Chapter 199: Chapter 92 Dan Gui_4
"Oh?" Lu Tong showed no gratitude, "But today, I ended up in danger because I saved the Princess Consort. Moreover, as a re commoner, my life is not as valuable as that of the Princess Consort and her daughter. If you calculate it, you owe
more favors," she said.
When she spoke of the value of lives, her tone was calm, but her eyes could not hide a trace of disgust.
Pei Yunng’s eyes twitched with amusent, and he teased with a smile, "Who said that, Doctor Lu? How can you see life as having different levels of value?"
"The fortunate are served by others, while the less fortunate serve. The Princess Consort is served by others, I serve others—that is the distinction between noble and humble," she said.
His smile faded slightly, "Is that so vulgar?"
"Poor people are always vulgar," she replied.
He nodded, leaned forward slightly, his black eyes fixated on Lu Tong, his lips curving into a smile.
"It’s always the villain who masquerades as a good person, so why does Doctor Lu do the opposite?" he asked.
A jolt went through Lu Tong’s heart.
His bright black pupils seed to see right through her, the dimples at the corners of his lips appearing and disappearing under the moonlight. With the moon’s shimring light, he was extrely captivating.
Lu Tong lowered her eyelids.
He was indeed handso, but that was useless. Good-looking dicines could be used to make poisons, and good-looking n... were just that, good-looking.
Pei Yunng was also looking at Lu Tong.
The night was deep, the flowers asleep, and the moon enchanting. The woman sat within the gentle glow of the lamp, her beauty surpassing the radiant won of Shengjing, with the delicate charm of a Jiangnan beauty. Her slender and graceful figure appeared so fragile that it seed a breeze could blow her away.
The half-worn, algae-patterned, embroidered blue dress she wore was stained with blood from the recent delivery, and the cuffs showed signs of wear. Her jet-black hair was loosely braided to the side—probably for convenience in making dicine—and was sowhat disheveled now, with the Blue Jay Velvet Flower from their first encounter at Baoxiang Tower still tucked by her temple. The velvet flower, once stained with blood and not thoroughly cleaned, was obscured by the moonlight, making her solitary figure seem all the more lonely.
Pei Yunng’s gaze flickered slightly.
She seed very frugal. Although he and Duan Xiaoyan had said that Lu Tong’s expenses for clothes and flowers had increased quite a bit, he had to admit that most of the ti, she wore old clothes. She never used any jewelry, plain and unadorned, unlike a typical seventeen- or eighteen-year-old girl.
However, Renxin dical Hall had clearly earned a lot in the past six months.
Moonlight filtered through the uneven shadows of trees and fell on the stone table. The night was long, and dawn was still far off.
He took a sip of tea and smiled, "Alright then, Doctor Lu, how much consultation fee do you want?"
Lu Tong didn’t speak.
Pei Yunng looked at her leisurely.
After a while, Lu Tong spoke.
She said, "Lord Pei, let’s make a deal instead."
"What kind of deal?"
"I saved the lives of the Princess Consort and her daughter, two lives. I’ll return one for the life-saving favor at Baoxiang Tower, and for the other, let’s pretend the incident at Mount Wangchun never happened, calling it even for the previous misunderstandings," Lu Tong said calmly.
She didn’t want to get entangled with the Palace Front Office too much for the ti being. This man was indeed troubleso. Eliminating him would inevitably raise suspicions. However, given his evident concern for Pei Yunshu, at least in this matter, he was indebted to her.
Not expecting Lu Tong’s terms to be this, Pei Yunng paused for a mont, then chuckled, peering at her with a subtle look, "Why don’t you ntion Master Ke? Doctor Lu, are you trying to bluff your way through?"
A stir went through Lu Tong’s heart; he had indeed guessed it.
She smiled faintly, "Do you have evidence?"
The young man sighed, "No."
He shook his head with a smile, "Deal, I don’t care what personal grudges you have with him. I won’t ddle in this matter again, but next ti, I won’t cover for you."
Lu Tong was sowhat surprised; she had thought he would probe further but didn’t expect him to agree so readily—it almost made her feel petty.
She then picked up a piece of mooncake from the dish to eat. The mooncake, with its milk-flavored crispy pine nut filling, was so sweet that it was almost cloying. She ate slowly while Pei Yunng watched her from across the table and suddenly asked, "Doctor Lu, who was your master?"
