Chapter 35035 Righteous and Confident
Chapter 35
Meng Yuning could no longer remember the last time she was held like a child.
It felt strange and, of course, a little awkward.
Qi Jingyan is probably used to holding Yier in his arms all day long, so he probably treats her as Yier now.
The two of them stared at each other for a while. Meng Yuning looked away uncomfortably, only to find that one of her hands had been placed on his shoulder without her knowing when.
In late spring and early summer, when clothes were thin, she could feel the tight, warm muscles beneath the fabric.
She quickly took her hand away and raised it high as if to avoid suspicion.
The feeling in her hand was gone, but there was still a very strong arm under her butt. She felt uneasy and wanted to jump down, but because he was a person with limited mobility at the moment, she did not dare to move, for fear of accidentally kicking his broken leg.
He pretended to be calm and said, "Your Highness, my leg is almost done. Please put me down and I can walk by myself."
Qi Jingyan turned his gaze away from her face, holding her with one hand and turning the wheel of the wheelchair with the other: "It's okay, I'll carry you over."
Having said that, he forgot that if he pushed the wheel with one hand, the wheelchair would just spin in circles.
Meng Yuning was startled by the sudden spinning and quickly reached out to hold his shoulders.
After a brief silence, Qi Jingyan changed the arm holding Meng Yuning before she could speak, and used the other hand to push the wheel, so the wheelchair turned in another direction.
Meng Yuning: "..."
Qi Jingyan: “…”
The room was completely silent. After a while, the two of them said in unison: "That..."
The two of them stopped at the same time, and Meng Yuning spoke first: "Your Highness, please put me down."
Otherwise, the two of them would probably be walking around in circles all night.
Qi Jingyan coughed lightly, looking a little embarrassed: "Okay."
Then he carefully put her on the ground. When he saw her feet touch the ground, he didn't let go. Instead, he waited until she took a step on tiptoe. Then he said, "Be careful," and let go.
Meng Yuning limped to the bedside with difficulty and sat down on it. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief. She smiled politely at Qi Jingyan and said politely, "Thank you, Your Highness."
Qi Jingyan: "It's just a small favor, there's no need to be so polite, An Ning."
This was originally just a polite greeting, but when Meng Yuning heard the words "it's just a piece of cake", her eyes uncontrollably fell on his two arms that were holding the armrests of the wheelchair.
Although she was a bit thin, she had gained a lot of weight recently and must have weighed at least 70 or 80 kilograms. He held her with one hand, as if it were a piece of cake, effortlessly. One could only say that this man was incredibly strong.
She sat by the bed, the numbness in her legs still not completely gone, so she asked quietly, "Your Highness, is everything okay just now? Is anyone injured?"
Qi Jingyan: "Everything is fine."
In the original plot, every time they encountered an attack, some people would die. Now they were halfway there and everyone was fine. Meng Yuning was very happy: "That's good. I'll make something delicious for everyone tomorrow to celebrate."
Qi Jingyan smiled and said yes.
Meng Yuning then began to praise him: "It was thanks to your Highness's proper deployment that we were able to win the battle."
Qi Jingyan did not take credit for it: "It was all thanks to the efforts of my brothers. Su Yang also helped tonight."
Meng Yuning looked curious: "Ayang? Oh, right, I seemed to hear the sound of a flute earlier. Was that him playing it?"
Seeing her interest, Qi Jingyan explained it to her in detail: "It was him. An Ning, do you remember when we came down from the mountain earlier, he was carrying a bamboo basket."
Meng Yuning nodded: "I remember that he was very secretive and didn't want anyone to see him."
Qi Jingyan: "Yes, there are snakes, scorpions, and centipedes in there."
Meng Yuning rubbed her arms: "Fortunately, I didn't get close."
Qi Jingyan smiled and continued, "The day before yesterday we learned there was an ambush ahead, and we discussed how to deal with it. Ah Yang said he could help, so last night, as soon as those people showed up, he and a few brothers quietly swam to the shore with the bamboo basket. Thanks to his basket of things, it was a great help, otherwise the brothers would have suffered casualties."
Meng Yuning: "Then you must thank him very much."
Qi Jingyan: "Don't worry about it now. There will always be a time to repay him for this favor in the future."
Meng Yuning nodded: "That's true, he will follow us all the way to Lingnan anyway."
Then he asked, "Why did he carry all that stuff all the way down from the mountain? Wouldn't it be better for him to just play the flute here and command his snake soldiers and insect generals?"
Qi Jingyan couldn't help laughing when he heard her new story. "Su Yang said that he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to find so many when he encountered trouble on the road, so he collected some highly toxic ones in the mountains and carried them all the way here, saying that he was prepared for any eventuality."
