Chapter 466: Chapter 169 Suburban Hunting_2
Cui Min was already pressing her down; how could he give her a chance to stand out?
A situation that deviates from the norm is often a sign of something evil.
She kept her head lowered and said nothing. Seeing this, Lin Danqing comforted her, "Why so serious? It’s been hot lately; think of it as going to the mountains to cool off. The hunting party will be full of princes and noble young masters, and the forest has been driven through in advance. Ferocious beasts like lions and tigers have already been cleared out, at most there might be wolves and leopards. We’ll be waiting outside the forest in the shelters, there won’t be any danger."
It didn’t sound problematic, but Lu Tong still felt intuitively uneasy.
Lin Danqing patted her shoulder and said, "Don’t be nervous, Younger Sister Lu. After all, the hunt is just an opportunity to go out and have fun. Just think, you’ll get your salary without having to stand guard, and it’s better than staying at the Medical Officer Institute and dealing with people’s attitudes."
"Just keep your worries inside, and follow me when the time comes. Let’s go and have a look too."
Lin Danqing was always very proactive when it came to taking leave from work.
After saying this, she quickly finished applying her powder, rummaged through cabinets to find a bunch of snacks, and threw them into the pack spread open on the bed. She seemed less like she was going on a hunt and more like she was going for a spring outing. She then called to Lu Tong, "Younger Sister Lu, you should also pack your things. There are a lot of mosquitoes on the mountain, remember to bring the Insect-Expelling Dew."
Lu Tong stood up and returned to her inner room, opened a wooden cabinet where many bottles and jars were placed on the upper shelf. She looked them over, and aside from the Insect-Expelling Dew, she picked out another five or six bottles to put in her medical bag.
Her gaze swept over the innermost shelf of the cabinet and suddenly stopped.
There, four palm-sized porcelain jars sat quietly in the shadowy interior of the cabinet, silently looking back at her.
Lu Tong quietly looked at them for a long time.
Since she would be heading out to the mountains, she could not pack porcelain jars in her medical box for fear that they would break on the bumpy road.
This would be the first time she had to separate from her family like this since she entered the Medical Officer Institute.
She wiped the four porcelain jars with a cloth several times, pushed them back into the cabinet, then took out the delicately cold Hibiscus Flower Hairpin from the box, finally closing the cabinet door and relocking it.
"Father, Mother, Sister, Second Brother—"
She whispered to herself, "I’ll be back soon."
...
The summer nights grew hotter day by day.
Ice blocks were placed all around the residence, and indeed, it was not as hot as outside, the coolness was just right.
A figure moved quickly across the splendid courtyard of the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, hurried along the corridors, and entered a room.
Inside the room, Qi Yutai lounged on a couch, while two beautiful maids gently fanned him.
"Young Master," the person who entered the room presented the object in his hand to Qi Yutai, "Medical Officer Cao Huai from the Medical Officer Institute has delivered the item."
Qi Yutai glanced at the object in the servant’s hand with a furrowed brow and smiled in satisfaction.
"Good. Go, get it familiar with the hunting tiger." said Qi Yutai.
"Yes." The servant responded but then hesitated, seeming troubled, "But if Miss and Master find out..."
Qi Yutai gave him a cold glance and the servant immediately fell silent.
"If you don’t blab, how would they know about it now?" he asked.
The servant dared not speak.
Qi Yutai sneered, "My sister is soft-hearted, and father is stubborn, but how can I tolerate a lowly woman climbing over our Qi family’s head."
He sighed, "My sister lent me silver for my wishes to be fulfilled, but I don’t have enough silver to repay her. Taking this revenge for her is also a way of returning the favor."
After he had finished speaking, he glanced at the servant, "You know the consequences of telling my father."
The servant trembled, hastily saying, "Yes, Young Master."
As the pale moon hung dimly, in another courtyard separated by a wall from the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, candlelight burned in the night.
An elder stood in front of a window, clad in black robes, with white hair, bushy eyebrows, and bright teeth, quietly gazing at the distant clouds.
Behind him, the door made a slight noise, but the elder did not turn around, calmly asking, "Is everything Young Master needs packed up?"
The old steward stepped forward a few paces, bowed, and answered, "All is well-packed. The best guards from the mansion will accompany, the horses, saddles, and chest straps have all been checked, and so have the Young Master’s hunting dogs... "
After a moment’s hesitation, the steward continued, "The Young Master specifically requested that female doctor from the Medical Officer Institute to attend the hunt. Does the Master not plan to stop her?"
Qi Yutai believed that his actions were done without the knowledge of Qi Qing; yet within the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, nothing could escape Qi Qing’s notice. If he never spoke of them, it was simply because he chose not to.
Like a benevolent father indulging his mischievous child, he calmly watched his not-so-clever antics.
"Don’t stop her," said Qi Qing. "She’s just a female doctor."
He turned, the moonlight blocked by his figure, the lantern on the table illuminating his face, casting a bluish-white hue onto his wrinkled, aged countenance as if reflecting the pallor of decay.
The Buddha Beads in his hand were polished to a warm shine through his touch.
He rolled them around and then, with a sigh, he spoke.