Chapter 48048 Tired of Wandering
Chapter 48
The house was deserted and the wall was half collapsed.
Wild grass and green plants grew wildly all over the yard, and rubble and debris were scattered all over the ground.
Looking further ahead, unknown wild vines have already covered the dilapidated houses that have not been inhabited for who knows how long.
In the deep dusk, the house exuded an indescribable eeriness.
It is truly a desolate scene wherever you look.
Meng Yuning: "..."
Everyone: “…”
Apart from the chirping of birds and the buzzing of insects, no one else made a sound in the yard. In an instant, there was dead silence.
Yi'er was originally holding An Ning's hand, but now he hugged An Ning's legs and hid behind her. Meng Yuning bent down and picked up Yi'er, then leaned towards Qi Jingyan's wheelchair.
Mu Jiang, Mu Shan, Mu Feng and the others followed in from behind. When they saw this scene, their faces darkened instantly, and their hands unconsciously pressed on the hilt of the knife at their waist, as if they were ready to draw the knife and chop someone at any time.
It was a hot day, but County Magistrate Chen felt a chill running from the soles of his feet along his back to the top of his head. His legs went weak and he knelt on the ground again.
He wanted to say "I am guilty", but when he thought that it was His Majesty who allowed His Highness Prince Shen to live here, he dared not say the word "guilty" out loud.
This time, Mu Yun did not mention County Magistrate Chen, and his expression was also very ugly.
This yard is so awful it's totally uninhabitable.
Your Majesty, are you deliberately trying to humiliate His Highness and treat him like a beggar on the street?
No, perhaps that is not the divine will.
This is more like the Third Prince's doing in secret. He doesn't even need to say it explicitly. Those sycophantic bastards will naturally find ways to humiliate the down-and-out prince in order to please the newly powerful master.
I just don't know what County Magistrate Chen is thinking. Is he forced to do this by the pressure of the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict, or is he actively using His Highness's reputation as a token of his loyalty to the Third Prince?
Thinking this in his mind, Mu Yun looked at County Magistrate Chen without the previous politeness.
Meng Yuning looked at Qi Jingyan calmly and saw that he looked normal and calm, without any trace of anger on his face.
However, she was not sure whether Qi Jingyan was angry or not, because he was always like this, always so calm, or even lifeless.
She tried hard to recall the plot of the book, but she didn't remember that when they arrived in Canghai County, they first lived in such a shabby place. She didn't know whether the book didn't explain it, or she was careless and missed it.
However, she did remember one incident: the Third Prince secretly obstructed the construction, instructing the Ministry of Revenue to use the empty treasury as an excuse to delay allocating funds for the construction of Prince Shen's Palace, and the project was delayed for several years.
Until the Qi Jingyan brothers returned to the capital to seize power, the "Prince Shen's Mansion" was still a deserted place.
So, does that mean that Qi Jingyan and his friends have been living in such a dilapidated house during all those years in Lingnan?
However, the yard is in such a terrible state that it can't even shelter from the wind and rain. How can people live there?
Yi'er hugged An Ning's neck tightly with his two little hands, and his baby voice was full of confusion: "An Ning, are we going to live here?"
Seeing that everyone was silent and gloomy, Meng Yuning had no choice but to ask Qi Jingyan: "Your Highness, are we going to stay here?"
Qi Jingyan reached out and took Yi'er from Meng Yuning's arms, and smiled at her soothingly: "Go in and take a look first."
Meng Yuning agreed and put one hand on the armrest of his wheelchair to help push it gently.
Mu Yun pushed the wheelchair and walked slowly forward.
Su Yang stood on the wall with his arms crossed, and looked for a long time.
Seeing everyone about to go in, he somersaulted in, took out his flute, and rushed in front of them: "Brother Qi, let me go take a look first."
After saying this, he put the flute to his lips, jumped over the roofs, leaped and moved, and ran all the way to the front.
The sound of the flute was lingering and continuous. Suddenly, there was a rustling sound in the grass nearby. Several winding tracks appeared in the weeds. Something was swimming quickly in the direction of the flute sound.
Meng Yuning's expression changed, and she grabbed Qi Jingyan's arm: "Your Highness, there seems to be a snake."
