His words faded gradually in the silence of Qi Qing.
Qi Yutai gripped the bedding tightly in his hands.
He didn’t feel sick.
He couldn’t rember what he had done when he was ill, only that he would wake up feeling nothing more than a little dizzy. But he was also aware that his father had always cared deeply about the reputation of the Qi family. The incident at Fengle Building had already sparked rumors outside, which had caught his father off guard. Having fallen ill again, his father must be greatly disappointed in him.
Perhaps because he had just recovered from a serious illness and his exceptionally pale complexion was worrying, Qi Qing looked at him for a while and eventually gave in, saying, "Once you’re better, you may handle her as you wish."
Qi Yutai was startled, then suddenly overjoyed, "Really?"
Qi Qing always managed all his affairs. In fact, he had wanted to take action against Lu Tong for a while but had hesitated, considering his father. Then, the encounter at Fengle Building happened...
"Visit the Board of Rites Office tomorrow. Afterwards, recuperate at the mansion," Qi Qing said, coughing a few tis, "Don’t go running around before the ceremony."
To his surprise, Qi Qing did not reprimand him. Though his tone was even, it still sounded concerned. Qi Yutai was flattered and replied. After speaking a few more words with Qi Qing, the steward helped Qi Qing leave, and Qi Yutai was left sitting alone on the couch.
His head was still heavy. He looked around; it seed all the antique vases in the room had been put away. The shelves were bare, and his personal maid was soone he didn’t recognize. Qi Yutai took a mont to think hard, unsure whether he had killed another maid in his illness or not. Instead, he just sat there on the couch, lost in thought.
Soone walked in with a reminder, "Young Master Qi, rember to take your dicine." A bowl of dicine was then passed to Qi Yutai.
Qi Yutai lifted his eyelids, seeing Lu Tong entering the room again.
She held the bowl in both hands, the brown dicinal soup beneath her eyes. Qi Yutai didn’t take it, simply giving her a puzzled look, "How did you convince my father?"
Qi Qing hadn’t told him about the incident with Cui Min, but even if Cui Min had run into trouble, knowing that this woman harbored ill intentions and had embarrassed him before, his father had still allowed her to treat him. Qi Yutai couldn’t understand it at all.
"Minister Qi personally sought the service of this lowly official," Lu Tong replied.
His father sought her out himself?
Qi Yutai’s brow furrowed, increasingly puzzled by Qi Qing’s intentions.
The woman stood obediently before him, lowering her gaze. Rembering what Qi Qing had promised him earlier, Qi Yutai glanced at the dicine in her hand, "This wouldn’t have poison in it, would it?"
"Young Master Qi jests."
"I suppose you wouldn’t dare," Qi Yutai sneered, then scanned her from top to bottom, his mouth curling maliciously, "In that case, it’s not too much trouble to ask Doctor Lu to feed ."
Lu Tong looked at him.
Qi Yutai sneered contemptuously.
What did it matter if she was a dical Officer? Once inside the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, she was nothing but a dog of the Qi family, just like Cui Min.
At their beck and call.
After a mont of silence, Lu Tong lowered her eyes, picked up the dicine bowl, and brought the spoon to Qi Yutai’s lips.
Qi Yutai’s smile grew more complacent.
Her fingertips touched Qi Yutai’s face, cold as if not belonging to a living being. Yet, to his surprise, the dicine wasn’t too bitter. Compared to the concoctions previously boiled by Cui Min, it was much clearer and sweeter. Perhaps it was an illusion, but the sweet fragrance within the dicine seed vaguely similar to the "Pond Spring Grass Dream" incense that had been burnt at the Board of Rites Office.
Before he knew it, he had finished the bowl of dicine.
Lu Tong set down the empty bowl, and Qi Yutai squinted at her.
She turned to tidy up the remainder of the dicine on the table, still maintaining a calm deanor as if the humiliation monts ago had not affected her.
Watching her composed manner, a fire kindled unexpectedly within Qi Yutai.
"At Huangmao Hill, you’d rather die than kneel. I thought Doctor Lu was so noble. I didn’t expect to see how low you could stoop," Qi Yutai mocked. "Where is your beloved Pei Yunng now? Having you attend to ... if he sees you humbly serving another man, I wonder if he will still want you."
"Healers curing illness is only natural, Young Master Qi, choose your words carefully."
Bright sunlight filtered in from outside and Lu Tong stood under the shadows of the window, eyes half-closed, moving neither too fast, nor too slow, not following his lead. She simply lowered her head and said, "Young Master Qi, rember to take your dicine on ti every day, avoid excessive movent, and rest more at ho. Minister Qi has warned that as autumn approaches, your bedding should not be too thin. Keep the incense in your room constantly refreshed, and be sure to sleep before the hour of the dog. Your diet should be light..."
She said quite a lot, repeatedly referring to "Minister Qi," which further annoyed Qi Yutai, who coldly replied, "Aren’t you the one making my dicine daily?" Then, glancing aningfully at the low couch by the doorway, he added with a playful tone, "You’ve already been living in the sa room as ."
"Previously, when Young Master Qi was critically ill, this lowly official stayed at the mansion to treat you. Now that Young Master Qi has awakened and your condition has improved, Minister Qi has permitted this lowly official to return ho. From now on, I shall visit every other day to examine your pulse and provide treatnt."
Reviews
All reviews (0)