Chapter 18 018 Black Cloak
Chapter 18
Seeing that the big and small ones were still praising him, Qi Jingyan spoke with a bit of helplessness in his tone: "Go see if the bamboo tube can be used."
"Oh, okay." Meng Yuning responded, walked around him, picked up the four thick bamboo tubes and looked at them one by one. She found that the bamboo joints were intact and could be used to hold water.
She smiled and looked up at him: "Your Highness, everything is fine."
Qi Jingyan: "Then go get some water."
Meng Yuning carried the two bamboo tubes back to the house, put them into the bathtub, filled them with water and took them out again. She then carried them out of the house, walked to the edge of the platform and poured the water down.
After doing this seven or eight times, the water in the tub was finally empty, and she walked out holding the tub.
Qi Jingyan sat in a wheelchair, quietly watching her busying herself in and out. Now he saw her staggering out carrying a large wooden barrel, unable to see the road. The barrel even bumped against the door frame, and she uttered a cry and took two steps back. He couldn't help but remind her, "Watch your step."
"Don't worry, I'm watching." Meng Yuning struggled to pull the wooden barrel out of the door, then put it on the ground, stood it on its side, and turned it towards the spring.
Seeing that she was having fun spinning, Yier ran over to watch.
Qi Jingyan: "Where are we moving to?"
Meng Yuning: "I'll take it and wash it."
Qi Jingyan: "Just put it there and let them wash it later."
Meng Yuning continued to turn the wooden barrel: "It's okay, I'm free now, so I washed it."
Seeing that she insisted, Qi Jingyan stopped talking, but his eyes remained on her, never moving away.
Meng Yuning moved the wooden barrel to the side of the spring, took out the two bamboo tubes that had just been placed in the barrel to collect water, and poured it into the barrel. Then, she casually picked up two handfuls of wild grass and used them as brushes to clean the barrel inside and out. She also washed the bamboo tubes, and then used the same method to move the barrel back to the wooden house.
After being busy and chattering for a long time, I was sweating and my cheeks were red.
She wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand, then stood up with her hands on her hips. When she looked up, she saw Qi Jingyan looking at her quietly with an ambiguous look.
Meng Yuning smiled, too lazy to guess what his eyes meant.
Anyway, as long as he doesn't kill her and doesn't abandon her, he can do whatever he wants with the rest.
You can't pretend to be a weak, lazy young lady who doesn't know how to work just to hide your identity, right? Wouldn't that make life too tiring?
Of course, if he asked her why she suddenly had to do so much work, she would say that she had encountered a major change and had given up her identity as the eldest daughter of the Shangshu Mansion.
She went back to the house to get the clothes she had changed into, walked to the spring, found a clean stone to use as a washboard, washed the clothes, wrung them out after washing, and walked back to the cabin, only to find that there was no clothesline.
She looked around and saw a pile of lush weeds on the edge of the platform, so she walked over, pulled some down with her hands, twisted it in her hands, and found that it had not faded. Then she put the washed clothes on one by one, smoothed them out, and finally covered the pink shirt and panties underneath with her outer shirt.
After finishing all these, Meng Yuning started thinking about the mattress again. She looked around the wooden house and finally set her eyes on the lush weeds on the hillside. So she walked over with a bamboo stick in one hand and a kitchen knife in the other.
He first used a bamboo stick to hit the grass, which was more than one meter tall, back and forth a few times. Seeing that no snakes or insects came out, he threw away the bamboo stick and started cutting them one by one with a kitchen knife.
She cut two large piles, then carried them back to the flat ground in front of the cabin in several batches and spread them out to dry.
Qi Jingyan's eyes followed this energetic woman who kept spinning like a top. Finally, he couldn't help but ask again, "What's the purpose of this?"
Meng Yuning squatted on the ground, spreading the weeds, without raising her head. “My bed is too hard. I want to dry some grass and use it as a mattress.”
Doctor Tang said that they would stay in the mountains for a month or so, and she didn't want to sleep on that hard bed all the time.
Seeing that Qi Jingyan didn't reply, she continued, "Don't worry, Your Highness. I'll go cut some more and dry them in the sun later, and then spread them on your beds. They'll be soft for sleeping."
