Chapter 61061 High Mountains and Long Rivers
Chapter 61
Seeing the three of them staring at her in bewilderment, Meng Yuning was completely bewildered. "What, what's wrong? Can't I take the money?"
"But, that was given to me by the Meng family. No matter what, it should belong to me."
Seeing the three of them still had the same expression, she added weakly, "But if you guys want it too, then, let's share it."
The three of them were once again shocked by the girl's words.
With so many things happening, this heartless girl was only thinking about the one thousand taels of silver.
The funniest thing is, she actually thought they wanted to snatch it from her?
Qi Jingyan covered his face with his hands and suddenly burst into laughter.
Yu Xiao also slammed the table and laughed: "A Zhao, give her the banknote quickly." If you don't give it to her, she might say something inappropriate.
Cai Yuezhao was at a loss for words. He quickly took out the banknotes and handed them to Meng Yuning: "Here, An Ning, they're all yours."
Meng Yuning's eyes lit up with surprise: "Really? You don't want it?"
Qi Jingyan waved his hands: "No, I'll give it all to you."
Meng Yuning happily accepted the banknotes, then suddenly asked, "Those few people are dead. Wouldn't it be bad to just leave them on the roadside? What if ordinary people pass by and get scared?"
When they first rode in a carriage into Canghai County, they would occasionally meet people walking into the city to attend the market or visit relatives and friends. If they suddenly found a pile of dead bodies on the side of the road, they would be terrified.
Cai Yuezhao gently held her hand and said in a gentle voice, "Don't worry, An Ning. Someone who encountered this has already reported the case to the government office."
Yu Xiao also calmly continued, "If nothing unexpected happens, this case will soon be closed as a robbery and murder by bandits."
Hearing what the two said, Meng Yuning immediately understood. She thought they must have made arrangements in secret. In this way, there would be no need to worry about it.
Although she felt she had no connection to the Meng family anymore, she still stood up and bowed to everyone, thinking about the trouble she had caused them. "I'm really sorry that I've caused you all so much trouble because of the Meng family's affairs."
Cai Yuezhao reached out and held her arm, his eyes slightly annoyed: "A Ning, if you talk like this, don't you think we are outsiders?"
Qi Jingyan said gently, "Tracing back to the source, this matter all started with me. Ah Ning really doesn't need to feel guilty."
Meng Yuning nodded and accepted the comfort from the two.
Thinking of how Sister Zhao killed someone for her, Meng Yuning felt grateful but didn't know how to express her gratitude.
Then I thought of Sister Zhao's heroic battles in the book, and I realized that today's events were probably nothing to Sister Zhao. With this in mind, I put it aside and simply kept her deep friendship in my heart.
She originally wanted to ask, the Meng family sent that steward out, and now several people are dead outside. She wondered if the Meng family and the third prince would suspect Qi Jingyan and Young Marquis Yu.
But on second thought, since they dared to do it, they must have considered the consequences clearly. As someone with a weak brain, she didn't need to worry about the protagonists of the power struggle novel.
---
For the next few days, Cai Yuezhao and Yu Xiao stayed in the mansion.
Meng Yuning would personally cook for them every noon and evening, making all kinds of delicious food. Yu Xiao loved Meng Yuning's braised pork the most, and he kept saying that it was so delicious, and he didn't know when he would be able to eat it again.
After saying that, he glared at Qi Jingyan sourly, saying sarcastically that he was so lucky because he had delicious food every day.
One time, he even openly poached her right in front of Qi Jingyan: "Miss Meng, if you ever get tired of staying in Lingnan, just send me a message and I will come to pick you up as fast as I can."
Qi Jingyan remained expressionless, only giving a look to Yi'er who was clenching his fists angrily.
Xiao Yier understood instantly, picked up his small wooden sword, and chased Yu Xiao, slashing at him while shouting, "Watch out for the sword! An Ning is mine, no one can take it away from me."
Yu Xiao pretended to be frightened, jumping up and down in the yard to dodge, and begging for mercy repeatedly: "Young man, spare my life, I know I was wrong."
Everyone burst into laughter, and Meng Yuning and Cai Yuezhao were laughing so hard that they couldn't straighten their backs.
