As the business of collecting feces grew, General Shi's accounting skills were put to the test. He miscounted the feces for a grandmother, giving her four extra coins.
For this, General Shi even cried a stream of tears.
How could a general not know how to count? If he didn't even know how many soldiers he had, what kind of a general was he?
General Shi, after careful consideration, decided to ask his sister-in-law to teach him how to count.
Teaching one person was the same as teaching a group, so Bai Sheng opened an arithmetic class at Hongshu Slope, and everyone had to attend.
She taught personally, starting with counting.
Seeing the students struggle, even using their toes, and still unable to get past "20," Bai Sheng began to doubt her teaching abilities.
She wanted to practice martial arts, learn medicine, and plant trees. She truly had no patience to grow with kindergarteners.
So, she selected a star student, Lu Hua, intending to teach her first, and then have her become the teacher.
Lu Hua was thrilled to be entrusted with such an important task by her sister-in-law, almost to the point of becoming an outgoing girl. She studied diligently, to the point of neglecting food and sleep.
Fortunately, Lu Hua's mind was quite nimble, and she learned quickly.
Although she was initially shy and reserved when teaching students, she gradually became more confident over time. When pushed, she even dared to punish her students.
Every day, Bai Sheng held the "Compendium of Materia Medica" given by Granny Wu, reciting it like a monk chanting scriptures.
When she got tired of reciting, she would pester Lu Ye to teach her martial arts. In the sandy valley, far from home, one taught and one learned, and before they knew it, they were embracing each other, kissing each other passionately until the desert sands themselves blushed and covered their faces.
One evening, after bathing, Bai Sheng returned to the wooden house. For some reason, she felt that Lu Ye was very different.
First, there was his gaze, which was like a sparkling hook. As soon as Bai Sheng glanced at him, she felt as if she would be hooked immediately.
Then there were his clothes. Usually, after bathing, he would at least wear his inner garments properly. But this time, he was completely unbuttoned, his chest and abdominal muscles half-hidden and half-revealed before Bai Sheng's eyes.
He would also seize opportunities to use his height advantage, letting his chest muscles slowly brush past within 2 centimeters of Bai Sheng's eyes.
Moreover, he picked up a bamboo cup to drink water in front of Bai Sheng. As he gulped, his Adam's apple moved up and down, making Bai Sheng's mouth water.
Bai Sheng was certain that this fellow was unleashing his masculine charm, hoping she would pounce on him.
However, she wouldn't be so easily caught. Who would pounce on whom was yet to be decided.
Bai Sheng pinched her thigh, suppressing the urge to peek at his chest and abdominal muscles. She pulled her sleepwear collar outward in a large arc, exposing her décolletage, then pretended to reach for something, deliberately brushing past him.
Sitting in front of the bronze mirror, Bai Sheng picked up a comb and romantically began to comb her long hair. As she combed, she would occasionally send suggestive glances at Lu Ye.
After finishing her hair, she stood up, lazily flicked her hair ends, and then climbed onto the bed in a seductive manner.
Bai Sheng turned her head slightly, catching a glimpse of Lu Ye watching her with a dazed expression from the corner of her eye.
"Husband, let's sleep. It's late," Bai Sheng said, her voice so tender that she wanted to slap herself.
"Mm... okay," Lu Ye grunted from his throat, and then lay down on the outer side of the bed.
Bai Sheng suddenly feigned turning over, pressing half of her body against him.
Just as she was about to open one eye to observe Lu Ye's reaction, a strong arm suddenly pulled her body, and then a panting, human-shaped weight pressed down on her.
Before long, the small wooden house in the space began to make creaking sounds, quite violent.
"Hmph hmph" glanced at the wooden house, and immediately began to drive away all the objects. "Quickly evacuate, Master is doing something important, don't disturb Master's good deeds!"
All the objects didn't know what important matter their master was engaged in, but they knew that disturbing their master's good deeds was a major event, so they all scrambled away, hiding in all directions.
After driving away all the objects, "Hmph hmph" eyes did not blink as they stared at the space. Indeed, after a violent shake of the space, the area increased by half.
"Hmph hmph" was so happy that he yelled, and couldn't help but tell his master mentally: Master, Master, the space area has expanded by half again!
Master was busy doing something important and only left a sentence, "Scram," and ignored it.
The moment Lu Ye was with Bai Sheng, scenes from a dream suddenly surged into his mind, different from before, this time incredibly clear.
A bottomless cave, a bonfire burning, messy clothes scattered around. Lu Ye saw himself doing the same thing with the woman as he was doing now. He raised his hand and gently brushed the woman's trembling long hair from her face, finally seeing her appearance clearly.
Bai Sheng?!
Her appearance was exactly the same as Bai Sheng's, except that she had no moles on her face.
What... what was going on?
Lu Ye couldn't distinguish between dream and reality, but the fatal pleasure he was experiencing was just as intense.
After everything calmed down, the dream in his mind instantly vanished.
Lu Ye, still on top of Bai Sheng, slowly opened his eyes.
The woman with flushed cheeks before him was exactly the same as the woman in the dream, except that her hair was longer and her cheeks were thinner, with no other differences.
"Lu Ye," Bai Sheng said, hugging his neck and kissing his lips.
Lu Ye came back to his senses, his eyes revealing surprise. "Good girl, your face..."
Hearing Lu Ye call her "good girl," Bai Sheng remembered that he had called her "good girl" repeatedly during their intimacy, and her heart was filled with overwhelming sweetness.
After a moment of secret delight, Bai Sheng finally remembered that Lu Ye was talking about her face. She couldn't help but touch her cheek, finding no difference from before. "My face? What happened to my face?"
Lu Ye brushed the hair from her cheek behind her ear and smiled softly. "Your face has gotten better. The moles have disappeared."
"What? Really?" Bai Sheng jumped up from the bed.
"Absolutely true," Lu Ye said with a smile, getting up and handing her the bronze mirror.
Bai Sheng looked at the delicate oval face in the mirror. It was truly identical to her face in her previous life!
The moles had vanished in an instant!
Granny Wu said her face would get better soon. Did she mean it would get better as long as she consummated her marriage with Lu Ye? Was Lu Ye the antidote to the Zhen Qing Man Tuo Gu?
If so, did the troublesome Prince Yu also know that she had been afflicted with the Zhen Qing Man Tuo Gu? That's why he said he knew Lu Ye hadn't slept with her just by looking at her face?
Did the troublesome prince also understand Gu techniques?
For a moment, many questions flooded Bai Sheng's mind.
Seeing Bai Sheng's joy turn into a frown, Lu Ye reached out and pulled her into his embrace. He gently stroked her fair cheek, which was like tender fat, and said in a soft voice, "Don't overthink it. We can ask Granny Wu tomorrow."
Lying in Lu Ye's arms, Bai Sheng picked at the small buttons on his chest and posed a fatal question: "Lu Ye, if you disliked me for being ugly and didn't consummate our marriage with me, would I remain ugly forever?"
Lu Ye pinched her small face and pretended to be angry. "Who said I dislike you for being ugly? I've wanted to... consummate our marriage with you for a long time, I was just afraid... of hurting you."