Qi Jingyan looked at her for a while, and thinking of her curled up in a small ball on the bed next to him last night, he suddenly said, "Mu Yun."
Mu Yun quickly jumped out of the dense woods, ran a few steps to Qi Jingyan, and bowed, saying, "Your Highness."
Meng Yuning was startled when she saw the man who suddenly appeared before her. She had thought Mu Yun and the others had gone into the mountains to look for mountain goods, but she hadn't expected him to be hiding nearby.
But it's also true that they are disabled, small and weak. How could Mu Yun and the others leave them here alone?
Qi Jingyan ordered: "Send someone to the nearby town to buy some bedding."
Mu Yun: "Yes, I'll send someone to do it right away."
After saying that, he blew a loud whistle towards the mountains. Soon, two guards rushed out of the woods again. Mu Yun took out a purse from his arms, took out a silver note, and whispered a few words. The two took it, turned around and walked back to the woods, found another companion, and the three of them ran out of the mountain.
Seeing that Qi Jingyan had no further instructions, Mu Yun walked over to the pile of bamboo and started to deal with it.
Meng Yuning looked up at Qi Jingyan and said sincerely, "Your Highness, thank you for buying me bedding."
Qi Jingyan: "Since you've come with me, I won't let you go cold or hungry."
Meng Yuning smiled and said, "Thank you, Your Highness."
She had wanted to cut some more grass, but now there was no need, so she sat on the spread grass, tilted her head slightly, squinted her eyes and basked in the sun. As she basked in the sun, the corners of her mouth curled up.
If you don’t want to live in the future, such a peaceful and sunny day is also good.
Qi Jingyan stared at Meng Yuning's smiling face for a while, the corners of his mouth rose uncontrollably, and he also raised his head slightly and looked at the sky.
When Yier saw his brother laughing, he laughed too.
Then he looked at Meng Yuning who was sitting leisurely on the grass, and sat down too.
Seeing the little boy sitting on the edge, Meng Yuning pulled a handful of grass and spread it next to herself, then patted the grass and said, "Little Prince, there's plenty of grass here, come sit here."
The little boy stood up again, moved back with his little butt sticking out, and sat down next to Meng Yuning.
After sitting down, he turned his head to look at her, his voice full of childishness, his face serious: "Miss Meng, thank you for your help."
That old-fashioned look and the tone of his voice are exactly the same as Qi Jingyan's. He is simply a smaller version of him.
Meng Yuning couldn't help laughing, and her voice unconsciously became hushed: "Your Highness, you can call me An Ning."
The little boy looked at Qi Jingyan. After Qi Jingyan nodded, he looked at Meng Yuning again: "A Ning?"
Meng Yuning smiled and replied, "Hey."
The little boy was infected by her smile, and then he introduced himself politely: "An Ning, I'm Yi'er, you can call me Yi'er."
Meng Yuning: "Your Highness, the rules are here. I'll still call you Your Highness."
Before the little boy could answer, Qi Jingyan spoke first: "It's okay, just call me Yi'er."
Meng Yuning was a little embarrassed: "Will this break the rules?"
Qi Jingyan didn't explain much, just said: "It's okay."
Meng Yuning stopped resisting and tentatively reached out to touch Yi'er's hand: "Yi'er?"
The little boy nodded in response, then asked, "A Ning, is there any meat to eat today?"
Meng Yu stared at the pair of dark eyes full of longing and nodded without hesitation: "Yes, Aning will make something delicious for Yi'er today."
As soon as he finished speaking, Mu Feng came down the mountain with two guards, each holding something in his hand, and they had returned with a full load.
Even Doctor Tang, who was following behind, had a smile on his face and was carrying a large bundle of mixed green plants.
The group piled their things on the ground and saluted Qi Jingyan and Qi Jingyi.
Then Mu Feng invited Meng Yuning over to see it like he was presenting a treasure: "Miss Meng, we're lucky today. We found quite a few things. Please take a look at how they were made so that the brothers can put them away."
Meng Yuning stood up to take a look. Wow, there were three pheasants, two wild rabbits, four or five thick and fat bamboo shoots, two bundles of small wild bamboo shoots, wild shepherd's purse, wild onions, a bag of pheasant eggs, and three big carp jumping around.
Meng Yuning was curious: "How come there are fish on this mountain?"
