Chapter 67067 Eating up all the money
Chapter 67
Meng Yuning quickly found three hot water bottles, held them in her arms and walked out of the east wing. She held the umbrella in one hand and the hot water bottle in the other, so she had no hand to close the door. After thinking about it, she decided to send the hot water bottle back first and then come back to close the door.
Just as she turned around and was about to leave, she saw Mu Yun quickly walk out of the front room holding an umbrella. "Miss Meng, what's wrong?"
Meng Yuning: "Your Highness's legs hurt. I'll find some hot water bottles to comfort him."
Upon hearing this, Mu Yun strode over and said, "Give it to me. I'll go boil some hot water."
The water in the kettle inside the room was indeed not very hot anymore, so Meng Yuning handed him the hot water bottle and said, "When it rains, this room gets damp. Let's build a stove in the main room later."
Mu Yun took the hot water bottle and said, "Okay, I'll build it tomorrow."
Mu Yun carried the hot water bottle out of the yard and ran to the back kitchen to fill it with hot water.
Meng Yuning closed the door of the east wing and returned to the main room.
He walked in, put away his umbrella, and then closed the door. As he walked towards the west side room, he said loudly, "Your Highness, I told Mu Yun to build a stove in our room tomorrow. We can use it when it rains or is cloudy to keep the room warm. It won't be so damp."
Qi Jingyan looked at the girl, who was covered in moisture, and said softly, "Okay."
Meng Yuning found a handkerchief and wiped the rain off her hands. She then said, "Why don't we build a small kitchen in this yard? It would be convenient to boil water and cook something here, so we don't have to run back to the kitchen all the time. If we have a stove here, we don't have to carry water from so far away."
Qi Jingyan's gaze followed the girl on the ground: "Okay, I'll listen to An Ning."
Yi'er's two little hands were still scratching at his brother's legs, and he also agreed seriously: "I will listen to An Ning."
Meng Yuning couldn't help laughing. She walked to the bed, reached out to pick up the little boy and gave him a kiss. Then she put him aside, sat next to Qi Jingyan, and slowly massaged his legs.
While pressing, he asked, "Is this better?"
Actually, pressing like this was useless, but seeing the girl kneeling beside him, pressing intently, Qi Jingyan nodded, "Better."
Meng Yuning pressed for a while, then switched to the other leg, and Yier also switched to the other leg.
Qi Jingyan looked at the two, one big and one small, and his slightly furrowed brows slowly relaxed.
Not long after, Mu Yun came in carrying three hot water bottles, and Doctor Tang followed behind him. "Your Highness, your legs hurt?"
Meng Yuning hurriedly took Yi'er to make way and answered first: "Yes, Your Highness was in so much pain just now that cold sweats broke out and his face turned pale."
Mu Yun placed three hot water bottles on the bed, then moved a chair beside the bed.
Doctor Tang sat on the chair, skillfully rolled up Qi Jingyan's trouser legs, and then took out a silver needle and started giving him acupuncture.
Acupuncture takes some time. Meng Yuning was afraid that the hot water bottle would get cold, so she went to the cabinet to get a quilt and covered the hot water bottle.
Several people gathered around and watched quietly. Meng Yuning looked at the long silver needles piercing Qi Jingyan's legs one by one, and couldn't help but feel pain for him.
Qi Jingyan saw the girl grinning as Doctor Tang inserted and removed the needle, as if the needle was pricking her body, and he couldn't help laughing.
Doctor Tang glared at him unhappily and said, "In the future, if it's cloudy or rainy, please keep warm and don't catch a cold."
Qi Jingyan humbly accepted the instruction: "I'll remember it."
After Doctor Tang had removed all the needles, he packed up and left. Mu Yun went to see him off with an umbrella.
Meng Yuning climbed onto the bed and dug out three hot water bottles from under the quilt. She placed one next to each of Qi Jingyan's knees and another at the sole of his foot. "Your Highness, please step carefully. Don't let your soles get cold."
Yi'er also generously covered his brother's legs with his tiger-head quilt: "Your legs can't get cold."
Meng Yuning also said: "Yes, the legs must not be exposed to cold. Come on, Yi'er, let's cover brother's legs."
Qi Jingyan lay on the bed, obediently allowing the big and small to manipulate them.
