Chapter 8 008 Better safe than sorry
Chapter 8
Qi Jingyan didn't answer, just looked at her quietly.
From his indifferent gaze, Meng Yuning instantly realized that she had crossed the line. "Who is it for?" was not something she, the "daughter of the enemy", should ask.
Meng Yuning was just pondering how to respond when Mu Feng, who was standing nearby, spoke up: "Miss Meng, no matter what the symptoms are, as long as they can stop people from traveling, that's fine."
Meng Yuning instantly thought of the escorting officers and soldiers, and said calmly, "Okay, then I have to look for it."
Qi Jingyan nodded and told Mu Feng: "You follow."
Mu Feng agreed and followed Meng Yuning to the river.
Meng Yuning went to the river first. The water was clear and slightly cool. She squatted by the river, scooped up a handful of water to wash her face, and then washed her hands carefully. Then she stood up and walked along the river.
There was a dry branch in front of her, so she picked it up and scratched it aimlessly on the ground, slowly looking for poisonous wild vegetables.
Only edible things are called vegetables. Poisonous things are not actually vegetables, they can only be considered plants.
She wondered in her heart, if Qi Jingyan wanted to poison someone, wouldn't it be most convenient for him to ask Doctor Tang for some medicine?
Yesterday she accidentally heard Mu Feng calling the chef who cooked terrible food "Old Man Tang". Only then did she realize that he was the doctor Tang mentioned in the book, who was known as "the reincarnation of Bian Que and Hua Tuo", but was unable to cure Qi Jingyan's legs.
But now Qi Jingyan came to her and asked her to find poisonous wild vegetables. She couldn't understand why he had to go to so much trouble.
Although she didn't know the reason, this was her chance to build trust in him, so she didn't think too much about it and started looking for the poisonous vegetables seriously.
Hard work pays off. In a depression by the river in front, Meng Yuning found a large area of tender water celery, mixed with equally tender poison hemlock.
She used a stick to pull at a plant of poison hemlock and whispered to Mu Feng, "This is called poison hemlock. If you eat it by mistake, you'll suffer from nausea and vomiting, severe abdominal pain, or even coma, convulsions, and death from suffocation."
Mu Feng squatted down to observe, and was quite shocked: "Such an inconspicuous thing is so powerful?"
Meng Yuning nodded. "Poison hemlock is highly toxic. Many people confuse it with water celery, so be careful."
Mu Feng: "Which one is water celery?"
Meng Yuning used a stick to poke at a plant next to her that looked very similar. "This is water celery. The leaves aren't as split as they used to be, and they're denser. You can eat it. The stems are delicious when used to make scrambled eggs or meat, and the leaves can also be used to make soup."
Mu Feng looked at them for a while and whispered, "Miss Meng, let's pick them separately."
Meng Yuning: "What to pick?"
Mu Feng quietly glanced at the place where the officers and soldiers were staying, and lowered his voice: "You pick the water celery, and we will eat it later. I will pick both and give them to them later."
Meng Yuning thought to herself that this was indeed the case, and asked quietly, "Mu Feng, why did you tell me such an important thing?"
Mu Feng: "You are one of us, what's wrong with me telling you?"
Meng Yuning was a little surprised and turned to look at Qi Jingyan's carriage: "But I asked His Highness just now, and he didn't say anything."
Mu Feng sighed: "Our prince used to be very frugal with words, but now he is becoming less and less talkative."
Did Mu Feng's words explain why Qi Jingyan didn't reply to her just now? But Meng Yuning didn't think so. The look in Qi Jingyan's eyes just now gave her the feeling that she asked something she shouldn't have asked.
And since he was so unwilling to talk, why did he ask her in person just now? Wouldn't it be better to let Mu Feng ask?
But no matter what he thinks, just let her follow them and don't make things difficult for her.
"Okay, let's pick it." Meng Yuning threw the stick aside and squatted down to pick the water celery. He was very careful when picking it so as not to mix in the poison hemlock.
Mu Feng also started picking, but he was much more casual. He drew the sword at his waist and didn't care whether it was water celery or poison hemlock. He just grabbed a handful and started cutting it like cutting pig grass.
Seeing him carelessly throw it there, Meng Yuning quickly walked away with her own pile of vegetables: "Please put yours away carefully, don't mix it up with mine."
Mu Feng said "oh" and moved his pile of vegetables aside with a knife.
