8,008

Chapter Eight

Qi Jingyan remained silent, quietly watching her.

From his faint gaze, Meng Yuning instantly realized she had overstepped—questions like “who is this for” were not hers, the daughter of an enemy, to ask.

As Meng Yuning pondered how to respond, Mu Feng, standing nearby, spoke up: “Miss Meng, regardless of the symptoms, it just needs to be enough to prevent someone from traveling.”

Meng Yuning immediately thought of the escort soldiers and calmly said, “Alright, then I’ll have to look around.”

Qi Jingyan nodded and instructed Mu Feng, “You go with her.”

Mu Feng acknowledged and followed Meng Yuning toward the riverbank.

Meng Yuning went ahead to the riverbank first. The water was clear and slightly cool. She squatted by the river, cupped some water to wash her face, then carefully washed her hands before standing and walking along the river.

Ahead lay a dry branch, which she picked up, idly drawing lines in the dirt as she slowly searched for poisonous wild greens.

Only edible plants counted as vegetables; poisonous ones were merely plants.

She wondered why Qi Jingyan would go through such trouble to find poisonous wild greens if he wanted to poison someone—wouldn’t it be easier to ask Master Tang, the renowned healer, for some medicine?

Yesterday, she had overheard Mu Feng call that ill-tempered cook “Old Tang,” realizing he was the same Master Tang mentioned in the book—famed as “Bian Que Reborn, Hua Tuo Revived,” yet unable to heal Qi Jingyan’s legs.

But now Qi Jingyan had turned to her, asking her to find poisonous wild greens, and she couldn’t quite understand why he’d bother with such a complicated method.

Though puzzled, she saw this as an opportunity to build trust with him, so she set to work seriously searching for the poisonous plants.

Her efforts paid off. In a low-lying spot near the river, Meng Yuning found a large patch of tender water celery mixed with equally tender poison hemlock.

Using her stick, she poked at a poison hemlock plant and quietly explained to Mu Feng, “This is poison hemlock. If ingested, mild cases cause nausea, vomiting, and severe abdominal pain; serious cases lead to convulsions, coma, and death by asphyxiation.”

Mu Feng crouched down to observe, visibly shocked. “Such an unremarkable plant could be so deadly?”

Meng Yuning nodded. “Poison hemlock contains potent toxins. Many confuse it with water celery, so one must be very careful.”

Mu Feng asked, “Which one is the water celery?”

Meng Yuning used her stick to nudge a nearby similar-looking plant. “This is water celery. Its leaves are less deeply divided and more compact. It’s edible—stems can be stir-fried with eggs or meat, and the leaves can be made into soup.”

Mu Feng studied it for a moment, then quietly suggested, “Miss Meng, let’s gather separately.”

Meng Yuning asked, “Gather what?”

Mu Feng glanced toward where the soldiers were resting and lowered his voice. “You pick water celery for us to eat ourselves. I’ll gather both kinds—water celery and poison hemlock—to give to them.”

Meng Yuning thought to herself, so that’s the plan. She whispered, “Mu Feng, why tell me such a big secret?”

Mu Feng replied simply, “You’re one of us. What’s wrong with telling you?”

Surprised, Meng Yuning glanced back toward Qi Jingyan’s carriage. “But when I asked His Highness earlier, he didn’t say anything.”

Mu Feng sighed. “Our lord has always been tight-lipped, and now he talks even less.”

Mu Feng’s words seemed to explain why Qi Jingyan hadn’t answered her, but Meng Yuning felt otherwise. His look earlier suggested he thought she’d asked a question she shouldn’t.

Besides, if he was so reluctant to speak, why did he personally ask her rather than having Mu Feng do it?

Still, no matter his thoughts, as long as he let her come along and didn’t make things difficult, that was enough.

“All right, then I’ll pick,” Meng Yuning said, dropping her stick and squatting carefully to gather water celery, making sure not to mix in poison hemlock.

