Smiling Under Lanter Chapter 361 - 138 Shennong Shrine2

Chapter 361: Chapter 138 Shennong Shrine_2

Zhu Mao’s gaze was also captivated.

Feeling a sense of unease, He Xiu saw Zhu Mao staring at Lu Tong like a hungry wolf eyeing a piece of fat at, his gaze unwavering, refusing to look away. Then, suddenly making a grunt of realization, he spoke up, "Why aren’t there any red rashes on your face? Didn’t you enter Hongfang Garden?"

Lu Tong paused.

She and He Xiu had spent several days in Hongfang Garden. Despite covering her face with a handkerchief, He Xiu couldn’t avoid the increasing number of spots. Lu Tong, having covered nothing and exposed to the poisonous flowers, still had a clean and spotless face without any marks.

This was a stroke of luck amid misfortune, yet at this mont, it beca an ominous sign.

Without waiting for Lu Tong to speak, He Xiu hastily said, "Reporting to the official, Physician Lu was once poisoned by Hong Fang Xu at ho in his early years, and was later cured with herbal dicine. Since then, he has been unaffected by the toxin of Hong Fang Xu."

"Did I ask you?" Zhu Mao stared coldly at He Xiu, who then dared not speak anymore.

Turning his gaze back to Lu Tong, his tone sowhat strange, he said, "Hong Fang Xu is precious, rarely found outside the palace. Moreover, this poison has no cure. One must inhale the pollen upon picking, and if there truly were a redy against the toxin, it would have already made its na in the Imperial Apothecary." At this point, Zhu Mao changed tack, "I think you’ve been slacking off. These past few days, you’ve never gone to Hongfang Garden, never been near the poisonous flowers, that’s why there’s not a single rash on your face!"

Startled by his words, He Xiu, with a thump, fell to her knees, "Your Excellency is wise. All these days, it was Physician Lu and I who picked Hong Fang Xu together. Afraid that I would be overworked, Physician Lu picked most of the herbs. There was absolutely no slacking. Everyone in the garden saw it!"

Yet the dical workers around simultaneously lowered their heads, as if no one had heard what He Xiu said, and not a single person spoke up.

Zhu Mao snorted coldly, "Physician Lu, what do you have to say?"

Lu Tong replied calmly, "If the official does not believe it, let

go to Hongfang Garden and try it out for myself."

"That’s easy to say," Zhu Mao sneered, "The flowers in Hongfang Garden have all been picked clean. The potency of the harvested Hong Fang Xu is much weaker than before, and it may not produce rashes. You’re set on the absence of evidence; I can’t reproach you without proof."

Hearing every excuse he had, ignoring He Xiu who was tugging at the hem of her dress, Lu Tong simply looked at him and asked, "Then what do you intend to do?"

Zhu Mao was stunned.

Lu Tong’s expression was cool, as if the troubles entangling her were not her own. It seed since her arrival at the Southern Pharmacy, she had always been this way, standing far outside the crowd, like the distant pale moon hanging in the sky, ungraspable.

Itching arose in Zhu Mao’s heart once again, an irresistible urge, as if he wanted to swallow that enticing cold moon right away.

His thumb eagerly rubbed a mont while his expression took on a righteous and stern look, saying, "Slacking off as soon as you enter the Southern Pharmacy isn’t a grave sin but punishnt cannot be escaped. Thus, you shall be punished by kneeling in front of the Statue of Shennong at the Shennong Shrine for three days, to quietly reflect and repent before Lord Shennong."

As soon as the words fell, sothing stirred in Lu Tong’s heart.

Just kneeling for three days?

She had thought that with Zhu Mao’s thods, since he deliberately ca to cause trouble, the outco would be much more severe than this. But it was rely kneeling.

While He Xiu was still pleading softly, Lu Tong pondered for a mont before saying gently to the person in front of her, "Yes, Your Excellency."

...

After returning from the garden, i Erniang followed Zhu Mao.

"Have you sent Lu Tong to the shrine to kneel as punishnt?" i Erniang closed the door as soon as she entered the room.

Seeking a comfortable position on the soft couch, Zhu Mao casually pulled i Erniang into his embrace and gave her a kiss, "Jealous?"

Turning her head with feigned annoyance and anger, i Erniang simply said, "Why did she suddenly co to mind?"

These past few days, Zhu Mao had paid no attention to Lu Tong, only ordering people to count the Hong Fang Xu, as if he had forgotten about her existence. Who would have thought that today he would suddenly take exception to Lu Tong?

"After all, she’s from the Southern Pharmacy and doesn’t understand the rules, of course, she needs to be reminded," said Zhu Mao, as he touched the face of the person in his arms. The skin under his hand was fine and silky, yet when he recalled the other delicate, eggshell-like face he had just seen, he couldn’t help but feel so degree of blandness and weariness towards the person before him.

i Erniang seed to notice his hesitation in his movents, pretending not to see, she continued, "If it was to teach her a lesson, why only send her to kneel? That doesn’t seem like you."

Zhu Mao was known for being harsh to his subordinates, never allowing them to escape without a deserving punishnt if he intended to target soone. Now that he had set his sights on Lu Tong, the re act of kneeling was very different from his usual tactics.

Zhu Mao huffed lightly, "What do you know?"

To beat a dog, you must look at the master. After all, Lu Tong was a newly appointed Imperial dical Officer; he had taken a fancy to her, but he also needed to see the reaction of the dical Officer Institute. The Southern Pharmacy and the dical Officer Institute were connected through information. They had sent Lu Tong to pick Hong Fang Xu and there was no stir from the dical Officer Institute. If the news of her kneeling punishnt got through and these three days passed as usual, that would only an that, indeed, Lu Tong had no significant backing.