"Husband, your smile is really beautiful. From now on..."
Heaven never seals off all exits!
With a goal set, Di Yao's heart was filled with joy, and everything she did now had purpose. She picked up a lantern and went to the backyard to check on the land.
Di Yao couldn't remember if she knew how to farm, but judging by her familiarity with the soil and the various tools in the shed, she felt that she must have farmed in her previous life—she knew the use and method for every tool.
Fortunately, the small yard behind the main hall had little furniture, so most of it could be used for planting. Adding the front yard, the house could spare about three fen of land: one fen in the back and two in the front. Considering that she and Wei Xunzhou usually spent time in the front yard, she planned to split the two fen evenly on both sides of the yard, leaving enough space for a walkway in the middle.
Later, she could put up a small fence around it, which would not only be pleasing to the eye but also not affect their daily life.
Di Yao checked the soil quality in both the front and back yards and sighed silently. After all, this was a place where people lived; the land had been flattened, the top layer was extremely hard, and it was heavily compacted—making it difficult to till. Fortunately, the soil in the backyard was softer than in the front, which would save some effort.
Currently, she only had half a bag of wheat grains. Even if every seed sprouted, it would never use up that much land, so there was no rush to till all the land at once. She only needed to focus on the one fen in the backyard for now.
Di Yao stood up, patted the dirt off her hands, and returned to the front yard. Wei Xunzhou had already gone back to his room, but Xibian was still pitifully buried.
Seeing the soft red soil around Xibian, she felt she might have to eat her words.
Di Yao picked up the water bowl and went into the house. After much persuasion, Wei Xunzhou finally drank the water.
As the saying goes, "Sudden kindness is either for seduction or theft"—or in this case, a request for a favor.
Wei Xunzhou lightly flicked his sleeve, placed his hands on his knees, and glanced sideways at Di Yao. "Go ahead. What do you want?"
Seeing him so perceptive, Di Yao crouched down, resting her arms on the armrest of his chair, and placed her head on her arms, blinking rapidly at him. Finally, she grinned sheepishly.
Wei Xunzhou lowered his eyes to look at Di Yao, then awkwardly looked away. His upper face was shrouded in shadow, so Di Yao couldn't see the emotions in his eyes.
"Husband, it's getting late and chilly. How about we get Xibian out of the dirt for now? Don't worry—once it's out, I'll lock it in the side room and won't let it cause any trouble. If you still feel like it tomorrow, you can bury it again. There's already a ready-made hole in the yard."
Wei Xunzhou lowered his head slightly, his expression unreadable.
Seeing his reluctance, Di Yao cut straight to the point. "Husband, you know the ground in our yard is very hard. It'll take a lot of effort to till. But look at Xibian out there—even with its claws trimmed, it still managed to dig a hole in the ground. It obviously has a talent for tilling soil. So... husband, you know what I mean."
At this, the corner of Wei Xunzhou's mouth lifted slightly, just for a moment, but Di Yao caught it.
"Does that mean you agree?" Di Yao spoke without lifting her chin from her arm, and accidentally bit her tongue, yelping in pain.
Wei Xunzhou showed no reaction, only said flatly, "Playing the good cop and bad cop—truly clever, wife."
This was the first time Di Yao heard him address her that way, and she covered her face, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"I'll take that as a compliment." Di Yao accepted his slightly sarcastic praise with ease, going along with it. "I might as well use the labor I have. I've saved it a few times, so it should be willing to help me with this little favor, right? So, husband, from today on, you can punish it however you like during the day, and I'll rescue it when I come home in the evening. How does that sound?"
The girl before him usually kept a low profile, always carefree and cheerful, but he never expected she had such a mischievous side, with so many unexpected clever ideas. Wei Xunzhou found it interesting for once.
"Go ahead."
With permission, Di Yao hopped out of the room.
But she had barely taken half a step out before she turned back, beaming at Wei Xunzhou. "Husband, your smile is really beautiful. You should smile more often!"
Without giving him a chance to react, Di Yao ran out. She even covered her face theatrically, putting on a show for Xibian.
"Oh my, I finally managed to persuade my husband!" Di Yao said as she dug up the dirt. "You don't have to sleep here tonight."
Xibian had been so depressed it was almost asleep, but hearing Di Yao's words, its eyes immediately brightened, and it howled excitedly at her.
"Shh, shh, shh... don't disturb him. I talked until my lips were almost worn out to get that one to relent. You have to be careful—don't make my efforts go to waste." Di Yao lifted Xibian out of the dirt, patted the soil off it, and continued, "Once is a mistake, twice is a coincidence, but three times is a no-no. I'm busy now, so don't make me worry about you again."
Seeing that Xibian's tail was wagging much slower, Di Yao cupped her cheek and added fuel to the fire: "Don't be unhappy. You've seen my husband's methods. To save you, I was... ah, my face still hurts. Don't overestimate yourself from now on, or we'll both end up in trouble. Go on, hide in the side room."