Mu Feng was still not satisfied: "Over the hill, there is a small river, so we caught these few. We could have caught a lot more, but we didn't catch more because we were afraid they would go bad."
Meng Yuning became interested. "Is it far? How long will it take? Can you guys go up the mountain tomorrow and take me with you?"
Mu Feng didn't dare to agree directly, and subconsciously looked at his prince.
Meng Yuning followed Mu Feng's gaze and knew that wherever she wanted to go, she needed Qi Jingyan's permission.
So I asked him directly: "Your Highness, can I go with you tomorrow? I want to see if there is anything else to eat."
Qi Jingyan nodded: "Go ahead."
Meng Yuning smiled at him: "Thank you, Your Highness."
Doctor Tang put his pile of herbs aside, found a wooden stool to sit on, and began to pick them. "Meng girl, what are you going to make for lunch tonight?"
Meng Yuning quickly analyzed the ingredients and the remaining seasonings and decided on today's menu: "Braised chicken with fresh bamboo shoots, using those small bamboo shoots, then braised carp, stir-fried shepherd's purse, and scrambled eggs with wild onions."
After saying that, he looked at Yi'er and saw that the little boy was staring at the two gray rabbits that were struggling even though their feet were tied. So he said, "These vegetables should be enough for today. Why don't we keep those two rabbits for now?"
There was nothing for the child to play with in the wild mountains and wilderness. He had been playing with the small animals made of dogtail grass for half a day. These two little rabbits just happened to help him relieve his boredom so that he wouldn't always stay in Qi Jingyan's arms and stare blankly.
Hearing her words, Yi'er's eyes lit up. He picked out the two straw bunnies in his hand, walked forward to compare them, and looked at Meng Yuning: "Are these real bunnies?"
Meng Yuning nodded and squatted next to Yi'er: "Yes, this is a real little rabbit. Yi'er, do you want to raise it first?"
The little boy nodded his head: "Keep it."
Meng Yuning smiled and said, "Okay, then keep it."
Seeing that the little prince was happy, Mu Feng and the others also became happy, "Little prince, if you want to raise a rabbit, then raise one. Let's make a rabbit cage now."
A few people got to work right away. They went to the mountain and cut some thin branches and vines nearby to make cages for the two little rabbits.
Meng Yuning was not idle either. Seeing that it was almost time, she started to prepare food. Seeing this, Mu Yun called two guards to help Meng Yuning.
The other guards came back one after another, carrying bamboo and wood for building the house. They brought them back and then went in to move them. Soon, a large pile of bamboo and wood was piled up in the open space in front of the wooden house.
After the materials were delivered, everyone got busy chopping bamboo and wood. Then they marked out three areas behind the wooden house, cleaned them up, and used the stones and wood they found to build a foundation half a leg high from the ground. Then they started to build the house.
Meng Yuning took a few moments to watch how they were processing the ingredients, and was once again amazed. These people were truly amazing and could do anything.
With the help of two guards, Meng Yuning worked much faster and finished preparing the meal in less than an hour.
The guards had already built a house. Since it was a temporary residence and they were not planning to live there permanently, the house was built very simply, with three walls and a sloping roof. Later, the roof would be covered with thatch, which would be enough to provide shelter from wind and rain.
Meng Yuning first served the food to the two princes and then left some food for the guards who went out to buy bedding, and then invited everyone to eat.
We have been eating almost all these dishes these days, and they are so delicious that we never get tired of them. Everyone is busy eating and feels a little full at the end.
Meng Yuning was no exception. She put down her bowl and chopsticks, hugged her stomach and sat on the weeds that were drying in the sun. She felt sleepy as she was exposed to the warm spring sunshine.
After eating and drinking, Yi'er climbed into Qi Jingyan's arms as usual, nodded his little head, and dozed off.
Seeing both of them like this, Qi Jingyan said, "Let's take a break."
The guards responded by dispersing and finding places to rest.
Mu Yun and Mu Shan carried Qi Jingyan and his wheelchair into the wooden house.
Meng Yuning waited for the two of them to come out, then followed them into the house. She saw Qi Jingyan already lying on the bed holding Yi'er.
She walked over to her small bamboo bed and found that it was covered with a very thick-looking black cloak.
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