Chapter 72: Planting Vegetables, Spies
Qing Wu saw Xiao Ji coming and stuffed the shovel into Fuguier's hand.
When she came out of the field, her feet were covered in mud, and her skirt was also stained with a lot of it.
The nanny wanted to remind Qingwu, but seeing her excited figure running towards Xiaoji, she smiled and said nothing more. After all, they were already outside, so it was no big deal.
In fact, even if she said it, Qingwu would not care. She had been away for so many years, and had been measuring the mountains and rivers of the Dayu Dynasty on foot. She had been walking on muddy roads and had long been accustomed to it. Now she was just returning to nature.
Zhao Tong was a little worried because his master should be clean. But before he could figure out how to start, the lady had already walked up to them.
"You've come at the perfect time. What fruits and vegetables do you like to eat? We'll plant them all on this acre of land."
Xiao Ji's eyes fell on her muddy dress and he realized his strange feelings. If someone else did this, he would definitely be disgusted, but if it was his wife... he just thought she was humble and cute.
Meeting Qing Wu's expectant eyes, Xiao Ji's brows softened, "It's still what we said last time."
Qing Wu nodded and said with a smile, "Now is the time to plant summer cabbage, cucumber, and Kunlun melon. We can also plant some red amaranth and green beans. Green beans are very fragrant when fried..."
As Qing Wu imagined the taste of stir-fried green beans and chicken, her beautiful eyes narrowed and she turned to look at Zhao Tong, "Zhao Tong, what about you?"
These words startled Zhao Tong. He opened his eyes slightly, as if he was not sure if he had heard it wrong.
However, the look in his wife's eyes told him that he had not heard wrongly, but he was just a servant, and his master had never asked him what he liked.
Zhao Tong was so flattered that he stammered, "I, your servant... I will just follow your master and eat whatever he wants."
But this could not fool Qingwu. She smiled and said, "This one acre of land is too big. Even if we plant everything Liu Lang said, we still can't finish planting two mu of land. Don't be polite, Baozhu Yuzhu, I have already asked about wealth and honor. You are the only one missing."
Zhao Tong then half-believedly said "loofah", and Qingwu wrote it down, "After we plow the land today or tomorrow, we can go to Hedong Village to buy some seeds."
After saying that, he looked at Xiao Ji and said, "Liu Lang, take a look and then go back. We won't do it when the sun gets hot."
Xiao Ji nodded, and couldn't help but persuade: "It's good enough if they do it, you don't have to do it yourself."
But Qingwu just smiled, bent down and shook the mud off her skirt. "The sage said, 'Those born in peace and comfort should know the hardships of farming.' I've lived in luxury for too long, so just touching the dirt makes me feel at ease."
This made Xiao Ji startled. The only things he remembered about farming were the "Plowing Ceremony" and the "Silkworm Ceremony," which were meant to demonstrate the emperor's importance to agriculture and sericulture. But even then, the emperor only plowed the land symbolically, pushing and turning the hoe three times. She seemed to truly enjoy farming and sericulture. If her mother were still alive, she would definitely like to take her there...
Xiao Ji couldn't help but fantasize for a moment, but it was only a moment. His mother was no longer with him, and he was no longer the crown prince. Naturally, it was impossible for his wife to participate in such a ceremony.
The cruelty of reality quickly depressed the boy's mood, and he no longer had the heart to persuade Qingwu. He just said in a gentle voice: "Be careful not to get tired." Then he asked Zhao Tong to push him back to the front yard.
Zhao Tong, pushing his wheelchair around the hanging flower gate, caught a glimpse of something darting past the wall. He was about to speak to warn the person when he felt the wheelchair's movement become blocked. He looked down and saw his master's outstretched leg and the slight shaking of his head.
Zhao Tong understood instantly. When his master retracted his legs, he pushed the wheelchair forward as if he didn't know anything. Only after turning the corner did he speak angrily, "These people really don't take us seriously. They dare to come and investigate with such a poor disguise?"
After saying this, his voice was filled with grievance again, "And we really don't have anything to monitor..."
The kings sent spies to check, just to find out whether they were really honest and whether they were doing something behind their backs, but as God knows, they really had no contact with anyone in the court anymore.
Xiao Ji laughed at himself, "There's nothing to monitor, I just came to see a joke." He was talking about himself, but Zhao Tong misunderstood and subconsciously said, "Joke?"
"Do you find it funny to see Madam growing vegetables?"
Xiao Ji was silent. He turned around and was about to glare at Zhao Tong when a sudden thought struck him. He waved, "Come here."
Zhao Tong leaned over and listened, his expression gradually becoming puzzled. "Master, are you going to..."
"Don't ask, just do it when you're told to."
…
After a while, the spies who were still monitoring the place behind the wall saw the deposed prince's first right-hand man looking around furtively. At first, the spies thought they had discovered him, but after observing for a while, they found that it was not the case. Eunuch Zhao seemed to be holding something in his hand.
As soon as he discovered this, the spy was no longer sleepy. He stared at Zhao Tong and followed Zhao Tong around most of the backyard, hiding here and there. The sun was almost at noon and the spy was thirsty. Just when he couldn't help but want to quit, Eunuch Zhao finally stopped.
He stopped at the newly excavated land and spoke to the men digging in the field. They then put down their tools and walked forward, leaving Zhao Tong alone. Under the spy's puzzled gaze, Zhao Tong walked around the field for a short while, then rake back and forth with an iron rake.
The spy was hiding on the wall, his eyes fixed on Zhao Tong's every move. Seeing Zhao Tong squatting from time to time, he became more certain that this eunuch Zhao must be hiding something important.
Although the sun was scorching, the spy's heart was burning. As he wiped the sweat off his face, he suddenly saw Zhao Tong pull something out of his sleeve. He quickly buried the object in the freshly turned soil, then smoothed it out with an iron rake. But that wasn't the end of it. Eunuch Zhao had moved it several times. It was too far away to see clearly, but it was clearly a secret!
For a moment, the spy thought a lot, and finally held back. He held his breath and waited for Zhao Tong to leave. After Zhao Tong's figure completely disappeared in the backyard, he immediately pursed his lips into a line, pressed the tip of his tongue against the upper palate, and squeezed out the breath from between his teeth - "Chirp-Chirp-", three short sounds like the chirping of a nightingale, but the ending tone was suddenly lowered, turning into an almost inaudible tremolo.
After a moment of dead silence, two partridge calls came from the old locust tree in the distance: "Gu-gu-", one long and one short, which was the agreed reply.
Zhao Tong, who had just walked to the front yard, twitched his ears, then curled the corners of his lips, and walked briskly back to the front yard. The master was really good at predicting things, but... what was the use of those words?
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