Meng Yuning praised, "This is truly thoughtful. Your Highness, he truly wants to help us."
Otherwise, if he had let out a few of the things in this bamboo basket, it would have been enough to cause trouble for everyone. It was obvious that Su Yang had no intention of harming them.
Qi Jingyan understood what An Ning meant and nodded: "Of course."
After talking for so long, Meng Yuning's legs finally recovered and she wanted to go to bed. Before she even took off her shoes, she remembered that Qi Jingyan hadn't washed yet, so she asked, "Your Highness, do you want to take a bath? I'll go call Mu Shan and the others over."
Qi Jingyan: "It's getting late, so I won't wash tonight, but I'll have to trouble An Ning to push me to wash up."
---
Meng Yuning got down from the bed again and pushed him into the bathroom. She first scooped two scoops of cold water from the bucket and poured them into the washbasin. Then she soaked a towel and handed it to him. Qi Jingyan took it and wiped his face.
Meng Yuning then took out his toothbrush, rinsed it with water, dipped it in a little tooth powder, and handed it to him, along with a glass of water.
Qi Jingyan reached out to take it, rinsed his mouth first, and then slowly brushed his teeth.
Meng Yuning just stood there waiting, yawning and feeling very sleepy.
Qi Jingyan cleaned up everything, washed his toothbrush and the cup, turned his wheelchair and looked back, only to see the girl dozing off against the wall.
He was a little amused and reached out to pinch her wrist, gently pulling her down from the wall: "A Ning, I'm fine."
Meng Yuning said "oh", walked around to the back of his wheelchair, pushed him back to the room, pushed him to the bedside, and ran to the door to call Mu Shan.
Mu Shan walked in, helped Qi Jingyan onto the bed, took off his shoes and outer robe, then turned and left, closing the door behind him.
Seeing that he was settled, Meng Yuning went to lie down on the bed, and habitually reached out and held Yi'er in her arms.
She thought she would fall asleep quickly, but when she lay in bed, she wasn't sleepy anymore.
So she told him everything that happened between her and Yi'er in the room just now, and finally said: "Your Highness, Yi'er is worried about your leg. It's very sad when she talked about it, so you must get better."
In the book, his leg never healed.
Meng Yuning initially thought that it was because of the frequent disasters on the way to Lingnan that treatment was delayed.
But it was clearly stated in the book that Doctor Tang had tried his best and tried every possible way to treat him, and he was told that there was nothing wrong with him, but he just couldn't stand up.
Later she thought that Qi Jingyan must have a psychological problem. Maybe he thought that the queen died because of him, so he didn't deserve to live a good life. Subconsciously, he felt that his legs should be useless, so he couldn't stand up psychologically.
But when she thought of the final plot of the book, she felt that she might have been mistaken.
After staying in Lingnan for a few years, Qi Jingyan brought Yi'er back to Beijing and first killed his enemy to take revenge.
Later, he helped Yi'er ascend the throne and assisted Yi'er for more than ten years as regent.
When Yi'er grew up and took power, got married and had children, Qi Jingyan, despite Yi'er's objections, volunteered to guard the Queen's tomb.
This defense lasted for five whole years.
Later, on a snowy New Year's Eve, he took a pot of old wine and ran alone to the Queen's tomb to spend the New Year with her. He got drunk and was found dead the next morning.
However, the book did not specify the specific cause of death, and the imperial physicians had different opinions. Some said he died of freezing, some said he died of illness, and some said he was poisoned.
Qi Jingyan left a suicide note, asking Yi'er not to be sad, saying that he had gone to fulfill his filial duty to his mother, and also urged Yi'er to be a wise ruler who cared about the world and loved the people. Yi'er hugged Qi Jingyan's body, heartbroken, but she was powerless to save him.
Meng Yuning read the book very quickly, glancing over all the plots. She didn't think much of it at the time, but when she thinks back on it now, there are actually hints everywhere.
If Qi Jingyan's legs weren't healed, how could he have managed to sneak past all the servants and drink in front of the Queen's Mausoleum in the middle of the night? He couldn't have crawled there, right?
After thinking about it for so many days, she was almost certain that his legs had always been disabled in the original plot, and it was most likely fake.
Qi Jingyan saw that after An Ning finished speaking, she kept staring at him blankly, as if she was distracted. He stretched out his hand and waved it in front of her: "An Ning?"
Meng Yuning came back to his senses and repeated it again, his tone earnest: "Your Highness, your leg must get better soon. Yi'er and I are still waiting for you to take us out to sea to fish."
Qi Jingyan looked into those sincere eyes, raised the corners of his mouth, and nodded: "Okay."
Seeing that he agreed, Meng Yuning raised a hand: "Your Highness, come."