The two of them were doing their own things. Mu Feng used a knife and was not picky, so he quickly picked a large pile. Meng Yuning only picked a small pile, so Mu Feng came over to help her. Meng Yuning stared at him for a long time, and when she saw that he was picking water celery and not picking any randomly, she felt relieved.
When they thought they could make a whole pot, they stopped. Meng Yuning plucked some weeds and twisted them into a rope. She tied up the pile of water celery and carried it forward.
Mu Feng did the same, tied up his pile as well, and followed behind carrying it. He wanted to take Meng Yuning's bundle, but Meng Yuning refused for fear that he would get it mixed up.
When we returned to the camp, we saw that Mu Shan and a few guards had already peeled the wild bamboo shoots and picked the wild vegetables from yesterday. They had washed them all and neatly arranged them in several large wooden basins.
Seeing her coming, Mu Shan stepped forward and smiled innocently: "Miss Meng, those wild vegetables have been picked up. What else do you want to do?"
Meng Yuning handed over the bundle of water celery in her hand: "Please help pick and wash these, I'll do the rest."
Mu Shan agreed, took the bundle of water celery, carried a large wooden basin and walked towards the river. Mu Feng held his bundle and carried a large wooden bucket of water and followed him.
According to custom, after the morning meal, they would probably not stop to eat until near dusk. Meng Yuning thought about the amount for two hundred people and decided to cook all the collected wild vegetables. As they went south, the variety of edible wild vegetables would only increase. They could just pick them as they went and there was no need to keep any for themselves.
Seeing several guards waiting for her instructions, she asked them if they could cook. After getting a positive answer, she asked them to cook three large pots of rice. They agreed and went to wash the rice and cook.
Meng Yuning still planned to stew a pot of wild bamboo shoots and mutton, but there were many people here today, so in order for everyone to taste it later, she flattened the bamboo shoots and cut them into small pieces the size of knuckles.
Snap, dangdangdangdang, Snap, dangdangdangdangdangdang...
Meng Yuning's movements were crisp and skillful, and looked very pleasing to the eye.
Doctor Tang was talking to Qi Jingyan. When he heard the rhythmic sound, he looked over.
After watching for a while, Doctor Tang stroked his beard and said, "Tsk tsk, Miss Meng's knife skills are so good, I'm afraid she has been cooking a lot since she was a child."
Qi Jingyan sat in a wheelchair, watching the scene quietly, his face calm.
Seeing Meng Yuning finish processing the bamboo shoots and then cut the mutton, Doctor Tang's eyes lit up, and he stood up from the stool and walked over quickly: "There are delicious dishes today, and I have to go watch over there."
Today, with the guards helping with cooking, lighting the fire, and fetching water, Meng Yuning saved a lot of effort and cooked faster.
She cut a piece of mutton that was slightly larger than yesterday's and stewed a whole pot of wild bamboo shoots and mutton. However, there were more people and less meat, so she cut the mutton into smaller pieces than yesterday and counted them. There were more than 300 pieces in total, so that everyone could get a small piece to taste. The rest could be given to Qi Jingyan and Qi Jingyi. Doctor Tang would definitely not be polite, so of course, she also wanted to eat a few more pieces.
She didn't know if it was because she didn't exercise enough in the past, or because she hadn't eaten or slept well these days, but her body felt very weak now, and she had to seize every opportunity to make up for it.
After the big pot of meat dishes was ready, Meng Yuning asked the guard if he had any eggs. The guard then brought a basket of eggs with some straw inside. The guard estimated that there were about two hundred eggs left.
Meng Yuning beat ten of them, fried them, and then took them out and cut them into egg mince. After frying the chopped wild onions, she poured the egg mince into the mixture, stir-fried it a few times, and served a large bowl of scrambled eggs with wild onions.
Then he blanched the shepherd's purse, took it out and rinsed it with cold water, then chopped it up and put it in a pot to make soup. When the shepherd's purse was almost cooked, he beat five eggs and poured them directly into the boiling soup. After pouring the eggs, he asked the guards to turn off the fire quickly, and a large pot of yellow and green shepherd's purse and egg soup was ready.
There were still some dandelions left, so Meng Yuning added oil, salt, soy sauce and vinegar, smashed two cloves of garlic and minced them, then poured some hot oil on them, stirred them evenly, and made a cold dandelion dish.
Just as I was thinking about eating, I saw Mu Shan bring over the basin of washed water celery: "Miss Meng, how do you cook this dish?"
