Chapter 315: Chapter 126: Winning Lamp_3
"Yes, indeed! The lantern is free, but shooting an arrow costs money!" the stallholder pointed inside the tent.
Lu Tong followed the direction of his pointing.
Sure enough, on the big red quiver filled with arrows in the lantern tent, a line of tiny characters, no bigger than ants, was written with light pink colored ink: "Thirty wen per arrow—"
Lu Tong was momentarily at a loss for words.
The characters were written so furtively; only a ghost could read them clearly.
There seemed to be a snicker from someone beside her. Lu Tong turned her head and saw Pei Yunmeng looking away, her shoulders slightly shaking.
Was she mocking her for being duped and at a loss?
Lu Tong felt suffocated.
When she left home, the silver coins were all with Yin Zheng, and she herself had no plans to buy anything. Little did she know that she would stumble here.
The paper-mâché ugly toad suddenly felt as heavy as a thousand catties. Faced with the vendor still eagerly awaiting, Lu Tong stiffened for a moment, then pushed the lantern into the hands of the person opposite: "I don’t want it."
"Eh?"
Just as the stallholder was about to speak, another hand reached out, placing a piece of silver on the wooden table of the lantern stall. Pei Yunmeng smiled and said, "Give it to me."
This silver was far more than the price of a lantern, and the vendor’s eyes immediately crinkled with a smile as they handed the toad lamp to Pei Yunmeng: "There you go! Young master and miss, please take good care of the lamp. By lighting our lamp, may you have auspiciousness and good luck, with great fortune right above your head in the coming year!"
Lu Tong: "..."
Having taken the silver, the vendor turned to hail other customers, leaving Lu Tong at the front of the lantern stall, unsure whether to stay or go, staring at the toad lantern in Pei Yunmeng’s hand, feeling that her stay at the lantern stall was quite regrettable.
Seeing her discomfort, Pei Yunmeng found it somewhat amusing: "Doctor Lu, you are intelligent beyond measure, so why do you always get fooled in such matters?"
Last time in Qinghe Street, at Lu Yuan pawnshop, it was the same; she was easily overcharged for a hairpin of inferior quality.
Lu Tong found Pei Yunmeng’s barely contained laughter extremely irritating, and threw out a sentence: "The people of Shengjing are just too good at doing business."
She turned and walked away.
They had clearly agreed that the lantern would be free, yet shooting an arrow required money. By writing the characters so small, it was clearly a trap to deceive people. Indeed, as the old saying goes, you suffer a big loss for coveting a small gain. Shengjing people, when it comes to business, are more cunning than the next.
A soft chuckle came from behind, and Pei Yunmeng quickly caught up, pushing the toad lamp into her hands.
Lu Tong frowned: "Why are you giving me the lantern that Marshal paid for with silver?"
"The imperial examination is upon us. A toad lamp signifies success in the examination, an omen I dare not keep," he said leisurely.
Toad lamp? Imperial examination?
A thought struck Lu Tong.
Indeed, there was an auspicious meaning of "achieving success" with the toad lantern. Pei Yunmeng thought she had chosen the toad lantern because of the upcoming imperial examination, but Lu Tong didn’t correct his misunderstanding.
Clutching the toad lantern, its dim green light glowing softly in the night, Lu Tong fell silent, then said, "When I see Yin Zheng later, I will return the money for the lantern to Marshal."
"No need to make it awkward, consider it an early congratulatory gift for your examination," he said.
A congratulatory gift?
With such naturalness in Pei Yunmeng’s tone, Lu Tong couldn’t help but lift her eyes to look at him.
With the streets lit like daytime by countless lanterns, Pei Yunmeng walked leisurely with the crowd, as if his previous words were just casual remarks that he didn’t take to heart.
But Lu Tong couldn’t help pondering.
On New Year’s Eve, they had a revealing encounter beneath the fireworks at the medical clinic. Pei Yunmeng knew about her purpose for coming to Shangjing. It could have been a momentary empathy, or perhaps he had other motives. One thing was clear to Lu Tong: she was up against the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, even people of higher status.
Pei Yunmeng might pity her, but he would definitely not assist her in this matter.
So what was his purpose?
Out of pity?
The bit of useless sympathy given by someone in high position is like the passing attention one gives to a pitiful stray cat or dog on the roadside. People might give food to strays, but they do not care what the stray is thinking. Hence, this passing attention does not bring comfort, but only deepens the disgust for that unequal and condescending charity.
"Lord Pei," she suddenly said.
"What is it?"
"From now on, you should be more mindful of your own actions. Always behaving this way will lead me to misunderstandings," she said.
He appeared perplexed: "Misunderstand what?"
"That you want to help me."
Pei Yunmeng was taken aback.
He stopped and looked down, meeting Lu Tong’s calm gaze.
Her words were suggestive, gentle, even somewhat ingratiating.
However, her eyes were filled with mockery.
It was as if she deliberately wanted to shatter the seemingly happy pretense, forcing both parties to confront the pretense and the distance between them.