After Zeng Haomiao had awkwardly taken care of his business and put on the clothes that had been prepared for him, he finally came to Shi Ning'an's side.
There were some pears on the table. They were clean, as if they had just been picked.
Shi Ning'an said excitedly, "There are orange trees, plum trees, and pear trees over there. There are so many fruit trees. I only went to the nearest pear tree and picked a few pears. They've already been washed. Cousin, come and have a taste quickly."
Only then did Zeng Haomiao take a good look at Shi Ning'an. She was wearing ordinary coarse cloth clothes, which were old and a bit too big. She had tied them up with a belt so that they could fit.
He knew that his younger sisters at home would even quarrel over clothes and fabrics since they were young. They would never have the habit of wearing someone else's old clothes. Now, his cousin was so casual and didn't seem to mind at all. It was just that they had fallen into difficult circumstances and had no other choice.
However, even in such coarse cloth clothes and with her hair simply tied up in a braid at the back of her head, his cousin looked especially good. One could tell at a glance that she was not an ordinary village girl.
Zeng Haomiao ate a pear and felt a bit more comfortable.
An old woman came over again and brought two bowls of rice. They were both brown rice cooked with sweet potatoes, with some green vegetables on top. There was even an egg for each of them.
Shi Ning'an smiled and said, "Is it some special day today? There are even eggs?"
The old woman waved her hand and said, "Others don't have them. It was the Commander who gave the order, so you two have them."
After the old woman left, Zeng Haomiao didn't eat right away. He took out the silver needle he always carried with him, tested the food, and then nodded and said, "It's not poisoned. You can eat."
Shi Ning'an rolled her eyes and said, "Cousin, if they wanted to harm us, it would be very easy for them. Why would they go to so much trouble and use the method of poisoning?"
Zeng Haomiao nodded. He looked up even more uneasily and asked, "Ning'an, I originally thought that they were soldiers and wouldn't attack ordinary people like us. But because they were afraid that we would leak their whereabouts if we went out, that's why they detained us. But now it seems that the Commander seems to be especially kind to us."
Shi Ning'an lowered her head and ate. The food was really hard to swallow. Before in the capital, she had also heard Rong Heng say that in the army, they could only see meat once every few days.
At that time, she had asked, "Is it the same for you generals?"
Rong Heng had laughed at her for being silly and said, "Are generals not soldiers? Generals should set an example. We all eat and live with the soldiers."
Now that she was really eating the food that Rong Heng had mentioned, Shi Ning'an felt that it was scratching her throat and she couldn't eat it.
Even if she couldn't eat it, she still had to eat. Shi Ning'an endured and ate the egg. The green vegetables were not stir - fried but boiled. The salt wasn't even evenly mixed, and they tasted astringent.
Shi Ning'an put down the food and sighed helplessly. Maybe after a few days when she was really hungry, this food would taste good.
Seeing that Shi Ning'an just focused on eating and didn't answer, Zeng Haomiao asked again, "Ning'an, why did you call the Commander 'Sanlang' yesterday?"
Shi Ning'an shook her head and said, "I don't know. At that moment, I actually felt like I saw Rong Sui... Maybe I was seeing things."
Zeng Haomiao also thought that she was seeing things. He was about to say something else.
Shi Ning'an pointed to the people on the other side of the riverbank and said, "Look, what are they doing?"
It was a group of women. In the front was the lady who had brought them here last night.
Zeng Haomiao looked carefully for a while and then said, "They are making something to relieve the heat. The weather is too hot, and there are all these soldiers with strong constitutions."
Shi Ning'an propped her face up and watched for a while, then asked, "Can we make it too?"
Zeng Haomiao asked in surprise, "Do you also want to drink it? Actually, that kind of thing to relieve the heat is not as good as the ones sold in the capital. It's a simple homemade one. I don't think there are any special utensils here. Moreover, if you don't put sugar in it, it can only slightly relieve the heat and won't taste good."
There were no sugarcane here. With such a large army stationed here, even if they wanted to buy sugar, they couldn't buy much. It wouldn't be enough to distribute to so many people.
Shi Ning'an said, "Since I woke up until now, they've been busy there. And it seems that they do this every day, which shows that the demand is greater than the supply. Although there are only two of us, an extra person means an extra pair of hands. If we help, we can provide relief for a few more soldiers, right?"
Zeng Haomiao frowned and looked at her, saying, "They are not the Rong Family's army. I listened to their accents and think they are the Zhou Family's army. They may very well be a threat to the Rong Family. Are you still going to do things for them?"
Shi Ning'an smiled and said, "We'd just be sitting around doing nothing. If a war breaks out, even if we make ice drinks a few times, it won't make much of a difference."
Zeng Haomiao felt that something was strange. All the way here, Shi Ning'an had been worried. She was worried about the Rong Family in the capital and even more worried about Rong Sui. How could she, now that they were captives - of course, they had been well - taken care of, so they shouldn't really be called captives, but now the people on the other side didn't know their identities and only regarded them as ordinary people, while they knew clearly that the people on the other side were the Zhou Family's army, which was opposed to the Rong Family.
Shi Ning'an did what she said. She asked for the old woman's opinion. The old woman went to report to the lady. The lady nodded, and then the old woman taught them how to make the drink to relieve the heat.
