"Yosh! Let's start plow—"
Someone suddenly shouted from behind just as Wan'er was about to swing her hoe. She nearly jumped out of her skin, turned around, and instinctively raised her leg, ready to kick whoever dared disturb her sacred farming time.
"JUST WHO DARE—"
The moment she turned around, her face instantly paled. Wan'er froze, awkwardly lowered the hoe, and then smiled as if nothing happened. "Ahaha... good morning?" she said while tucking a stray hair behind her ear.
"Why are you out here this early?" Yuan Zhen asked calmly while Yuxi stood beside him with crossed arms. "Work like plowing and seeding should be done by the servants. You only need to instruct them. There's no need for you to be out here."
"W-Well… those who don't work don't get to eat, right?" Wan'er forced a grin, though her voice trembled from embarrassment.
Yuan Zhen frowned slightly. "But you're different."
Wan'er tilted her head, confused, while internally sighing.
'Did they forget I'm technically a hostage here? Shouldn't I be treated like some poor prisoner? At least that would make more sense!'
She'd imagined all sorts of grim possibilities when she first woke up in this strange place — torture, interrogations, a cold dungeon — yet here she was, holding a hoe under the sun, being scolded for farming too much.
"I want to farmmmm~😗" she said, playfully kicking the ground.
Yuxi rolled her eyes and gave up. "Fine. Do what you want. Just don't overwork yourself. Little Yi and Yan will cry if you're gone too long."
"I won't," Wan'er said cheerfully, waving her hand.
By noon, she was drenched in sweat, but the twins' laughter pulled her back home. "What did you plant today?" Yuan Zhen asked while gently bouncing one of the twins on his arm. He looked so natural doing it that anyone watching would assume he was their father.
"Taa~!" The twins giggled, their laughter bright enough to melt away all exhaustion.
"Nah, just plowing the land with your people," Wan'er said, tying her hair into a bun. "I'm testing ways to improve the soil's fertility. It's too dry and full of stones—not ideal for farming at all."
She exhaled in frustration and muttered, "I should just cut this hair. It's too hot."
Yuan Zhen blinked, watching her. "Your hair is beautiful," he said before he could stop himself.
Wan'er laughed lightly. "Well, beauty doesn't help me when my hair sticks to my neck like glue."
Without hesitation, she tied her hair low and sliced it clean with a knife.
Yuxi gasped. "You—!"
Ren Wang just nodded approvingly. "Cool."
Wan'er grinned. "I'm a mother now. Why care about appearances or gossip? Let them talk; I can't control their mouths anyway."
Her tone was casual, but her eyes flickered with something lonely. "Besides... I'm a nobody now."
The smile stayed, but the air turned soft and sad for a heartbeat.
"Tomorrow, I'll try planting sweet potatoes using my qi. Hopefully it works—the soil here is terrible," she said with a sigh, heading off to take a bath.
'If only I could access the internet, I'd have a dozen ways to fix bad soil,' she thought while soaking in warm water. 'But fine, I'll trust my cheat skill instead.'
The next day, during lunch, Wan'er spoke between bites. "Actually, the perfect farm spot is everything. If I can, I'd like to explore your territory for more suitable land."
Yuan Zhen only hummed in response, calmly sipping his soup.
That evening, Wan'er got restless and wandered the palace. "Let's try farming here," she murmured, pulling out her trusty hoe from her spatial ring and starting to plow.
"The soil's not bad… heavy and moisture-holding. Perfect for Chinese cabbage," she mused.
While working, she muttered to herself like a seasoned farmer, explaining each step of fertilizing, watering, and spacing the seeds properly.
When she finally finished, she dusted her hands off with a proud grin. "Now… next, lettuce! Wait—where did I even get this many seeds?"
She blinked, staring at her hands. "Every time I need them, they just… appear. Huh. Maybe that's part of my transmigration perk."
Without overthinking it, she began sowing again, humming off-key. "Winter lettuce, red salad bowl, winter marvel… wow, I sound like a real farmer now. HAHAHAHAHA!"
By the time she returned home using qinggong, she was exhausted but beaming. "Tomorrow, I'll check on them. I'm confident they'll grow perfectly."
She plucked an eggplant from the potted plant she'd brought from Gu Village — the same one Yuan Zhen had returned to her — still thriving despite weather and neglect. Her qi truly was something else.
Morning sunlight poured gently over the courtyard. Wan'er stretched like a cat and took a deep breath of the crisp air. "Ahhh~ The smell of freshly plowed soil and morning dew! What a perfect day for crop inspection!" she declared, holding her hoe like a divine staff.
Ruan blinked from behind her. "Your Highness, it's six in the morning..."
"Exactly! The earlier, the better!" Wan'er beamed and marched toward her "experimental field."
But as she approached, her confident grin began to twitch. The once modest garden had transformed overnight into something… monstrous.
"...Why are my radishes the size of a toddler?"
A massive, glossy white radish sat proudly in the middle of the plot, practically glowing with spiritual energy. Beside it, lettuce leaves as large as fans swayed lazily, their veins shimmering faintly with qi.
Even the soil looked alive — faint pulses of light rhythmically flickered beneath the roots.
Ruan froze. "M-Milady... is it supposed to look like that?"
Wan'er crouched, poked a leaf, and felt it hum in response. "Uh… I might've… overdid it."
She turned the leaf over and gasped. "It absorbed my spiritual energy overnight?! No wonder the qi in my dantian feels lighter!"
Just as she was about to scold herself, a low groan echoed from the earth. The giant radish shuddered.
Ruan's voice trembled. "D-Did it just move?"
Wan'er blinked twice. "...No way."
Groooaaaan~
"IT'S MOVINGGGG!!!"
The enormous radish began to rise, its roots wriggling like tiny legs. It turned toward Wan'er, as if offended that its creator doubted its existence.
Wan'er dropped her hoe. "This is it. I've created a radish demon."
The guards rushed in upon hearing the scream. "What happened—AH!" One nearly fainted at the sight of the vegetable colossus.
"Don't attack it!" Wan'er waved frantically. "It's just… uh… going through a growth phase! You'll hurt its feelings!"
"...Its feelings?" Yuan Zhen's voice came from behind.
Wan'er turned slowly and saw him standing there, arms crossed, face unreadable.
"...Your radish," he said flatly, "is currently walking."
"I know!" Wan'er wailed, clutching her head. "I only infused a little qi! I swear! Maybe five… or ten percent of my power!"
"That is not 'a little.'"
The radish suddenly hopped forward — and Wan'er instinctively caught it in her arms like a baby. "Nooo! Be good, Mr. Radish! Don't embarrass Mommy in front of company!"
Yuxi arrived just in time to witness this chaotic scene. She pinched the bridge of her nose. "...I leave for one morning and you domesticate root vegetables."
Wan'er blinked innocently. "It's called spiritual agriculture!"
Yuan Zhen sighed and turned to his aide. "Prepare a containment field around this area. And make sure none of her vegetables achieve sentience again."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Wan'er pouted. "Awww... but they're cute!"
The giant radish wobbled its leafy head in agreement.
That evening, news spread quietly through the palace — The Empress Who Grows Living Vegetables.
Wan'er groaned into her pillow. "I'll never live this down..."
Yuan Zhen's calm voice drifted in from outside her room. "At least it didn't attack anyone."
"That's not the point!!"