Eleven thousand eleven

Chapter Eleven

Inside the luggage carriage, Meng Yuning lay atop a pile of bundles, eyes closed in rest. In her hand, she absentmindedly swung a small rabbit woven from foxtail grass. Just as drowsiness was about to overtake her, she heard a guard outside call out, “Miss Meng, we’re about to depart.”

So soon? Meng Yuning was surprised. She opened her eyes and replied, “Alright, thank you for the warning.”

The guard climbed onto the carriage pole, pulled the reins, and urged the horses forward.

Meng Yuning sat up and moved to the seat piled with half the luggage. She lifted the curtain and peeked outside, only to see their carriage had overtaken Qi Jingyan’s, pulling ahead.

Puzzled, she tilted her head and asked, “Guard Yang, shouldn’t we wait for His Highness’s carriage to leave first?”

For days, the formation had been two squads of guards leading, followed by Qi Jingyan’s carriage, then her luggage carriage, and a few more carrying pots, pans, and provisions. The divine doctor Tang was seated in one of the rear carriages, with two squads of guards bringing up the rear. This had been the arrangement since leaving the capital. Why the sudden change now?

Guard Yang answered politely, “Mu Yun gave the order, and we’re following it.”

Meng Yuning nodded, choosing not to press further.

Mu Yun was the leader of all the guards, Qi Jingyan’s most trusted aide—calm and never acting on impulse. His orders were essentially Qi Jingyan’s will.

Still, why let her carriage go first? Not only had it passed Qi Jingyan’s, but it had also overtaken the two squads of fully prepared guards, becoming the lead vehicle.

Staring at the empty road ahead, Meng Yuning’s heart skipped a beat.

Could there be an ambush up ahead, and Qi Jingyan was sending her as a shield?

The thought made her nervous. She wanted to suggest riding at the back instead, but knowing Mu Yun’s unquestioned authority over the guards, she dismissed the idea.

Yet she couldn’t merely wait for disaster. Looking around, she saw only various bundles inside the carriage. She knelt on the floorboards and stacked the bundles around, building a high barrier to create a safe pit for herself.

Leaving one bundle on the floor, she hugged her knees and curled into a corner.

If arrows came flying, at least the bundles might cushion the blows. If attackers broke in, she would topple the bundles on either side to bury herself, hoping to survive the ordeal.

She sat inside the carriage, heart uneasy, listening intently to the sounds outside.

The carriage sped up, faster and faster. After about a quarter of an hour, a sudden commotion erupted outside.

Meng Yuning’s heart leaped to her throat. She lowered her head, curling into a small ball, ears straining for any sound.

But instead of the expected clash of weapons or whizzing arrows, Guard Yang spoke up: “Miss Meng, we’ll be traveling hard for a while. Please hold tight.”

Before she could reply, he cracked his whip, and the horses surged forward like mad.

Due to inertia, Meng Yuning was thrown backward but was cushioned by the bundles behind her, avoiding injury.

Just as she steadied herself against the bundles, a flurry of urgent hooves sounded outside, followed by a fierce shout: “Stop! The lead carriage, halt!”

Then came Mu Yun’s voice: “Brother, what’s the matter here?”

The man’s tone was fiery: “Our men ate the dishes you prepared, then suddenly suffered abdominal pain and vomiting. The commander ordered us to bring that cook over—he has questions.”

Meng Yuning’s heart clenched. She instantly understood: those escort soldiers had been poisoned and were here to confront her.

Recalling their fierce faces, she grew anxious and pulled aside the curtain, urging softly, “Guard Yang, can we go faster?”

Guard Yang cracked his whip again. “Don’t worry, Miss Meng. They can’t catch us.”

The horses galloped wildly ahead. Bundles tumbled from the sides, striking Meng Yuning, who grasped the seat tightly, afraid of being thrown out.

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Watching Meng Yuning’s carriage vanish like smoke, the soldiers grew furious. One pointed at Mu Yun, shouting, “You deliberately let that cook escape—what’s your intention?”

