Chapter 110 The Imperial Decree Arrives
Chapter 110
When Yi'er heard that Aning didn't plan to move back, her face immediately fell: "Okay then."
Meng Yuning raised her eyes to look at Qi Jingyan, but saw that he looked normal. She simply reached out and gently patted Yi'er's shoulder, saying softly, "It's okay. You won't be staying here for much longer anyway."
Upon hearing this, Yi'er's eyes lit up and she immediately became happy again: "Yes, we will be returning to the capital soon!"
Qi Jingyan nodded with a smile: "That's right."
After the three of them finished their breakfast, they waited for Meng Jin and his men to clear away the dishes and chopsticks, then moved to the couch by the window and sat down to drink tea.
After a cup of tea, Qi Jingyan looked at Yi'er and said softly, "Go to the east side room to review your lessons first. I'll talk to An Ning for a few words before we go to the Qingke Hall."
Yier shook her head and didn't want to leave: "Yier wants to listen too."
Qi Jingyan held the teacup and looked at him quietly, with a sense of majesty without being angry.
Yi'er hesitated for a moment, and finally responded "yes" obediently. He stood up reluctantly, saluted the two of them in a formal manner, then turned around and took small steps towards the east room.
Meng Yuning looked at the polite young man's back, her eyes full of smiles. It was not until Yi'er left the room that she looked at Qi Jingyan and asked softly, "What does Your Highness want to tell me?"
Qi Jingyan's expression straightened slightly as he whispered, "I estimate that in ten days or half a month, the Imperial Grandmother's decree will arrive in the capital, summoning us back to the capital to serve His Majesty."
"As soon as the imperial edict arrives, we must depart immediately. The journey is long, time is tight, and there may be trouble along the way, so we must make arrangements early."
"I'll take care of all the outside affairs, and I'll have to trouble An Ning to take care of all the affairs in the mansion."
Although Meng Yuning knew that Emperor Kangwen had fallen ill as described in the original book, she had no idea he would pass away so soon. She looked surprised and asked, "So soon?"
Qi Jingyan nodded: "Yes, the situation in the capital is changing rapidly, it is better to act sooner rather than later."
Meng Yuning's expression also grew serious, and he nodded solemnly, "Your Highness, rest assured. I will carefully arrange for the food, clothing, and daily expenses you will need for this trip."
"Then I'll have to trouble An Ning." Qi Jingyan said, and naturally took Meng Yuning's hand across the table. With a gentle pull, he led her in front of him and held her to sit on his lap.
Meng Yuning's face flushed slightly. She symbolically struggled twice and said in a low voice, "Your Highness, in broad daylight, is behaving so unbecomingly. What will happen if someone sees us?"
Qi Jingyan chuckled softly and put his arm around her waist firmly: "Don't worry, no one will come to disturb you."
Meng Yuning gave up struggling and leaned into his arms with a sweet feeling in her heart. She looked up and asked, "Your Highness, is there anything else you want to tell me?"
Qi Jingyan smiled, holding her in one hand and playing with her slender fingers in his other hand. "Those are the main affairs of the mansion. However, if there is anything to do with the mansion and restaurant that Ah Ning has bought outside, it must be done secretly to avoid attracting attention and causing trouble."
Meng Yuning was reluctant to sell her house, and Qi Jingyan's words were exactly what she wanted. Upon hearing this, she nodded quickly and said, "Let's keep the house for now."
"The restaurant will run until the day we leave. I'll then quietly hand it over to Sister Bai to manage, and all profits will belong to her. If the business doesn't perform well and can't continue, we'll just close it down."
Qi Jingyan gently rubbed his chin against her forehead and replied, "Okay, I'll do as An Ning wishes."
Meng Yuning thought of something else and looked up and asked, "What should we do with all the items in this mansion?"
"I'm returning to the capital to attend to my illness, so I shouldn't publicize it," Qi Jingyan said thoughtfully. "I'll only take the most important belongings with me. Leave everything else as it is, to avoid arousing suspicion."
Meng Yuning nodded: "Okay."
A few months ago, Qi Jingyan secretly sent people to escort Lin Wang's wife and Ping'an into the mountains to reunite with Lin Wang and Aunt Lin, saying that they would stay in the mountains temporarily and would arrange for them to go to Beijing in the future.
As for the witnesses who were rescued from Zui Xiang Lou at that time, Qi Jingyan had arranged for them to be secretly escorted to Beijing and resettled a year ago.
Now, in this mansion, apart from some honest and hardworking servants that Mu Yun bought later, who usually do some rough work like sweeping the courtyard and can be left behind to guard the house, there are no other idle people in the mansion.
When they returned to Beijing, Mu Ying and Mu Li would naturally follow. The four of them, Meng Jin and Meng Yin, together with the two little girls, A Chan, now took care of all the affairs around her. In addition, they were all poor homeless girls, so naturally they had to be taken along.
Thinking about the approaching departure date and the many things that needed to be prepared, Meng Yuning made a move to stand up, "No, time is so tight and there are so many things to do. I have to hurry and get things done."
Qi Jingyan slightly retracted his arm, gently pressed her back into his arms, and whispered, "There's no rush. Sit with me for a while and talk."
Meng Yuning thought he had something else to tell her, so she looked up at him and said, "Your Highness, is there anything else I can do for you?"
Qi Jingyan pretended to be in deep thought, gently stroking her delicate fingers with his fingertips, and said in a long tone: "Let me think carefully..."
