Chapter 279: No, no, no, you're overthinking

Gu Xixi opened her eyes and looked up at the darkness above, saying, "No."

"Those people are already at their wit's end. If it weren't for the pressing time, they wouldn't resort to such desperate measures."

"Besides, their people have already been cut down and beaten; likely few remain."

"And Huachi Du Cun has many experts inside and out, with tight defenses."

"At this time, as long as you and I are here, they won't dare risk a direct clash with the village's dark guards."

"As for burning the village, the commotion would be too great; it would not only provoke a counterattack from nearby dark guards but also immediately summon the Xi Bei garrison. If they really did that, those assassins wouldn't even think of surviving."

He Jinglan let out a relieved breath, "That's good."

"In other words, as long as we make the assassins clearly target us. Their strength is limited, their time is limited, and they originally had no leisure to enter the village to the detriment of Zhang Shen and the others."

"Moreover, as long as they aren't driven to desperation, they dare not set fire to the village."

"Yes." Gu Xixi said calmly, "They will only keep watch on this manor, waiting for a chance to strike at us."

She glanced at He Jinglan, "Are you afraid?"

He Jinglan gave a light laugh, "Pfft! Afraid? If I were afraid, I wouldn't bear the surname He!"

"Last night you let me come stay at the manor with you; have I ever tripped you up?"

Gu Xixi also laughed, "Miss He, you are extraordinarily heroic."

He Jinglan's face suddenly fell, she complained, "It's just too hot!"

"This place is nowhere near as cool as our home at night; the room is small, and we can't open doors and windows, the heat makes me panic!"

"In the deep night's silence, the tiny room's doors and windows are shut tight; lying inside the mosquito net, it's inevitably stuffy."

Gu Xixi raised her hand to fan, making the air circulate.

The two finally felt somewhat better.

Gu Xixi said, "There's no way around it. Your dark guards all said it's best to keep doors and windows shut; those we protect should heed advice, and if something really happens, not drag them down."

"They say a calm mind brings natural coolness; don't toss and turn, try lying still with eyes closed, focusing the spirit and calming the breath. After all, this place is the suburbs; by the latter part of the night it should grow cooler."

He Jinglan lay down as instructed, Gu Xixi fanned intermittently.

Who knows how long passed, both drifted into dream...

Next morning, He Jinglan woke, hadn't opened her eyes yet, first reached out and felt beside her twice.

Not finding anyone, her heart jolted, she sat up straight.

"Xixi! Gu Xixi!!!"

He Jinglan called for Gu Xixi while quickly putting on clothes and getting out of bed.

She flung open the door and ran out; outside was already broad daylight.

He Jinglan saw Old Li sweeping the ground in front of the house, knowing all was well, she relaxed a bit.

"Uncle Li, what time is it roughly now?"

Old Li smiled and replied, "About... past mid-morning."

He Jinglan felt a little embarrassed, she had actually slept in until this time!

"Then did you see where Boss Gu went?"

Old Li casually pointed to the field, "Boss Gu rose at dawn, saying he wanted to weed and sow."

"I said to call two brothers to help, but she wouldn't allow it, saying she could manage on her own, letting everyone do their usual duties."

Old Li chuckled, looking at He Jinglan, "The stove has boiling water; there's yesterday's dried rations, plus the mung bean and millet porridge Boss Gu cooked. I'll bring you wash water first, then set out the meal, how about that?"

He Jinglan waved her hand, "No need, as Xixi said, just like before."

"I can handle these things myself."

Her eyes scanned the field for Gu Xixi's figure as she spoke, then she hurried off.

Old Li watched his young lady's back, feeling myriad emotions, "The master said everything should follow the young lady's lead."

"But the young lady has no maidservant at her side; after all, that's quite inconvenient..."

"In the past, when the young lady went out, she was accompanied by at least four maids and an elderly mother."

"Now seeing the young lady personally handle everything, Old Li also doesn't know whether this is right or wrong."

"The manor's land, after last season's harvest, should have been deeply plowed once."

"But after that, Xi Bei formally went to war with the Imperial Court, so here there hasn't been time to plant new crops."

Gu Xixi marked out the easternmost half-mu plot, just having weeded the surface growth.

He Jinglan ran up close and saw Gu Xixi holding a hoe in one hand, looking around.

He Jinglan asked, "What are you looking at?"

Gu Xixi pointed at the demarcated area, "From here to here, we'll set up trellises and plant cucumbers. This side gets full sun with no shade, good for watermelons; this middle row, we'll plant persimmons."

He Jinglan marveled at Gu Xixi's mindset, "Our lives hang by a thread, yet you really want to farm."

Gu Xixi turned to look at her, smiling, "The manor's mechanisms are already in place; if not farming, what else could we do?"

"If the assassins really rush in, can you and I fight, or can we kill?"

"Poison." He Jinglan said, "You didn't bring a lot of poison, did you?"

Gu Xixi said, "I kept some for self-defense; the rest I gave to your dark guards."

"Part has already been placed in the mechanisms; the remainder is on standby."

He Jinglan thought, then agreed, "Now what we can do seems to be only farming."

"What about the seeds? Give me some, I'll help you scatter them."

Gu Xixi laughed helplessly, "Seeds can't just be scattered randomly."

She pulled He Jinglan back, "Especially these three kinds are hard to come by; we mustn't waste them."

"It's best to first sprout and raise seedlings, then transplant the healthy sprouts into the soil; that way survival rate is high."

He Jinglan nodded, half-understanding, "Aren't you still supposed to build a heated room?"

Gu Xixi said, "Well, let's take it step by step."

"Anyway, we're trapped here for now, and in the end we'll still have to wait for someone to rescue us."

He Jinglan startled, realizing she still knew too little.

She quickly looked left and right, lowered her voice, "Waiting for someone? Who?"

Gu Xixi stopped, leaned in to He Jinglan's ear, and whispered a few words.

Then she pulled back and said, "I can't make too many preparations ahead of time; I'm also taking a gamble."

"If luck is really bad, we'll ultimately have to rely on our own two legs to escape; you'd better be mentally prepared."

He Jinglan's eyes flashed with emotion, "Gu Xixi! I knew you had preparations; you couldn't possibly be deliberately playing yourself to death!"

Gu Xixi lightly coughed twice, "I've said it already—now we can only wait, and I'm not fully confident."

He Jinglan was full of confidence, her fighting spirit rose, "So let's just live as usual for now—farm, eat, and drink."

"Those people lurking in the dark see that we're not the slightest bit afraid; if they try to force their way into the farmstead, they'll have to weigh in their minds whether it's a trap—this is a kind of deceptive tactic, right?"

"Xixi! You're really smart! You should have told me earlier so I could cooperate with you!"

Gu Xixi forced out a weak smile.

What deceptive tactic? She actually hadn't thought that much about it.

She just thought, before setting out, that being idle is still being idle, so she brought some seeds.

Planting early lets it absorb more sunlight.

By winter, sitting on the heated kang, we'll be able to eat sweet, cool watermelons!

Huachi Du Cun, a plainclothes soldier knocked on the door of Gu Xixi's home…