Helping Out in the Middle of the Night

Childish.

God had opened one door for him, giving him extraordinary talent on the battlefield, but had closed many windows, leaving him with an appalling lack of emotional intelligence when it came to women.

He ought to be grateful he had been born into the right family. Otherwise, he would have been destined to die a bachelor.

"Madam, something terrible has happened!" Er Ya shouted from outside the courtyard.

Even the dogs were disturbed by her shouting and began barking one after another.

Xu Weibei: Does she have no sense of propriety?

Only if there were a fire could he tolerate her screeching like that.

If there wasn't a fire and she was still making such a racket, he would give her a good beating!

Gu Wanning: Er Ya, give Madam a break... Don't come running every day with "Madam, something terrible has happened."

Chapter 28: Helping Out in the Middle of the Night

Er Ya's shouting had also made Gu Wanning's heart jump.

"What is it?" She went straight out the door.

Nanny Chu, who had been sitting under the covered walkway, had also risen to her feet.

"Madam, it's raining." Er Ya ran in.

Thunder rumbled as bean-sized raindrops pattered against the ground.

"Madam, Gao Lan said this rain is going to get heavy. What are we going to do? We only just watered the corn today. Now we're in trouble."

That corn was Madam's lifeblood; nothing could be allowed to go wrong with it.

Gu Wanning said, "Gao Lan? He said it would rain heavily?"

"Mm. Gao Lan came looking for me, making conversation for the sake of it."

She had been about to send him away when she heard him say it was raining and that it would be a heavy downpour.

Gu Wanning: "..."

What was Gao Lan doing looking for Er Ya in the middle of the night?

He must have been trying to pry information out of her.

"Don't panic," Gu Wanning said. "We've already dug drainage ditches. As long as it doesn't rain nonstop all night, there shouldn't be much of a problem."

"That's good, that's good." Er Ya breathed a sigh of relief.

Inside the room, Xu Weibei had pricked up his ears to listen, and he couldn't help wanting to curse Gao Lan for being an idiot. Didn't this give away the fact that he wanted to know more?

He hoped Gu Wanning wouldn't think he cared about her and start clinging to him again.

"If there's nothing else, please go back to sleep."

Gu Wanning said, "Mm, go back to sleep. We'll have a look tomorrow morning once the rain stops."

Only then did Er Ya leave, yawning as she headed out into the rain.

Nanny Chu couldn't help asking, "Madam, is that corn very important?"

"It's very important to me," Gu Wanning said with a smile, without elaborating. "Nanny, it's raining. You should go back and get some rest early too. The Marquis and I have both lain down."

"Thank you for your concern, Madam."

Nanny Chu didn't budge.

Gu Wanning: "..."

She went straight back inside.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Xu Weibei gave a soft scoff. "Treating a worthless piece of junk like a treasure."

Gu Wanning couldn't be bothered with him. What do you know!

Once I make a name for myself with corn, I'll blind your dog eyes, you brute.

Sleep, sleep. When you don't see eye to eye, even half a sentence is too much.

Gu Wanning lay on the couch, listening to the thunder rumble and the rain pour outside, feeling a little uncertain.

She didn't know what the soil in the residence's rear courtyard was like. Before, she had worried it wouldn't retain enough moisture; now she had to worry that too much water would drown the roots.

Fortunately, the corn was past the germination stage. She could only hope the wind wouldn't pick up and blow the seedlings over.

No, I still can't sleep.

Especially when she heard the wind rise outside, she tossed and turned, then sat up.

"What are you doing?" Xu Weibei was still awake too.

"No, the wind is strong. It'll blow my corn over and snap it. I have to go shield it from the wind."

"Are you mad?"

"I only planted one little patch. A few door panels taken off their hinges will be enough to cover it."

Gu Wanning couldn't let anything go wrong with her undertaking.

"You're not allowed to go! What are you making a fuss about in the middle of the night?"

"I won't trouble you, Marquis. I'll go myself." Gu Wanning found her wooden clogs. She had meant to look for a rain cape too, but decided against it, thinking it would only get in the way.

The wind was strong outside, so she didn't take an umbrella either.

Fortunately, lanterns hung under the covered walkways and eaves throughout the residence, so she wasn't completely unable to see.

Gu Wanning dashed into the rain.

Xu Weibei: "..."

There's something seriously wrong with this woman.

But why did he feel inexplicably moved?

Perhaps, man or woman, anyone who showed such persistence inspired admiration.

Like the Foolish Old Man moving mountains, or Jingwei filling the sea, a person with that kind of determination earned a higher regard.

Xu Weibei went out to call Gao Lan, only to discover that, apart from Nanny Chu, who had already retired, and Er Ya, whom he had sent to the neighboring quarters, there was hardly anyone attending to them in the main courtyard.

Gu Wanning didn't seem to like being waited on. She preferred to do things herself.

She had grown up on a country estate, and still retained a simple, unpretentious streak, which was tolerable enough.

Xu Weibei was the same way in the army, which was why he disliked noble ladies who went about surrounded by throngs of attendants.

Xu Weibei had Gao Lan call the guards to take the door panels off their hinges. No longer caring about the division between the front and rear courtyards, he had them carry the panels into the garden.

Meanwhile, Gu Wanning and Er Ya were working together to take a door panel down at the entrance to the courtyard right next door...

Er Ya's brute strength did knock the panel loose, but it fell toward the unsuspecting Gu Wanning.

Quick of eye and hand, Xu Weibei stretched out his long arm and pulled Gu Wanning out from under the panel and into his embrace.

Their summer clothes were thin to begin with, and the downpour had soaked them through, plastering them to their bodies. Xu Weibei could feel Gu Wanning's softness pressed tightly against his chest.

Gu Wanning, however, felt a pain in her chest from the impact.

"Thank you, Marquis." Without even a trace of shyness, she stepped straight out of Xu Weibei's arms and went to help Er Ya carry the door panel.

There's work to be done!

No time for romantic entanglements.

Xu Weibei felt his arms go empty, and his heart seemed a little empty too.

He had made many guesses about Gu Wanning before, but after spending more than half a month confined with her, seeing her morning and night, he had found the truth vastly different from what he had imagined.

She was neither vicious nor scheming, and she didn't fawn over him.

All she loved was... farming.

It even inspired a measure of admiration.