It was just making some jelly with Chinese creeping fig fruits. Because it was too rough, it didn't taste good. Shi Ning'an made it a few times and felt that it was really not her forte. She also noticed that the guarding soldiers often went to the trees to pick fruits and ate them without washing.
So she and Zeng Haomiao simply took baskets every day to pick fruits and then went to the pool to wash them. So the soldiers first went to the other side of the riverbank to get the ice drinks to relieve the heat, and then came to Shi Ning'an to ask for fruits.
Within a few days, they got familiar with each other.
A few soldiers were not polite and chatted with Shi Ning'an.
Shi Ning'an said with a smile, "I'm from the Tu family in Nanling. I know a bit of medical skills. I was planning to go to the capital to visit my uncle. My uncle practices medicine in the Anhe Medical Hall."
The soldiers were not familiar with the capital and had never heard of the Anhe Medical Hall. They just asked curiously, "Are your medical skills good?"
Shi Ning'an replied, "We are still young. Our medical skills are not very good."
The soldier was a bit disappointed and said, "I've heard that in the Zeng family of Nanling, even a 13 - year - old child has extremely profound medical skills."
Shi Ning'an nodded with a smile on her face and said, "The Zeng family is, of course, extraordinary, but our Tu family is just an ordinary small family."
The soldier nodded and said, "Don't worry. Our army has strict discipline. We won't do anything to ordinary people like you. When we are about to leave, we will naturally let you go."
Shi Ning'an asked seemingly casually, "When are you leaving?"
The soldier scratched his head and said, "I don't know yet. The higher - ups haven't given the order, so we can only stay here for the time being."
Shi Ning'an responded, "I see. You came from the north. I guess you're not very used to the climate here, right?"
The soldier seemed to have found a kindred spirit and quickly said, "That's right. The weather in our place is much colder. It's so hot here that it's killing us. The ladies make ice drinks for us every day, and we all..."
"Xiao Zhu!"
The cold voice of the lady came from behind.
The soldier named Xiao Zhu was startled. Only then did he realize that he had talked too much. The few soldiers glanced at each other, saluted, and then scattered like birds and beasts.
The lady glanced at Shi Ning'an and sneered, "The girl is quite good at gathering information."
Shi Ning'an still smiled and said, "Madam is being too cautious. My brother and I are like caged birds. We can't go anywhere. Does Madam still worry that we'll hear something and go out to inform others?"
The lady's face looked bad and she said, "Since you're here to practice medicine, just do your own thing well. Don't ask about other things."
Shi Ning'an stretched out her hand to look at her fingers. Because she had been picking fruits these days and soaking her hands in the pond to wash them every day, her hands were peeling, and sometimes they would itch.
"Madam is right. As medical practitioners, we should do our duty well. But Madam is pregnant. How can you work so hard every day and worry so much? I can see that your qi is unstable. Don't hurt the fetus in your womb later."
The lady subconsciously took a few steps back and protected her belly. She looked as if she was facing a great enemy and said, "Who are you? How do you know?"
They were just two ordinary children. How could they tell at a glance that she was pregnant? She wasn't showing yet.
Shi Ning'an waved her hand and changed her address, saying, "Sister - in - law, don't be scared. I don't think even the people from the Zeng family can tell that someone is pregnant without feeling the pulse. I guessed this because I saw that when sister - in - law was working over there, she would sometimes support her waist and touch her belly. Once, when a woman beside her accidentally fell, with sister - in - law's kind nature, instead of going to help her, she subconsciously protected her own belly."
The lady's face looked gloomy. In the end, she didn't say much. She just scolded, "Call me Madam."
Shi Ning'an shook her head and said, "You're not much older than me. I feel very kind towards you. You're just like my own sister - in - law."
The lady didn't want to pay much attention. She turned around and was about to leave. Maybe her movement was a bit too big. She felt dizzy and almost fell.
Shi Ning'an quickly supported her and let her sit on a small stool beside to rest.
Zeng Haomiao stepped forward to feel her pulse. He frowned and said, "Madam should pay more attention. Your qi and blood are a bit insufficient, and you've been overworking. If you don't rest well, you may hurt the fetus in your womb and cause a miscarriage."
He hesitated. There was no writing brush or ink, and there was no place to get medicine. He said, "If you could get some tonics to nourish your body, you could recover in a short time. But now..."
The lady broke free from Shi Ning'an's hand, stood up, and said coldly, "Don't worry about me. Just stay here quietly."
Shi Ning'an was still worried. She said, "Sister - in - law, we're powerless. We're just medical practitioners with a kind heart. We can bear it if adults are involved, but we really can't bear to see a child get hurt. I think when the Commander handed us over to Madam, he just asked you to watch over us, not to detain us strictly. I don't have any other intentions. I just hope that you can relax your guard a bit and let us work with you. At least we can help you."
The lady paused. She turned back to look at Shi Ning'an. Her eyes narrowed and she said, "Miss Tu, I don't care what your plans are. They won't work with me. I know what to do about my body and my child. As for you, just stay here quietly. When the time is right, I'll let you go."
After the lady walked far away, Zeng Haomiao asked, "Ning'an, why do I feel that you seem to be especially concerned about that lady?"
Shi Ning'an tightened her lips. She watched the lady's back as she walked away. Because she was uncomfortable, she put her hand on her waist for support. Her eyes were full of worry.