Smiling Under Lanter Chapter 459 - 167 Qi Huaying3

Chapter 459: Chapter 167 Qi Huaying_3

Pei Yunng flipped through another page of official docunts without lifting his head, "You are the Vice Envoy, so you hold a high position, which makes bringing you into the matter seem more important."

Xiao Zhufeng didn’t want to entertain his companion’s insincere flattery. He sat down at the desk opposite and asked, "Has she reviewed the dical prescriptions?"

"She has, and it’s the sa as before."

Xiao Zhufeng fell silent for a mont, then said, "It seems that His Highness is already aware."

Pei Yunng’s lips curled into a smirk, "It’s a matter of knowing without saying, more evidence just clarifies the heart."

Xiao Zhufeng didn’t continue the conversation.

The room was quiet, with only the soft rustling of flipping pages. After a while, Xiao Zhufeng spoke up again, "Lu Tong is aware of the dical prescriptions, is that a problem?"

The young man’s hand, poised to write, paused.

He lifted his gaze, "I only let her look at the prescriptions, I didn’t reveal anything else."

"But she’s very intelligent," Xiao Zhufeng reminded, "By putting two and two together, she might figure it out."

"You’re overthinking it, she’s preoccupied with seeking revenge, she doesn’t have the leisure for that."

Xiao Zhufeng asked, "What about you, then? Will you keep helping her? You haven’t really fallen for her, have you?"

The room fell silent once more.

After a short pause, Pei Yunng let out a derisive laugh, "Do I look like Duan Xiaoyan to you?"

"If you were Duan Xiaoyan, it wouldn’t matter whom you liked."

Xiao Zhufeng kept his expression stern, maintaining a businesslike tone, "His Highness is ready to take action, we cannot afford any mishaps at this crucial ti. By the way," he suddenly rembered sothing and asked, "Did you reject the Qi Family’s invitation again?"

Pei Yunng responded indifferently with a "Hmm."

Xiao Zhufeng gave a look that said "I thought as much."

"Qi Qing wants you as his son-in-law to bring honor to their family, yet you constantly refuse, showing no appreciation for their regard. He really values you," he said sarcastically, though his face remained serious.

Pei Yunng pulled at the corner of his mouth, "He doesn’t value , it’s the Pei Family that he values."

"It’s all the sa."

The night was unusually quiet, and he turned his head to look out the window.

The sumr nights in Shengjing were cool, the moonlight silver, and the faint fragrance of night blooming flowers carried into the courtyard on the breeze.

He watched for a while, then withdrew his gaze.

"Xiao Er."

"Hmm."

"The hunting event in the suburbs of the capital is coming up soon."

Xiao Zhufeng’s eyes flickered with thought, and after a mont, he murmured, "Ti flies."

"Yes, it does."

The young man gazed at the flas dancing within the brass lamp on the desk, their warmth reflecting in his dark eyes, which only made his gaze seem more detached.

"Ti flies."

...

The hunting event in the suburb of the capital was also considered a grand event among the nobility of Shengjing.

Grand Preceptor Qi Qing disliked noise and clamor, preferring tranquility. At his advanced age, he did not participate in such occasions. His son, Qi Yutai, as a young man, however, would join the event.

While other officials’ sons were busy practicing their riding and archery, hoping to showcase their skills at the hunting ground, the Grand Preceptor’s legitimate son, Qi Yutai, seed exceedingly idle.

He was not skilled in racing, and his archery was diocre at best. Qi Qing also forbade him from engaging in such martial activities, so each year’s hunting event was rely a formality, where he would carry his gear and arbitrarily roam the outskirts. When asked, he would claim to be influenced by his father’s Buddhist beliefs, averse to taking lives.

The Ministry of Revenue had approved his leave, and he spent his days in the mansion, seemingly restless from being confined for so long. The more restless he beca, the more idle he felt, and in his idle days, he happened to find a real issue to delve into—discovering the woman who had made his sister shed tears.

A few days ago, as Qi Huaying passed by the entrance of the dical Officer Institute, she saw a woman behaving intimately with the Commandant of the Palace Front Office, Pei Yunng. Pei Yunng was a person valued by the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, and such a gesture was like a slap in the face, wasn’t it?

Additionally, Qi Huaying’s personal maid said she glimpsed the person intimate with Pei Yunng wearing the gown of a female dical officer from the dical Officer Institute. Qi Yutai imdiately sent soone to inquire.

The response ca quickly; within a day, it was clear that the only dical officer out on a night visit that day was Lu Tong, a doctor from the Hanlin dical Institute.

The mont Qi Yutai learned this information, he hurried to tell Qi Huaying.

Qi Huaying lounged on a soft couch, flipping through a book of poems indifferently. Upon seeing Qi Yutai enter, she glanced lethargically at him and then lowered her head, continuing to gaze vacantly at the page of poetry in her hands.

Ever since she returned ho that day by carriage, Qi Huaying had been listless and joyless, lackluster in everything she did.

"Sister, I’ve found out!" Qi Yutai burst into the room, moved quickly to her side, and said as he sat down, "The woman who was out with Pei Yunng that day is the new Imperial dical Officer from the Hanlin dical Institute—her na is Lu Tong."

Qi Huaying paused, "Lu Tong?"

She had never heard the na before.

"She’s a commoner dical Officer, used to have a clinic on the street. I’ve seen her before at the Board of Rites Office when she went to treat Jin Xianrong," Qi Yutai added sowhat excitedly.