The Lucky Heiress

Since we’re all family and have the same intentions, let’s forget about those little misunderstandings. Qingwan, stay with Ruoruo today and learn from her.”

Madam Yun was pleased that her eldest daughter understood the bigger picture.

Just as her elder daughter said, even though they had some conflicts at home they represented the Wei Family outside. As long as her eldest daughter kept ’ this in mind, it would be good.

“Let’s go then, I’m running on a tight schedule,” Wei Ruo winked and smiled, then left the house.

Wei Qingwan bit her lip, then followed her out.

They continued to ride in Wei Ruo’s carriage just like the day before, with Wei Ruo leaning against the cushion and taking a nap.

The carriage rode on for a good while without stopping. Wei Qingwan was puzzled, considering the time, they should have arrived at the government office by now.

Wei Qingwan carefully lifted the edge of the carriage curtain and looked outside.

Instead of the bustling street, she saw a deserted suburb.

Wei Qingwan hurriedly asked Wei Ruo, “What’s going on? Where are we going?” Wei Ruo slowly opened one eye and replied lazily, “Don’t you know?” “You never told me, how would I know?”

“I asked our mother before leaving if she really understood what we were doing. She said she knew.”

Wei Ruo’s voice was lazy, and the only eye she opened was half-closed. It couldn’t be more laid-back.

“Where are you taking me?” Wei Qingwan asked again.

“To a land to be reclaimed. You didn’t think my job was just to sit in the government office every day, count things, and give orders, did you?” Wei Ruo chuckled softly.

“You…” Wei Qingwan was momentarily speechless and didn’t know how to rebut Wei Ruo.

Then she noticed that Wei Ruo’s clothes were a neat linen suit. That’s when it hit Wei Qingwan. Wei Ruo had planned the day’s itinerary early in the morning, but deliberately didn’t tell her before they left!

“Save your energy. The place we’re going isn’t easy to navigate and will need physical strength,” Wei Ruo added, then closed her eyes again and resumed resting.

“The place we’re reclaiming is a gathering spot for refugees. Aren’t you worried about not having enough people with us?” Wei Qingwan was incredibly anxious.

If she had known that was Wei Ruo’s plan for the day, she would have reconsidered coming along.

Wei Ruo didn’t answer, too lazy to explain much.

She had guards following, arranged by Lady Yuan for her. But to save time, Wei Ruo had sent those guards straight to their destination to wait for her.

Wei Ruo’s reaction left Wei Qingwan feeling both angry and helpless. As the carnage gradually moved away from the populous area towards the desolate wilderness, her heart rose with apprehension.

The reclaimed lands were uninhabited and were even more desolate and isolated than the average suburban village.

She would never go to such a place in her everyday life, and she wasn’t sure if it would be dangerous.

The journey took half a day. By noon, feeling a bit hungry, Wei Ruo pulled out dried sweet potatoes and tea from the box beside her, savoring them leisurely.

She also generously offered Wei Qingwan two pieces of dried sweet potato.

Wei Qingwan glanced at the dry sweet potatoes and turned her head away without taking them.

She was too filled with resentment towards Wei Ruo at the moment to eat anything Wei Ruo gave her, especially something as unappealing as dried sweet potatoes.

Wei Ruo pulled her hand back. If Wei Qingwan didn’t want them, she could save them as provisions. These dried sweet potatoes would be welcomed among the refugees working to reclaim the land!

A quarter of an hour passed, and the carriage finally came to a halt.

“Miss,” said Madam Qin, waiting outside the carriage to greet Wei Ruo.

Xiumei opened the carriage curtain for Wei Ruo. As Wei Ruo alighted, Madam Qin reached out to assist her.

There were many people standing around the carriage, including maids and guards. Some were from the government office, and some had been assigned to Wei Ruo by Chu Lan.

Thank you, Madam Qin,” Wei Ruo said.

Wei Qingwan followed Wei Ruo out of the carriage, but no one reached out to help her or even noticed her presence.

After alighting, Wei Ruo surveyed the surroundings. The land here was the flattest among the several wastelands she had marked out for reclamation.

But there were still quite a few desolate mountains nearby that split the vast wasteland into sections.

Everywhere she looked, whether it was the mountains or the land, appeared desolate. There were no tall, dense vegetation or trees, mainly hardy wild grasses, with a scattering of resilient shrubs.

Further away, there were crowds of refugees. They looked thin, ragged, and dirty.

At this moment, they were being led by a small group consisting of government officials and family guards in separate teams heading in different directions.

Following the schedule, these refugees organized a few days ago would start reclaiming the wasteland today.

The first step was to weed the land, and necessary farming tools like plows and hoes would be distributed later in the afternoon.

After observing the surroundings, Wei Ruo turned back to Madam Qin, “I’ll take some people and take a look around. You wait here until I come back.”

Madam Qin was old and had been in the palace for many years. This desolate place was not suitable for her to walk around.

“Alright, take care, Miss. Leave any hard or dirty tasks to your companions,” she commanded the guards to watch over Wei Ruo before she left.

Wei Ruo nodded, then headed into the wasteland.

For Wei Ruo, this kind of desolate place was nothing. In the salty and alkaline soil, plant variety was limited. The botanical variety on the hill where she picked herbs was far more abundant than the barren land before her eyes.

Compared to bramble thickets, piles of broken rocks, and cliff edges, the wasteland in front of her offered no difficulty.

However, this was not the case for Wei Qingwan.

Looking at the barren land that didn’t even have a decent path, Wei Qingwan hesitated.

At this point, Xiumei urged, “What’s wrong, Second Miss? Didn’t you say you wanted to come out with my young miss to gain some experience?”

I m just not used to it,” Wei Qingwan explained.

Wei Qingwan then gritted her teeth and started walking, following Wei Ruo’s steps along with the other escorts.

In the wasteland, there were no roads, only traces left by people walking and trampling on it in the past few days.

Wei Ruo strode ahead, and after only a few steps, she heard Wei Qingwan crying out in pain behind her.

Wei Ruo turned around and saw that Wei Qingwan’s skirt had been caught by a weed, and her hand showed a shallow scratch from a weed leaf.

Without more than a glance, Wei Ruo turned and continued on her way.

A sense of grievance welled up in Wei Qingwan’s heart. She looked down at the scratch on her hand, and her eyes instantly reddened..