Chapter 496: Chapter 178: Privy Council_2
...
In the sweltering sumr heat, beneath the trees at the entrance to the Palace Marshal’s Mansion, Zhizi and a few black pups curled up together, seeking shade and a cool respite.
When Pei Yunng returned, Xiao Zhufeng was pouring himself a drink of the iced plum concoction.
Made with dark plums, kudzu root, purple shiso, and water after boiling, it was a refreshing and cooling sumr drink, pleasantly sour and sweet—Duan Xiaoyan’s favorite.
Xiao Zhufeng poured a cup, took a sip, then frowned, "Why is this so sweet? How much sugar did Duan Xiaoyan put in this?"
Pei Yunng also took a cup and tasted it, "I think it’s fine."
Xiao Zhufeng pushed his cup away slightly, "Your taste has been getting sweeter and sweeter these days."
In the past, at the Palace Front Office, Pei Yunng was the one who least favored sweet foods. However, not only had he recently started occasionally instructing the kitchen to make sweet snacks, but he also had Duan Xiaoyan buy honeyed sweet cakes from Qinghe Street.
It was almost as if he had been possessed.
"Really?" Pei Yunng dismissed, "Perhaps you’re just too bitter."
Xiao Zhufeng was montarily speechless and emotionlessly said, "That’s probably a bit true."
Pei Yunng glanced at him, "Why say that? The Palace Front Office has not mistreated you."
Xiao Zhufeng returned the glance, "Did His Highness see you?"
Upon hearing this, the smile on Pei Yunng’s face faded slightly.
Since the event at Huangmao Hill Hunting Ground, the conflict between the Crown Prince and the Third Prince had escalated day by day. The Qi Family beca involved; although the Palace Front Office wasn’t directly a part of it, due to the scandalous rumors with Lu Tong, they ended up having a place in these tales.
For Pei Yunng personally, this wasn’t a good thing.
There were many troubleso matters swiftly following him.
Xiao Zhufeng’s voice reached his ear: "The Prince is still calm, isn’t he?"
Pei Yunng snapped back to reality and scoffed, "More than calm."
It wasn’t just composure, but even a sense of joy to watch the excitent heating up. He rembered the look in the other’s eyes as he sat on the chair, full of curiosity: "Yunng, what does that Doctor Lu look like? Is she pretty? More beautiful than the Qi Family’s young miss?"
Suddenly, he felt a headache coming on.
Xiao Zhufeng glanced at him, "That’s good then, Lu Tong went back to the dical Officer Institute early this morning."
Pei Yunng nodded, picking up the stack of official docunts on the table, "I know."
"Aren’t you going to see her?"
"She has just returned, she must be busy. Maybe later. I have official duties to attend to as well."
Xiao Zhufeng nodded, picked up a scroll from the table, stood up to leave; but at the doorway, he stopped, hesitated, then turned to look at the man at the table.
"Are you really not going to see her?" he prompted, "I thought you would be watching over her every mont of the day for protection."
Pei Yunng sneered, "I’m not a pervert."
Xiao Zhufeng "hmd" in response, still standing at the door without leaving.
Pei Yunng sensed sothing, suddenly lifted his head, and stared at him, "What happened?"
The room fell silent.
Xiao Zhufeng cleared his throat, turned his head away, avoiding Pei Yunng’s look: "There’s sothing... I need to tell you... stay calm first."
"Speak."
"This morning, Lu Tong went out to diagnose soone."
"Who?"
Xiao Zhufeng looked away, "... Soone from the Privy Council."
...
In a dark and chilly chamber, torches flickered eerily.
The thick scent of blood road in the narrow space.
Lu Tong, head bowed, was ticulously cleaning wounds across the body of the person before her.
To refer to the battered figure as a "person" was a bit of a stretch. Before being cleansed, the extent of the injuries was barely discernible, but as the cloth wiped away the gri, the grueso nature of the wounds beca shockingly clear.
There wasn’t an inch of undamaged flesh on the person’s body; their arms broken, legs severed, fingers mangled and indistinguishable, with countless scars from iron hooks and burns—yet, horrifyingly, the person was still alive. However, they likely wouldn’t survive for much longer.
Such injuries were beyond saving.
Lu Tong was unaware of this person’s identity or what they had done to deserve such treatnt. Yan Xu had ordered her to save a life, so she did just that, refraining from asking about anything else.
The man in green official garb at her side followed Lu Tong’s instructions, bringing her clean, hot water, while Yan Xu sat on a chair in the corner of the dark room, watching her movents coldly.
Lu Tong could feel his scrutinizing gaze on her, but at the mont she couldn’t be distracted—the man’s injuries were too severe. She could only sustain his life temporarily with acupuncture, as sweat began to soak her hair.
After pulling out the last needle from the man’s hair, Lu Tong wiped the blood trickle from the patient’s lips with a cloth and pushed a dicinal pill under his tongue.
The man still lay on the ground, his chest rose and fell, more stable than before, and with his mouth opening, he let out the first groan since the start of the treatnt.
He was awakening.
Yan Xu stood up, walked to Lu Tong’s side, and bent down to observe the person at his feet, "Did you save him?"
"Three hours."
"What?"
Lu Tong washed her hands in the water now tinted red, dried them with a cloth, then stood up and spoke to Yan Xu, "This man’s wounds are too severe. I have administered a Revival Pill to hold onto his life; he will last three more hours."
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