Mu Feng also began gathering, but with less care. He drew his waist knife and cut through the plants recklessly, as if cutting grass, grabbing large handfuls at a time.

Seeing him toss his bundle casually aside, Meng Yuning quickly took her own bundle and moved a little away. “You should keep yours separate—don’t mix it with mine.”

Mu Feng acknowledged with an “Oh” and used his knife to move his bundle aside.

They worked separately. Mu Feng’s rough method yielded a large pile quickly, while Meng Yuning gathered only a small amount. Mu Feng then came over to help her, and after watching him carefully picking only water celery, she relaxed.

When they thought they had enough for a pot, they stopped. Meng Yuning plucked some wild grass, twisted it into a rope, tied her water celery bundle, and carried it forward.

Mu Feng did the same with his bundle, but when he tried to take hers, she refused, fearing he’d mix them up.

Back at camp, Mu Shan and several guards had already peeled the wild bamboo shoots from yesterday and washed all the vegetables, neatly arranged in large wooden basins.

Seeing Meng Yuning arrive, Mu Shan stepped forward with a simple smile. “Miss Meng, the vegetables are all prepared. What else do you need?”

Meng Yuning handed over her tied water celery bundle. “Help wash and prepare these. I’ll take care of the rest.”

Mu Shan agreed, took the bundle, and carried a big wooden basin to the river. Mu Feng carried his bundle and a water-filled wooden bucket, following along.

After breakfast, they probably wouldn’t eat again until near evening. With two hundred people, Meng Yuning calculated that she might as well prepare all the gathered wild greens now. Heading south, the variety of edible wild plants would only increase, so they could pick as they went, no need to save any intentionally.

Seeing the guards waiting for instructions, she asked if they could cook. Receiving affirmative answers, she ordered them to cook three large pots of rice. They agreed and set about washing and cooking the rice.

Meng Yuning planned to stew wild bamboo shoots with lamb again. Since there were more people today and she wanted everyone to taste it, she flattened the bamboo shoots before cutting them into small, finger-sized pieces.

Her movements were crisp and practiced, the rhythmic sounds of chopping and pounding oddly satisfying.

Master Tang, standing near Qi Jingyan, noticed the rhythmic noise and looked over.

After watching a while, he stroked his beard. “Tsk tsk, Miss Meng’s knife skills—she must have cooked a lot since childhood.”

Qi Jingyan sat quietly in his wheelchair, expression unreadable.

When Meng Yuning finished preparing the bamboo shoots and began cutting lamb meat, Master Tang’s eyes lit up. He jumped up and quickly approached. “There’s good food today. I must guard the pot.”

With guards helping to cook, tend fires, and fetch water, Meng Yuning saved much effort and worked faster.

She cut a piece of lamb slightly larger than yesterday’s and stewed a large pot of wild bamboo shoots with lamb meat. Since there were many people and little meat, she cut the lamb even smaller, counting over three hundred pieces so everyone could have a small taste. The remainder she reserved for Qi Jingyan and Yi’er, and of course she intended to eat a few extra pieces herself.

Her body was weak—perhaps from insufficient exercise before or poor diet and rest recently—and she took every opportunity to nourish herself.

Once the meat pot was done, Meng Yuning asked the guards if they had eggs. They brought a basket filled with roughly two hundred eggs cushioned by straw.

She cracked ten eggs, fried them, then chopped the fried eggs finely. After stir-frying wild scallions, she added the egg bits, tossing briefly before serving a large bowl of wild scallion scrambled eggs.

Next, she blanched shepherd’s purse, cooled and chopped it, then boiled it into a soup. When the shepherd’s purse was nearly done, she whisked five eggs and poured them directly into the boiling soup before quickly removing it from heat. The large pot of yellow-and-green shepherd’s purse egg soup was ready.

Some dandelions remained. Meng Yuning dressed them with oil, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar, crushed two garlic cloves into minced garlic, fried it until fragrant, poured the hot oil over, and mixed it well, making a cold dandelion salad.