The two of them spent so much time washing the vegetables that Meng Yuning was so busy that she forgot about this dish. She pointed at the three dishes and the soup and suggested, "I think this is enough for us. How about saving this dish for the next meal? It won't go bad in a day anyway."
Mu Feng came back with his bucket of vegetables and whispered, "Miss Meng, you should cook it. It will be useful for other things later."
Seeing him acting mysteriously, Meng Yuning guessed that it was related to the poison hemlock, so she didn't say much. She asked the guards to help pick off the water celery leaves and throw them away, then cut them into sections and scrambled them with a few eggs.
Now all the dishes were ready. Meng Yuning washed her hands and, together with Mu Feng, first served Qi Jingyan and Yier's dishes, and then brought them in front of him. Mu Yun had already set up the foldable table, and several people placed the dishes on it one by one.
Yi'er had woken up at some point and was now sitting in Qi Jingyan's arms, looking at the dishes on the table and clapping her hands: "And there's meat."
Meng Yuning introduced the dishes one by one, and finally said: "They are all non-toxic. If Your Highness doesn't believe it, I can also test the dishes."
I'm hungry after working all morning, so it would be nice to have a taste first.
Qi Jingyan: “…No need.”
Then, I picked up the chopsticks and tasted them one by one. The wild bamboo shoots stewed with lamb was the same as yesterday, the lamb was soft and tender, the bamboo shoots were refreshing, the wild onion scrambled eggs were spicy and appetizing, the water celery scrambled eggs were fresh, crispy and tender, the cold dandelion salad was a good way to reduce heat and go well with rice, and the bowl of shepherd's purse and egg soup was also very delicious.
Especially all the dishes, not only are they delicious, but they also look great.
Qi Jingyan tasted them one by one and nodded, "Not bad."
Meng Yuning smiled and said, "Then please enjoy your meal, Your Highness. I will be leaving now."
Qi Jingyan: "Go ahead."
After Meng Yuning saluted, she ran happily towards the stove.
Qi Jingyan picked up Yi'er's bowl, put some food on it, and prepared to feed him, but Yi'er was so anxious that he wanted to jump up and down: "Yi'er, eat by yourself."
Mu Yun stepped forward, picked up the little prince and placed him on a stool beside him. Yi'er then knelt on the stool, holding the bowl and started eating.
Qi Jingyan patted his head and instructed Mu Yun: "Serve one portion of each dish and send it over there."
Mu Yun agreed, served a portion of each of the four dishes and one soup, put them into a lunch box, and carried it with Mu Shan to the escorting officers and soldiers who were still cooking.
The two walked up to the leader. Mu Yun put down the food box, bowed, and said politely, "General Zhang, our prince said that he had a leg injury these days, which delayed his trip and also delayed your work. He feels very sorry."
Although there have been constant frictions between the two sides these days, it is better not to hit someone who smiles at you. Moreover, Qi Jingyan is still the Prince of Shen, so Zhang Hujun still has to give him face on the surface. He quickly stood up and returned the greeting: "Your Highness, your words are too kind. I really don't deserve them."
Mu Yun continued, "We have cooked some dishes over there, and they taste pretty good. Your Highness, please have General Zhang send some over. Please come and have a taste."
The camps of the two groups were always next to each other, never more than two meters away. They also smelled the wild bamboo shoots and mutton stew that Meng Yuning made yesterday.
But the relationship between the two sides was tense, so he couldn't just flatter people and ask them, but he was also very greedy.
They could send people to the villages and towns along the way to buy food, but most of it was cold goods and dry food. They hadn't had a hot meal in so many days. It wasn't that they didn't want to eat, but they had taken on this errand at the last minute and didn't have time to find someone who could cook to accompany them.
Seeing that Prince Shen actually asked someone to send food, General Zhang was delighted, but he still remained vigilant, thinking that if someone was being too attentive for no reason, he was most likely a traitor or a thief.
But no matter what, it would be bad to offend King Shen in public, so he thanked him repeatedly and asked someone to accept the food box.
Mu Yun said goodbye with a smile. Before leaving, he hinted, "General Zhang, if you go out shopping next time, please bring us some meat. Our two princes are injured and the other is still young, so we must not let them go hungry."
As he spoke, he took out a purse from his pocket and handed it to Zhang Hujun: "Thank you for your help."
After hearing what Mu Yun said, Zhang Hujun's doubts were somewhat dispelled. It turned out that he had something to ask of him. This made sense.