Soon, the three hot water bottles and the tiger-head quilt began to work. Not only was the chill on his legs relieved, but he also began to emit heat.
Meng Yuning and Yi'er were busy working, wrapping Qi Jingyan's legs tightly from the knees down. After they were done, they sat on the bed. When they looked up, they saw that Qi Jingyan's cheeks were flushed and his forehead was covered with sweat.
Meng Yuning was startled. She quickly crawled over and touched his forehead. "Do you have a fever? Why is your face so red?"
Qi Jingyan shook his head: "No."
Meng Yuning frowned: "Maybe your legs are hurting again? I'll go call Doctor Tang." As she said that, she was about to crawl over his legs.
Qi Jingyan reached out and grabbed her arm, "A Ning, it doesn't hurt."
Meng Yuning knelt beside him and looked at him carefully. She found that he did not look like he was in pain, so she became even more puzzled: "Then what happened to you?"
Qi Jingyan's eyes were filled with resentment: "A Ning, I'm hot."
Meng Yuning was stunned, and laughed out loud while casually slapping her legs: "Sorry, sorry, I'll open it for you right away." She said she would open it for him, but she was laughing so hard that she didn't move for a long time.
Seeing Aning suddenly laugh so loudly, Yi'er held her arm, tilted her head, blinked her big black eyes, and asked curiously: "Aning, what's wrong?"
Meng Yuning pointed at Yi'er's quilt and laughed so hard that she could hardly speak: "Yi'er, hurry up and take it away, brother is about to get too hot."
When Yier heard this, she also giggled, but did not forget to take her little tiger-head quilt off her brother's legs.
As soon as the thick tiger-head quilt was lifted, Qi Jingyan felt like he was finally alive. He pointed to his knees and said, "A Ning, please move the hot water bottle away."
Meng Yuning crawled over with a smile, and with trembling hands, she moved the two hot water bottles that were tightly pressed against Qi Jingyan's knees away. Yi'er had already had the foresight to move the hot water bottle from his brother's feet away.
Qi Jingyan breathed a sigh of relief: "I'm finally out of this steamer."
This made Aning and Yier laugh so hard that they fell on the bed again.
After a while, Meng Yuning rubbed her sore cheeks and asked, "Your Highness, does your leg still hurt?"
Qi Jingyan: "It doesn't hurt anymore."
Meng Yuning felt relieved: "That's good. From now on, when it rains, let's all drink some hot water bottles."
Qi Jingyan particularly liked to hear her say "we" and said with a slight smile, "Okay."
---
The next day, the sun was shining brightly.
Mu Yun led his guard brothers to mix mud and lay bricks. In less than an hour, they built the stove in the west room of the main house in the corner near the window.
Meng Yuning specially boiled a pot of water and found that the stove worked very well. The smoke floated out of the roof through the chimney and did not remain in the house at all.
Meng Yuning was very satisfied and gave a thumbs-up to the guards: "Great, great! This stove is easy to use. It will be very convenient to boil water in the future."
The guards laughed a lot at the praise, and then went straight to the yard to choose a place and set up a small kitchen. Meng Yuning followed with Yi'er.
After a few rounds of discussion, everyone finally chose the open space between the west wing and the back house.
After choosing a place, the omnipotent guard brothers got to work in a swift and decisive manner. In less than half a day, a small kitchen with two stoves and two ovens was built.
Looking at the small kitchen that looked like a regular kitchen, Meng Yuning became very excited and wanted to cook a table full of dishes right away. However, the soil needed time to dry and could not be used for the time being, so he had to give up.
Mu Shan and his friends prepared lunch for us, which consisted of four dishes and a soup: beef stewed with potatoes, steamed sea bass, stir-fried water spinach, and an egg custard.
The rain stopped this morning and the weather was not so hot today, so Meng Yuning asked Meng Jin and others to put the food under the awning in the yard, and the two adults and one child finished their meal quietly.
After eating, Meng Yuning thought of Aunt Lin and Ping'an, so she took Yi'er, accompanied by Mu Ying and Mu Li, to see them.
When they arrived at their residence, they found the two of them sitting at the table eating. Aunt Lin saw who was coming and hurriedly pulled Ping An up, kneeling down and greeting him: "I greet your Highness and Miss Meng."
Thinking that Aunt Lin was mainly here to see Yi'er, Meng Yuning didn't say anything. She looked at Yi'er, who raised her hand and said, "No need to be so polite. Get up."
