Chapter 82082 Very Appropriate
Chapter 82
As Meng Yuning stepped into the courtyard of Qingke Hall, she heard a burst of hearty laughter coming from inside the house.
She couldn't help but smile and quickened her pace into the house.
I saw Yi'er sitting on a chair next to Qi Jingyan, giggling non-stop, with her little feet dangling gently in the air.
Qi Jingyan sat leisurely aside, his brows relaxed, a smile on his lips, and he looked very happy.
Meng Yuning walked forward with a smile, pretending to be ignorant: "What good news is this? I can hear you laughing from so far away."
Everyone in the room stood up and saluted, "Miss Meng."
Meng Yuning smiled and nodded to everyone: "Please take a seat." Then everyone sat down again.
"Aning, you're back!" As soon as Yier saw her, he jumped off the chair, rushed over with his short legs, and hugged her legs.
Meng Yuning reached out and picked up Yier. Qi Jingyan supported her arm and let her sit on the chair next to him.
He poured her a cup of warm tea and handed it to her. Then he gently picked up Yi'er and placed her on his lap. He looked at her expression and asked softly, "Are you tired?"
Meng Yuning took the teacup, took a sip, smiled and shook her head: "Not tired."
Then she told him about her meeting with Madam Bai, her visit to the Charity Hall, and her entrusting the women from Zui Xiang Lou to Madam Bai and placing them in the Charity Hall. Finally, she looked up at him and said, "Your Highness, is this arrangement of mine okay?"
Qi Jingyan nodded, his tone gentle: "That's very appropriate."
Meng Yuning smiled and said, "That's good."
She thought for a moment and then asked, "Your Highness, I think Madam Bai is honest and kind-hearted, and a person worth making friends with. Can I see her often in the future, drink tea and chat with her?"
Qi Jingyan didn't hesitate and said, "Okay. If you want to meet in the mansion, you can do so at any time. If you go out, you must have Mu Ying and Mu Li accompany you, and ask Mu Jiang and the others to accompany you as guards. You are not allowed to leave the mansion alone."
Unexpectedly, he agreed so readily. Meng Yuning smiled and said yes.
After finishing her story, Meng Yuning looked at Mu Yun, who was sitting below. Although he was quite tanned, he looked energetic and his eyes were bright. She smiled and asked, "Mu Yun, you've had a hard time on this trip. Did you have a smooth journey?"
Mu Yun immediately stood up and replied respectfully but with great excitement, "Thank you for your concern, Miss. This is my job, so I dare not complain about the hardship."
Meng Yuning: "Why do I only see you?"
Mu Yun: "I came back to report that brothers Mu Jiu and Su Yang are still in the mountains."
Qi Jingyan tapped the tabletop with his fingertips, looked at Mu Yun with a smile, and said, "Tell Miss Meng about your gains from this trip."
Mu Yun clasped his fists in response, then turned to face Meng Yuning, his face filled with unconcealed joy. "It's all thanks to your guidance, young lady. Since you said the gold mine is probably not far from Lianfu Mountain, I will search outward from Lianfu Mountain."
"As we made our second circuit, we discovered a mountain called 'Leyang' in the adjacent area. Halfway up the mountain, there was a hidden cave entrance slanting upwards. Overgrown with thorns, it was difficult to spot without careful observation. We tied a rope and descended, exploring the cave."
When it came to the key point, the usually calm Mu Yun couldn't help but dance with joy, gesturing as he said, "I walked in with torches. Not far in, I found a little golden light glimmering on the cave wall. I immediately took a pickaxe and chiseled off a piece of ore. The ore was heavy and golden, which was undoubtedly gold. Looking at the direction of the ore vein, it is winding and deep, and the amount is very considerable."
Although Meng Yuning had already known this from Mu Feng, she couldn't help but feel overwhelmed when she heard Mu Yun say it with her own ears. Her eyes sparkled as she asked, "Is it really a gold mine?"
Mu Yun said firmly, "It's absolutely true. I have confirmed it over and over again, and there is absolutely no mistake."
Meng Yuning immediately clapped her hands and laughed: "Hahaha, Your Highness, this time you are really rich."
Yi'er had been sitting quietly on Qi Jingyan's lap, listening to everyone's conversation. Seeing Ah Ning's hearty laughter, even though he didn't fully understand, he clapped his hands and shouted with a smile, "Brother, you've made a fortune! You've made a fortune!"
The childish words, coupled with the constant giggles, made everyone laugh out loud.
Qi Jingyan smiled and rubbed Yi'er's head, then put him on the ground and patted his little butt: "Go play in the yard by yourself for a while."
After saying that, he looked up at Mu Feng and said, "Take the little prince out for a few laps."
Mu Feng smiled and clasped his fists in response, then walked a few steps to Yi'er, squatted down, and coaxed her softly, "Little Prince, let me take you to fly high, okay?"
Yi'er twisted her body and leaned against Aning's legs: "No, Yi'er wants to be with Aning."
Meng Yuning understood in her heart that Qi Jingyan didn't want the child to hear too much, so as to avoid accidentally leaking the secret in the future.
