"The Privy Council and the Palace Front Office are sworn enemies, yet you are incredibly well-versed in all matters of the Privy Council. You and Yan Xu are not opponents at all, but secret allies. The separation of military power is just to put The Emperor at ease,"
Pei Yunng remained silent.
"No denial, so I guessed correctly?"
She smiled, advancing step by step: "The Privy Council is openly a supporter of the Crown Prince, yet you engage in secret dealings with the Palace Front Office. Neither of you are loyal to the Third Prince or the Crown Prince, nor are you loyal to The Emperor."
"Who are you loyal to?"
She approached him, looking up at the man in front of her, her voice soft as she spoke.
"Is Prince Ning the one you plan to elevate to power?"
Pei Yunng lowered his gaze, looking at her indifferently.
"To elevate Prince Ning to power seems to still lack a reason," Lu Tong’s voice grew even softer: "I have a perfect solution, do you want to hear it?"
The two yellow butterflies in her hair seed to flicker with tiny sparks under the lamplight, delicate and fragile, as if they would shatter upon touch. Her words were gentle, yet there was a fleeting madness in her eyes.
"Marshal, why not make a deal with ?" she said with a smile: "If I can successfully kill Qi Qing tonight, I will tell the whole world that I am Yuan Yao’s person, that the Third Prince ordered to do it."
"Or, I kill Qi Qing, and then you co to capture , I can beco your achievent. If you personally kill and seek favor from Yuan Yao, it would gain his trust even more."
"As part of the deal, you protect the Benevolent Heart dical Hall for ."
The light flickers, and silence as still as death surrounds them.
Pei Yunng stood before her, his gaze calm and detached.
"Is this your plan?"
"You kill Qi Qing, removing the last hidden danger for them. Once the event arises, everyone at the Benevolent Heart dical Hall can retreat unscathed, without further worries."
Lu Tong only looked at him, and for the first ti, her voice softened towards him.
"Isn’t that good? It’s good for both you and ."
She looked up, her fingertips tracing the embroidered gold eagle on the chest of the young man’s uniform. He had just co from inside the Palace; still in his official uniform, the splendid gold embroidery felt surprisingly cool to the touch, like a secret wound, subtly etched into his heart unknown to others.
"If successful, once he ascends to the throne, your contribution as a marshal will surely be handsoly rewarded," she continued, her tone hinting seduction, "Whatever you wish to do, having power ans you can choose everything. Don’t you want to climb higher?"
He said, "I care about you more."
Lu Tong froze.
The young man looked down at her, his voice even: "Lu Tong, I like you more."
As if unable to bear the deeper implications in his eyes, searing her with their bright splendor, Lu Tong withdrew her hand, saying coldly, "I already know all your secrets, aren’t you going to kill now?"
Only the dead can keep secrets.
Pei Yunng looked at her: "Don’t always think about death."
Lu Tong’s heart trembled.
"If your family were still in this world, they would only hope for you to live well."
Lu Tong interrupted him: "But I don’t want to live!"
Pei Yunng paused.
"Marshal, I am not like you."
She spoke word by word, agony welling up from the depths of her heart with each word.
"You have a sister, Treasure Bead, your father is still alive, whether it’s love or hate, you still have ties to this world."
"But I do not."
She looked up at him, "Revenge is over, I’ve done all that I should, and that is all."
There were many things she couldn’t make Pei Yunng understand.
She should be dead, she should have long been dead, revenge was the last breath that kept her in this world. It was this breath that sustained her to this point.
Now, that breath was gone.
With nothing left to support her, she just wanted to fall.
Pei Yunng hoped she would live on.
But even she didn’t know how to continue living.
Rather than clinging to a broken, worn-out life, she might as well make herself useful one last ti.
"What about ?"
In the quiet room, Pei Yunng’s voice suddenly rang out.
The young man looked at her, his pitch-black eyes void of warmth, and said flatly: "You planned everything, protected everyone at the Benevolent Heart dical Hall with all your heart, knowing I have feelings for you, yet you’re forcing to watch you go to your death."
"Have you ever considered ?"
Lu Tong turned pale.
Have you never considered it?
Why treat him like this?