Meng Yuning was grateful for Yu Xiao's generosity to everyone and his sincere friendship to Qi Jingyan, so she prepared a special meal for him. For three consecutive days, she made braised pork for every meal, and Yu Xiao ate it to his great satisfaction.
Cai Yuezhao was not picky. As long as the dishes were cooked by An Ning, she would eat them with gusto and a smile on her face.
Seeing how supportive she was, Meng Yuning cooked different dishes for her every day, and she ate so much that she said more than once that she didn't want to leave.
Happy times are always fleeting, and in the blink of an eye, it was the day for Cai Yuezhao and Yu Xiao to leave Canghai County.
Meng Yuning not only cooked these two days, but also made a lot of snacks in advance for Cai Yuezhao to take with him on the road, including beef jerky, pork jerky, and crispy fried dough twists. She wrapped them in oil paper into small packages and put a large bamboo basket of each.
In the dim morning light, Cai Yuezhao's carriage stopped outside the gate.
Meng Yuning watched Yuan Qing load the snacks into the car one basket at a time. She held Cai Yuezhao's hand and said, "Sister Zhao, these snacks won't spoil easily. You can eat them slowly."
Cai Yuezhao said yes with red eyes.
Meng Yuning asked Meng Jin and the others to move a few more jars to the car. "Here are spicy dried tofu, braised duck necks, braised duck feet, braised duck wings, salt-baked chicken wings, and salt-baked eggs. Although they are a bit salty, the weather is too hot. They can only be kept for a day at most. It's best to eat them all today, otherwise they will go bad."
Yi'er tugged at An Ning's sleeve and followed her, nodding in agreement: "Finish eating early."
Cai Yuezhao said yes again and smiled at the little prince.
Meng Yuning pointed to several large baskets of fruit on the flatbed carriage behind her. "These are freshly picked lychees from the nearby orchard that Mu Feng and Su Yang picked this morning. They're still a few days away from being fully ripe, but I tasted them and they're edible. Sister Zhao, you can try some."
Cai Yuezhao turned his head away and secretly wiped his eyes, then turned back and said with a smile: "Okay, I'll eat later."
Meng Yuning pulled her and continued, "There are still two baskets of dragon fruit and two baskets of pineapples. You don't have to rush on the way back. Just eat and drink and walk slowly. Don't get tired. When you return to the capital, remember to write to me."
Cai Yuezhao nodded: "Okay, I will send you a letter as soon as I get there."
A few steps away, Qi Jingyan sat quietly in a wheelchair, and Yu Xiao stood with his hands behind his back. Both of them silently looked at the two sisters who were holding hands and saying goodbye reluctantly.
The guards around were also standing quietly, and Yu Yan, who was always cheerful and noisy, was silent for a rare moment.
The morning breeze blew, the clothes fluttered gently, and everyone's heart was filled with the sadness of parting.
After a long moment, Yu Xiao looked up at the rising sun, sighed softly, and reminded, "A Zhao, it's getting late. Three thousand people are still waiting outside the city."
Cai Yuezhao nodded when she heard this, reached out and hugged Meng Yuning tightly, choking with sobs and saying, "A Ning, I will definitely come to see you."
Meng Yuning suppressed the soreness in her nose and refused to cry, so as not to add to her sadness.
She hugged Cai Yuezhao back tightly, and after a moment, she let go and smiled brightly: "Sister Zhao, have a safe journey. We will keep in touch by letter later."
Cai Yuezhao also smiled: "Okay."
After saying that, he stepped onto the carriage.
Yu Xiao straightened his clothes and bowed deeply to Qi Jingyan. As their eyes met, even though there were thousands of words in his heart, they finally turned into one sentence: "Yunzhou, the mountains are high and the waters are long. We will meet again in the future."
Qi Jingyan politely returned the greeting: "Lingchuan, take care."
Yu Xiao said nothing more, jumped onto the horse's back swiftly, and rode ahead. Yu Yan and others all clasped their fists and then followed him on horseback.
Cai Yuezhao's carriage had also slowly started. She hurriedly wiped her tears, then leaned out of the window again, smiling and waving at Meng Yuning: "Sister An Ning, remember what I said. When encountering difficulties, don't be stubborn. Protecting yourself first is the most important thing."
