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Chapter Fourteen

Meng Yuning entered the wooden cabin, passing by the kitchen area and stepping into the inner room, where she saw Doctor Tang attending to Qi Jingyan’s injured legs.

Unlike the last time at the camp, where everything was done discreetly, this time, even with her presence, the few people carried on with their tasks openly, showing no signs of avoidance.

Qi Jingyan lay on the bed dressed in black sleepwear, his loose trousers rolled up above the knees, exposing his two calves coated in a brown medicinal ointment right before her eyes.

When he was imprisoned in the Heavenly Prison on charges of treason, Emperor Kangwen had merely ordered a strict interrogation.

By law, before a verdict was reached, no one dared to mistreat the Crown Prince, who still held his title.

But the Third Prince was determined not to let this opportunity to ruin Qi Jingyan slip away. He exploited the situation, coercing and intimidating the interrogators, and directly had Qi Jingyan subjected to torture.

Qi Jingyan steadfastly refused to confess. Enraged, the Third Prince ordered his legs to be broken and then neglected to summon the imperial physician for treatment.

When the Empress found out, she immediately wrote a blood letter and took her own life, sacrificing herself to save her son.

On the day Qi Jingyan left the capital, Doctor Tang had secretly joined the escort and helped set his legs. Since then, he had been meticulously caring for him.

Though Qi Jingyan’s leg injuries were severe, fortunately, the bones had been reconnected within a few days. Though not fully healed, externally they no longer showed obvious signs of damage.

Meng Yuning wasn’t sure if it was the pain-relieving effect of Doctor Tang’s medicine or Qi Jingyan’s endurance, but his expression was calm and serene, showing no sign of suffering.

Noticing her gaze, Qi Jingyan glanced at the two guards who had just carried in a bamboo couch and placed it by the window. “If you’re tired, rest first.”

Meng Yuning hurriedly waved her hand. “I’m not very tired yet. Let’s sleep together after Your Highness finishes treating your legs.”

Qi Jingyan, still a patient, hadn’t yet slept. Doctor Tang then took out silver needles and began acupuncture. The seventeenth prince, though clearly drowsy, still rested his head on Qi Jingyan’s shoulder, gently patting his chest as if comforting his brother.

Though the two guards who had placed the bed had left, Mu Yun, Mu Feng, and Mu Shan had all come in, kneeling with their hands on their knees, forming a circle around Doctor Tang as he treated Qi Jingyan’s legs.

Everyone in the room’s attention was fixed on Qi Jingyan’s injured legs.

Even though Meng Yuning’s waist and back ached, she felt too embarrassed to lie down and rest, fearing it would seem like a lack of empathy. She worried the fragile trust and goodwill they had just established might be undone.

She spoke casually based on the situation but did not expect Mu Feng and the others to all turn toward her with a strange look.

Meng Yuning was taken aback and asked, “What is it?”

The three shook their heads and looked away, resuming their watch of Doctor Tang’s acupuncture.

She then looked back at Qi Jingyan, who was studying her. Recalling her earlier words, she suddenly realized the phrase “let’s sleep together” might have caused a misunderstanding.

Her face flushed deeply with embarrassment. She clenched her hands, wanting to explain that she did not mean what he might have thought, but Qi Jingyan had already diverted his gaze toward Yier.

She gave up the thought, picked up her bundle from the table, and quietly sat on her own bed.

Opening the bundle, she took out a white fur-collared apricot-colored cloak, intending to use it as a blanket for the night.

She hadn’t examined the contents carefully before but knew what was inside from memory.

Several sets of clean clothes from inside out, a small box containing valuable jewelry, and all her secret savings — all packed by her personal maid, Yuzhu.

She wanted to count the money but with so many people around, it was inconvenient. So she tied up the bundle and placed it by the bedside, intending to use it as a pillow.

Then recalling something, she took out three handkerchiefs from the bundle, folded them together, and tied them into a makeshift mask she could wear over her face.

While she busied herself, Doctor Tang finished the acupuncture, waited a moment, then removed the needles. He wrapped Qi Jingyan’s calves carefully with bandages and wooden splints, and gently lowered his pant legs.

He then turned and brought in the medicinal broth that had been simmering for a long time but had cooled for hours. “Help Your Highness sit up and drink the medicine.”

Mu Yun and Mu Shan quickly stepped forward, cautiously propping Qi Jingyan up against the headboard.

Qi Jingyan reached for the bowl, tested its temperature, then tilted his head back and drank it down in one go.

Meng Yuning wrinkled her nose at the bitter scent of the medicine.

Yier, watching nearby, puckered her little face but clapped her hands and praised in a babyish voice, “Brother is so impressive.”

Qi Jingyan expressionlessly put down the medicine bowl and accepted a handkerchief from Mu Yun to wipe the corner of his mouth. “Enough for today. Everyone, get some rest.”

Mu Yun asked, “There’s hot water outside, Your Highness. Would you like to wash up?”

Qi Jingyan replied, “It’s late. No need to trouble myself. We’ll do it tomorrow.”

Then, as if recalling something, he looked at Meng Yuning kindly. “Miss Meng, would you like some hot water?”

Meng Yuning quickly declined, “I’m not in a hurry tonight.”

After days outdoors, she was dirtied and grimy. A hot bath would be a luxury, but with no place to wash, she decided to forgo it.

Qi Jingyan seemed merely polite. Seeing her refusal, he said no more. After Mu Yun helped him lie down, he held Yier in his arms and covered him with his little tiger-head quilt. Then he waved his hand. “Everyone, rest now.”

