Chapter 62 The Fragrant Boudoir

Shao Diandian leaned forward, aggressively locking eyes at the same level with the person sitting on the small wooden stool. "That's right! You just figured that out?"

Wei Ting took a deep breath and resorted to his old trick: "Dad, Big Ya is bullying me."

Shao Diandian chimed in a split second later: "Dad, if he won't pound it, the rest can go to the stone mill instead. Dad, you do the grinding!"

Shao Kang decisively abandoned his son-in-law to save himself: "Son-in-law, actually I also think the pounded peanuts taste more fragrant. You should pound a bit more!"

Wei Ting: "..."

Wei Ting finally realized that whenever physical labor was involved, this cheap father-in-law was completely unreliable.

The three little ones began rubbing their eyes.

"The children are sleepy," Elder Shao said to Shao Diandian.

Shao Diandian put down the spatula and looked at the three of them. "Are you ready for bed?"

All three shook their heads.

Dahu said, "Don't want to sleep."

Erhu yawned. "Want to play."

Still want to play? It was already the middle of the night!

Shao Diandian looked at Xiaohu. "How about you?"

Xiaohu didn't speak, only listlessly reaching out his little arms toward Shao Diandian.

Shao Diandian picked the little fellow up.

Xiaohu fell asleep instantly in her arms.

Right after, Dahu and Erhu could no longer hold out either, walking unsteadily. Elder Shao and Shao Erdian each carried a drowsy little tot back to the room.

"Want to play," Erhu mumbled.

He was already asleep.

Dahu was much more stubborn, holding out stubbornly until they reached the main hall.

After pointing out Shao Diandian's room to Shao Erdian and indicating that he wanted to sleep there, his head tilted sideways and he fell fast asleep.

In the kitchen, Shao Diandian and Wei Ting continued with her peanut butter enterprise.

Halfway through, Shao Diandian had a sudden flash of inspiration. She took the stir-fried sesame seeds out of the cupboard and added them to Wei Ting's garlic mortar.

Wei Ting frowned.

Shao Diandian smiled and said, "Sesame seeds ground on a stone mill are even more fragrant, but since you're strong, whatever you pound out shouldn't be bad either! This is called... sesame peanut butter!"

Wei Ting glanced at her sideways, completely lacking the desire to speak.

Shao Diandian added, "Oh, right, we can make a separate bowl of pure sesame paste!"

Wei Ting slammed the pestle down into the garlic mortar. "Are you ever going to finish!"

Shao Diandian smiled. "Not. Yet!"

Now that she had finally discovered he possessed this skill, she naturally had to make the most of it.

To be fair, Wei Ting was indeed someone trained in martial arts; his control over his strength was nothing short of masterful. He could grind things as fine as he pleased, and the sesame paste he pounded out turned out genuinely no different from what came off a stone mill.

When men and women work together, the labor doesn't feel tiring. Shao Diandian hummed a little tune while stir-frying the peanuts.

Watching her small, thoroughly amused self, Wei Ting truly couldn't understand what there was to enjoy about such a task.

Wei Ting's physical constitution was far too formidable; even injured, he had much more stamina than Shao Diandian.

In the end, Shao Diandian herself couldn't hold out any longer and decided the rest would have to wait until tomorrow.

Tomorrow was the day to visit Young Master Xiang in town for a follow-up consultation. Before falling asleep, Shao Diandian packed the necessary medicines into her first-aid kit and took the opportunity to check the token in the hidden compartment.

This compartment was exceptionally concealed; anyone unfamiliar with the first-aid kit would never be able to find it.

In the main hall, shrouded in darkness, Wei Ting witnessed all of this through the crack in the door.

No wonder he couldn't find it; it turned out she had hidden it inside that strange little pouch.

Shao Diandian placed the first-aid kit by the head of her bed, closed her eyes, and drifted off to sleep.

Wei Ting waited until her even breathing drifted from inside the room before pushing the door open on tiptoe and walking up to the bedside.

Shao Diandian turned over in her sleep, resting a plump little arm right on top of the first-aid kit.

