village and was driven out by everyone."
"Ah, is that so?" The woman in white showed a hint of disgust and pity in her eyes. Such a handsome man had such a sordid and vulgar family. "Then who is the woman beside him?"
Zhang Lanlan smiled with disdain and said sarcastically, "She's also a slave wife allocated to Lu Ye by the prefecture. Who knows where they dragged her from, some slave shed."
"Also a slave wife?" The woman in white felt even more regretful. Such a handsome man had married a lowly slave wife.
Zhang Lanlan nodded and pouted, "Shi Qing, you don't know, this lowly slave is very good at seducing men. She has Lu Ye completely smitten. I suspect she came from some brothel, skilled in serving men. Remember when she first came to our village, she was dirty and smelly, with two large black spots on her face. She was truly incredibly ugly..."
"Then her face now..." the woman named Shi Qing felt her eyes had been opened.
Zhang Lanlan snorted coldly, "I don't know what evil method they used, but the black spots on that lowly slave's face have disappeared. Otherwise, she looked truly disgusting..."