Chapter 402: Chapter 149 Storm_3
Someone bent over to pick up the scrap paper on the ground and smiled as they spoke, "Did it offend you?"
Lu Tong’s body stiffened.
She looked up and saw Pei Yunmeng walking in from outside the door.
As the night deepened, the lamplight illuminated the figure of the young man who had shed his crimson official uniform from the day, now clad in a pale moon-white spring shirt adorned with subtle cloud patterns in jade brocade. Underneath the candlelight, he moved with the grace of an ethereal being, bathing in the light.
Lu Tong regained her composure, "Why have you come?"
His entrance into the Medical Officer Institute was nearly like entering a land without people, and Lu Tong was no longer surprised. If anyone was going to suffer from this discovery, it wouldn’t be her. So she let it be.
Pei Yunmeng sat down across from her at the table, pulling out a piece of paper from his bosom, "You left your prescription at the Palace Marshal’s Mansion during the day. I’ve brought it specially for you."
Lu Tong was taken aback when she recognized that the paper was indeed the one she had lost, probably having fallen out while tucked in her medical texts during the pulse diagnostics with the Imperial Guards.
"Thank you." She put away the paper.
Pei Yunmeng nodded and continued, "I also came to ask you for a bottle of Appetite Pill."
Lu Tong paused, then frowned, "Did you finish the bottle I gave you last time, my lord?"
During his last visit, Pei Yunmeng had mentioned the Palace Marshal’s Mansion’s hound suffering from poor digestion and had asked Lu Tong for a bottle of Appetite Pills. That bottle contained plenty, and it hadn’t been long since then.
She reminded him, "Dogs shouldn’t consume too much Appetite Pill."
Pei Yunmeng chuckled, "It’s for Duan Xiaoyan."
"..."
Without further discussion, she got up to fetch the Appetite Pill from the medicine cabinet for Pei Yunmeng.
Leaning back in his chair, Pei Yunmeng’s gaze lingered on her silhouette as she stood by the medicine cabinet for a while before he suddenly spoke up, "Why are you afraid of dogs?"
With a tremble of her fingertips, Lu Tong bowed her head and continued to pull open a medical drawer, saying, "I am not afraid of dogs."
"Then why did you reject Duan Xiaoyan’s proposal?"
"Lord Pei, I’ve made it very clear. I dislike dogs, that’s why I refused."
"Dislike?" Pei Yunmeng’s lips curled up slightly, "But you looked like you’d turned pale with fear."
Lu Tong: "..."
She took out the Appetite Pill from the drawer, closed the cabinet, and walked up to Pei Yunmeng.
The spring night was mild, with a half-open window, distant sounds of startled birds taking flight within the forest emerged faintly, and the fragrance of pear blossoms carried across the pond by the wind filled the courtyard, imbuing her sleeves with its scent.
In the corner of the room, the light from the Ancient Bronze Camel Lamp with its quietly burning silver candle cast a soft glow throughout, leaving a gently trembling shadow on the ground.
The young man’s eyes were like the cool nights of Shengjing in spring, seemingly gentle yet tinged with deeper chill, watching her with ambiguous intent.
Lu Tong was silent.
This man, this man was not as bright and clear as he appeared to be, but rather like one who could see through all pretenses and peer into the secrets at the bottom of a person’s heart.
So, there was no need for pretenses anymore.
"Yes, I am very afraid of dogs."
Lu Tong placed the bottle of Appetite Pills in front of Pei Yunmeng and sat back down at the table, her voice indifferent, "Because I was bitten by a dog as a child."
"That dog was very annoying, like a stubborn plaster, relentlessly pursuing me, no matter how I tried to shake it off."
Pei Yunmeng was taken aback.
After a moment, he chuckled lightly and sighed, "Such indirect criticism. It seems Doctor Lu is in a very bad mood today."
Lu Tong did not wish to continue the conversation, glancing at the medicine bottle on the table, "The Appetite Pill has already been given to Lord Pei."
Pei Yunmeng picked up the porcelain bottle of medicine but didn’t leave immediately. Instead, he casually remarked, "Did you stand up for me today?"
His question was vague, leaving Lu Tong puzzled, "What?"
He looked down with a smile, his tone casual, "Today at Jin Xianrong’s residence during the day, didn’t you prick him a few extra times for me?"
Lu Tong was initially stunned, but then she understood.
Earlier that day, Jin Xianrong had made a few disrespectful remarks towards Pei Yunmeng, and indeed she had jabbed him rather painfully with the needles.
But that had happened at Jin Xianrong’s residence.
Aside from herself, the only others present were Jin Xianrong and his servants...
The Palace Marshal’s Mansion...
Its methods were indeed boundless.
In an instant, a chill arose from within her.
She looked up at the person across from her; the young man’s face was gentle and handsome in the light, his moon-white brocade robe made him seem refined and gracious. But upon closer inspection, his features were exquisitely sharp.
Weapons excel at hurting people.
No matter how lavishly adorned a sharp knife might appear, it cannot conceal the dangerous truth.
Pei Yunmeng seemed oblivious to the sudden alertness that had sprung up in Lu Tong, his face lightly smiling, nonchalantly asking, "Why did Doctor Lu stand up for me?"
Lu Tong remained silent.
Logically speaking, she and Pei Yunmeng were neither kin nor close, and although Pei Yunmeng didn’t seem inclined to stop her vengeance for the time being, Lu Tong always maintained a subtle distance with him. This man’s status was high, and she didn’t know what he was plotting in the shadows. Dealing with her own troubles was already a handful, and she truly lacked the energy—and the desire—to play the good Samaritan.