Chapter 377: Chapter 142: Marshal Breaks the Siege_4
The undercurrents in the hall had quietly flowed by.
The medical officers each dispersed, attending to their own affairs.
Lu Tong, holding a prescription, entered the inner medicinal hall.
The medicinal hall was not very spacious; the floor was piled with a batch of new medicines yet to be sorted, and against the wall stood a row of wooden cabinets holding the common drugs that the medical officers often needed.
Just as Lu Tong approached the medicine cabinets, the wooden door behind her made a light sound.
She didn’t look back.
The person who came in closed the door, glanced around, and frowned at the dust that had accumulated on the medicinal materials and was now being whisked around by the breeze from the door as if it were somewhat disdainful. Only after the dust had settled a bit did Pei Yunmeng approach.
Lu Tong took a slender porcelain bottle from the cabinet and turned to place it on the table, "Appetite Pill."
Pei Yunmeng’s brows twitched slightly.
Following the courtroom scene earlier, Pei Yunmeng didn’t leave immediately but said that the Marshal’s Palace’s dogs had lost their appetite recently and asked Lu Tong for some medicine.
The Medical Officer Institute’s drug hall stored the common medicines that officers used daily. It was no issue to give an Appetite Pill meant for humans to a dog.
However, this kind of pretext for following her in was so perfunctory that Cui Min didn’t react; probably because he feared the other party’s identity.
He picked up the medicine bottle, tugging at his lip, "You’re going to follow Cui Min’s arrangements for the consultation rounds?"
"Yes."
"Do you know who Jin Xianrong is?"
"I know." Actually, there was no need to inquire; just by seeing the expressions of the people at the Medical Officer Institute today, she could guess as much.
"You know and still dare." Pei Yunmeng nodded, then suddenly asked, "Because he is from the Ministry of Revenue?"
Lu Tong felt a stir in her heart.
Jin Xianrong was a Vice Minister in the Left Cao of the Ministry of Revenue, and Qi Yutai, the son of the Grand Preceptor, also served in the Ministry of Revenue. She was just a medical officer, with scant opportunities to get close to Qi Yutai. It was a rare opportunity sent from heaven; she really didn’t want to miss it.
So, no matter what, she had to take this task.
As if he had seen through her thoughts, Pei Yunmeng looked at her and said, "It’s too risky."
Lu Tong looked up, her tone sarcastic, "Then why did Lord Pei stand up for me today? With Lord Pei’s status, getting involved with me is not a good thing."
Pei Yunmeng paused in his fiddling with the neck bottle and tilted his head to ask, "What do you mean?"
"Cui Min is biased against me, and with Lord Pei openly taking my side, it’s inevitable that people will recall the matter involving Miss Pei. If Cui Min thinks that you and I have a private friendship and this gets out, I fear it wouldn’t be good for you, my lord." Lu Tong paused before continuing, "You always knew the principle of protecting oneself better than I do, so why the confusion today?"
Pei Yunmeng’s initiative to defuse the situation in the hall today was unexpected not just for Cui Min, but also surprising for Lu Tong.
He really had no need to muddy these waters.
Their relationship was not deep enough to warrant such action.
Upon hearing this, he instead smiled inexplicably, "So this is how I appear in your eyes?"
"Of course, I have always been well aware that there is a difference in status between my lord and myself."
He then stood up straight, clutching the medicine bottle in the palm of his hand, and looked at Lu Tong with a sigh, "Didn’t I say? I only came here to get the medicine today; I just happened to see Doctor Lu being made difficulties by others, and I couldn’t stand by."
Lu Tong pursed her lips, not believing a word he said, and so she replied flatly, "Thank you, Lord Pei."
This thank-you sounded somewhat forced. After all, not only did she now have to diagnose Jin Xianrong, but she also had to visit the Marshal’s Palace to see the sick. Doing two jobs at once...
He truly had ’helped’ her greatly.
It was frankly a bad fate.
"Why do I feel as if your expression says you’re scolding me?" Pei Yunmeng lowered his brows and observed her before saying, "Consider it my meddling. But since you seem to have a plan, I won’t interfere. I wouldn’t want to ruin Doctor Lu’s grand strategy."
He tucked the medicine bottle into his chest, turned, and walked outward with his sword in hand. When he reached the door, he stopped, thought for a moment, and then turned back to remind her, "Doctor Lu."
Lu Tong watched him.
"Qi Yutai and Fan Zhenglian are not the same." The young man’s face was shaded in the dim lighting of the pharmacy, and whatever he thought made his expression turn somewhat cold.
"Don’t underestimate the enemy."