Qi Jingyan had seen her playing clapping games with Yier like this often, but she had never stretched out her hand to him once. Now that he saw it, he easily raised his hand and clapped her.
Meng Yuning smiled and turned over to lie down: "Good night, Your Highness."
Qi Jingyan also smiled: "Good night, An Ning."
---
The next day, the weather was sunny and there was a gentle breeze from the river.
The three of them slept until very late, packed up and went out, casually eating a few bites of the breakfast left for them by the guards. Qi Jingyan went to the third floor to discuss things with Mu Yun and others, and Meng Yuning took Yi'er to feed the rabbits and chickens.
Mu Feng and Su Yang got two bamboo poles from somewhere and started a fishing competition on the deck. As one fish after another was caught, the two of them shouted and screamed in surprise.
Yi'er was attracted by them and quickly fed the last radish top to the little rabbit. Then he pulled An Ning's hand and shook all the rice in her hand to the chicken. Then he ran over with her hand in his, "Mu Feng, A Yang, did you catch any fish?"
Mu Feng didn't say anything.
Ah Yang pointed to his bucket and said with a smile, "Your Highness Yi'er, I've caught six fish."
Yi'er put her hands behind her back and first took a look into Mu Feng's bucket. There was nothing there. Then she looked into Su Yang's bucket and said in surprise, "So many fish."
Looking at Yi'er's admiring face, Ayang was very proud: "If your Highness wants it, I'll give it all to you."
Yi'er shook his head: "Yi'er fishes by himself."
Mu Feng, who hadn't caught a single fish, reached out and held the little prince in front of him: "Little prince, help Mu Feng fish." So the two of them started fishing together.
Because of the unpleasant experience last time, Meng Yuning was a little uneasy. She sat aside and watched quietly, praying secretly that it didn't matter if she couldn't catch any fish, as long as she didn't catch anything weird.
Just as she finished muttering, she saw Mu Feng's fishing rod, which had been quiet all this time, suddenly move. Meng Yuning's heart was in her throat, and she stood up. Mu Feng and Yi'er also stood up excitedly. Together, they pulled the fishing rod up and found that it was a huge carp weighing seven or eight kilograms, flopping on the deck.
Yi'er was overjoyed, clapping his hands, running around on the deck, and jumping for joy: "I caught a fish, Yi'er caught a fish."
Mu Feng also swept away his previous frustration, picked up the fish, and laughed at Su Yang: "Look, no matter how many fish you catch, it's useless. This one fish caught by our little prince is enough to fill your bucket."
Su Yang looked at the huge fish and was also happy: "Yes, your highness is very lucky."
Seeing that it was a fish, Meng Yuning breathed a sigh of relief and leaned over to take a look: "Let's eat fish for lunch tonight."
Hearing the noise on the deck, Qi Jingyan and the others appeared on the third-floor terrace and looked over here with a smile.
Yi'er pointed at the fish in Mu Feng's hand and smiled with her small milk teeth: "Brother, the fish Yi'er caught is such a big fish."
Qi Jingyan smiled and gave Yier a thumbs up. Mu Yun and Mu Shan behind him looked at him curiously and followed suit, giving him a thumbs up.
Meng Yuning couldn't help laughing. Before, no matter what Yi'er did, she would give him a thumbs-up and say Yi'er was amazing. Later, Qi Jingyan also did the same. She didn't expect that Mu Yun and the others would also learn from him.
Seeing that it was getting late, Meng Yuning told Yi'er to continue fishing with Mu Feng and the others. Then she called the kitchen helpers, asked them to pick up the big carp and the six small fish in the bucket, and went to the kitchen to cook.
After finishing the mutton and beef, Meng Yuning thought about what else to make besides fish today. Although she wanted to make something delicious to celebrate everyone's safety, she couldn't eat too much and finish everything. She didn't know when she would dock again, and she might not run out of food later.
Just as I was thinking about it, I saw Mu Shan walk into the kitchen and said innocently, "Miss Meng, His Highness said that you can make whatever dishes you want, and there is no need to be frugal. We will find a place to dock and resupply tomorrow."
Hearing Mu Shan's words, Meng Yuning immediately felt relieved. She waved her hand and said, "Then kill all the chickens and make a stewed chicken with mushrooms, a braised carp, and stew the small fish into a bamboo shoot soup. Then make some appetizing spicy and sour shredded radish. Oh, and there are eggs too. Let's make a scallion omelet."
Everyone agreed and, under Meng Yuning's instructions, started working in an orderly manner.
Qi Jingyan said that the guards had to learn how to cook by themselves, so now Meng Yuning let the guards do all the work except for the ones she had to do herself.
There is strength in numbers. Soon, three pots of rice were cooked, served, and the pots were washed. Then it was Meng Yuning's turn to help.
