Chapter 105: The Time of Farewell
[105]
Meng Yuning looked at the clothes in Qi Jingyan's closet that were either white or black, feeling a mixture of emotions in her heart, and couldn't help but sigh softly.
She moved the clothes to the sides to make room and hung a few new clothes for him, sky blue, indigo, and moon white, which she had bought for him.
During these three years, she witnessed Qi Jingyan and Yi'er's initial grief and gradual recovery.
Now, when the two brothers mentioned the Queen, their tone was as calm as usual, and they would occasionally laugh and talk about interesting things in the past.
Although Qi Jingyan would still sit quietly and think most of the time, she could feel that he was different from before.
When I first met him, the lifeless and gray aura that surrounded him had long since dissipated.
Sitting there now, he exudes a calmness that comes after a period of precipitation, and an air of mastery over strategy, just like the water in a deep pool, calm on the surface but full of hidden secrets within, which makes people feel at ease just by looking at it.
She finally felt relieved. She knew that Qi Jingyan would no longer insist on dying to atone for his sins after achieving his great cause.
Over the past two years, many new faces have joined the mansion, and they are ostensibly responsible for ordinary duties such as housekeeper, accountant, and manager.
But she saw that when they entered and left the Qingke Hall, they walked with a brisk pace, their eyes were sharp, and their speech and behavior were extraordinary, which was definitely not something that ordinary servants could achieve.
She knew in her heart that the origins of these people were definitely not simple.
She never asked, but Qi Jingyan never hid anything from her in private and told her that these people were former subordinates of the Prince's Mansion.
When something unexpected happened that year, everyone scattered and hid in order to preserve their strength. Now that they knew he had settled down in Canghai County, they quietly came to look for him.
Meng Yuning thought of the original book, which also mentioned that these people were loyal to Qi Jingyan and each of them was a pillar of talent capable of standing on their own. She admired them and treated them politely and considerately.
And when they saw her, they always bowed solemnly and were very respectful.
Qi Jingyan became busier and busier, and sometimes he would secretly leave the house for several days. The longest time he was away was half a month before returning.
Meng Yuning stayed at the mansion with Yi'er, worried day and night, unable to enjoy her food or sleep. In just half a month, she had lost a lot of weight.
When Qi Jingyan returned home exhausted, he was full of energy and in high spirits.
Seeing her haggard face, he was slightly startled at first, then he reached out and rubbed the top of her head, laughing softly, "How did you get so thin? Yi'er is more open-minded and courageous. I think that boy has gained more than a pound."
Meng Yuning angrily slapped his hand away and glared at him, secretly annoyed that she had worried for nothing.
Fortunately, after that, even if Qi Jingyan went out again, he would return within three to five days at most. He always arranged everything in the mansion perfectly, without a single mistake. Over time, she gradually got used to it.
After completing the mourning period five days ago, Qi Jingyan was about to head to the mountains again.
This time, not only was he going himself, he was also taking Yi'er with him.
In fact, he had invited Meng Yuning to go with him, but she didn't even think twice and immediately declined. She didn't want to know too much about the secrets in the deep mountains and dense forests.
Qi Jingyan had invited her once before, but she refused. He didn't say anything that time, but just smiled and said that she could go again in the future.
But this time, maybe she was just being overly suspicious, but she saw his eyes dimmed slightly, and the smile on the corner of his lips faded a little, as if he was a little unhappy.
Seeing that he looked unhappy, she quickly found an excuse to explain, "I've been feeling a bit lazy these past few days. I'm afraid I can't handle the fatigue of traveling, so I want to rest well at home."
Then he added a perfunctory and soft remark, "When the time is right, I will definitely go with Your Highness."
Upon hearing this, Qi Jingyan showed surprise on his face, then his brows relaxed and he gently told her to take good care of the child.
Before leaving, he went to the kitchen on purpose, and soon brought back a white porcelain bowl filled with boiling hot brown sugar ginger tea.
He carefully placed the tea bowl in her palm, made sure she held it firmly, and then left with Yi'er.
When he reached the door, he suddenly turned back and whispered, "Everything was fine, how come things are messed up again? I'll bring Doctor Tang back this time and ask him to prescribe some medicine for you to take care of yourself. I'll be away for a while, so if you still want to go to the restaurant, be careful not to tire yourself out."
After saying that, he reached out and rubbed her head again, then turned and left.
Meng Yuning held the still slightly warm brown sugar water and looked at the tall and straight back. Only then did she realize that he had misunderstood her excuse as her period.
