Chapter 13 013 Carefully Planned
Chapter 13
She was not afraid of what Qi Jingyan would do to her. Not to mention that his legs were broken and he had difficulty walking, so it was inconvenient for him to do anything.
For example, in the original book, he returned to the capital and became the powerful regent. Countless people offered all kinds of beauties to him, but he rejected them all. Until his death, he didn't even have a concubine by his side, and of course, he didn't leave any offspring.
This shows that he has no interest in women at all.
What's more, as for her, the "daughter of his enemy", he must have wanted to kill her as soon as possible.
Even though he was broad-minded and disdained to vent his anger on a little girl like her, she had a hunch that if she didn't know how to cook, he probably wouldn't have taken her with him to the mountains this time. He would probably have just thrown her somewhere and left her to fend for herself.
Meng Yuning is very self-aware when it comes to her own identity.
She didn't really want to sleep in the same room with him, mainly because she felt that even when this man was sitting peacefully, he gave people an invisible pressure, especially the way he looked at her, which always carried an inexplicable scrutiny, making her inexplicably nervous and her hair stand on end.
In the past, she often dreamed at night about all sorts of things, all kinds of strange and bizarre dreams, and she could still remember most of them when she woke up the next day.
There’s nothing wrong with dreaming, the biggest problem is that she sometimes talks in her sleep.
Yesterday she rode a horse and cooked two big pot meals in a row. She was obviously exhausted, but after sleeping in the carriage for a whole night, her dreams still did not stop.
I just don't know if she still talks in her sleep now.
The room was so small, and the original wooden bed already took up almost half of the space. Even if we put another bed in for her, there wouldn't be much space left between the two beds.
If she muttered something, Qi Jingyan might hear it. If she said something else, she might even lose her life.
But if she doesn't sleep in the same room with him, where can she sleep?
She had just looked outside and there was indeed no place suitable for her to sleep. She couldn't sleep in the open air with those guards.
There are snakes, insects, rats and ants everywhere in the wild mountains and wilderness. She doesn't have the time and is not alert enough. She might fall asleep in the middle of the night and get bitten to death.
So, no matter how you look at it, Qi Jingyan's arrangement is the most reasonable.
How about, tonight, when she goes to sleep, she makes a simple mask with a handkerchief and covers her mouth with it? That way, even if she talks in her sleep, it will only be unclear and she won't have to worry about anyone overhearing.
Meng Yuning had a lot of thoughts in her mind.
But the master and servant acted as if she didn't exist, with no intention of asking for her opinion. They exchanged a few more words, and the guard responded one by one, "Then I'll go find some materials to make a bed."
After Qi Jingyan nodded, the guard turned around and went out, heading straight up the mountain.
Meng Yuning, who was standing at the door holding a bag, said: "..."
Well, since it was a foregone conclusion, it was useless for her, who had no say, to think about it, so she walked into the house.
Mu Feng untied the Seventeenth Prince's tiger-head quilt, gently placed the little boy on the bed, and bowed to Qi Jingyan: "Your Highness, please rest first. I will go and prepare some food."
Upon hearing this, Meng Yuning placed her bag on the only table in the room and said, "I'll go help too."
After saying that, he followed Mu Feng and walked out the door quickly.
Mu Feng was straightforward, easy to understand, and had the heart of a child. Mu Yun was calm and kind, always polite and courteous to her. Mu Shan was honest and sincere, always answering every question. Even the eccentric Dr. Tang's attitude towards her changed significantly after eating her cooking.
Rather than staring at the man with a calm face and inquiring eyes, she would rather stay with the guards, even if it means working.
Qi Jingyan glanced at the fleeing figure, then reached out and hugged Yi'er, who was sitting obediently on the bed clutching the quilt. "Is my brother scary?"
The little boy was sleepy and tired, and didn't understand what he said. He just echoed out of habit: "Brother is terrible."
Qi Jingyan raised the corner of his mouth somewhat helplessly, and said in a gentle tone: "Yier, are you tired?"