Upon hearing this, County Magistrate Chen, who had just gotten up from the ground, turned even paler and almost knelt down again.
Fortunately, the county lieutenant and the county chancellor, who had been kneeling and getting up beside him, were quick-witted and supported the man in time.
Qi Jingyan comforted him gently: "Don't be afraid, Brother Ayang is here."
"I know, I'm not afraid, I just want to tell His Highness." There are so many people here, Meng Yuning also wants to save some face, so she said so.
Of course she knew that as long as Su Yang was there, these snakes would not hurt anyone, but judging from the movement in the grass, there were probably a lot of snakes, and her scalp tingled at the thought.
Qi Jingyan couldn't help but chuckle as he felt the nails on his arm digging into his flesh. This girl, she's so scared, yet she's still being stubborn.
Seeing An Ning was scared, Yi Er reached out a small hand to hold An Ning's hand, blinking a pair of innocent big eyes, and kindly suggested: "An Ning, you should sit on your brother's lap and let your brother hold you, so you won't be afraid."
My brother is very strong and can hold him and An Ning together.
If he really couldn't hold her, then his brother would hold Aning, and Aning would hold him, so his brother could save some energy.
Meng Yuning felt embarrassed and subconsciously looked around. She saw that her guard brothers were all looking up at the sky, while the officials who came with County Magistrate Chen were all looking down at the ground, and no one was looking at her.
But the more they tried to hide the truth, the more obvious it became, and the more her face burned.
It is said that children speak without restraint. When Yier said such words, those who didn't know her would think that she often sat on Qi Jingyan's lap behind his back.
She looked at Qi Jingyan helplessly, and saw that he had a smile on his lips and was looking at her leisurely, as if waiting to see how she would reply to Yier.
Meng Yuning really wanted to roll her eyes at him. It was okay that Yi'er was ignorant, but why did he join in the fun?
But because they were in public, she didn't dare to act rashly. She lowered her head slightly and whispered to Yi'er, "Thank you, Yi'er, but Your Highness has a leg injury and I can't carry you."
Yier tilted his head and looked at his brother, and saw his brother nodded, indicating that he really couldn't hold him. Yier was confused, "But that day, in the carriage, brother clearly..." "Woo woo"
Yi'er was halfway through her words when Qi Jingyan covered her entire face with a big hand.
Yi'er whimpered twice, and with his two little hands he dug into his brother's big hands, struggling to pull his hands down. He tilted his head and complained, "Brother, why are you covering Yi'er's hands? Yi'er can't see."
Qi Jingyan didn't even blink: "I'll wipe your sweat."
Meng Yuning lowered her head to look, and sure enough, she saw that Yier's forehead was covered in sweat. She took out a handkerchief and wiped Yier's forehead, then used the other side of the handkerchief to wipe her own forehead. Then she used the handkerchief as a fan and kept fanning herself.
Before they knew it, Su Yang flew back from the tattered roof and landed lightly on the ground. "Brother Qi, everything is cleaned up."
Qi Jingyan smiled and nodded: "Thank you, Brother Ayang." Su Yang smiled and waved his hand.
So Mu Yun pushed the wheelchair forward and everyone followed. Soon, they passed a dilapidated gate, walked along a path covered with weeds for a while, and entered another yard.
Meng Yuning looked around and saw that the wok-ear house in front of her with its blue bricks and black tiles was still in good condition. She said, "Your Highness, this house seems to be habitable for a while."
Qi Jingyan turned around and looked at County Magistrate Chen who was following behind him: "Sir Chen, what is the origin of this mansion?"
County Magistrate Chen stepped forward trembling with fear and introduced carefully, "Your Highness, please allow me to report that this house was once the residence of a prince from the previous dynasty."
Qi Jingyan's mind moved, and his eyebrows raised slightly: "The previous dynasty, is it the King of Yu Nan?"
Cold sweat dripped from his forehead as Chen Junshou stammered, "Yes, yes."
Mu Yun and the others were stunned at first, and then hidden anger ignited in their eyes.
If they had previously suspected that it was the Third Prince who arranged for His Highness to live here, when they learned the origin of this house, they knew that it was most likely His Majesty's idea.
His Majesty wants to use this house to pressure Your Highness to behave himself.