Thinking that he remembered even such a day clearly, my face couldn't help but feel hot, and the fingertips holding the tea bowl curled up slightly.
Thinking of what happened that day, Meng Yuning's hands that were tidying up her clothes unconsciously stopped, and her face felt hot again.
It's so embarrassing.
Meng Yuning was lost in thought as she stared at a wardrobe of clothes. Meng Jin, who was standing beside her, asked softly, "Miss, is there something wrong with these clothes?"
Meng Yuning came back to his senses, closed the wardrobe door, turned around and walked out: "Nothing, let's go, I'm a little tired, let's go back and take a nap."
Meng Jin agreed, and together with Meng Yin, accompanied Meng Yuning back to Jingxinzhai.
In the past two years, Qi Jingyan has been trying to separate Yier and let him sleep alone, but Yier just refuses. Sometimes he hugs Meng Yuning and cries, and sometimes he sits there alone and sulks.
Meng Yuning felt distressed when she saw this, and she couldn't bear to leave Yi'er, so she always softened her heart to protect and speak up for Yi'er, so the matter was put on hold.
But in February this year, after Yi'er's sixth birthday, Qi Jingyan brought up the old matter again, saying that he wanted to give Yi'er a separate room, and this time his attitude was very serious, with unquestionable majesty.
Yi'er has indeed grown a lot taller now. Unknowingly, he has grown from that soft little baby into a handsome little boy who can hold the reins and ride a horse.
Thinking that they would have to leave Beijing sooner or later, and that she and Yi'er would be separated sooner or later, Meng Yuning hardened her heart this time and joined in persuading Yi'er.
Yi'er was very sad, but finally agreed. However, the little guy asked to sleep in the west wing that she had arranged before. Meng Yuning naturally agreed and said that although she would move to Jingxinzhai, she would still coax him to sleep before leaving every night.
Yier agreed with red eyes, and then the two of them started to move their things and officially separated that night.
That night, Meng Yuning sat by the bed, coaxed Yi'er to sleep, and tucked in his little tiger-head quilt. Then she quietly left and returned to Jingxinzhai.
For more than three years, she has been sleeping with Yi'er and Qi Jingyan. She was really not used to the sudden absence of someone by her side.
During the first few nights after they separated, she often reached out to grab Yi'er in a half-asleep state, but always found nothing. Sometimes she subconsciously called out "Your Highness", but no one responded.
During that period, I always felt like there was a piece missing in my heart, it was empty and I felt so uncomfortable.
What's strange is that Qi Jingyan's face didn't look good during that period. He always had a sour face, as if someone owed him eight million taels of silver.
Once she couldn't help it and asked him what was wrong, but he didn't say a word. He just looked at her gloomily for a while, then turned around and left.
She thought this person was really inexplicable. However, she was a big-hearted person. As long as it wasn't her fault, she didn't bother to care about it. She could be angry as much as she wanted.
She lived alone in Jingxinzhai. After getting over the initial discomfort, she found that sleeping alone was really comfortable. The bed was so big that she could sleep sideways or upright as she pleased. It was so comfortable.
Thinking about all sorts of things, Meng Yuning returned to Jingxinzhai and asked Meng Jin and the others to rest. She took off her shoes and lay down on the bed.
Meng Yuning had been busy at the restaurant for half the day, and it was already afternoon when she returned to the mansion. Thinking that Qi Jingyan and Yi'er would be returning today, she specially packed up his newly tailored clothes and personally delivered them to his room.
I lay down on the bed and felt tired all over. I closed my eyes and fell asleep in a short while.
I slept until the sun was setting. Just as I opened my eyes, I heard Mu Ying whisper outside, "Miss, are you awake?"
Meng Yuning sat up: "Come in and talk."
Mu Ying walked in briskly, her eyes smiling. "Miss, His Highness and the Little Prince have already returned home, and they're sending someone to invite you over."
"Okay, I'll be there right away." Meng Yuning showed a happy expression on her face. She quickly got up, put on her clothes, combed her hair and walked out.
Before she was halfway there, she saw Yi'er, dressed in a light blue brocade robe and clutching a handful of gorgeous wildflowers, running towards her like the wind. Before she even got close, she called out joyfully, "Aning, Aning, Yi'er is back."
Meng Yuning smiled and stretched out her arms, waiting for the little boy to jump into her arms. She hugged him and spun him around twice, and they both laughed out loud.
