Pei Yunshu was amused by him, "Okay then, if you’re free, you can co here to eat more often. Treasure Bead quite likes you."
Duan Xiaoyan beca proud, but his pride quickly turned to dejection, "But, speaking of which, don’t bla Yun Ying, things have been okay these days, but I expect it to get even busier later on."
"What’s happened?" Pei Yunshu asked.
"There are rebel armies in Qi Shui and a locust plague in Su Nan. I heard that the locusts have killed a lot of people, and now a plague is starting to break out."
"A plague?" Pei Yunshu was taken aback and then looked at Lu Tong, "If a plague breaks out, the dical Officer Institute will dispatch dical officers to handle it. Doctor Lu..."
Doctor Lu probably won’t go," Duan Xiaoyan scratched his head, "The dical officers who are sent are all experienced veterans. I’ve never heard of new dical officers being sent; they lack experience and couldn’t handle it if they went."
"I see," Pei Yunshu nodded, but then she rembered Lu Tong was from Su Nan and, fearing it might upset her, hurriedly changed the subject stiffly, "We can’t do much about court matters from the outside. Since today is lively, let’s go out for a walk after we finish eating."
"Doctor Lu," she called out to Lu Tong with a smile, "Over by Panlou, there’s a Qiqiao Market, which specializes in selling items for the Qiqiao Festival. Girls who are new to Shengjing love to browse there. The market also has Chunqiao Gatherings, weaving joy spiders, and Lanye showcases skills. You and Yun Ying are both young; later on, Yun Ying will escort you back to West Street, why not take a stroll on the way back, and if you see sothing you like, you can buy it."
Before Lu Tong could speak, Duan Xiaoyan was already shouting, "Yes, yes, yes! I’ve wanted to go for a long ti but never found the ti. Today I’m off duty, so it’s perfect for to widen my horizons!"
Pei Yunng shot him a glance and simply said, "Treasure Bead will be sleeping soon. After she sleeps, sister should co with us too."
"?" Pei Yunshu shook her head instinctively, "I’m not an unmarried girl who needs to seek excitent."
"Why not?" Pei Yunng said slowly, "Young, unmarried, girl, each description fits you perfectly."
"Babble."
"No babble," Duan Xiaoyan spoke up with a grin, "Besides, today is Sister Pei’s birthday. Just co with us. We’ll have a bigger group and more fun, and with the Palace Front Office Guards protecting you, you don’t have to worry about any trouble."
Pei Yunshu laughed with a "pfft" sound, feeling like rejecting the idea but also vaguely tempted.
"We’ll see," she said noncommittally, "Who knows, Treasure Bead might go to bed late."
As a jar of osmanthus wine reached its end and the clear yellow moon rose from the eaves to the sky, the banquet ca to a close.
The servants cleaned up the remnants of the feast in the courtyard as Pei Yunshu first took little Treasure Bead back to her room to coax her to sleep. Duan Xiaoyan and Xiao Zhufeng couldn’t stay long in Pei Yunshu’s house and went next door to Pei Yunng’s residence to drink tea, waiting for Pei Yunshu to finish putting Treasure Bead to bed and co out.
Once they were in the hall and the hot tea was served, they saw no sign of Pei Yunng. Duan Xiaoyan asked in puzzlent, "Where did Yun Ying go?"
Xiao Zhufeng replied with an even tone, "He’s off showing his attentiveness."
...
Elsewhere, Lu Tong was entering the study with Pei Yunng.
Duan Xiaoyan talked too much, Xiao Zhufeng talked too little, and there really wasn’t much to say with either of them. Sharing a space with them always sohow led to an awkward atmosphere.
Pei Yunng seed to notice her discomfort around the two n and invited her into the study.
This was Lu Tong’s second visit to his study.
The study was the sa as when she last visited—unpretentious and casual, but too cold. The daffodils in a pot on the desk had blood two flowers, delicate and timid, their white dispersing a bit of the chill and adding a touch of life.
Pei Yunng walked to the desk to pour tea.
Lu Tong noticed the sa small round table in the deepest part of the room, which she had accidentally knocked over last ti, leaving the wooden pagoda pieces scattered on the table like a ssy, lted wooden mountain, disorganized and jarring.
Pei Yunng hadn’t put it back together.