The little boy nodded his head: "Yier is tired."
Qi Jingyan asked again: "Are you hungry?"
The little boy nodded again: "Yier is hungry."
Qi Jingyan gently touched his head: "There will be food in a while."
The little boy looked up at him and asked, "Is there any delicious meat?"
Qi Jingyan: “Yes.”
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When Meng Yuning went outside, she saw that everyone was already busy.
The two guards brought a few flat stones from somewhere, built a simple stove, and made a rack with branches to hang things.
Soon someone picked up some dry firewood nearby, put it under the stove, and lit the fire.
Doctor Tang pulled out a pottery jar for boiling medicine from his precious wooden box. "Now that we're away from the people following us, it can finally be put to use. Where's the water? This time, I'm going to boil medicine for your Highness."
Mu Feng pointed to the mountain wall behind the wooden house and said, "Doctor Tang, there is a spring there."
"Okay." Doctor Tang walked to the back of the wooden house with the pottery jar in his arms. Meng Yuning followed him: "I'll go take a look too."
When I got closer, I saw a clear mountain spring flowing down the steep stone wall, hitting the stone slabs and making a splashing sound, and then flowing down the mountain through the cracks in the rocks.
After climbing such a long mountain road, Meng Yuning was already very thirsty. She washed her hands first, then scooped up a mouthful and drank it all in one gulp.
The spring water is clear and sweet. After taking a sip, my fatigue is greatly reduced.
Meng Yuning was pleasantly surprised and drank two sips in a row. Then she said to Tang He, who was squatting nearby and cleaning a pottery jar with a handful of wild grass, "Doctor Tang, you must be thirsty too. I'll wash the pottery jar. You can drink two sips first."
Doctor Tang didn't stop washing: "No need, I'll be done soon."
Before he finished speaking, he threw the weeds to the side of the mountain, rinsed the clay pot several times, filled half a pot of water, carefully placed the clay pot at his feet, reached out to take two handfuls of water and drank it, muttered "This water is okay", stood up and walked back holding the clay pot.
Meng Yuning followed him back and saw that the two guards who were building the stove had already built another one.
Seeing the two of them go back, Mu Yun pointed to the stove where the fire was burning earlier and said, "Doctor Tang, this stove has a smaller opening. I'll use it to boil medicine for you."
Doctor Tang agreed and carefully placed the clay pot filled with water on top. He then took out a bag of herbs from the box, poured them into the clay pot, and sat in front of the stove, watching the fire.
Seeing that the food here was boiling, Mu Yun pointed to the other stove and said, "Miss Meng, this stove is for you to use. I'll need you to help prepare dinner for everyone."
Meng Yuning looked around and began to worry: "I have no problem making it, but I don't have this pot or ingredients. What should I do?"
Mu Yun walked over to the pile of luggage under the wooden house window and said as he unpacked it, "We've brought all the cooking utensils, some salt and rice as well. As for vegetables, my brothers have gone to the mountains to look for game and bamboo shoots. They'll be back soon."
Meng Yuning was stunned as she watched Mu Yun place the things on the ground like magic.
Oh my god, look what this is.
Two iron pots, a kitchen knife, a pair of chopsticks, a stack of bowls, a cooking spatula, a serving spoon, two medium-sized wooden basins stacked together, a cutting board, in addition to these, there was a jar of salt, a jar of oil, two bags of rice, and even the two dried muttons!
No wonder the guards who followed them all carried large packages when they ran away earlier. It turns out that these were all they brought. I have to say that these guards have really good physical strength.
She originally thought that Qi Jingyan had decided to escape on a whim, but it seemed that it was a carefully planned one.
But why did he plan this escape?
Is it because of the butterfly effect caused by her arrival?
After Mu Yun finished taking out all the things, he saw Meng Yuning staring at him in amazement, so he asked, "Miss Meng, do you think these things are enough? If not, I see there are some kitchen utensils in the kitchen of the wooden house. We can borrow them first."