The grandfather and grandson then helped each other to stand up and stood aside stiffly.
After Meng Yuning and Yi'er sat down, she asked them to sit down as well, but Aunt Lin refused to do so. Meng Yuning did not force her and took a look at the food on the table.
When I saw this, I was stunned. There were only two bowls of fried rice noodles and a plate of stir-fried water spinach on the table.
Meng Yuning's first reaction was that the guards treated her differently, but then she thought about how Mu Yun and the others usually behaved, and felt that it shouldn't be the case. She temporarily suppressed her doubts and asked Old Man Lin instead.
Aunt Lin smiled and said, "Thank you, Miss Meng, for your concern. Our old man woke up this morning. He just ate something and drank some medicine, and now he's fallen asleep again."
Meng Yuning nodded: "It's good that he's awake. You and Ping'an can live here peacefully. When Ping'an's grandfather recovers, you can bring Ping'an's parents over."
Upon hearing this, Aunt Lin was so overjoyed that she quickly bowed and thanked her: "Thank you, Miss Meng, for your consideration."
Meng Yuning did not take credit for it: "This is all His Highness's intention."
Aunt Lin then repeatedly thanked His Highness.
Seeing her thanking him repeatedly, Meng Yuning lost interest in chatting. After giving him a few more instructions, she took Yi'er's hand and left.
Qiulian lived in the same courtyard, so Meng Yuning went to see Qiulian. When Qiulian heard the noise, she hurried out and welcomed them into the house.
Seeing her embroidering on the couch, Meng Yuning curiously went over to take a look. She saw white lily of the valley embroidered on the light green material. The embroidery was exquisite, and she liked it at first sight: "What are you doing?"
Qiulian smiled and said, "To answer the question, young lady, this is the skirt I made for you."
Meng Yuning remembered that she had visited Qiulian a few days ago. Seeing that Qiulian was in a low mood and didn't like to go out, she was afraid that she would be bored, so she took out her own money and asked Meng Jin and Meng Yin to go out and buy some fabrics. She gave them to Qiulian and told her to do something to pass the time so that she wouldn't get sick from being bored.
She remembered that Sister A Zhao had said Qiulian was a good needlework worker, but she had never imagined that her embroidery skills were so good.
She picked up the piece of material and praised it profusely: "Qiulian, I like this skirt very much. I also like this lily of the valley pattern. I will wear it when you make it."
Qiulian was a little worried that Miss Meng would not like the new pattern she embroidered on a whim, but she didn't expect that she would like it so much. She was happy, and the heavy stone that had been pressing on her heart since the incident seemed to have become much lighter.
She clenched her fingers and said, "Miss, you have bought so much material. If you like it, I will make a few more for you in the future."
Who doesn't like beautiful new clothes? Meng Yuning nodded and said, "Okay, then all my new clothes from now on will be handed over to you."
Qiulian was flattered and quickly said yes with a smile.
Yi'er shook An Ning's hand: "An Ning, Yi'er also wants new clothes, with the same patterns as An Ning's."
Meng Yuning pinched his little hand and said to Qiulian, "Then Qiulian will make a set similar to mine for the little prince."
Yi'er is still young, so it's good for her to wear bright colors. Besides, men in Daxing occasionally wear flowers in their hair, and Yi'er is just embroidering a few flowers on her clothes, which is harmless.
Qiulian nodded in agreement.
The group left again. After leaving the courtyard where they lived, Meng Yuning asked Mu Ying, "What did you have for lunch?"
Mu Ying: "To answer the question, Miss, we had Lingnan fried rice noodles and water spinach."
Meng Yuning thought to himself that it was indeed so.
It’s just that everyone was enjoying a feast before, so why are they suddenly becoming frugal?
Could it be that he has no money?
That shouldn't be the case.
In the original book, Young Marquis Yu never appeared from beginning to end. Qi Jingyan took the one thousand taels given by the Empress Dowager and spent it on his way to Lingnan. It was understandable that he was short of money.
But this time the young marquis was very generous and gave me 10,000 taels a few days ago. How could he have spent it all so quickly?
She took Yi'er's hand and returned to Yanfuju with full of doubts.
As soon as I arrived at the door of the main house, I heard Mu Yun reporting the accounts to Qi Jingyan.