Meng Yuning put Yi'er back on the ground, touched his head and looked him over: "Are you tired after going out this time?"
"Not tired, it's fun." Yi'er shook his head and said excitedly, then handed the wildflowers in his hand to An Ning: "An Ning, here you go, I picked them on the road, don't they look beautiful?"
Meng Yuning took it and said with a smile, "It looks great. Thank you, Yi'er."
Yi'er smiled happily, holding An Ning's hand and walking forward, while he enthusiastically told her about what he had seen and heard on this trip.
The two of them returned to Yanfu Residence, chatting and laughing, and saw Qi Jingyan sitting on the couch drinking tea. Seeing Meng Yuning coming, he picked up the small brocade box thrown on the couch and handed it to Meng Yuning.
Meng Yuning took it and opened it. "Another gold bar."
Qi Jingyan smiled and said, "There's nothing else on the mountain, but we did kill a few pheasants and rabbits. Mu Feng has already taken them to the kitchen and asked Mu Shan to cook them."
Meng Yuning smiled and said yes.
Seeing that the two of them were covered in dust, he quickly arranged for someone to boil water and prepare water. Qi Jingyan went straight to the main house's clean room to take a bath, while Yier obediently went to the west wing's ear room to take a bath.
Since the end of last winter, Yier suddenly felt embarrassed to let Aning bathe him, and now he bathes himself.
Meng Yuning put the little guy's clothes away and gave him a few more instructions, asking him not to take too long to wash so as not to catch a cold. Then he went out to the kitchen to cook.
Although it was still early, thinking that the two of them had been tired from the long journey and had not had lunch, Meng Yuning waited for the meal to be ready before taking someone to bring the lunch boxes back to Yan Fuju.
Seeing that the two brothers had washed and changed their clothes, Meng Yuning set the table and the three of them sat around the table to have dinner together.
The three of them finished their meal quietly and moved to the couch to drink tea. Yi'er lay affectionately on Aning's legs. Meng Yuning gently touched his little hand and listened to him speak.
"A Ning, my brother said that we will be returning to Beijing in a while."
Meng Yuning was slightly startled when she heard this, and couldn't help but sigh softly in her heart. What was supposed to come, would eventually come.
Over the past six months, Qi Jingyan's plans have been progressing smoothly. In fact, she has long known that the time of separation is not far away.
In the past few months, the house she bought has been decorated and can be moved in at any time. She has been planning to find a time to move out.
And now, it's time to leave.
She couldn't bear to leave Yi'er, her brothers, Mu Ying, Mu Li, and Doctor Tang, and of course, she couldn't bear to leave Qi Jingyan.
She lived alone in Jingxinzhai. Whenever she couldn't sleep late at night, she would feel sad when she thought about parting with everyone, and sometimes she would even cry.
But she had already made up her mind that a short pain is worse than a long one. If she moved out before Qi Jingyan and Yi'er left Canghai County, everyone would not be so sad when they left.
Because she was mentally prepared and had been preparing for so long, her homesickness had been diluted a lot, and at this moment her heart was filled with more longing and expectation for a new life in the future.
Meng Yuning pondered over it for a long time, and finally looked at Qi Jingyan and said tactfully: "Your Highness, Mu Shan and the others have already mastered the dishes that you and Yi'er like to eat. Now, I hardly have to help cook any dish."
She paused, then continued, "It doesn't seem right for me to just sit around and eat for free. How about..."
Qi Jingyan paused slightly as he twirled the teacup in his hand, raised his eyes to look at her, and unexpectedly interrupted her for the first time: "A Ning, when do you think it's appropriate?"
Is he so easy to talk to? Meng Yuning's eyes lit up and she said happily, "Why not, let's do it today?"
It was not dark yet, so there was still time to move. They couldn't leave quickly anyway. If they couldn't finish moving today, she could just move slowly.
Qi Jingyan's lips curled up unconsciously, and his voice was so soft that it seemed as if water could be squeezed out of it: "Okay, as you say."
Meng Yuning didn't expect that he deserved such a pleasure. He was happy and smiled happily.
Qi Jingyan also smiled, but said nothing more. He stood up and walked out, "Yier, come with me to the Qingke Hall."
"Oh, here I come." Yi'er climbed up from Aning's lap obediently and trotted to keep up with his brother.
After the two brothers left, Meng Yuning immediately lifted up her skirt and ran towards Jingxinzhai with brisk steps.
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