Di Yao untied the rope around Xibian's feet and led it to the side room. Watching Xibian go in and lie down in the corner, Di Yao barely held back her laughter.
"But if you feel wronged, you can leave now before my husband knows. I'll cover for you. Unlike me, I can't leave even if I wanted to."
Xibian whined, still with its ears drooping, clearly not planning to leave.
"Alright then, I'll take it that you're staying to keep me company. Thank you. But our place is limited, so I'm sorry you have to stay here tonight. I'll let you out tomorrow morning."
Di Yao had just stepped out when she turned back, went in to rub Xibian's head, and said softly, "Good dog."
Then she left and locked the door behind her.
Hearing the lock click, Xibian didn't seem anxious or restless. After a moment of daze, it sighed deeply in sorrow. As it drifted off to sleep, it began planning in its heart how to get back at that demon Wei Xunzhou and avenge both itself and Di Yao.
The next day, Di Yao got up early, let Xibian out, and went to Naihe Bridge. When she came home in the evening, she brought back another bucket of water from Meng Po.
When Di Yao arrived home, Xibian was unexpectedly lying safely outside the door. Before she could call it, Xibian ran up to her, wagging its tail.
Di Yao smiled and patted Xibian's head. "Did you behave today?"
Xibian grinned and wagged its tail vigorously, meaning it had been very good.
"Good job."
Back inside, Wei Xunzhou was nowhere to be seen. Di Yao sat down and took a drink of water, then went to the side room to grab a hoe and other tools before heading to the backyard to work.
Xibian sat beside her, watching her work.
She had originally planned to wait for Xibian to cause trouble again today so she could save it once more and strengthen their bond. But now it seemed Xibian and Wei Xunzhou hadn't given her the chance to play the "good guy," and she felt awkward immediately putting Xibian to work.
The ground in the backyard was dry and hard. When Di Yao swung the hoe, the impact jarred her tiger's mouth painfully, but the ground only had a scratch on its surface.
"Oh, tough one," she muttered, increasing her strength as she chopped again.
A rhythmic clanging sound rang out. Di Yao felt less like she was hoeing and more like a stone carver.
Realizing that directly hoeing was too slow, Di Yao gritted her teeth and brought all the water in the house to the backyard. She watered one patch and then hoed it—the efficiency really improved. But soon her tiger's mouth was rubbed red.
Just as she crouched down to rest, Xibian trotted over and licked her palm. Di Yao pulled her hand back and pushed Xibian away. "Stop it, let me rest."
Pushed away, Xibian circled around to the side of the bald patch and barked at Di Yao. When she looked, Xibian raised its front paws and began digging.
Delighted, Di Yao hadn't expected this little guy to be so perceptive. She praised it repeatedly.
The more she praised, the harder Xibian worked, stirring up more and more dust. Di Yao suddenly regretted having trimmed its claws; it could have been faster and better otherwise.
Feeling guilty toward Xibian, she took a brief rest and then joined it in battling the soil.
By the time Wei Xunzhou returned, it was already pitch dark. Seeing no light in the main hall, he went directly to the backyard. There, Di Yao had placed a lantern in front of her, moving it with her every time she finished hoeing a patch—cumbersome and tiring.
Sweat beads covered Di Yao's face and neck. Though her breathing was slightly rapid, there was no slack in the force of each swing.
Xibian caught Wei Xunzhou's scent first and snorted at him, then suddenly had an idea. Pretending to have buried the hatchet, it walked over to him covered in dirt, then deliberately shook its soil all over Wei Xunzhou. When he wasn't paying attention, it rubbed the remaining dirt onto him.
Before Wei Xunzhou could kick it, it retreated with great pride, successfully achieving its first revenge against the demon.
To Wei Xunzhou, Xibian's behavior was nothing. He walked over to Di Yao and picked up the lantern.
Only then did Di Yao notice him. "Husband, you're back?"
Seeing her wipe her sweat directly with her sleeve, smearing dust all over her face, Wei Xunzhou held the lantern farther away to avoid seeing her clearly.
"Stop working. Let's go inside." The small fen of backyard—Di Yao had been at it for two or three hours and still hadn't finished the first pass.
"Alright, it's late, and it's too dark to see clearly." Di Yao leaned the hoe against the wall, ladled out some water, and washed up.
She asked Wei Xunzhou to wait for her to clean up so they could go back together, and he didn't refuse.
"Husband, did you see that? Xibian did a lot of work today. Look—that patch and that one were dug by it. The rest is mine. Today was the first time, so I'm not very skilled. I'll probably finish breaking the ground tomorrow. After plowing it two or three more times, it'll be ready for planting wheat."
Di Yao chattered on, completely missing Wei Xunzhou's increasingly dark expression.
Back in the room, as soon as Di Yao lit the candle, she heard Wei Xunzhou's cold voice: "Don't work on it anymore tomorrow."
"What?" Di Yao wasn't sure she heard correctly.
Wei Xunzhou took off his robe and shook the dust off it. "Nothing will grow. Don't waste your efforts."