She first blanched the chicken into small pieces and let it dry, then heated oil in a pan. When the oil was hot, she added onions, ginger and garlic and stir-fried them until fragrant. Then she poured the chicken into the pan and stir-fried it quickly.
When the chicken is golden brown and slightly charred, add cooking wine, soy sauce, salt, and a little pepper, stir-fry evenly, then add water to cover the chicken, then pour the previously soaked dried mushrooms into the pot, cover the pot, bring to a boil over high heat, and then simmer over low heat.
Two pots were stewing chicken and mushrooms, and Meng Yuning used the remaining pot to make other dishes.
First, mix the cut carp with starch and evenly mix it, then wash it with clean water and take it out.
Add onion, ginger, garlic, salt, soy sauce, cooking wine, a little starch, and a few eggs, stir well, and marinate for a cup of tea.
Then put them into the oil pan one by one and fry them until crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.
Heat oil in a pan again, add onion, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, cooking wine and other seasonings, add appropriate amount of water to make soup, then add a little aged vinegar to enhance the flavor, then pour the fried fish pieces into the soup, stir evenly, cover the pot and simmer until the soup is absorbed, then it can be served.
After making two main dishes, Meng Yuning stopped and instructed the two guards. One of them stewed river fish and dried bamboo shoots soup, and the other made spicy and sour shredded radish. The results were very good. Meng Yuning praised them a lot, and the two guards were very happy. They said they would try their skills again at the next meal.
For the last scallion egg pancake, Mu Shan rolled up his sleeves and volunteered to make it. Meng Yuning thought about the lasagna he had made before, so she smiled and agreed.
Let Mu Shan beat twenty eggs in a bowl first, stir them evenly, then add half a bowl of flour, water, salt, and chopped green onions, stir into a paste and set aside.
Then, heat the oil in the pan, scoop the batter into the pan spoonful by spoonful, and fry it into small pancakes the size of a palm.
One guard couldn't resist the aroma, so he reached out and grabbed one. He finished it in three or two bites and exclaimed that it was delicious. However, the sizzling sensation when it was hot made everyone laugh.
A large pot of scallion omelet was fried, and two pots of chicken stewed with mushrooms were also ready.
The food taster Yi'er came running over on time, "An Ning, Yi'er is here to help you taste the vegetables."
Every time Meng Yuning cooked, Yi'er would squat beside her and slurp her saliva. Every time Meng Yuning finished a dish, she would serve a small portion to Yi'er first, under the pretext of asking him to help her taste the dish.
Seeing the little boy running in, he handed him a small bowl with a little of each dish and said, "Yier, try it and see if it tastes okay."
Yier held the bowl, found a big radish to sit on as usual, and started eating seriously.
The guards also cooperated very well, never mentioning that they had already tasted it secretly before. They surrounded the little prince and looked at him eagerly: "Little Prince, how is it? Is it delicious?"
Yier tasted them one by one and gave full affirmation to each one: "Delicious, delicious."
Everyone cheered.
Meng Yuning asked everyone to bring out the food and place it on the table on the second deck.
Then everyone took their seats. Qi Jingyan picked up the bowl of fish soup and raised it to everyone, using the soup instead of wine. Everyone raised their bowls in response. Those who didn't have time to fill their bowls with soup raised their rice bowls. After toasting each other, everyone picked up their chopsticks.
The meal was very rich and the portions were large, so everyone was full.
After the meal, Meng Yuning and Qi Jingyan sat on the deck to watch the scenery on the river, and at the same time reported to him about the food situation, "Your Highness, there is no meat left, and the chicken is all eaten. There are only some vegetables left, and the dried vegetables we brought with us."
Qi Jingyan replied: "That's fine. We'll go ashore and do some shopping tomorrow."
Meng Yuning thought about how he hadn't brought much money with him since leaving the capital, and how he had spent some of it on shopping. She couldn't help but ask worriedly, "Do we still have any money?"
Qi Jingyan leaned back in his chair, his brows relaxed: "We don't need our own money."
Meng Yuning was puzzled and tilted her head to look at him: "Then how do I buy it?"
Qi Jingyan smiled with a sense of righteousness: "Just put it on Young Marquis Yu's account."
After saying that, he looked at Meng Yuning and said, "A Ning, if you want to go shopping, you can get off the boat with Mu Feng and the others. Feel free to take whatever you want. Don't be polite."
Meng Yuning was stunned: "It's still possible?"
Yu Xiao was riding a horse and leading the team on a rugged mountain road. As he walked, he suddenly sneezed and couldn't help frowning.
The attendant asked curiously, "Young Marquis, who is scolding you again?"
Yu Xiao snorted coldly, his tone very firm: "Who else could it be? It must be that Qi Jingyan."
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