Meng Yuning didn't know who this former king of Yu Nan was. The book never mentioned him at all, so she asked curiously, "So, what happened to this king of Yu Nan?"
County Magistrate Chen was terrified and secretly glanced at His Royal Highness Prince Shen. Coincidentally, His Royal Highness Prince Shen looked at him indifferently. His heart shuddered, and he knelt down with a thud, his forehead pressed tightly against the ground. He didn't dare to say a word.
The county lieutenant and the county chancellor who followed behind him once again knelt down in unison.
Seeing them suddenly kneeling again, Meng Yuning was startled and looked at Qi Jingyan in surprise, asking with her eyes, but she asked the wrong question.
Qi Jingyan took her wrist and motioned Mu Yun to continue walking forward.
Mu Yun pushed the wheelchair forward, and Qi Jingyan finally said, "The King of Yu Nan eventually rebelled, was defeated and captured, and was executed, with his head and body separated."
Meng Yuning was stunned, then realized that the old Emperor Kangwen was still afraid of Qi Jingyan and wanted to use this house to warn him.
She suddenly felt sorry for him, and pulled her wrist out of his hand. She grabbed his wrist with her backhand and squeezed it, silently comforting him. Then she pretended to be nonchalant and changed the subject: "Your Highness, I think this house is nice. If you clean it up, I think it can be lived in." Since she couldn't change the fact that she had to live here, she could only accept it with pleasure.
Qi Jingyan nodded and asked, "Master Chen, is this the main house of this house?"
The governor of Chen County was filled with fear and panic, and was already thinking about his own affairs after his death. He did not notice that His Royal Highness Prince Shen was talking to him, so he did not respond.
The county lieutenant and the county chancellor behind him were almost going crazy with anxiety. They all reached out to push him, and he finally came to his senses, but with a confused look on his face. The county lieutenant had no choice but to quietly remind him of the question His Royal Highness Prince Shen had just asked.
The County Magistrate Chen then replied in a trembling voice: "To answer your Highness, this is the main house." That is where the Prince of Yu Nan originally lived. However, he did not dare to say the latter part of the sentence, so as not to upset His Highness Prince Shen and get himself into trouble.
Qi Jingyan nodded, his tone calm: "Then live here."
As he spoke, he looked at Meng Yuning and said, "A Ning, push me closer so I can take a look."
Meng Yuning agreed, took the wheelchair from Mu Yun, and slowly pushed it across the grass towards the house.
Seeing that His Royal Highness Prince Shen accepted the house without hesitation and even said he wanted to live in the main house, County Magistrate Chen was stunned. Could it be that His Royal Highness Prince Shen had no taboos at all? But then he thought, regardless of what His Royal Highness Prince Shen thought, as long as he was willing to move in and his job was done, then he would be thankful.
He hurriedly said: "I will arrange for someone to go in and clean it up."
These days, he was busy cleaning up the county magistrate's mansion in order to welcome His Royal Highness Prince Shen to stay.
But who would have thought that the eunuch who delivered the imperial edict would only say after lunch today that His Majesty would allow His Royal Highness Prince Shen to first live in the former residence of Prince Yu Nan, which had been abandoned for a hundred years.
He was extremely anxious. While he was busy leading the officials under his jurisdiction and the people of the city to prepare for the work, he also ordered his personal attendant to lead people to clean up the yard.
But he hadn't expected that idiot to be so incompetent. After entering, he only saw a pile of hoes, sickles, pickaxes, brooms, and other tools against the wall at the gate, but not even a single person cleaning. So now, he had to do it himself, hoping to alleviate the anger of His Highness Prince Shen and prevent him from causing trouble later.
Mu Yun reached out to stop him: "Don't bother Master Chen, we can do it ourselves."
Then he bowed and said politely, "It's getting late, and we still have to clean up, so we won't see you off, Master Chen."
Seeing Mu Yun send the guest away with a cold face, County Magistrate Chen was suddenly speechless.
When they met before, this Guard Mu was clearly in a friendly mood. He even bowed to him and said, "I've heard a lot about you," which made him feel quite close to him.
But at this moment, Guard Mu had a cold and arrogant look on his face, as if he was keeping people at a distance. County Magistrate Chen knew that he had completely offended people.
