Lin Shuying reached out and touched the nearest flower bud.
The plant’s growth rate was abnormal—flowering had come a full forty days early. But its vitality was strong, with no signs of overexertion. Rather, it seemed to be driven by some force accelerating its growth.
She suddenly remembered something and turned to ask Forester Chen: “These past few days, who’s been watering these seedlings?”
Everyone exchanged glances, and finally all eyes fell on Wei Fuyu.
Wei Fuyu shrank her neck and said quietly: “I… I thought they were growing slowly, so I watered them a bit more… and I also added that nutrient solution you mentioned…”
“How much did you water?”
“Just… three times a day, thoroughly each time…”
Lin Shuying: “…”
Watermelon seedlings preferred dryness over dampness—too much water would rot the roots.
But these seedlings hadn’t rotted at all—instead, they’d grown wildly.
That left only one explanation: the Wood Spirit Root gifted by Lord Yan.
Perhaps when she’d used the Wood Spirit Root to optimize the seeds, she had “overdone it,” causing the growth cycle to shorten dramatically?
“It’s fine,” she steadied herself. “It’s probably just the variety’s special trait. Uncle Chen, from now on, these seedlings are to be tended separately—water and fertilize them exactly as I specify, and no one else is to touch them.”
“Yes, Second Miss.”
Lin Shuying checked them over carefully again and, confirming that the plants were healthy, finally let out a breath of relief.
When she turned around, she saw Wei Fuyu with her head drooping like a guilty puppy. She couldn’t help but laugh, walked over, and patted Wei Fuyu’s shoulder: “Don’t look like that. You meant well.”
“But I almost drowned the seedlings…”
“They didn’t die—instead, they grew even better.” Lin Shuying winked. “Maybe it’s your ‘good fortune’ giving them a boost.”
Wei Fuyu finally looked up, her eyes sparkling: “Really?”
“Really.” Lin Shuying pulled her along. “Come on—to celebrate our first order, we’re having extra dishes tonight. Nurse Lin has stewed chicken soup and your favorite braised pork.”
“Great!”
Just as the two stepped out of the greenhouse, A-Gua came running again: “Miss! Miss! Someone from the palace is here!”
Lin Shuying was startled: “The palace?”
“It’s Eunuch Li from the Consort’s side—he says the Consort has sent some things and has a message.”
In the front hall, a middle-aged eunuch with a fair, beardless face sat sipping tea.
When he saw Lin Shuying arrive, he rose and bowed, smiling broadly: “Second Miss, the Consort heard you’d moved to the estate and specifically sent your servant to deliver some useful items.”
He gestured to several boxes placed in the hall: one filled with fine silks and brocades, another with exquisite porcelain ornaments, and yet another with… farm tools?
Lin Shuying looked at the box containing gold-inlaid, jade-encrusted little hoes and rakes, and her mouth twitched.
This style was very much her eldest sister’s.
“The Consort also asked your servant to pass along a message,” Eunuch Li lowered his voice. “She said, since Second Miss has chosen this path, walk it well. If you lack anything, just speak up. But there’s one rule: don’t ever shortchange yourself. If anyone dares to bully you, invoke the Consort’s name directly.”
A warmth spread through Lin Shuying’s heart: “Thank you, Eunuch. Please also thank my eldest sister for me.”
After seeing Eunuch Li off, she opened the box of farm tools and picked up a little hoe with gold-thread-wrapped handle—and could only laugh ruefully.
Could this thing even break soil?
Two swings and the gold threads would fall apart.
Wei Fuyu leaned in to look and marveled: “Wow, that hoe is gorgeous! Shuying, if you use this to farm, you’ll definitely be the most magnificent farming woman in all of Great Liang!”
Lin Shuying shot her a look: “You’re the farming woman.”
“I mean it!” Wei Fuyu picked up a small rake with a jade handle. “Look at this—when you’re raking the soil under the sunlight, it’ll shimmer and sparkle—so grand!”
The two were laughing and joking when A Li came in from outside, her expression somewhat odd: “Miss, there’s a company of riders at the estate gate—they say they’re from General Wei’s residence.”
Wei Fuyu’s hand trembled, and the jade rake clattered onto the table: “M-my father is here?”
A Li shook her head: “Not General Wei—it’s Lady Wei. She brought a lot of luggage and says she’s here to visit you, miss, and to deliver some daily necessities for Miss Wei.”
Lin Shuying and Wei Fuyu exchanged a glance, both reading the confusion in each other’s eyes.
A visit? Delivering things?
What was this about?
“Please, invite her in.”
Before long, a gracefully dressed noblewoman with a gentle demeanor walked in, supported by her maidservant. She looked to be in her early forties, with features that bore a five- or six-tenths resemblance to Wei Fuyu, though softer.
“Lady Wei.” Lin Shuying bowed in greeting.
