Chapter 21 - Secrets in the Shadows

Even after sending the butler and the steward away, Wei Wei remained seated, lost in thought.

Naturally fermented manure required high temperatures for sterilization, which was why it was usually made in the summer. Even then, it took three months to fully decompose. Since it was only early spring and temperatures were still low, the process would take even longer—potentially up to six months. And until the manure was fully composted, it couldn't be used as fertilizer.

Which was why fire manure was the more practical option.

Fire manure was made by burning weeds, branches, straw, and other plant matter over soil. The resulting mixture of ash and scorched earth became a potent fertilizer.

Compared to traditional composting, fire manure was much faster. It only took seven to ten days to prepare, and unlike manure, it didn't stink. It had a pleasant, earthy scent from the burnt plant materials. Its fertilizing properties were just as effective as regular manure.

Additionally, the silt at the bottom of the moat could also serve as a great fertilizer. Years of waste and runoff from the castle had likely enriched the sediment with ample nutrients. However, dredging the moat would require Felix's approval, so she would have to wait for his return before making any decisions.

If this works out, I won't have to smell that stinking moat every day!

Wei Wei had found information on making fire manure in the encyclopedia library. It required some expertise, so she wanted to experiment on her own before organizing a larger production effort. That was why she hadn't asked the steward to gather materials yet.

Besides, the steward ultimately worked for Felix, not her, and Wei Wei didn't want to burden him with too many tasks.

For now, she decided to handle it herself—but she would still need the butler's help to collect the necessary materials.

The butler, of course, was more than happy to assist her. He quickly assigned the castle's slaves to gather what she needed. Had the firewood supply in the kitchen not been depleted from last night's use, he might have even given those to her directly.

Since collecting materials would take time, Wei Wei postponed the fire manure preparation to the next day.

That afternoon, she changed into a dark green, narrow-sleeved dress that was both practical and easy to move in. Over it, she donned a long black cloak. Then, she headed to the stables and led out her horse, Jade Lion.

When her two personal maids learned she was going out, they naturally wanted to accompany her, but she refused.

"I'm just going for a short ride nearby. The estate is safe."

In reality, Wei Wei wasn't just going for a casual ride—she was heading straight for the forest.

Unlike her usual side-saddle riding, this time she rode astride, allowing Jade Lion to gallop at full speed. Cloaked in black, her face obscured, she looked like a shadow sweeping across the land. Even if someone saw her along the way, they wouldn't recognize her as a woman. After all, women in this era weren't permitted to ride astride, so no one would suspect that the rider was female.

Once she entered the forest, she followed the system's guidance to avoid wild animals. She carefully selected a few well-hidden spots and buried most of her gold bars in separate locations. Only two hundred gold bars (worth two thousand gold coins) remained in the system's inventory.

After ensuring that everything was securely hidden, she copied the treasure map the system had drawn and saved it into the encyclopedia library.

This was another new function she had discovered—the library wasn't just for retrieving books; it could also store and replicate information that wasn't originally inside it. This meant she could expand its collection by adding new texts.

A treasure map wasn't exactly a book, but it could still be archived.

This made it much easier for her to hide her maps without worrying about them being discovered.

With that done, Wei Wei took a different route out of the forest.

Before she reached the edge, she stopped her horse and retrieved several burlap sacks that had been hanging from the saddle. She opened one and began filling it with small pouches of seeds.

She had sewn these pouches herself in secret over the past few days, using coarse linen she had bought from the tailor. To prevent the seeds from spilling out, she had made each pouch with three layers of fabric, ensuring that even the tiniest seeds wouldn't escape.

The system had pre-filled the pouches for her, so all she needed to do was load them into the sacks.

Wei Wei owned over a hundred different types of seeds—mostly common grains, vegetables, and fruits from the modern era, with a smaller selection of spices and ornamental plants. Every single one was highly valuable.

However, not all seeds were tiny. Some crops, like potatoes, sweet potatoes, radishes, and ginger, were grown from rootstock rather than seeds. These were far too bulky.

Take sweet potatoes, for example—modern ones could weigh up to a pound each. If she took out all 999 sweet potatoes from the system's inventory, they would add up to nearly a thousand pounds.

