At night, the lamps in the clinic brightened.
West Street was tranquil; Yin Zheng locked the main door of the dicine clinic and carried the lamp back to the yard. As soon as she entered the room, she saw Lu Tong sitting at the edge of the couch, organizing her clothes.
Cui Min had been imprisoned, and although Lu Tong was still suspended from her duties, Qi Yutai remained bedridden with madness. Starting from tomorrow, Lu Tong would need to visit the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion to treat Qi Yutai.
Lu Tong was organizing slowly, ticulously folding each item of clothing, including the several velvet flowers newly made for her by Yin Zheng. As Yin Zheng watched, she suddenly felt a pang of sourness in her heart.
"Miss," she said softly, "you have to go to the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion tomorrow. The Qi Family is not easy to deal with, and there are many people inside making it difficult to act. Perhaps I should go with you."
Lu Tong shook her head.
"The Qi Family is different; there are eyes everywhere. Your presence wouldn’t help but would rather hinder ."
The words were sowhat heartless, and Yin Zheng did not utter a sound.
After Lu Tong packed her travel bag, she turned to get her dicine chest and started placing so commonly used dicines into the box.
Cui Min’s imprisonnt had co faster than expected.
The actions of the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion were clean and decisive.
Originally, with the backing of the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, it wouldn’t have been easy to topple Cui Min. Now that the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion had acted personally, it was even better.
Qi Qing had asked Lu Tong if Miao Liangfang wanted to return to the dical Officer Institute. Miao Liangfang could return to his position as Vice Director if he wished.
But Miao Liangfang refused.
"Xiao Lu, I’m old," said Miao Liangfang, leaning on a cane with a calm and never-before-seen smile. "I’ve lost all grand ambitions long ago, and in the future, I just wish to fulfill my duties, follow the will of heaven, and earnestly be a Resident Doctor."
"There’s a saying that goes, lofty pursuits and poverty, troubles of an official prisoner—all are finally seen through."
"Rich or noble, what does it matter? In leisure, one finds joy and the whole world wide enough for comfort!"
He declined firmly.
So Lu Tong did not insist.
Everyone has their own aspirations; choices made by the sa person might differ drastically between twenty years prior and twenty years later.
Yin Zheng watched her arrange the dicine chest and couldn’t help speaking up again, "Miss, I’m still worried. At least at the dical Officer Institute, you have Doctor Lin and Doctor Ji for support, but at the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, you’re alone. Maybe... ask Lord Pei for help?"
"Ask him for what?"
"Lord Pei has many people under him. In the tales, those princes and generals always have a few capable guards. If he loaned you one, hidden within the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, they could protect you should you be in danger."
Lu Tong was silent for a mont and then said, "Those stories are highly exaggerated; you should read fewer of them in the future. With the strict guard of the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion Guard, unlike the dical Officer Institute, it wouldn’t be easy for him to arrange soone inside."
"Moreover," Lu Tong closed the dicine chest, "I already owe Pei Yunng enough favors; if I owe any more, it will soon be too much to repay."
"If you can’t repay, then give a gift," Yin Zheng persisted. "Accepting soone’s generosity usually implies you have to help them if they need it."
"Miss, do you know what Lord Pei likes? Let’s ask Shopkeeper Du to give us so silver in advance, and we’ll pool money to buy so valuable gifts for him. It would be best if it’s for his birthday. When is his birthday?"
Lu Tong paused.
She really didn’t know that.
"My birthday cos one month after my sister’s, on the nineteenth of the eighth month; why, do you intend to celebrate for ?"
A man’s voice suddenly ca from behind them, and looking in the direction of the voice, they saw Pei Yunng standing at the door, leisurely observing Lu Tong.
Lu Tong frowned, "How did you get in?"
He laughed and glanced outside as if in slight disdain, "This clinic certainly does not have as tight a guard as the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion. I knocked on the door outside for quite a while without a response, worrying that sothing might have happened to you, so I ca in."
Lu Tong was at a loss for words.
Earlier, the tailor Ge’s four-year-old son started going to school and wasn’t doing well. At night, the child’s cries, the parents’ scolding, and the noise drowned everything else out, making it difficult to hear if soone was knocking at the door.
Yin Zheng glanced back and forth between the two, then chuckled, stood up and said, "Lord Pei is here; I’ll go make a pot of hot tea in the kitchen." With that, she quietly left the room, and before leaving, she also closed the door behind her.
Pei Yunng walked into the room and sat down at the round table, placing the bamboo basket he was holding onto the table.
Lu Tong asked, "What is this?"
"Jasmine-scented cakes," he answered.
Lu Tong’s expression changed slightly as she looked at him, "From the Food Ding Xuan?"
Pei Yunng humd in confirmation, "Just passed by and they had so leftover, so I bought a box on a whim."
Lu Tong was silent.
The jasmine fragrance mixed with the sweetness of the pastries wafted from the basket, temptingly sweet in the night.
He glanced at Lu Tong, "It’s just a box of scented cakes, not sothing of great value. Why that expression?"
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