Lady Wei quickly helped her up: “No need for such formality, Second Miss. I’ve long heard of your intelligence and grace—meeting you today, the reputation truly holds.” As she spoke, her gaze drifted toward the space behind Lin Shuying.
Wei Fuyu was shrinking back, trying to hide behind the curio cabinet.
“Fuyu,” Lady Wei called softly.
Wei Fuyu flinched and reluctantly stepped forward: “Mother…”
“So you still know I’m your mother?” Lady Wei glared at her, though her eyes were red-rimmed. “Running off without a word—do you know how worried your father and I were?”
Wei Fuyu hung her head: “I’m sorry…”
Lady Wei sighed, then turned to Lin Shuying with a smile: “Second Miss, my daughter has been willful and caused you trouble. Thank you for having her these past days. In these cases are her usual clothes, jewelry, and some snacks—a small token of my appreciation.”
Lin Shuying hurriedly replied: “You’re too kind, my lady. Fuyu has helped me a great deal here—how could it be trouble?”
“Helped?” Lady Wei glanced at her daughter with obvious doubt. “It would be a miracle if she didn’t cause more chaos.”
“Truly,” Lin Shuying said earnestly. “Fuyu is strong, works diligently, and has been training the estate’s servants in martial arts. I was just about to formally hire her as our security instructor.”
Lady Wei was stunned.
Wei Fuyu was stunned too.
“S-security instructor?” Lady Wei repeated.
“Yes.” Lin Shuying beamed with sincerity. “My estate is newly established and short-handed—I need someone who can hold their own. Fuyu is skilled in martial arts and straightforward by nature—she’s perfect for the role. As for wages, I’m thinking twenty taels a month, with room and board included. What do you think, Lady Wei?”
Lady Wei opened her mouth but couldn’t find words for a long moment.
She’d assumed her daughter was hiding out here causing mischief—but she actually had legitimate work?
Though “legitimate work” sounded a bit far-fetched, at least she wasn’t wasting her time.
“Mother,” Wei Fuyu sidled up at the perfect moment, putting on a pitiful look, “please let me stay here. I really love it here—I love farming with Shuying. I haven’t even met that second son of the Marquis of Zhenbei—how can I marry him?”
Lady Wei looked at her, then at Lin Shuying, and finally let out a long sigh: “Very well. I’ll speak to your father. But Fuyu, you must promise me—since you’re taking on this role as security instructor, do it properly. No slacking off.”
Wei Fuyu was overjoyed: “I promise! I’ll work hard!”
Lady Wei sat a while longer, gave some reminders about daily matters, then rose to take her leave. Before departing, she took Lin Shuying’s hand and said softly: “Second Miss, Fuyu… I leave her in your care.”
“Rest assured, my lady.”
After seeing Lady Wei off, Wei Fuyu was so excited she spun in circles in the hall: “It worked! It worked! Shuying, you’re amazing! My mother actually agreed!”
Lin Shuying laughed: “Your mother loves you. That’s the only reason she relented so easily.”
“Still, it’s all thanks to you!” Wei Fuyu hugged her. “From today on, I’m Instructor Wei of Little Lin Manor! If anyone dares to cause trouble, I’ll knock their teeth out!”
Lin Shuying had A Li take Wei Fuyu to settle in. Wei Fuyu strode off cheerfully, but as she passed the hallway, she picked up a bronze staff leaning against the wall, hefted it, and nodded approvingly: “This staff feels good—mind if I borrow it?”
“That’s just something A-Gua practices with,” Lin Shuying said helplessly.
“Perfect—it suits me.” Wei Fuyu slung the bronze staff over her shoulder and strode away.
Lin Shuying watched her go and suddenly felt that this girl probably hadn’t come to escape marriage—she’d come to be a guard.
Just as she was thinking this, A-Gua came running yet again.
The poor boy’s legs were about to give out today.
“Miss! Miss! The melon—melon field…”
Lin Shuying’s heart tightened: “What now?”
A-Gua was gasping for breath, but his face was flushed with excitement: “Not bad news—good news! Come quick! Those rainbow watermelon seedlings… they’ve already set fruit!”
Set fruit?!
It had only been a few days since they bloomed?!
Lin Shuying broke into a run.
In the melon field, Forester Chen and the laborers were gathered in a circle, all utterly dumbfounded.
When they saw Lin Shuying arrive, they automatically parted to make way.
There, hanging from the vines of the three rainbow watermelon seedlings beneath the bamboo trellises, were over a dozen small melons, each no bigger than a thumb.
The rinds were emerald green, with the faint outline of rainbow patterns already visible on the surface.
“Th-this is impossible…” Forester Chen muttered. “It’s only been three days since they flowered…”
Lin Shuying crouched down and gently touched the nearest small melon.