He was unwilling to leave just like that. He raised his hand to wipe the sweat off his face, forced a smile, and pleaded cautiously, "I have already prepared a welcoming banquet at the County Magistrate's Mansion. The wine and food are ready. I hope Lord Mu will pass on the message and invite Your Highness to come and dine."
Mu Yun turned around to look at his own prince, and seeing that his prince didn't even glance at him, he immediately understood.
He turned around, clasped his fists, and replied coldly, "We appreciate Lord Chen's kindness, but Your Highness is exhausted from the journey and needs to rest. Lord Chen, please go back first. If there is anything, we can discuss it after we are settled."
County Magistrate Chen hesitated and wanted to say something else. Seeing this, Mu Shan and Mu Jiang took two steps forward together, stood beside Mu Yun with their arms folded, staring at him fiercely, as if they were going to throw him out if he hesitated any longer.
The governor of Chen County did not dare to stay any longer. He took the county lieutenant and the county chancellor and bowed to Qi Jingyan from afar. He said, "We will take our leave first," and left in disgrace.
When the three of them reached the gate of the courtyard and stepped over the threshold, County Magistrate Chen was tripped by the hem of his official robe and almost fell. He pulled on the arms of his two colleagues to stand firm, and then staggered away in embarrassment.
After they left, Mu Yun called his brothers together and assigned tasks to them one by one.
Including Su Yang and Doctor Tang, more than two hundred people worked together, lighting torches, building fires, weeding, sweeping fallen leaves, and repairing everywhere...
Doctor Tang and Su Yang walked around the house together, one playing the flute and the other spreading medicine powder to drive away snakes, insects, rats and ants.
Mu Shan took his kitchen helpers to the back kitchen of the house. Everyone covered their mouths and noses with black towels used for walking at night, and used brooms that someone had left at the gate to clean up the old dust and spider webs. They also dug up loess and mud in the yard, picked up some bricks, and rebuilt the collapsed stove. The kitchen was then cleaned up.
Then he took out all the big iron pots he had brought along and placed them on the stove.
Just as they were about to make a fire, they found there was no water, so Mu Shan took his two brothers, carrying buckets of water, and went out to find a well.
In a corner not far from the kitchen, a well was found, and there was water in it.
But the edge of the well was covered with moss, the rope was entangled with green vines, the stone walls around the well were overgrown with weeds, and dead branches, rotten leaves and the corpses of various insects were floating on the water.
What was even more disgusting was that there was a toad squatting on the dead leaves, opening its mouth wide and croaking at the people who were lying on the edge of the well and looking down.
Mu Shan and the others stood up and looked at each other. No one dared to use such water.
After some discussion, they decided to go out and find water, so they called a few brothers, took all the buckets they had brought, drove two carriages, and went to the city to find a place to fetch water.
In less than a quarter of an hour, everyone came back with two carts full of buckets of water. They took a few buckets to the main house for cleaning, and brought the rest to the kitchen, where they started to make a fire and cook.
In the main house, Mu Feng and Mu Jiu found some dead branches and broken wood, lit a fire in the yard, and then took twenty or thirty guards and various tools and went into the house to clean up.
Meng Yuning originally planned to go over to help, but Qi Jingyan grabbed her wrist and stopped her from going. Yier also grabbed her sleeve and stopped her from leaving. Meng Yuning stayed with Qi Jingyan and his brother in front of the fire in the yard.
Qi Jingyan sat in a wheelchair, Meng Yuning held Yi'er and sat on a chair that the guards had brought out of the house and wiped clean. The three of them sat quietly.
Meng Yuning looked at the mosquitoes flying around above the fire, and reached out to pull Yi'er's sleeves and trouser legs. "Yi'er, the mosquitoes here in Lingnan are very poisonous. We have to be careful and don't get bitten."
Yi'er nodded and agreed, then patted the herbal sachet hanging around his waist: "Uncle Tang said that if I have this, I won't be afraid anymore."
Meng Yuning: "Oh, right, how could I have forgotten."
Early this morning, Doctor Tang gave each of the three of them a purse, saying it was for repelling mosquitoes.
Originally, she hadn't taken it too seriously. But now, when she thought about it, they had been running in the wilderness for a whole day, and none of them had been bitten. This must have been the effect of the sachet.