Lu Tong paused.
Pei Yunng looked down at the remaining mooncakes on the carved red lacquer begonia flower tea tray and said, "You ntioned that the poison my niece has been afflicted with is currently difficult to resolve—perhaps, if your master would intervene..."
Pei Yunshu had asked her the sa question before, and Lu Tong replied, "My master has passed away."
Pei Yunng swallowed the rest of his words.
Lu Tong thought for a mont and said, "I will try my best to cure the little miss of the poison, Lord Pei can rest assured for now."
The words sounded like a serious promise, different from her usual nonchalance when she spun her lies.
Pei Yunng gave a slight smile.
In fact, it was his overthinking—so many dical officers ca and went from the dical Officer Institute, but only Lu Tong was able to uncover the truth behind Pei Yunshu’s poisoning; at least in Shengjing, her dical skills were not to be underestimated.
Before he realized it, the night advanced, and outside the wall, the music of flutes played unceasingly. In the sorrowful lody of flutes, autumn dew glistened like pearls and the autumn moon shone like a flawless jade. The long shadows of osmanthus trees danced about, illuminating the woman as if she were Chang’e from the Moon Palace, untouched by worldly concerns.
Chang’e, who doesn’t partake of worldly smoke and fire, yet has a particular fondness for sweets.
Pei Yunng saw Lu Tong pick up another piece of sweet osmanthus and chestnut flour cake and couldn’t help but laugh. A gust of wind blew by, causing Lu Tong’s hair to flutter, and his gaze fixed on her for a mont, suddenly becoming intense.
On the fair face of the young woman, just below her ear, there was a faint trace of a bloodstain, likely from being grazed by a knife’s edge during the earlier scuffle in the room. It was like a stark crack on pure white porcelain, glaringly visible. It had been hidden by the loose strands of hair beside her ear, but now it was exposed.
He hesitated before saying, "Your injury..."
Lu Tong casually touched it and said, "It’s nothing, I’ll just apply so dicine when I get back."
As soon as she said this, Pei Yunng rembered the first ti he saw her under Baoxiang Tower when she was being held hostage with a bleeding neck wound. He had uncharacteristically shown kindness by giving her a scar removal dicine, which she left at the Rouge Shop without giving it a second glance.
Very cold.
With that in mind, his gaze fell on the Blue Jay Velvet Flower next to Lu Tong’s temple.
The three silver needles hidden behind that Blue Jay Velvet Flower were sharp and deadly, more so than ordinary hidden weapons. He rembered seeing the bodyguard’s corpse in Pei Yunshu’s room in the afternoon with vases broken all around. When Fangzi later spoke about the incident, her tone was incredulous, evidently shaken by the decisive and ruthless actions of the seemingly frail female doctor.
Pei Yunng thought casually, in fact, even if he hadn’t arrived in ti, Lu Tong would not have necessarily been at a disadvantage. Her velvet flower needles were indeed sharp, and she was never one to just sit and wait for doom.
The sound of the zither had stopped at so point, and the courtyard was bathed in moonlight mingled with the fragrance of osmanthus. As Lu Tong looked up, she t Pei Yunng’s thoughtful gaze. His pupils shimred under the lamp light, and the crimson official robes he wore seed less stern and more debonair on him, adding an exceptional charm to his handsoness.
The vast sky was like still water. On such a beautiful, serene night, with the scent of cold osmanthus, the subtle flavor of tea, the lody of zither, and the glow of candles, the pair seated in the moonlit courtyard seed like long-ti acquaintances. He, dressed in black, exuded an unrivalled elegance, while the young female doctor’s beauty was delicate as a willow flower, rendering the scene as if they were a pair of old friends.
Lu Tong said, "The poison in the Princess Consort has been accumulating over a long period of ti, and it is well-concealed; the one who poisoned her must be hiding in the mansion. Does Lord Pei really intend to let that go?"
His eyes shifted slightly, and then he raised his eyebrows with a smile, "Doctor Lu, do you have any advice for ?"
Lu Tong picked up a porcelain pot from the table and poured herself a cup of sweetened dew, then raised it towards Pei Yunng at eye level.
She spoke softly, "Marshal, let
give you a gift."
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