Just as she was about to announce mealtime, Mu Shan brought over the washed water celery. “Miss Meng, how shall we prepare this?”

After washing for so long, Meng Yuning had nearly forgotten about the water celery. She gestured to the three dishes and one soup already prepared and suggested, “I think this is enough for now. Why don’t we save this dish for the afternoon meal? It won’t spoil in a day.”

Mu Feng returned carrying his bucket of greens and whispered, “Miss Meng, you should cook it now. It will be useful later.”

Seeing his mysterious look, Meng Yuning guessed it involved the poison hemlock and said nothing further. She had the guards remove the water celery leaves and discard them, then chopped the stalks and stir-fried them with several eggs.

Now all the dishes were ready. Meng Yuning washed her hands and, together with Mu Feng, first served Qi Jingyan and Yi’er, then placed the dishes before them. Mu Yun had already set up a folding table, and they arranged the dishes neatly.

Yi’er had woken up sometime earlier and now sat in Qi Jingyan’s lap, clapping his hands at the table. “Meat, meat!”

Meng Yuning introduced each dish and concluded, “None of this is poisonous. If His Highness doesn’t trust it, I can taste it first.”

Having worked all morning, she was hungry and eager to try.

Qi Jingyan replied flatly, “No need.”

He then picked up his chopsticks and sampled each dish. The wild bamboo shoot stew was as tender and flavorful as yesterday, the lamb soft and the bamboo shoots crisp. The wild scallion scrambled eggs were pungent and appetizing; the water celery scrambled eggs fresh and tender; the cold dandelion salad was cooling and complemented the rice; and the shepherd’s purse egg soup was deliciously fresh.

Not only were the flavors excellent, but the presentation was impeccable.

After tasting, Qi Jingyan nodded approvingly. “Good.”

Meng Yuning smiled. “Please enjoy, Your Highness. I’ll take my leave.”

Qi Jingyan replied, “Go ahead.”

She saluted and quickly returned to the stove.

Qi Jingyan picked up Yi’er’s rice bowl and began to serve him, but Yi’er insisted, “I eat myself!” anxiously stamping his feet.

Mu Yun stepped forward, lifted the little prince onto a nearby stool. Yi’er knelt and tucked into his bowl alone.

Qi Jingyan patted his head and instructed Mu Yun, “Serve a portion of each dish and send it over there.”

Mu Yun complied, packing one portion each of the four dishes and soup into food boxes. Together with Mu Shan, they carried the food to the escort soldiers still preparing their campfire meals.

They approached the leader of the soldiers. Mu Yun placed the food boxes down and respectfully said, “Captain Zhang, our lord regrets that his leg injury has delayed the journey and your duties, and feels guilty.”

Though there had been friction between the two sides recently, it was unwise to offend a smiling face, especially since Qi Jingyan was now Prince Shen, and Captain Zhang was expected to show respect. The captain quickly rose and bowed in return. “Your Highness is too kind. I dare not accept such praise.”

Mu Yun continued, “We prepared some dishes that taste quite good. His Highness wanted to send some over for Captain Zhang to sample.”

The two camps were always set close—never more than a few yards apart. They had smelled the scent of the wild bamboo shoot stew yesterday.

Relations were tense, so Captain Zhang was reluctant to ask, but he was also very tempted.

They had sent men to buy food from nearby villages, but mostly cold or dried goods. In all these days, they hadn’t had a hot meal—not for lack of desire, but because this mission was sudden, and they hadn’t brought a cook.

Now, seeing Prince Shen send food, Captain Zhang was pleased but cautious, suspecting it might be a trap.

Still, he couldn’t publicly refuse out of respect.

He thanked them repeatedly and accepted the food boxes.

Mu Yun smiled and took his leave, but before leaving, he subtly added, “Captain Zhang, if you go out shopping next time, please bring us some meat. Our two princes—one injured, one young—must not be shortchanged on food.”