Meng Yuning came back to his senses: "There are only a dozen of us, these are enough."
After saying that, he put the kitchen knife, spoon, shovel and other things into a wooden basin and walked towards the mountain spring. "Mu Yun, bring those two pots over and wash them. Let's cook the porridge first."
Mu Yun did as he was told and called Mu Feng to join them. One of them took the pot and the other took the rice. They went to the spring, washed the pot, washed the rice, added water, and then carried the pot flat to the stove, added firewood, lit the fire, and started to cook porridge.
Meng Yuning washed her hands by the spring. Just as she stood up and walked back with her things, she saw several guards coming out of the woods on the mountainside, carrying things in their hands. They were all beaming with joy. "We shot two pheasants, a rabbit, and dug up some big bamboo shoots."
Mu Fengle ran over happily and took the two pheasants and a still lively rabbit from a guard, laughing loudly: "I can have a good meal tonight."
After that, he mentioned it to Meng Yuning: "Miss Meng, what do you think we should do?"
The other two guards came over, each holding a few plump bamboo shoots in their arms: "Miss Meng, these bamboo shoots are so big."
Meng Yuning was so hungry she felt weak, but when she saw the ingredients, she immediately perked up. She rolled up her sleeves and started planning: "This is bamboo shoots, crispy, tender and delicious, perfect for stewing chicken. This rabbit, let's stir-fry it."
Everyone was already convinced of Meng Yuning's cooking skills, so naturally they had no objections. She didn't have to do anything. The two guards took the two pheasants and rabbits and ran away to kill them, cleaned the internal organs, and took them to the mountain spring water to wash them clean. Then they brought them back and, under Meng Yuning's command, chopped them into small pieces with a kitchen knife before making way.
Meng Yuning peeled four plump white bamboo shoots, washed and cut them, and then, under the expectant gazes of the crowd, she started to heat the oil in a wok...
About half an hour later, a large pot of fragrant pheasant stewed with bamboo shoots was served. A wooden basin was filled to the brim, and the soup was about to spill out.
Mu Shan washed the pot diligently, and Meng Yuning made the stir-fried rabbit meat, which was ready soon.
Meng Yuning and Mu Yun first served porridge and vegetables to Qi Jingyan and Qi Jingyi, and brought them into the wooden house. They left Mu Yun there to take care of them, and Meng Yuning came out to eat with everyone.
Except for the meal in the morning, everyone had not eaten anything after running all day and was already starving.
With the delicious food in front of them, and the dish tasted so fresh, everyone just held their bowls and buried their heads in eating, without saying a word.
When Mu Yun came out with a pile of empty bowls, everyone had finished eating. They held their bowls and smacked their lips, savoring the taste of the food.
Meng Yuning had previously left a large bowl full of rice and vegetables for Mu Yun. Seeing him come out, she stood up and served it to him: "Mu Yun, eat quickly, it's getting cold."
"Thank you, Miss Meng." Mu Yun handed the empty bowl in his hand to someone, took the bowl from Meng Yuning with both hands, sat in front of the fire and started eating.
The guard brothers were very diligent. After they had eaten and drunk their fill, Meng Yuning didn't have to do anything. They scrambled to gather all the pots and pans together and washed them.
The two guards who made the bed for Meng Yuning then went on to make the half-finished bamboo bed.
The other guards were also busy. They used thin bamboo strips cut from the bamboo as brooms to clean the area between the two stoves. Then they lit several fires around them, almost forming a large area including the wooden house into a big fire circle to prevent wild beasts and insects and snakes.
Meng Yuning also wanted to help, but was rejected and told to take a rest, so she sat in front of the stove and watched everyone busy.
Soon, the bamboo couch was ready and the two guards carried it into the house.
Mu Yun said to Meng Yuning, "Miss Meng, the bed is ready. It's getting late, you should go to bed early."
Meng Yuning's heart tightened, but he had no choice but to get up and walk into the house: "Okay."
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