Chapter 423: Chapter 155: Visiting Pei Mansion_3
Lu Tong’s gaze lingered as she looked over.
The dresses were all made of fine materials. Although they were not as luxurious as those used by the daughters of wealthy officials, the craftsmanship was clearly meticulous and clever on inspection.
Yin Zheng smiled and said, "Taylor Ge got many new fabrics in his store a few months ago. I thought they were very suitable for you, so I designed some patterns myself and chose some lighter colors for Taylor Ge to make a few dresses."
"...And there are also two pairs of silk shoes, which I bought at Sister Song’s Shop. Miss, you should try them on. I’ve heard that at the Medical Officer Institute, everyone wears the same color clothes every day. What’s there to see? It’s such a waste of a pretty face."
She chirped like a magpie, holding the dresses up to Lu Tong’s body to compare sizes, with a smile in her eyes and at the corners of her mouth, showing none of the gloom from when Lu Tong left last time because of a disagreement over a box of silver.
Thinking of that box of silver, Lu Tong’s expression softened.
She said softly, "Why did you make so many? Do you still have enough silver?"
"Enough!"
Yin Zheng’s voice was also buoyant, "Shopkeeper Du has become generous with his earnings now, and he has increased everyone’s monthly allowance. I don’t need to spend much since I eat and live in the medical hall. And how can this be considered a lot? If not for the fear that you might have gained or lost weight after joining the Medical Officer Institute, making the sizes different from before, I would have made even more."
She measured the Pink Dawn Embroidered Silk Gauze Dress against Lu Tong’s back for length and, satisfied, nodded, "Aren’t you supposed to go to the Princess Consort... no, to Miss Pei’s Mansion tomorrow to take her pulse? When you do, wearing this new dress will be perfect, so no one can say that we, now receiving a salary, are too stingy to buy a new dress."
Lu Tong paused.
This break, besides visiting Renxin Medical Hall to see how Yin Zheng and the others were doing, she also had to meet Pei Yunshu.
She hadn’t seen Pei Yunshu and her daughter for a while. Treasure Bead needed to change her medicine. Although the poison of "child’s anxiety" had been mostly resolved, Treasure Bead was still young and would need continued treatment.
That was her original plan.
However...
Lu Tong lowered her eyes.
Apart from that, there seemed to be other things that needed her attention.
...
The next morning dawned clear and bright.
In Pei Mansion on Dongwu Alley, the yard was filled with the sound of a child’s crying early in the day.
A maid hurried into the room, chanting a little song as she lifted the little girl from the cradle and gently rocked her, while instructing others to open the windows for some air.
In the courtyard full of blooming azaleas, a young woman dressed in a goose yellow soft satin wide-sleeved robe and a jade-colored skirt stood with her gentle, pretty face and especially warm and affable demeanor.
Upon hearing the cry, the woman put down the large watering spoon she was holding and went straight into the house. Taking the baby from the maid, she found that the child was wet and then hurriedly changed the diapers in a flurry, prompting giggles from the two maids watching.
This woman was Pei Yunshu, the eldest legitimate daughter of Lord Zhao Ning.
After divorcing Commandery Prince Wen, Pei Yunshu did not move back to Pei Mansion. Pei Yunmeng purchased a house next to his own property for her, and she moved in there.
While this house was not as luxurious and imposing as Commandery Prince Wen’s Mansion, it had a delicate and elegant charm of its own. Pei Yunmeng also arranged guards and maids for her. There was no shortage of staff in the house, and since Pei Yunmeng lived just over the wall, everything that happened could be easily attended to, making Pei Yunshu’s life even more comfortable than before her marriage.
Princess Consort Jiang Wan had even come to visit before, gently persuading Pei Yunshu that as a divorced woman, it was proper to return to her family’s home to avoid gossip. However, after one of Pei Yunmeng’s guards threw Pei family’s servants out in front of Jiang Wan, she stopped coming.
With no one to disturb her, Pei Yunshu’s life became much quieter. Living here with her daughter and watching Treasure Bead grow day by day filled her heart with more satisfaction than ever.
While she was soothing her daughter in her arms, a message came from the gatekeeper: "Madam, Doctor Lu from Renxin Medical Hall has arrived."
Pei Yunshu’s face lit up with joy, "Please invite Doctor Lu in quickly!"
