Free Web NovelChapter 121: Chapter 121
Chapter 121
For breakfast, the Qin family soldiers made rice porridge, which was mostly water. They couldn’t carry a lot of supplies, making travel difficult, so the amount of rice they brought was limited. frёewebnoѵēl.com
For lunch, they shared dried meat, and for dinner, the soldiers hunted in the forest. Over the past few days, they had eaten rabbit and fish. Today, it was uncertain what they would catch.
Yueqian never let her little ones eat those two sad meals.
For breakfast, she gave them steamed buns and dumplings she had prepared. Eating these with the rice water given by the soldiers made it enjoyable. Yueqian considered giving them soy milk and deep-fried dough sticks on some days to change things up, but she would wait until the kids got tired of steamed buns and dumplings.
For lunch, Yueqian gave the children spaghetti with tomato sauce, a dish they had never tried before. Yueqian warmed it up before taking it out, so they didn’t need to eat it hot, avoiding the need to reheat it in front of them.
She simply said that this type of food could be stored for a long time. They had spaghetti, stir-fried glass noodles, and today, they had sticky rice with dried meat that the Qin family soldiers had provided for the past three days.
One piece of meat per day meant three pieces in three days. Eating it with sticky rice made them feel fuller. Only Mu Heng asked for an extra steamed bun. The two children were happily satisfied with sticky rice and dried meat.
For tonight’s dinner, they didn’t know what the meal would be. They could only hope that the Qin family soldiers would find some meat; otherwise, dinner would likely be the dried meat they had brought along in a large sack.
In truth, Yueqian shouldn’t have been treated this way. If she were still the old villainess, she would have screamed and caused a ruckus, making those people unable to be in peace.
However, this plan came from the head of the Qin family. She remembered well how terrified they were on the first day when they brought her rice water without a single grain of rice. They feared that Yueqian would pour the hot water over their heads, but they couldn’t disobey orders.
The master of the Qin family had ordered that Yueqian endure the utmost hardship. Breakfast was to be an unfulfilling, tasteless meal. For lunch, she would eat the same dried meat as the soldiers, without any discrimination due to the different social class.
Fortunately, the soldiers couldn’t endure this for dinner. They needed to eat more meat and food during the journey, otherwise, they wouldn’t be able to last the twenty days. Hence, dinner was usually the best meal of the day.
This treatment was due to Yueqian declaring that she had been disowned by the Qin family. Thus, her status as a noble’s daughter no longer existed. The Qin family hoped that such forcing would make Yueqian want to rejoin them, making her feel the pain of being Yueqian without the “Qin” in front of her name.
But little did they know, Yueqian never felt any suffering. Even if the soldiers didn’t bring her food, she wouldn’t mind. She had her own means, and whatever she wanted to eat, she could bring it out herself. It seemed their childish plan didn’t work at all.
"Young Miss, please rest in this tent."
The leader of the convoy said to Yueqian. Her tent was the same large one they had been using for the past three nights. It accommodated Yueqian, her husband, and the two children together.
Though it was quite cramped compared to the spacious tent Yueqian used to have, it was still much better than the tents the Qin family soldiers used.
"Mmm," Yueqian frowned, looking at her accommodation with an expression that seemed like she was very displeased but said nothing.
The Qin family soldiers recognized this expression well, understanding that the young villainess was not pleased. However, despite such demeanor of hers over the past few days, she had never gone so far as to throw a tantrum or shout. It seemed she had learned to suppress her emotions well.
Although her spoiled and comfort-loving nature hadn’t disappeared, she had significantly improved in managing her emotions. The Qin family soldiers, who had initially been wary of her potentially explosive temper that might cause them trouble, relaxed considerably after three days.
"We will call you shortly to join us for dinner. Please rest as you wish," the convoy leader said before quickly rejoining the other soldiers.
Yueqian waved for the children to gather. She still didn’t allow them to have the wooden board toys, despite Xiao Long’s pleading eyes.
"Since dinner isn’t ready yet, let’s go for a walk. It’s not too dark, and it will help ease our stiffness." Upon hearing this from Yueqian, the others’ faces shifted immediately.
They were extremely sore after three days of sitting in the carriage, being jostled around by the horses from the capital. Just thinking about it made them dizzy, and they longed to stretch their arms and legs in every direction.
Previously, when the soldiers stopped the carriages to set up tents, it was nearly dark, and going for a walk would have been dangerous. Their big brother and sister-in-law wouldn’t allow them to go. But today, they had found a campsite earlier, and the Qin family soldiers had even hunted a deer along the way.
This evening turned out to be quite a peaceful one for them. Their sister-in-law had promised to take them for a walk during this time.
Xiao Long and Huan’er temporarily forgot about the number puzzle, even though Mu Heng still wanted to try it again. Seeing Yueqian and the children so eager, he decided not to say anything. After all, he would have plenty of chances to test the wooden puzzle again, so spending time having fun with them now wouldn’t hurt.