Later she would have to ask Doctor Tang if she could use a few delicious dishes to exchange the preparation method of the mosquito repellent with him. Otherwise, it would be too painful to live in this place without mosquito coils and mosquito nets.
The three of them gathered around the fire, chatting casually and warming themselves by the fire.
Soon, less than half an hour after the twenty or thirty guards entered, they filed out of the house. Mu Feng said with a smile, "Your Highness, Little Highness, Miss Meng, the house is ready. Come in and take a look."
"So fast!" Meng Yuning picked up Yi'er and placed her on Qi Jingyan's lap, then went to push the wheelchair.
Mu Feng called another guard to quickly step forward and take it: "Miss Meng, there is a threshold over there, let's go."
Meng Yuning agreed, made way, and went into the house first carrying Yi'er. Mu Feng and the others followed behind pushing the wheelchair.
When she entered the room, Meng Yuning was shocked.
Just now, she lay down at the door and looked at the room. It was full of cobwebs, the furniture was tilted, and it was a mess.
But at this moment, the solid wood furniture was neatly arranged, the house was clean everywhere, and under the illumination of a few candles, it actually looked a little warm.
Meng Yuning couldn't help but sigh that there was strength in numbers, and was also amazed at how efficient her guard brothers were at their work. If she had to clean up the mess alone, it would probably take her more than two days.
Before, Yi'er and her looked into the house from the doorway, then turned around and hugged her legs, not wanting to look any more. But now the little boy turned his little head and looked around curiously, without any trace of disgust or fear from before.
Both of them were quite satisfied and smiled at Qi Jingyan who had just been carried in.
Qi Jingyan saw the similar smiles on the two faces, one big and one small, and smiled as well: "Not bad, we'll stay here tonight."
Mu Jiu pointed to the bedroom and said, "Your Highness, that bed has been in disrepair for a long time and has been gnawed by rats. It is unusable. I will go cut some bamboo and make a temporary bamboo bed. You can sleep on it for one night. I will go cut wood and make a bed tomorrow."
Qi Jingyan looked at the spacious hall floor and said, "It's getting late, there's no need to go to such trouble. We can just set up a tent in this room."
Meng Yuning had set up a small tent in her house before. When she had nothing to do, she would hide in it to read novels and eat snacks, which was very comfortable.
When she heard what Qi Jingyan said, she clapped her hands and said it was a good idea to set up the tent, and Yier also clapped her hands and said it was a good idea.
So everyone made the decision happily.
Another half hour passed. After everyone had eaten the steaming hot salty bone and mushroom porridge cooked by Mu Shan and the others, they packed up and found a place to rest.
After Meng Yuning and the other two quickly washed up, they all went into the tent. Of course, only Meng Yuning and Yi'er went in, while Qi Jingyan was carried in by Mu Shan and Mu Jiang.
After the two left and returned to the tent set up in the yard, Meng Yuning closed their small tent and pulled the two, one big and one small, to lie down.
Candlelight shone through the curtains. Meng Yuning held Yi'er and smiled at Qi Jingyan.
Qi Jingyan looked at her with a smile: "Are you so happy after arriving in Lingnan?"
Meng Yu nodded solemnly: "Happy."
Then he added, "I was happy before, but this time I finally don't have to travel on such a bumpy road."
Sometimes after traveling too much, I get tired of the wandering life and still want to settle down in one place for a while.
Looking at her bright smiling face, Qi Jingyan reached out and rubbed her head.
Seeing that his brother only touched An Ning's head and not him, Yi'er grabbed his brother's hand and placed it on his own head: "Yi'er wants one too."
Qi Jingyan touched his head again.
Yier chuckled.
Meng Yuning was in a good mood and laughed along.
Qi Jingyan quietly looked at the smiles on the faces of the two, one big and one small, and suddenly a strong sense of guilt surged in his heart, and the smile on his face gradually disappeared.
Meng Yuning didn't know why his expression suddenly changed. She could only guess what he was thinking. She reached out and patted his arm, comforting him, "Your Highness, everything will be fine."
Qi Jingyan took advantage of the situation and grabbed her hand, squeezing it slightly: "Don't worry, An Ning, life won't always be this hard."
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