Chapter 412: Chapter 152: A Night Encounter with the Marshal_3
Actually, their thoughts were not wrong.
Merely on account of Lu Rou being sullied, it might be very difficult to topple the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion—a commoner woman’s chastity is really too trivial.
Moreover, there was the vexatious ghost of the Ke Family meddling in the affair.
But if it came to secretly consuming Cold Food Powder, it would be different.
Privately consuming Cold Food Powder is a serious crime, once exposed, even the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion would find it hard to settle. Just grasp the opportunity, and the same goal could be achieved.
Only, Lu Qian had not expected that Lord Qingtian was not clean and honest, and his uncle Liu Kun’s family would use him as a bargaining chip for wealth and honor, conducting a bloody deal with Fan Zhenglian.
All the calamities of the Lu Family were because Qi Yutai had stolen and taken the medicine powder, and what was worse, the reason Qi Yutai made Fan Zhenglian exterminate the Lu Family was merely for fear of being discovered and punished by Qi Qing, and thus he killed to silence them.
So that was it.
The real truth was so absurdly simple.
The green lushness of spring outside the window reflected the woman’s face devoid of sorrow or joy. After a while, Lu Tong reached out, picked up the paper and pen on the desk, and wrote down a "Qi" character on the white paper.
She stared at that "Qi" character for a long time.
Qi Qing had only one son and one daughter. Everyone says the Grand Preceptor was plain and frugal, yet the articles Qi Yutai used were luxurious and extravagant. This shows Qi Qing’s "love for his son."
Although the Lu Family’s incident started with Qi Yutai, in the end, destroying the evidence and covering up all traces for Qi Yutai might not have been done without the hands of Qi Qing and the servants of the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion.
Killing Qi Yutai, the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion would certainly not let things rest.
And she was now just a lowly Medical Officer, not even comparable to an Imperial Physician. Once today passed, Qi Yutai would only become more vigilant, and opportunities like in broad daylight were rare, making it hard to find another chance to act.
Lu Tong lowered her head, added a few strokes to the "Qi" character on the white paper with her pen. As the pitch-black ink swept over the paper surface, the proper character was smeared into a dark shadow, like the colorless trace of blood, dripping across the entire sheet.
No longer discernible.
She put down the pen.
The power of the Grand Preceptor was great, the position of a Medical Officer was lowly, pitting one person against a household, the words of a fool.
However...
The straight accumulates in the bent, the strong accumulates in the weak. What the future holds, is still unknown.
If Qi Qing wants to protect, then eliminate Qi Qing along with them.
The fierce bird is about to strike, flying low and closing its wings.
One by one, the opportunity will be found.
It’s just a matter of sooner or later.
Footsteps were heard from behind, Lin Danqing entered from outside the house, and upon seeing Lu Tong, he paused: "Huh, you’ve returned rather early today."
Then he saw the white paper spread on the desk, painted over in black by Lu Tong: "What is this you’ve written?"
Lu Tong casually tore the ink-soaked paper, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it into the wastepaper basket, saying: "Just casually practicing my writing."
Lin Danqing did not pay much attention to it, placed a large oil-paper-wrapped package on the desk with a smile, and said: "You came back just in time. I asked someone to buy marrow cakes from outside, they’re still warm, try some."
The meals in the Medical Officer Institute were bland, Lin Danqing loved spicy food and always disliked it, often secretly sending someone to the market to buy snacks. Since Chief Physician Chang Jin did not allow the Imperial Medical Officers to sneak meals in their accommodation, Lin Danqing could only hide them in his clothes, sneaking them in behind Chang Jin’s back.
He unwrapped the oily paper package, placed the oil paper as a base, and shared a piece with Lu Tong.
The aromatic fragrance immediately dispersed throughout the room.
The marrow cake was a pastry with bone marrow from cattle and sheep rendered into fat as filling. "Using marrow fat, mixed with honey to make dough, about four to five inches thick and six to seven inches wide, baked in the Hu cake oven till done, the cakes are rich and delicious."
"Try it," Lin Danqing urged her: "The food at the Medical Officer Institute is worse than the vegetarian dishes at Wan’en Temple. Having eaten here for a few months, I feel like I’m almost attaining Buddhahood standing up. And you’re not picky in the slightest."
Lu Tong was always indifferent to food, as if what she ate or drank didn’t matter, as long as it kept her alive.
Lu Tong lowered her head and took a bite of the cake, the filling was fragrant and steaming hot, the empty stomach seemed to gradually warm up and feel full with this bit of worldly comfort.
She ate slowly, after a few bites, she suddenly said: "Today at the Board of Rites Office, I saw Minister Qi."
"Minister Qi, which Minister Qi?"
"The Grand Preceptor’s Mansion’s Young Master, Qi Yutai."
Lin Danqing paused with the cake in his mouth: "Him? What about him?"
Lu Tong shook her head: "He was a bit strange."
"Strange in what way?"
"I went to diagnose Lord Jin, and after Young Master Qi entered the room, he fell into a deep sleep and didn’t wake up. Later, Lord Jin woke up Young Master Qi hoping I would take his pulse. Who knew that upon seeing me he reacted as if he saw a venomous snake, speaking nonsense, not very lucid in his mind." Lu Tong spoke hesitantly, pausing a moment before saying: "I took his pulse, and saw his pulse was rapid and forceful, his blood hot and excessive, unlike ordinary people... as if... as if..."