The beautiful lady held the hands of the two little ones and walked with Mu Heng into the forest. Since Mu Heng knew the most about traps, following him ensured their safety.
"Sister-in-law, this forest is denser than the one around our village. It’s quite scary," Xiao Long whispered to his sister-in-law. Walking in an unfamiliar forest made the children a bit fearful.
For them, the forest was always considered dangerous. The villagers’ belief was like that. They believed that the forest was always mysterious, and making a mistake might result in being trapped forever, with even their spirits unable to escape.
There were many stories about people who entered the forest and never came out, so they needed to be very cautious. However, Yueqian had a different perspective.
In the era she came from, entering a forest to breathe in the fresh, pure air was rare. City dwellers had to spend time and money to experience it. Even she had to pay an entrance fee to visit a park. Otherwise, she would only be able to see the white concrete buildings that competed in height, not a lush green forest.
The beautiful lady smiled slightly, gently patting Xiao Long’s hair to help him relax. Of course, Xiao Long wasn’t that scared. He was surrounded by his strong big brother and his clever sister-in-law, and he knew he would get help if anything happened. Feeling the warmth from the hand, the little boy shook off his head to get rid of the timid thoughts.
He was a child who grew up around the mountains; if he was afraid of something as simple as the forest, how would he take care of others in the future?!
While little Xiao Long was battling with his thoughts, Yueqian stopped in her tracks. Her eyes sparkled with excitement as she looked at the mound of soil in front of them, around which some mushrooms were growing.
“Are those termite mushrooms?” Yueqian asked Mu Heng excitedly.
Actually, it wasn’t so much a question. It was just to say it out loud so he would also acknowledge it.
In front of her, termite mushrooms were sprouting, dotting the ground with white spots. She had thought this forest was very fertile and that few people came to gather wild products here. Because it was a route between two cities with no nearby inhabitants along such a long route, the resources did not been used much.
Since being born into this world, she had forgotten that she once knew about termite mushrooms. Typically, these mushrooms were hard to find, growing in rich, moist soil and often around termite mounds or moths. Consequently, they were quite expensive. No, even with plenty of money, they might not be available.
The first reason was because they were seasonal, and the second was that villagers often keep them for their own consumption. They did not have any left to sell to people in the capital. Yueqian, having tasted them before, remembered them well.
“Termite mushrooms?” Mu Heng raised his eyebrows slightly. He looked at the white mushrooms in front of him, his thick brows furrowing with displeasure.
“Those are heart countered mushrooms. They are quite dangerous. Let’s go another way.” Mu Heng grabbed his little wife’s arm when he saw she was about to approach the poisonous mushrooms.
Yueqian raised an eyebrow. Heart countered mushrooms? How could she not recognize them? But termite mushrooms and heart countered mushrooms are different. The dangerous ones are the heart countered mushrooms, but what she saw were delicious termite mushrooms.
Although the two look very similar, even in her previous era, the deadly ones were called “false termite mushrooms.” Some villagers mistakenly collected them because it really looked similar. Only someone with her expertise in identifying poison could distinguish between them.
However, proving to others that they weren’t poisonous wasn’t difficult. As a poison master, she always carried a silver needle with her. So, after cooking the food, she could show them that they weren’t poisonous. That should suffice.
"Husband, these might not be poisonous mushrooms. Even if they were, wouldn’t the symptoms appear after consumption? How about I collect them and prepare a dish? We can use a silver needle to test for poison before eating," Yueqian explained her idea to her husband.
Mu Heng didn’t quite understand why she wanted to gather the mushrooms to cook so eagerly. He kept his doubts to himself, seeing the beauty’s excited demeanor. He could only stay silent and let her do as she wished. Just like what she said, he knew well that approaching them wasn’t dangerous, only consuming them might cause trouble.
Previously, these mushrooms had been rumored to cause numerous deaths. The poisonous mushroom with the name of heart countered, after consuming would cause dizziness, vomiting, severe diarrhea, and even difficulty breathing, leading to unconsciousness.
Poor people who foraged often had such experiences, making these medium sized white-stemmed, umbrella-like mushrooms synonymous with poison in their minds. Despite the occasional travelers on this route, these mushrooms were ignored because people had mistaken it for poisonous mushrooms.
However, once Mu Heng tasted the dish his wife prepared, he would understand why Yueqian was so delighted. Moreover, they weren’t as poisonous as believed, requiring expertise to identify them correctly. If people facing starvation knew this and carried a silver needle to test for poison, they could feel at ease while consuming these mushrooms and survive another day.
It was a pity that this knowledge wasn’t been spread. Yueqian herself didn’t intend to use it for profit, so there was no point in telling others. Letting these good mushrooms grow freely in the forests wherever she went was much better. Whenever she wanted to eat such a delicious and expensive treat again, it would be an easy thing.