She understood Pei Yunng’s feelings for her, and it was precisely because of this affection that she was confident that beneath his unruly and cold deanor, he would inevitably be unable to bear it at the most inappropriate tis. Therefore, she felt at ease entrusting the future of Benevolent Heart dical Hall to him.
After filling the letter to Yin Zheng with details about the wrap-up of Benevolent Heart dical Hall, she pondered all possible dangers ticulously, entrusting him with all her unresolved worries that she held so dear.
She had not expected that before the letter could even reach his hands, Pei Yunng would find her first and take her away.
He could always see through her intentions at the first mont.
Dim lamplight, lingering, flowing light.
The woman stubbornly refused to lower her head, her gaze calm yet frenzied, like a gust of wind that one doesn’t know where it might blow to,
The young man silently watched her for a long while, then sighed as if finally admitting defeat, pulled her over, and sat down at the table inside the house.
He poured a cup of hot tea, thrust it into Lu Tong’s hands, with a gentle voice, "You’ve avenged the great revenge, your parents and siblings in heaven just want to see you safe and happy."
"Doctor Lu." The young man paused briefly before continuing, "You need to learn to cherish yourself, and if you can’t do that, let soone else do it."
Lu Tong was montarily stunned.
There he was, sitting in front of her, seemingly with a romantic appearance, yet often indifferent and heartless. Just when she was beginning to accept that he was a heartless person, he made her glimpse the tenderness hidden beneath the ruthless exterior.
The warmth from the tea cup gradually transferred to her palm through the cup, and Lu Tong, gripping the cup a little tighter,, suddenly brushed it aside.
The warm tea rolled onto the floor, the white porcelain shattered into pieces, and with a clear sound, the delicately painted harbinger of spring on the cup shattered instantly.
Pei Yunng paused for a mont, his eyes glancing over the broken pieces on the floor, but he didn’t get angry, just looked at her and smiled indulgently.
"Qingfeng has learned from his inquiries that Miss Lu San from Changwu County had a fierce temper as a child, I thought they were lying. Guess it’s the truth."
Lu Tong indifferently replied, "Why are you blocking ?"
"I don’t want you to walk toward death."
"I just want to kill him."
"I’ll do it for you."
He said calmly, "I’ll kill Qi Qing for you."
He made it sound casual, as if he was just ntioning in passing, but Lu Tong knew he was not joking.
A familiar, dull pain assaulted her chest. She looked up at Pei Yunng, her expression unyielding.
"I do not trust anyone."
"But you can trust ."
"Lu Tong," he said, emphasizing every word, "You can trust ."
Darker night surged in from outside the window, but stopped abruptly in front of the lamp inside the house. The weak light, which seed on the verge of extinguishing, stubbornly cast a warm tone, sharply delineating everything around it.
She was enveloped in this safe light.
He spoke up, "Even if you hate , even if you don’t care about my feelings, don’t you care about the others at Benevolent Heart dical Hall?"
"Yin Zheng, Du Changqing, Miao Liangfang, Ah Cheng, Lin Danqing, Ji Xun..."
With every na he uttered, Lu Tong’s heart fluttered.
"Do you really have the heart to abandon all this, to not feel the slightest bit of attachnt to these people and things?"
Lu Tong remained silent.
Many images floated before her eyes, the good and the bad, like a slowly unfolding scroll, so blurred, yet so still vivid.
She lowered her eyelids, her voice coming out detached.
"I want to go back."
She was utterly unmoved by his words.
The reply to her was his even colder voice.
"No."
Lu Tong looked up at Pei Yunng.
He stood up, walked to the door and stopped, slightly turning his head, his tone calm, "Until you abandon this idea, I will keep watch over you. If you don’t want to see , soone else can take my place."
The young man stood up, pushed the door open, and walked out. Outside, Qingfeng and Chi Jian approached. Pei Yunng instructed, "Guard her well, do not allow her to leave. If there’s any slip-up, the responsibility will be on you two alone."
Both of them dared not take it lightly, "Yes."
He picked up the sheathed sword from the table, turned, and walked out the door. Chi Jian asked, "Where are you going at this late hour, my lord?"
Pei Yunng did not turn back.
"To the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion."
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