Lu Tong had just arrived at Pei Mansion, and she was immediately ushered in by the maids.
The guiding maidservant Lu Tong still remembered, it was Fangzi, the one always by Pei Yunshu’s side.
Previously on Mid-Autumn night, when Fangzi accompanied Pei Yunshu as she was being induced, she seemed to be the person arranged by Pei Yunmeng. At that time, Fangzi was somewhat suspicious and defensive towards Lu Tong, but looking at her now, she had become much friendlier.
"Madam was so excited last night upon hearing Doctor Lu was coming, that she got up early to wait." Fangzi said with a smile, "She’s currently in the courtyard waiting, and the young miss has just woken up."
As they walked past the porch and pond, and into the courtyard, they saw someone under the flower trellis smiling and calling out, "Doctor Lu!"
Lu Tong looked up.
Pei Yunshu handed the Treasure Bead in her arms to the nanny beside her and smiled, "You’ve finally arrived."
Lu Tong nodded, "Madam."
Pei Yunshu then playfully chided as she patted her hand, "You got it wrong again. Haven’t I said just to call me sister? You saved Treasure Bead’s life; this grace is akin to that of a parent’s. Why be formal with me?"
She then took Lu Tong’s hand to look at the little girl in the nanny’s arms, "Look, hasn’t she grown a lot?"
Lu Tong glanced at the baby swaddled in the bundle.
Babies change every day. She still remembered the appearance of Treasure Bead when she was just born, red and skinny, like a frail kitten not yet fully grown. Now, in just over half a year, she had become chubby and plump like a New Year’s doll. She took after her mother, with skin as white as snow, and a pair of large, bright black eyes, looking at Lu Tong curiously.
Lu Tong couldn’t help but stretch out a hand, and Treasure Bead’s chubby little hand reached out too, firmly grabbing her finger as if boasting about this victory, and giggled, "giggles/giggles/giggles."
Lu Tong was taken aback momentarily.
The hand was very tender.
Soft and striving, yet it was like a kitten’s paw brushing over one’s heart, making even the hardest of people feel moved.
She had treated many people, seen life and witnessed death. Nevertheless, perhaps because this new life was related to her, witnessing firsthand a fragile seed break through the soil and sprout, and then flourish, her heart always felt something indescribable.
Pei Yunshu’s laughter came from nearby, "Treasure Bead likes you very much."
Lu Tong withdrew her hand, looking at the baby’s pretty little face, "She looks like Sister Yunshu."
Pei Yunshu’s smile grew even broader, "Everyone says the same." She then turned to Lu Tong, thought for a moment and said, "If she grows up to be as pretty and smart as Doctor Lu, I will be satisfied."
Lu Tong blushed with modesty, "Sister Yunshu is joking."
"I’m serious."
Pei Yunshu asked the nanny to take Treasure Bead to the cradle to bask in the sun for a while. She herself pulled Lu Tong to sit down at the small table under the trellis, "I heard you ranked first on the red list in the spring examination, and I was delighted for you. I wanted to visit you with a gift to congratulate you, but Treasure Bead is too little to leave my side, and she’s too young for me to take her out. So, I had no choice but to send the congratulatory gift through someone else."
"...Yet, I always felt that was not enough."
Lu Tong shook her head, "Sister Yunshu, you needn’t worry about it, besides, those gifts were already very generous."
"But where are these compared to even a thousandth of your lifesaving grace?" Pei Yunshu remarked, then laughed again, "Later, I thought, I’d wait for you to have a break and come to find you. Finally, the day has come. Today, stay here with us. I’ve asked the kitchen to prepare some good dishes, which can also serve as a belated celebration for you, is that alright?"
With her warm invitation, Lu Tong found it difficult to refuse, so she replied, "Alright."
Pei Yunshu was happy, but quickly she remembered something and turned her head to look behind her.
Lu Tong asked, "What’s wrong?"
"Strange," Pei Yunshu said, "Today is Ah Ying’s day off. I told someone to inform him a few days ago, to join us for a meal today. I also planned to ask him to look out for you a bit more in the Medical Officer Institute."
"The Medical Officer Institute and the Palace Marshal’s Mansion are not far apart, and you’ve just joined, there might be some unfamiliar aspects. Since he’s close by, looking out for you is only proper."
"I had someone call for him just now," Pei Yunshu said, puzzled, "why hasn’t he returned yet?"