In fact, he had already said almost everything he wanted to say, but he was just greedy for the warmth in her arms and was reluctant to let her go.
Meng Yuning quietly leaned in his arms, looking up and waiting for his next words. But as she waited, she saw the man's eyes darken, and suddenly he leaned over, his warm lips touching hers.
She had no time to react and could only take the sudden kiss in a daze, her cheeks suddenly burning.
Then she thought of Yi'er in the east room, her heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly reached out and gently pushed his shoulder.
Qi Jingyan raised his head, gently stroked her flushed cheek with his fingertips, and asked in a low voice: "What's wrong?"
Meng Yuning glanced towards the east side room, her cheeks flushed, and her voice was barely audible: "Yier is still there."
Qi Jingyan chuckled softly, and lifted her up steadily with his arms. He walked to the door, gently closed it, and bolted it. Then he carried her back to the couch and sat down, kissing her again without saying anything.
Meng Yuning pushed him away twice, but seeing that he was as still as a mountain, she had no choice but to wrap her arms around his neck and let him do what he wanted...
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In the east room, Yi'er flipped through the book for a while, but he felt like there was a little claw scratching his heart, and he always felt that something was wrong.
In the past, when my brother talked to An Ning, he never avoided him, let alone sent him away on purpose. But today, he actually sent him here to read, which was really unusual.
Could it be that his brother and An Ning are hiding some secret from him?
The more the little guy thought about it, the more he couldn't sit still. He simply put down the book and quietly slipped off the chair.
He tiptoed to the door and peeked out. Sure enough, the door of the west room was closed tightly.
The little guy curled his lips and snorted in his heart, thinking that there must be something strange about closing the door in broad daylight.
Yi'er walked to the door of the west room and gently patted the door with his hand: "Brother, are you still talking? When are we going to the Qingke Hall?"
Hearing Yi'er's voice, Meng Yuning, who was dizzy from the kiss, suddenly pushed Qi Jingyan away and signaled him with her eyes to respond quickly.
But Qi Jingyan was still not satisfied, his eyes still lingered on her lips that were shining with moisture, and he pursed his lips without saying a word.
Yi'er waited outside the door for a moment, but received no response. His eyes rolled around and he said, "An Ning, Yi'er is thirsty and wants to drink some water."
Meng Yuning wanted to answer, but she was still breathing heavily and was afraid that she would reveal her flaws if she spoke, so she didn't dare to speak at this moment.
The little guy put his ear to the door and listened for a long time but there was no sound. He couldn't help but reached out to push the door, but found that the door was bolted from the inside!
This is the first time that the door is locked in broad daylight.
Yi'er's lips pouted, and he immediately concluded that the two of them must be plotting something behind his back.
A feeling of being excluded surged in his heart. He raised his voice angrily and slammed the door: "Brother, Aning, Yi'er knows you are in there, open the door quickly!"
Meng Yuning quickly took a few deep breaths, suppressed her disordered breathing, and before Yi'er got angry, she said loudly, "Yi'er, wait a moment, An Ning will be here soon."
After saying that, she hurriedly got up from Qi Jingyan's arms, quickly straightened her slightly wrinkled clothes, raised her hand to smooth down her slightly messy hair, turned around and whispered to him, "Is everything okay?"
Qi Jingyan's smile remained, and he soothed her gently, "Everything is fine, An Ning, don't worry."
Seeing that he still had the nerve to smile, Meng Yuning couldn't help but glare at him in reproach, then she quickly walked to the door, raised her hand to unbolt the door, and opened it.
Sure enough, Xiao Yier was standing at the door with his cheeks puffed out, his big eyes full of dissatisfaction and grievance.
She quickly squatted down, gently took Yi'er's hand, and asked softly, "Yi'er, have you finished reading the book?"
Yi'er had originally made up her mind that if her brother came to open the door, she would kick him to vent her anger.
Seeing that it was An Ning who came, her anger immediately turned into grievance. She leaned into her arms and said with a pout, "An Ning, why didn't you open the door for Yi Er just now?"
Meng Yuning felt a pang of fear in her heart, and she quickly stroked the back of the little boy's head, explaining in a gentle voice, "A Ning was just discussing something important with her brother, and she was worried that someone might accidentally barge in."
Yi'er felt even more aggrieved when she heard this, and her eyes turned slightly red: "Are An Ning and brother on guard against Yi'er?"
Meng Yuning thought to herself that this child was getting harder to fool as he got older, and hurriedly explained, "How is that possible? I wouldn't be on guard against Yi'er if I were on guard against anyone else."
Qi Jingyan walked over calmly at this moment, stretched out his hand and patted Yi'er on the shoulder: "A real man should be upright and magnanimous. Don't act like you have been wronged all the time. Let's go, it's time to go to the Qingke Hall."
Meng Yuning glared at Qi Jingyan, then leaned over and took Yi'er into her arms, hugged her tightly, and coaxed her softly, "Yi'er, be good and go to class with your brother first. When we come back at noon, I'll cook something delicious for you myself, okay?"
Only then did Yier nod obediently and followed Qi Jingyan.
Meng Yuning stood in the corridor, watching the two brothers walk further and further away. Until they were out of sight, she raised her hand to cover the corners of her lips and couldn't help laughing.
Time passed quickly. Just as Meng Yuning had finished preparing the things she wanted, the Empress Dowager's decree arrived.
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