The plant’s growth rate was abnormal, but its vitality was strong, with no signs of strain.
“It’s fine—probably just a trait of the variety. Uncle Chen, from today on, these seedlings are to be tended separately—water and fertilize them exactly as I specify, and no one else is to touch them.”
Forester Chen nodded repeatedly, but couldn’t help muttering: “Growing this fast… it’s like they’re turning into spirits…”
Lin Shuying didn’t respond.
She knew perfectly well why these melons were growing so fast—it was because she had overdone it with her Wood Spirit Root.
But she couldn’t say that. She’d have to let it be and tell everyone it was just “a trait of the new variety.”
At any rate, the fruits were healthy, but their growth rate was five times that of ordinary watermelons.
At this pace, they might not even need to wait until August—they could ripen by the end of June.
She suddenly remembered a line of small script from the Strange Melon Illustrated Record: “The Rainbow-Striped Melon, blessed by the essence of heaven and earth, may mature within ten days.”
Ten days.
Could it really grow to maturity in just ten days?
“Miss,” A-Gua asked quietly, “has this melon… turned into a spirit?”
Everyone’s eyes turned to Lin Shuying.
She stood up, brushed the dirt from her hands, and said: “What spirit? This is a trait of the new variety—it grows fast and ripens early, which is precisely its advantage. Uncle Chen, from today on, these seedlings are to be given special attention, with daily growth records.”
“Y-yes…”
“And also,” Lin Shuying added, “this matter is not to be spread outside. If anyone talks…” She swept her gaze across them, her expression stern, “they’ll forfeit this year’s double wages and watermelon share.”
The laborers immediately pledged: “Rest assured, Second Miss! Not a word from any of us!”
Lin Shuying nodded and looked once more at those miraculous little melons, but inside, a storm was raging.
The effect of the Wood Spirit Root was far beyond her imagination.
At this rate, she could grow not just five hundred melons, but five thousand.
But growing too fast would only invite suspicion.
She needed to control the pace.
— —
Outside the window, the evening glow gilded the fields with a golden rim.
In the distant melon patch, those miraculous little melons swayed gently in the breeze.
Lin Shuying shut herself in her study, spread out paper and brush, and began revising her planting plan.
The growth rate of the rainbow watermelons had to be slowed down—at least to something close to ordinary melons.
The Honey Treasure and Wine-Scented watermelons could be allowed to grow a little faster, but not too conspicuously.
And also, she needed to come up with a plausible explanation for this abnormal growth…
Just as she was thinking, the familiar tapping came from the window.
Xiao Shengrui was here again.
This time, he hadn’t climbed over the wall but had come through the front gate. He held a scroll in his hand, a rare excitement on his face, and through the half-open window he said: “Shuying, look at this.”
Lin Shuying took the scroll and unrolled it—it was a detailed irrigation map, marked with various channels, waterwheel placements, and reservoir designs.
“I had the Ministry of Works draw this up,” Xiao Shengrui said with barely concealed delight, “modified to suit your estate’s terrain. If you build this, the irrigation issues for all fifty acres can be completely resolved, and you’ll save thirty percent on labor.”
“Wonderful! I was just worrying about irrigation!”
“And this too.” Xiao Shengrui pulled out a small wooden box. “Rushed up from the south by courier—said to be melon seeds brought back by sea merchants from overseas. Called ‘Golden Honey Melon’—golden rind, flesh as sweet as honey.”
Lin Shuying opened the box—inside were over a dozen golden seeds. She sensed them briefly; their vitality was ordinary, but the variety was indeed rare.
“Thank you, Your Highness.” Her gratitude was genuine.
But Xiao Shengrui shook his head with uncharacteristic seriousness: “Mutual benefit. If you grow good things, I get to share in the credit too.” He paused and lowered his voice. “By the way, I’ve made progress on that investigation about you.”
“Who is it?”
“A few stubborn old fossils from the Directorate of Agriculture.” Xiao Shengrui propped the window up a bit higher and said flatly, “They think a woman farming is a slap in their face. And they’re afraid that if you succeed, it’ll make them look incompetent. So they’re looking for trouble.”
Lin Shuying frowned and thought for a moment—some things really didn’t change across dynasties: “What kind of trouble are they looking for?”
“Just nitpicking—saying your methods aren’t in line with ancient practices, that you’re wasting imperial land, that you’re grandstanding.” Xiao Shengrui’s tone remained calm. “But don’t worry—I’ve already put a word in with Father. As long as you actually grow something worthwhile, all that noise will die down.”
Lin Shuying felt relieved, but also a bit guilty: “I’m always troubling Your Highness…”
“It’s no trouble.” Xiao Shengrui looked at her, his eyes bright as stars in the night sky. “I told you—I also want to see what you can grow.”
Lin Shuying thought that having such an ally really was something special.
“I’ll do my best.”
“Good.”
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