They all bowed and left, taking the two torches from the room with them.

Darkness fell instantly inside. Yier nestled closer into Qi Jingyan’s embrace and whispered softly, “Brother.”

Qi Jingyan soothed him warmly, “Don’t be afraid, I’m here.”

The little boy asked again, “Brother, will Mother come to see me tonight?”

Qi Jingyan paused, then answered, “Sleep well, Yier. Maybe Mother will come see you tonight.”

Hearing this, Meng Yuning suddenly felt a chill down her spine. She quickly slipped off her shoes and lay down, wrapping herself tightly from head to toe in the cloak.

She put on the mask she had made, tying it firmly behind her head. Trying to speak, she found it clamped tightly, making it hard to open her mouth, which reassured her.

The two beds were very close. She listened carefully to the sounds from Qi Jingyan’s side, planning to sleep only after he did. But exhaustion overcame her, and moments after lying down, she fell into a deep sleep.

Yier also slept, occasionally emitting soft snores.

Qi Jingyan listened to their breathing, staring quietly at the ceiling, unable to fall asleep for a long time.

After an unknown time, a muffled murmur came from the bed beside him. The woman’s head was covered by the cloak, and something seemed to block her mouth. Her words were indistinct and hard to understand.

At first, Qi Jingyan paid little attention, but when she kept mumbling incessantly, he grew concerned she might suffocate.

He reached out and pulled the hood of her cloak down.

In the moonlight streaming through the window, he saw clearly she had wrapped something around her mouth—not merely covering it but tightly binding it, leaving indentations on her slightly chubby cheeks.

Qi Jingyan was speechless.

He had never seen anyone do this while sleeping and couldn’t fathom her purpose.

Since she was still breathing normally, evidently not in danger, he did not interfere further. He covered her hood back over her head, withdrew his hand, gently patted Yier’s head, and closed his eyes.

—

Half a day earlier, on the official road a hundred miles away.

When a soldier returned with a doctor and a medicine boy, the escorting soldiers were pale and lying on the ground, some twitching uncontrollably.

The doctor was terrified, his face drained of color, his calves trembling. He silently thanked his prior caution in questioning the officer to understand the situation fully and preparing antidotes in advance; otherwise, they might all have died.

Faced with a life-or-death situation, he quickly regained composure, ordered the medicine boy to boil water and prepare the antidote, then distributed it to the twenty soldiers who hadn’t been poisoned, feeding them one by one.

For those severely affected, he administered detox pills.

After nearly an hour of frantic work, most were saved.

But the few who had been in charge of watching the kitchen were all dead.

Commander Zhang angrily pointed at the doctor. “How did you save them? They all ate the same food. Why are the others fine while these few died?”

These men had been his trusted aides for years, efficient and reliable. Losing them all at once left him at a loss.

Seeing his anger, the doctor’s face was pale, sweat beading on his forehead. “May I ask, sir, did these officers eat more than the others?”

A thin-faced soldier lying nearby weakly replied, “They ate the most, each with a full large bowl. Only after they served themselves did we get any.”

Though there were two large basins of dishes and one large pot of soup, there were four to five hundred men. After these few took their share first, the rest had very little, sometimes less than a spoonful.

They had earlier complained about the blandness of the food, but now they felt lucky. It was because there were so many men and so little food that most survived.

The twenty soldiers who had been on duty and didn’t receive food considered themselves fortunate.

The doctor nodded. “That explains the deeper poisoning. Also, did these officers eat or drink anything else in greater quantity?”

Commander Zhang asked the others, “Do you know?”

The thin-faced soldier answered, “They drank wine.”

Zhang’s expression darkened. “Where did the wine come from? Was it stolen from me?”

“No, sir. It was brought by Mu Shan, a guard serving Prince Shen. I wanted a sip, but they refused and shared only among themselves.”

The doctor asked, “What container was the wine in? Is it still there?”

“A small wine jar. After they finished, they threw it away.”

Because he was fond of wine, the soldier had paid attention until they discarded the jar, then stopped watching.

Zhang ground his teeth in fury, grabbing a soldier’s medicine bowl and smashing it on the ground. “Now I have no one to use. I’m at odds with you.”

Though he didn’t name anyone, the soldiers knew whom he meant and lowered their heads in silence.

After scolding, Zhang kicked a newly revived soldier, yelling, “Useless lot! Get well quickly and come with me to pursue them.”

—

Meng Yuning slept soundly, her dreams vivid.

In her dream, she carried a basin of peeled wild bamboo shoots to the river to wash them, but she slipped, spilling the shoots everywhere and falling to the ground.

The heavy thud of her legs hitting the bed startled her awake.

She opened her eyes into pitch darkness, dazed for a moment before pulling off her hood. Her first instinct was to look at Qi Jingyan, to see if she had disturbed him.

But he seemed asleep, lying still without even his chest rising.

Staring at him, a thought suddenly struck her: could he be dead?

After all, he had suffered severe injuries in prison, and it had only been about ten days.

In the original story, he survived, but he wasn’t hiding in these remote mountains to recover. Now with the plot altered, she could no longer blindly trust the book.

This thought made her skin crawl. She shifted toward the bed’s edge and stretched out a finger, struggling to reach under Qi Jingyan’s nose to test his breath.

Before she could confirm, a cool hand suddenly grabbed her finger. He opened his eyes and looked at her calmly. “What are you doing?”

Startled, Meng Yuning trembled and blurted out, “I mean no harm, I just wanted to see if you were breathing.”

Qi Jingyan was silent.