Hearing this, and thinking of the heartfelt words Sister Zhao had said to her in the past two days, Meng Yuning could no longer hold back her tears.
She chased after him a few steps, her skirt lifted. Tears streaming down her face, she still managed to smile: "Don't worry, Sister Zhao. Ning has taken note of this!"
Cai Yuezhao was also crying. She waved her hands vigorously: "Go back, An Ning, go back quickly."
To prevent An Ning from chasing her again, she retracted her head into the car, but her tears kept falling.
Fudong sat down beside her, held her in his arms, and patted her back gently: "Miss, don't cry. Didn't you say that you would come to see Miss Meng when you have the chance in the future?"
"If Miss Meng knew how sad you are, wouldn't she be even more worried?"
Cai Yuezhao: "But when I think of An Ning being left alone in a place like Lingnan that is plagued by malaria, with no one to rely on, I feel sad."
Fu Dong said, "Miss, you are wrong. We still have His Highness and the Little Prince. You have seen with your own eyes how the two princes treated Miss Meng."
"Besides, I see that Miss Meng really likes Canghai County. She is cheerful every day and seems to be familiar with everything here. She can get everything she wants without even asking. It feels like I'm back home."
Seeing that Fu Dong had started to talk nonsense in order to comfort herself, Cai Yuezhao sat up straight and glared at her: "Where is your hometown from?"
Fu Dong smiled: "That's what I said."
---
Meng Yuning watched the carriage go farther and farther away, but couldn't help but take a few steps forward to chase it.
When Yi'er saw Aning let go of him and ran after the carriage, he felt a panic in his heart. He hurriedly ran over with his short legs, hugged Aning's legs, and held her tightly.
The two of them just watched quietly as the group walked away and disappeared at the end of the road.
Qi Jingyan turned his wheelchair and walked over. He reached out and took Meng Yuning's hand, squeezing it slightly: "Don't worry, we will see each other again in the future."
Meng Yuning raised her hand to wipe away her tears.
The journey is long and the transportation is slow, so it is not easy to say goodbye.
But she knew Qi Jingyan was kind enough to comfort her, so she didn't want to spoil the fun and nodded to him, "Your Highness, let's go back."
So the group turned and went in, and the three of them returned to the main courtyard.
Meng Yuning picked up Yi'er and said, "Your Highness, we got up too early today. I want to take Yi'er to rest for a while."
Seeing that she was in a low mood, Qi Jingyan nodded and said, "Go."
Meng Yuning carried Yi'er back to the main bedroom, took off her shoes, and lay down on the bed.
She hugged Yi'er and closed her eyes. When she thought about the little things she had experienced with Sister Zhao recently, and thought about how many times she would see her again in this life, she couldn't help feeling sad, and tears fell down again.
Yi'er noticed and sat up from An Ning's arms, tilting his head to look at her. Seeing that she was crying again, the little kid looked anxious and stretched out his little hands to wipe her tears. He was so anxious that his little voice was filled with tears: "An Ning, don't cry."
Meng Yuning didn't want to cry, but her tears just couldn't stop. She raised her head and placed it on Yi'er's legs: "It's okay, Yi'er, it will be fine after crying for a while."
Yi'er remembered how Aning comforted her when she was sad, so she held her head with her two little hands, patted her gently, and put her little face on her head: "Aning, don't cry, Yi'er is here."
Qi Jingyan originally wanted to give Aning some space to be alone, but in the end he was still worried, so he pushed his wheelchair in. As soon as he entered the door, he saw her lying on Yi'er's legs, her shoulders trembling slightly.
Seeing his brother come in, Yier pointed at Aning with his little finger, then put another finger to his mouth and made a soft hushing sound, signaling his brother not to make noise.
Qi Jingyan sat quietly for a while. Seeing that the girl's shoulders were still trembling, he sighed softly, turned the wheelchair with both hands to the bedside, turned sideways to the bed, then supported the bed with one hand and the wheelchair with the other hand, pushed his body up, and sat on the bed.
He frowned slightly, and after a while, he supported his body and moved forward. Then he reached out and pinched An Ning's armpit, transferred her from Yi'er's legs to his legs, and gently stroked the top of her head.
Meng Yuning suddenly changed her position and raised her head: "..."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