Not only would that be impossible to transport, but it would also be difficult to explain how she had managed to carry so much while fleeing.

[I can reclaim the excess ones and shrink the rest for you. Don't worry—once planted, they'll still grow to full size.]

"Deal!"

It was a bit of a loss since root vegetables could be cut into multiple pieces for propagation. The larger they were, the more cuttings she could get. By shrinking them, she was effectively reducing her future yield.

But given her current situation, she had no choice.

Wei Wei let the system reclaim half of the oversized rootstock and shrink the remaining ones to the size of grapes.

[These are all close to sprouting. Just plant them, and they'll start growing in a couple of days.]

Even after shrinking, the total quantity was still substantial. She filled several burlap sacks to the brim before she was finally done.

She estimated that the combined weight was at least two to three hundred pounds.

Fortunately, Jade Lion was a warhorse designed to carry two riders, so it had no trouble bearing the load. Even with the extra weight, it snorted lightly, seemingly unbothered.

However, with the sacks taking up space on the saddle, Wei Wei could no longer ride. She had to lead the horse on foot.

By the time she returned to the castle, night had already fallen.

Having not seen her return all afternoon, her two personal maids were nearly frantic enough to report to the butler. Fortunately, just before dinner, Wei Wei entered through the castle's back door.

When Qin and Penny, who had been anxiously waiting at the front entrance, heard from other servants that she was back, they hurried over.

Seeing the several sacks she had brought with her, clearly filled with something, Qin wisely refrained from asking questions. She even stopped Penny from speaking and simply expressed her concern.

"My lady, please don't return so late next time. We were truly worried for your safety."

"I'll be more careful in the future."

A servant helping unload the sacks asked, "Miss Wei Wei, should we take these to your room?"

"No need. Store them in the kitchen's warehouse for now—I'll sort them out tomorrow. Tell Bob that these are seeds, so make sure no rats get to them."

"Yes, my lady." The servant nodded and called a few others to help carry the sacks away.

Once they were gone, Penny finally couldn't hold back her curiosity. "Miss Wei Wei, did you go out to buy seeds today?"

"No, I didn't buy them," Wei Wei replied as she unfastened her cloak. "I brought them from my homeland. Thanks to Jade Lion, I managed to escape with more than just valuables. My father had prepared these seeds for when we acquired land to farm. There was no way I'd leave them behind for those bandits—I took as many as I could, and as for the rest, I burned them to the ground."

A hint of smugness appeared on her lips. "Thanks to the fire I set, those bastards were too busy putting it out to notice I had escaped. That's how I got away so easily."

Penny was astonished. She had always thought of Wei Wei as delicate and refined—she never expected her to be capable of something so daring. After a moment of shock, admiration filled her eyes.

"My lady, you're brilliant."

Qin also looked at her with newfound respect.

No one spared a thought for what might have happened to those bandits. In their eyes, traitors who betrayed their master deserved whatever fate befell them.

Of course, the story Wei Wei had just told them wasn't entirely real.

It was a fabricated backstory the system had woven into her past.

The system had carefully laid all the groundwork. If someone ever tried to investigate Wei Wei's origins by searching for those so-called "bandits" in her supposed home country, they would indeed find records of a group of such people.

However, they would also discover that this group had left the neighboring country not long after arriving. Following their trail would lead to an inn where they had stayed, and according to local records, the entire group had tragically perished in a fire that broke out that same night.

As for the innkeeper and his family, they had miraculously survived. Though their business was destroyed, they later found a large lump of melted gold in the ruins—enough wealth to rebuild not just one, but two inns.

In truth, the people who had died in that fire were an entirely different group—foreign merchants who had met their end due to internal disputes. Their deaths had nothing to do with Wei Wei.

The only thing the system had done was slightly alter the memories of those who had seen the real bandits, making them believe they had instead encountered Wei Wei and her supposed household staff.

Furthermore, only the innkeeper's wife could distinctly recall seeing a noblewoman among them, while the rest of the locals only had vague memories of a noble's presence.

With this carefully crafted deception, Wei Wei's background was now solidified. Even if someone were to investigate, the truth they would uncover would be exactly what the system wanted them to find.