She stood up with a smile and gently held Yi'er's hand: "Come on, An Ning will go play with you."
Qi Jingyan reached out and gently held her wrist, whispering, "Just let Mu Feng accompany him."
Meng Yuning didn't really want to get too involved in his plans, so she smiled and shook her head, "Your Highness, I've been running around all morning and I'm a little hungry. I'll take Yi'er back to eat something first."
After hearing her say this, Qi Jingyan nodded slightly: "Okay, go ahead and have a good rest."
Meng Yuning bent down and gently picked up Yi'er, her eyes curved as she coaxed him softly, "Let's go eat something delicious, okay?"
Yi'er immediately stretched out her little hands to hug An Ning's neck, and put her little face close to her: "Okay."
The adult and the child left while talking.
When their footsteps faded away and their voices could no longer be heard, Qi Jingyan withdrew his gaze and turned to look at Mu Yun: "Go on."
Mu Yun clasped his fists and lowered his voice slightly, "Your Highness, I have carefully examined the Lianfu Mountain we found earlier. It is indeed an excellent place for garrisoning and training troops, but Leyang Mountain is equally good. I think it would be better to divide the troops into two places..."
---
Meng Yuning held Yi'er's hand and chatted and laughed all the way back to Yanfu Residence.
Seeing that lunch was still some time away and the food in the kitchen hadn't been prepared yet, Meng Yuning suddenly became interested and turned to Meng Zhu and Meng Yu, "Go to the kitchen and see if there's any fresh meat, shrimp, or anything like that left. If there is, bring some onions, ginger, garlic, and flour, and we'll make some dumplings ourselves."
The two girls answered "yes" happily and ran towards the kitchen with light steps.
Meng Yuning took Yi'er back to the room first, changed into two sets of light and comfortable clothes, and then sat on the couch, eating a few lychees bought this morning and a few longans.
After wiping her hands, Meng Yuning asked about Yier's morning class. Yier sat in Aning's arms and spoke in a baby voice, vividly describing how her brother had lifted the stone pillar again. Meng Yuning laughed as she listened.
Not long after, Meng Zhu and Meng Yu returned and reported at the door with a smile: "Miss, all the ingredients for making dumplings are ready. Bring them here."
Meng Yuning took Yi'er and went downstairs to the small kitchen.
Except for Meng Yuning, no one had ever made dumplings before, so she divided the work among everyone. Some people chopped the meat, some peeled the shrimps, some kneaded the dough, and some chopped the green onions. Everyone did their job.
When all the ingredients were ready, she rolled up her sleeves and personally mixed the fillings with seasoning.
Afterwards, she asked the strong Mu Ying to roll out the dough, while she sat around with Meng Yin and others to make dumplings.
Of course, she naturally did not forget to give Yier a small piece of dough and let him play with it himself.
Everyone worked busily for half an hour and finally finished wrapping several large bamboo-lined dumplings. The water in the big iron pot had also been boiled in advance and was bubbling with steam.
Meng Yuning picked up a curtain of dumplings and put them into the pot with a smile: "Let's cook the dumplings!"
Yi'er stood on a small chair, holding onto An Ning's arms with his small hands, and imitated her, clumsily pinching dumplings and throwing them into the pot. Mu Ying was afraid that he would fall, so she hurriedly protected him carefully.
One big and one small put the two large bamboo dumplings into the pot. Meng Yuning took a colander and gently stirred the pot. Then she said softly to Yi'er beside her, "It's hot here, Yi'er, stand further away."
But Yi'er refused. She leaned forward and pointed at the plump white dumplings that kept rising and falling in the pot with her little finger: "Yier wants to watch the dumplings being cooked!"
Meng Yuning smiled upon seeing this, handed the colander to Meng Yin, washed her hands, took off her apron, turned around, hugged the little guy in her arms, and took a steady step back: "Okay, then we'll stand here and watch, but don't come any closer."
Yi'er leaned his little head against An Ning's face affectionately and responded obediently: "Okay, Yi'er will be obedient."
The dumplings were freshly cooked and were taken out, plump and served in a bamboo dish. Lunch was also delivered from the kitchen: a large bowl of stewed beef brisket with radish, eight steamed crabs, three bowls of steamed eggs, and a plate of fresh stir-fried lettuce.
Meng Yuning looked out the door several times, but still couldn't see Qi Jingyan, so she ordered, "Mu Ying, go to the front Qingke Hall and see why His Highness hasn't come back for dinner yet?"
Mu Ying left in response, and soon returned to report: "Miss, His Highness said he won't be back for lunch, so he'll eat in the Qingke Hall. You and His Highness don't have to wait for him."
Meng Yuning knew that this was a busy matter, so after pondering for a moment, she asked someone to bring a food box, personally picked out a few large plates of dumplings that had just come out of the pot, and prepared a small jar of prepared vinegar and garlic sauce, and asked Mu Ying to carry it carefully over.
When Mu Ying came back, Meng Yuning invited everyone to have dinner together.
But Mu Ying, Meng Yin and others declined and refused to go beyond the rules and sit together.