The superiors ordered that King Shen's men were not allowed to leave at will, but they did not say that they could not buy food on their behalf. Thinking that the journey to Lingnan was still thousands of miles away, if they kept eating such bland food, their stomachs might not be able to bear it.
It would be better to ask the other party's chef to help cook. Thinking of this, Zhang Hujun took the purse with a smile and said, "Don't worry, it's a small matter."
Then he asked, "I just don't know where this chef came from, and why his dishes are so delicious?"
Mu Yun did not hide it: "It's our Princess Shen."
Zhang Hujun looked puzzled: "Princess Shen can cook?"
Mu Yun smiled and replied, "That's right." After that, he didn't stay any longer, bowed and said goodbye, and turned back to the camp with Mu Shan.
After he walked away, Zhang Hujun had someone open the food boxes and bring out the dishes one by one. Looking at the four dishes and one soup that were so delicious, Zhang Hujun and his men couldn't help swallowing.
But he still did not let his guard down. He took out the silver needles and tried them one by one. After waiting for a while, seeing that the silver needles did not change color, he became bold and started working without hesitation. By the time he had eaten and drunk his fill, only half of the food was left.
He touched his belly and waved his hand: "Take it and divide it among you."
Several officers and soldiers thanked him repeatedly, and each of them took a chopstick and ate up all the remaining dishes, even the bowl of shepherd's purse and egg soup was eaten clean.
They were all still hungry and asked, sucking on their chopsticks, "Sir, we still have bacon or something. How about asking Princess Shen to help make a meal?"
Zhang Hujun was full and in a good mood. "It's up to you, but you have to keep a close eye on it and make sure no one does anything wrong."
Several people happily agreed, and one said, "Sir, I don't think the people in Prince Shen's Palace would dare to do that. They were demoted, tantamount to exile, while we were personally appointed by His Majesty to escort them. If they dared to poison them, wouldn't that be clearly going against His Majesty?"
Another person echoed: "Exactly."
Zhang Hujun, who had been riding all night, was feeling sleepy. He lay down on the grass and closed his eyes. "It's always better to be cautious than not."
Several people responded in agreement and went to ask the soldier in charge of cooking for food. Then they took the food and went to find Mu Yun. They put aside their arrogance from the previous few days of confrontation and explained their purpose very politely.
After listening to them, Mu Yun asked them to wait for a moment and went to ask Qi Jingyan for permission. After getting permission, he said to the others, "Our princess is eating now. We have to wait until she finishes before helping the brothers cook. Is this okay with you?"
When asking for help, you must consider other people's convenience, so several people agreed.
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Meng Yuning sat by the river and ate with a big bowl in her hand. The bowl was full of rice and vegetables. There was also a small bowl on the ground next to her, which contained a bowl of shepherd's purse and egg soup.
She looked into the distance, listened to the sound of water, ate her meal slowly, and was in a good mood.
Even if she is asked to cook every day, she feels happy. She likes the cooking process and enjoys turning various ingredients into delicious dishes under her hands. She also likes to see the admiring looks on other people's faces when they eat the dishes she cooks. She feels a sense of accomplishment.
If there were no fighting and killing in the books, she would just follow Qi Jingyan and his group and slowly wander to Lingnan, which would also be a journey.
Meng Yuning slowly finished the big bowl of rice, and drank the bowl of shepherd's purse and egg soup. She was so full that she could not stand up. She sat for a long time before getting up and taking the bowl and chopsticks to the river to wash them. She guessed that everyone had rested enough, so she got up and walked back.
She was determined not to be a drag on others, so as not to cause dislike.
As soon as she walked back to the stove, she saw Mu Yun and a few others waiting there. Seeing her coming, Mu Yun took a few steps forward and said with a bow, "Miss Meng, General Zhang wants you to help cook a few dishes."
Meng Yuning subconsciously looked in Qi Jingyan's direction: "What did your highness say?"
Mu Yun: "His Highness said that he would trouble Miss Meng. We are all on the same journey, so please lend a hand if you can."
Several officers and soldiers over there hurriedly offered the bacon and eggs in their hands: "We have brought meat and eggs, but no side dishes. I wonder if you can share some of the wild vegetables you have dug here with us? We will dig some up when we see you later."
Meng Yuning immediately thought of the water celery mixed with poison hemlock that Mu Feng had washed and put in the bucket, and her heart began to beat uncontrollably.
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