"Your Highness, we tried to be frugal in renovating the courtyard, but we still spent 1,200 taels. We also spent another 200 taels on some other things. Add to that our daily food and clothing expenses, and we don't have much money left."
"I don't know when your salary will arrive, or even if it will arrive at all. Also, the fief of Canghai County will only be paid after the harvest at the end of winter."
Qi Jingyan: "How much do you have left?"
Mu Yun: "Six thousand three hundred taels. We'll need money back in the mountains. If we don't have new income, I'm afraid we won't be able to make ends meet."
Qi Jingyan: "Just take care of the flowers first, I'll figure out a solution later."
Meng Yuning thought to herself that he was indeed short of money. However, according to the book, Qi Jingyan didn't get the money until after winter.
Now that they have just arrived in Canghai County, they don't know how many eyes are watching them. It will take him several months to pretend. It is not a good time to make any big moves now, so as not to arouse Emperor Kangwen's suspicion again.
This is really difficult. Meng Yuning sighed softly in her heart, and brought Yi'er into the house, only to see Qi Jingyan sitting on a chair drinking tea.
Qi Jingyan had heard the footsteps of the two people a long time ago. Seeing An Ning coming in so confidently, he smiled and patted the chair beside him: "An Ning, come and sit down."
Meng Yuning took Yi'er over and sat on the chair with Yi'er in her arms.
Qi Jingyan gestured for Mu Yun to continue, and Mu Yun said, "From now on, all expenses in the mansion will be thrifty."
Qi Jingyan: "I'm sorry for wronging you brothers."
Mu Yun: "Your Highness, what are you talking about?"
Meng Yuning was thinking in her mind.
More than two hundred young men, not to mention other things, just the food is a huge daily expense. And then there are the clothes, shoes and socks. As guards of the Prince Shen's palace, representing His Highness the Prince Shen, they must dress respectably.
Speaking of this, she remembered that even though they had been in Canghai County for so long, the guard brothers were still wearing the thick spring clothes they brought from the capital.
It's also time to buy them two sets of new, light and breathable clothes. There are more than 200 people, and two sets for each of them, from inside to outside, will cost a lot of money.
Mu Yun hasn't been busy making new clothes for everyone, probably because he's short of money.
But the weather is getting hotter and hotter, and this matter cannot be delayed. Getting prickly heat is a small matter, but it will be troublesome if you get heatstroke.
Meng Yuning thought so in her heart, and then brought it up. At the end, she said, "Your Highness, I still have some silver. If Your Highness is short of money, you can take out my silver first and make clothes for everyone."
Qi Jingyan was about to say no, but Meng Yuning said, "I won't give it to you for nothing. When Your Highness has more money, you can return it to me."
Of course, it would be better if she could give some interest, but she just thought about it in her heart and didn't dare say it out loud, otherwise she was afraid of being kicked out.
Seeing her sincerity, Qi Jingyan was silent for a moment and nodded: "Okay, then I'll trouble An Ning."
Meng Yuning waved her hand: "We are all family, why are you saying such polite things?"
Qi Jingyan smiled.
Mu Yun was surprised that Miss Meng had noticed this. He clasped his fists and bowed with gratitude, "Thank you, Miss Meng, for thinking of us brothers."
Meng Yuning waved her hand again: "Don't be so formal with your Highness." Mu Yun smiled and agreed.
Listening to the conversation between the two, Yi'er hesitated for a while before saying, "Brother, I also have some money, and I can lend it to you, but you have to pay it back quickly, because I still need it."
The little kid's childish yet mature words made everyone laugh out loud.
Qi Jingyan reached out and touched his brother's head: "Just save your money. I won't need it for the time being."
Yier was obviously relieved, "Then when brother needs it, just tell Yier." Qi Jingyan agreed.
Meng Yuning smiled and kissed Yi'er on the head: "Our Yi'er is really loyal."
Yier put his little face in her arms and smiled shyly.
After laughing, Meng Yuning started to worry again. She didn't have much money. If she had to wait until the winter when Qi Jingyan's money came, everyone would have to live frugally for a while.
She wants to eat well and dress well, and doesn't want to live in poverty, not even for a single day.
So he thought about it and said excitedly, "Your Highness, living off the savings is not a solution. I'm planning to start a small business. What do you think?"
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