Meng Yuning gently advised, "It's okay. It's hot now. If we leave these dishes until nightfall, they'll probably go bad. Wouldn't it be a shame to waste them? Why don't you share some?"
After hearing this, several people gratefully agreed, but still strictly abided by the rules and refused to take a seat.
Meng Yuning did not force them, but simply divided out a portion of each dish and let them eat at another table.
After dinner, Meng Yin led people to clean up the table, while Meng Yuning took Yi'er back to the room for a nap.
After waking up, she took Yi'er to the study in the east room to write. Yi'er was writing seriously, and she took a book of local customs and scenery from the bookshelf and glanced at it.
After Yier finished writing, she took him to the backyard to swing under the old banyan tree.
The swing swung high, and the laughter of the two people filled the whole garden.
The two of them played happily for a long time, until the sunset covered the sky, and then they returned to Yanfuju.
Meng Yuning originally thought that Qi Jingyan would be back at dinner time, but unexpectedly he sent someone back to tell her that there was no need to wait for him for dinner, and he also specifically instructed the kitchen to deliver the food directly to Qingke Hall without having to send it from Yanfu Residence.
Meng Yuning didn't care much about what she heard. Looking at the food on the table, she shared some of the dishes with Mu Ying and Meng Yin.
After taking Yier for a few walks in the yard to help digest the food, Meng Yuning took Yier to take a bath, then took a bath herself and took Yier to bed.
The little kid practiced martial arts and calligraphy today, and ran around the garden for a long time in the afternoon. He was already exhausted. As soon as he touched the pillow, he went straight into An Ning's arms, yawning one after another.
Meng Yuning deliberately teased him and refrained from patting his back. Yi'er fumbled about in a daze, then grabbed Ah Ning's hand and placed it on himself, mumbling softly, "Ah Ning, pat it."
Meng Yuning's heart softened, and she couldn't help but laugh. She placed her palm on the little baby's round butt, patting it gently while humming a little tune.
She had just hummed a few words when she saw the little kid's hand, which was pulling her hair and spinning around, stopped moving. She looked down and saw that Yi'er had fallen asleep.
Meng Yuning smiled, pulled the chubby little boy closer to her, kissed him on the cheek, closed her eyes and went to sleep.
After lying down for a while, Meng Yuning felt a wave of heat all over her body and tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep.
After thinking for a moment in a daze, she suddenly realized that yes, Qi Jingyan was not here tonight and there was no one to fan them.
Thinking of the man who diligently fanned her and Yi'er with a palm-leaf fan every night, Meng Yuning couldn't help but pursed her lips and smiled.
She fumbled for the palm-leaf fan beside her pillow and began to fan herself slowly. But after just a short while, her arms became so sore that she couldn't lift them. She had no choice but to move to lie on Yi'er's other side and continue fanning with her other hand.
He managed to hold on for a while, but his hands became so sore that he had to give up.
She sighed softly. She hadn't expected Qi Jingyan to be so enduring, fanning them tirelessly all night long.
She gradually felt sleepy and was about to fall asleep when she suddenly heard rustling sounds beside the bed.
She turned around and saw Qi Jingyan sitting by the bed in the dim candlelight, looking at her with a smile. His voice was low and gentle: "A Ning, are you still awake?"
Seeing that it was him back, Meng Yuning felt relieved and lazily lay back down, mumbling vaguely, "Why did His Highness come back so late?"
Qi Jingyan gently gathered her long black hair that had been scattered on the pillow and laid aside, then lay down beside her. He explained in a gentle voice, "I've been a bit overwhelmed with things and have been delayed. I'm sorry to have kept An Ning waiting for so long."
Meng Yuning replied in a half-asleep state, "Isn't it..."
Qi Jingyan's lips curled up slightly when he heard this. Just as he was about to say something, he heard the girl mumble softly, "Your Highness is not here, and there's no one to fan Yi'er and me."
Qi Jingyan: “…”
He shook his head and laughed, resignedly picked up the palm-leaf fan that was thrown aside, and gently waved it at the two of them, one big and one small.
---
Capital city.
Imperial Palace, Cining Palace.
The Queen Mother was taking a nap on the couch, her brows slightly furrowed and her face full of worry.
Eunuch Song bowed and walked into the hall, his voice filled with suppressed excitement: "Empress Dowager, this old servant has returned."
Upon hearing this, the Queen Mother suddenly opened her eyes, a flicker of uncontrollable excitement and anticipation flashing in her eyes: "How is it? I finally saw Yan'er and Yi'er in person. Are they all okay?"
Eunuch Song stepped forward, a smile of relief unconcealed on his face, and he said repeatedly, "Your Highness, please rest assured! Your Highness and the Little Prince are doing well. Your Highness even specifically instructed me to report to the Queen Mother that they are safe."
The Queen Mother held her chest, slowly exhaled, and finally smiled: "That's good, that's good."
Eunuch Song carefully took out a letter from his bosom, raised his hands above his head, and presented it respectfully: "This is written by His Highness himself, and he has ordered this old servant to present it to the Empress Dowager in person."
The Queen Mother was so excited that she sat up straight and even stretched out her hand, saying, "Quick! Bring it here for me to see!"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