Wei Ting's brow furrowed slightly. He reached out a hand as slender as jade, pulled back the quilt, and carefully lifted her chubby little arm.

Shao Diandian had just taken a bath, and her body was both soft and warm. The moment she brushed against his ice-cold fingertips, she gave a start and was shocked wide awake by the chill!

A tall figure loomed close at hand, and in the dark, the warm breath of another person was magnified infinitely, not to mention the freezing sensation lingering on her arm.

Someone was here!

Alarm bells rang fiercely in her mind!

Wei Ting knew martial arts, but unfortunately, Shao Diandian's abrupt awakening caught him red-handed, making him feel a bit guilty, and he froze instinctively for a second.

Yet it was only for a second.

Anyway, the night was so dark she probably hadn't seen clearly; if she asked later, he would just claim she was dreaming again.

To his surprise, the moment he moved, Shao Diandian spoke in a low voice: "Wei Ting?"

Wei Ting's body stiffened.

"It really is you?" Shao Diandian spoke again, this time with absolute certainty.

Wei Ting was stunned.

You couldn't see your own hand in front of your face, and he hadn't made a sound—how on earth had this lass recognized him?

Wei Ting initiated his second resort to the old trick of the night: "You're dreaming..."

Shao Diandian retorted fiercely without a moment's hesitation: "You're the one dreaming! I'm wide awake!"

Shao Diandian was indeed very clear-headed tonight. With tomorrow's follow-up consultation and the painful lesson of having overslept once before, she hadn't allowed herself to get drowsy to that extent tonight.

Besides, Wei Ting's hands were simply too cold; they were more than enough to wake anyone up!

"Hold on." Shao Diandian grabbed Wei Ting's wrist, causing Wei Ting, who was just about to stand up, to press back down over her once more.

To avoid pressing against her, he tried his best to prop his body up on his elbows.

Shao Diandian was by no means a slender beauty like Shao Niangniang; she was a plump little thing with a full and voluptuous figure.

Wei Ting closed his eyes and shifted his upper body upward, yet it remained inevitable that he brushed against something soft and springy.

Shao Diandian had no idea what he was going through at that moment; a thought crossed her mind, and her expression turned serious.

"The last time, I wasn't dreaming, was I?"

"You were dreaming," Wei Ting said righteously.

Shao Diandian demanded, "You didn't even ask which time I meant, or what dream I had?"

Wei Ting: "..."

Should he have checked the almanac before getting out of bed today?

Shao Diandian wore a look of deep heartbreak and indignation: "Well, well! I never expected you to be this kind of person!"

"What kind of person am I? Don't misunderstand!" Wei Ting protested, unable to clear his name.

Shao Diandian gave a dry laugh. "I'm misunderstanding? I've caught you red-handed! How dare you still quibble!"

"It's not what you think!" Wei Ting felt a headache coming on.

Shao Diandian cast a chilly look at him. "Then what is it like? You've been caught in the act twice now! And besides! I can feel that you're pressing down on me quite solidly!"

That's because of you—

Wei Ting looked downward, quickly averted his gaze, and swallowed the words back down his throat.

His face flushed red as he said, "Let go of me and let me get up!"

Shao Diandian gripped his wrist tightly. "Don't think I don't know—if I let you go, you won't admit to anything! You aren't going anywhere until you explain yourself clearly!"

Things having reached this point, in order to prove his innocence, Wei Ting had no choice but to make a frank confession.

"I was looking for my token! Who told you to take my things and not return them? I had no choice but to come and get it myself!"

Shao Diandian said righteously, "Taking something without asking is considered stealing!"

Wei Ting gritted his teeth. "That is my own property!"

Uh... well, that seemed to be true.

Shao Diandian blinked. "You... eat my food! Drink my water! Live under my roof! Your token has been given to me as collateral!"

Wei Ting replied calmly, "I never agreed to use it as collateral."

Shao Diandian declared in an overbearing and fierce tone, "One... one way or another, something has to be used as collateral! You or the token, pick one to pledge to me!"

Wei Ting: "Me."

Shao Diandian: "...?!"