He pulled a pouch from his pocket and handed it to Captain Zhang. “Thank you.”

This eased Captain Zhang’s doubts—now it made sense.

The higher-ups forbade Prince Shen’s men from wandering freely but didn’t forbid proxy purchases. With thousands of miles left to travel to Lingnan, eating only plain food would be hard on their stomachs.

Better to have the other side’s cook prepare meals as well. Thinking this, Captain Zhang smiled and accepted the pouch. “Don’t worry—it’s a small matter.”

Then he asked, “I wonder where your cook came from? How come the food smells so good?”

Mu Yun didn’t hide it. “She is our Prince Shen’s consort.”

Captain Zhang looked puzzled. “The Prince’s consort can cook?”

Mu Yun smiled. “Exactly.” With that, he bowed politely and left with Mu Shan, returning to camp.

After they left, Captain Zhang opened the food boxes and laid out the dishes. Seeing the colorful, aromatic, and flavorful spread, he and his men swallowed hard.

Still cautious, he pulled out silver needles to test each dish. After a while, seeing no discoloration, he relaxed and ate heartily.

When they were halfway done, he patted his belly and waved them off. “Go ahead and divide the rest.”

The soldiers thanked him and finished the remaining dishes completely, even licking the shepherd’s purse egg soup bowl clean.

Still craving more, they asked, “Sir, we still have some cured meat. Shall we ask the Prince’s consort to prepare a meal?”

Captain Zhang, well-fed and in good spirits, replied, “As you wish. But watch carefully—don’t let anyone tamper with the food.”

They eagerly agreed. One said, “Sir, I think the Prince’s household wouldn’t dare. They’re exiled, practically banished, while we were appointed by His Majesty to escort them. If they dared poison us, that’d be defying the emperor openly.”

Another nodded in agreement.

Captain Zhang had ridden all night and was sleepy. He lay down on the grass, eyes closed. “Better safe than sorry. Caution never hurts.”

They agreed and went to get ingredients from the cooks, then brought them respectfully to Mu Yun, explaining their request.

Mu Yun listened and asked them to wait while he consulted Qi Jingyan. After receiving permission, he told them, “Our consort is eating now. She’ll help you after she finishes. Is that alright?”

When asking for help, one must consider the other’s convenience. They agreed.

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Meng Yuning sat by the river, holding a large bowl filled with rice and dishes, with a smaller bowl containing shepherd’s purse egg soup beside her.

She gazed into the distance, listening to the water’s flow, savoring her meal slowly, feeling content.

Even if she had to cook every day, she would be happy. She loved the process of cooking—transforming ingredients into fragrant dishes—and enjoyed the admiring looks when others tasted her food, which gave her a great sense of accomplishment.

If it weren’t for all the fighting and killing in the story, simply following Qi Jingyan’s group leisurely down to Lingnan would be a pleasant journey.

After finishing the large bowl and drinking the soup, she felt quite full. She sat for a while before standing, washing her dishes by the river. Judging by the time, everyone else was probably resting, so she began walking back.

She was determined not to be a burden or cause annoyance.

Returning to the stove, she saw Mu Yun waiting with several people. Seeing her approach, Mu Yun stepped forward and respectfully said, “Miss Meng, Captain Zhang’s group would like you to help prepare some dishes.”

Meng Yuning instinctively looked toward Qi Jingyan. “What did His Highness say?”

Mu Yun replied, “His Highness said it’s a favor to ask. We’re traveling together, so we should help each other.”

The soldiers brought over cured meat and eggs. “We brought meat and eggs, but no vegetables. If you have some wild greens to spare, we’d appreciate it. We’ll replenish them once we find more.”

Meng Yuning’s heart pounded uncontrollably as she immediately thought of the water celery mixed with poison hemlock that Mu Feng had washed and stored in the bucket.