As she was thinking this, a cup of warm tea was thrust into her hands. Lu Tong looked down and Pei Yunng spoke lightly, "You’ve had quite a bit of osmanthus wine, have so tea to sober up."
The tea was warm and cozy in the palm of her hand, its warmth gradually spreading.
Lu Tong sat down at the round table, asking, "Why didn’t you put it back together?"
Pei Yunng glanced over, "I tried a few tis but couldn’t get it to stay. I’ve been busy lately, I’ll do it when I have ti."
After he said this, he poured himself a cup of tea and sat opposite to Lu Tong.
Lu Tong picked up a piece of wood.
The wood had been whittled to a smooth finish, each piece as if ticulously polished, not coarse to hold in one’s palm.
"Did you carve these yourself?" she asked.
Pei Yunng nodded, looking at her with a slightly upturned corner of his mouth, "Like it? I’ll give you a piece."
Lu Tong was speechless; it was just an ordinary piece of wood, yet he spoke of it with the air of offering a rare jewel.
She held the piece of wood, thought for a mont, and said, "May I ask you a question?"
"Go ahead," Pei Yunng answered briskly.
"Does stacking the wood have any special aning?"
Lu Tong felt curious.
She had examined the wood carefully, it really was just ordinary timber, not at all rare. There weren’t any gold or treasure beads in that pagoda, yet Pei Yunng insisted on having this little mountain in his study. Even after it was knocked over by her, he couldn’t bear to throw it away.
Pei Yunng was taken aback for a mont, then smiled faintly, "Nothing special."
He paused briefly before continuing, "In the past, when I occasionally ran into trouble that felt thorny, I would carve a piece of wood."
"It’s a form of venting. When you concentrate on doing sothing, your mind becos much calr."
His fingertips traced the rim of his cup, his tone nonchalant.
"If I resolved the trouble, I would place a piece of wood on top. Over ti, naturally, it turned into a wooden pagoda."
"So," Lu Tong exclaid in surprise, "you’ve solved that many problems?"
If each piece of wood represented a perplexing or worriso problem that Pei Yunng once faced, then the little mountain she saw on her first visit was a testant to the troubles he had overco.
Truly remarkable.
"Not bad," he shrugged his shoulders, "but Doctor Lu is even more impressive. Writing nas on paper, striking one off for each person you take down, sounds much more thrilling than whittling wood."
Lu Tong: "..."
Was he indirectly blaming her for listing his na on her hit list too?
Lu Tong retorted stubbornly, "It’s mutual."
Pei Yunng propped his head with his hand, smiling as he looked at her, "Since I’ve answered one of your questions, by the rules, you should answer one of mine."
Lu Tong took a sip of tea, "As long as I’m able to answer."
He nodded, then suddenly asked, "Earlier you said you ca to Shangjing to find your fiancé. The fiancé you created, is he based on Ji Xun?"
Lu Tong was taken aback.
She thought he was getting all serious and beating around the bush to ask sothing about a grand revenge plan, but it turned out to be such an offbeat question?
Lu Tong put down her teacup, "No."
His eyebrows lifted slightly, "Oh."
The room fell silent for a mont.
He took a sip of tea, and in that quietness, suddenly asked another question, "What kind of man do you like?"
Lu Tong’s hand loosened, and the wooden piece she was just holding fell. Pei Yunng caught it quickly with his swift hand.
She looked up at Pei Yunng.
In the dim and bright light, Pei Yunng sat at the table, his blue, gold-woven Kirin brocade robe shimred with a scattering of delicate light under the glowing lamps, his youthful face and hair like a painting, those beautiful dark eyes looking at her, calm, sharp, uncompromising.
Like the warm-colored candle flas that aggressively invaded the darkness of the night.
"I..."
Her mouth opened, a vague sothing rose in her heart, like the osmanthus wine she had just finished drinking, creating a mix of sour, sweet, and astringent feelings in her chest. Oddly though, even the strongest alcohol wouldn’t make her drunk or muddle her head, yet at this mont, a simple question made her speechless.
Soone knocked on the door from outside, "Princely Heir, Miss Lu, the young lady has already gone to sleep, the madam said you can leave now."
Pei Yunshu was ready.
Pei Yunng still watched her, smiling as he replied, "Understood."
Lu Tong ca back to her senses.
"This is the second question," she said.
She abruptly stood up, placing her teacup on the table, grabbed her skirt and hurried out the door.
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