Mu Yun bowed politely. “Brother, you worry unnecessarily. Miss Meng went ahead to gather wild vegetables.”

Mu Feng reined in his horse before the soldiers, nodding in agreement. “Yes, yes, all our leftover wild vegetables were eaten by your men. If we don’t pick more soon, we’ll starve tonight.”

Seeing the blatant lies, the man seethed with rage and drew his sword, glaring at the two. “Gather wild vegetables? Your men got sick from the vegetables you gave us. Tell me, did you poison them?”

Mu Feng swatted the sword aside with his whip. “Stop making baseless accusations. We ate the exact same vegetables, and we’re all fine.”

Mu Yun remained courteous. “Brother, I see Commander Zhang is well, and some others seem fine too. Maybe you ate something else by mistake. I suggest you quickly find a town nearby and get a doctor to prevent the illness from worsening.”

The lead soldier glanced back, doubt flickering across his face. With the others blocking their path, he gave up, turned his horse around, and rode off.

Mu Yun told Mu Feng and Mu Shan, “Stay at the rear.”

The two complied, Mu Feng gripping a long sword and Mu Shan a heavy axe as they positioned themselves at the back.

The rest, under Mu Yun’s command, regrouped and accelerated, soon putting a great distance between themselves and the escort soldiers.

Watching the group disappear, Commander Zhang’s face darkened. He leapt onto his horse, shouting hoarsely, “Chase them!”

But among those still standing, besides himself who had eaten well at the start, only twenty soldiers who missed out on the two dishes and soup remained.

The rest had dismounted—some squatting, some kneeling, some sitting or lying down—each clutching their stomachs, vomiting relentlessly. Some even had rolled-back eyes, frothing at the mouth.

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The twenty unaffected soldiers scrambled to care for the others. Hearing Zhang’s order, they hesitated, and one cautiously suggested, “Sir, the men are in critical condition. Perhaps we should find a doctor first?”

Zhang cursed, scowling as he dismounted. “Where’s the medic?”

Their five hundred-strong troop was supposed to have one army doctor.

“One, sir—the medic returned to the capital.”

The night before, the medic had been fine on horseback, but suddenly the horse went wild, bolting forward. The medic was unprepared, thrown off, and fractured his lower leg.

Zhang cursed the medic’s incompetence, made no effort to treat him, and ordered a cart to send him back to the capital.

Hearing this, Zhang cursed again, his expression darkening: “Last night the medic’s horse went mad—definitely sabotage by Prince Shen’s men.”

But now it was too late to do anything.

He stood a moment, then kicked viciously at a soldier who had been guarding the cooking supplies. “Useless! I told you to watch closely—how did someone poison the food?”

The soldier, doubled over vomiting, was caught off guard by the kick and fell, weakly replying, “S-sir, we were watching tightly, really didn’t see anyone tampering.”

Another soldier nearby, also vomiting, hurriedly added, “Sir, from start to finish, the dishes were made by Miss Meng herself. I really didn’t see her poison anything.”

Disgusted, Zhang covered his nose and stepped back. Then he struck another soldier standing nearby, snarling, “You fool, still standing there! Go find a doctor!”

The sudden kick knocked the soldier down, his face pale but silent. He scrambled up, limping to a horse, mounted, and rode toward the nearest town.

After some distance, he spat angrily over his shoulder, cursing, “What kind of people are these?”

No one knew when the doctor would return. Zhang stood fuming as he ordered the remaining nineteen soldiers to rouse the unconscious, force them to vomit by tickling their throats. Soon, hundreds were retching loudly.

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After traveling an unknown distance, Meng Yuning felt as if her bones were about to scatter. At last, the carriage slowed.

Dizzy and nauseated, she struggled from the pile of bundles to sit on the seat. She lifted the curtain and leaned out, taking deep breaths of fresh air.

She rested her whole body against the window, and after a while, the intense urge to vomit subsided.

Weakly, she looked back and asked with concern, “Guard Yang, why have we stopped running?”