Chapter 692: Chapter 234 Medicine Man_3
Lu Tong was silent before she said, "You’re insane?"
He was the Commander of the Palace Front Office, with a bright future ahead of him. Even though the Pei Family was holding him back, the New Emperor clearly favored and relied on him heavily. Giving up his wealth and status for this—it was simply not worth the loss.
He smiled indifferently, "You’ve got plenty of experience dealing with lunatics anyway."
Lu Tong remained silent.
Pei Yunmeng rested his head on his hands, speaking as if it were a casual family conversation.
"The Liang Dynasty isn’t just prosperous in Shengjing. You’ve only been to Su Nan and Changwu County. Why not take the chance to travel more now? It will be good for accumulating medical knowledge. My business is settled, and I have no concerns. You wouldn’t mind taking me along, would you?"
"I can accompany you to Changwu County or Su Nan. If you want to continue running a medical hall, you can. We can buy another residence. Plant some herbs in the yard, like at the Benevolent Heart Medical Hall..."
He spoke very calmly.
The wind howled outside, and the moonlight shone through the window. His words inspired hope, like a welcoming spring day, making one yearn for it.
Lu Tong’s eyes slowly reddened.
After doing everything, she methodically walked into the mire, quietly waiting as the muddy water slowly rose above her head to engulf her. Yet, at the last moment, she saw someone running towards her.
He knelt at the shore, showed her the lights and flowers along the bank, and reached out his hand, saying, "Come up."
She longed to grab that hand.
But no matter what, she couldn’t.
Tears silently tracked down her cheeks, soaking her pillow. She lay with her back to Pei Yunmeng, holding back the acidity in her throat, silent.
The room fell into silence.
There was no sound around, Pei Yunmeng glanced up at the bed: "Are you asleep?"
The person on the couch did not reply, as if sound asleep.
He lowered his eyes and then closed them.
...
The night was very long.
Perhaps it was Pei Yunmeng’s interruption, or maybe other thoughts occupied her mind, but after falling asleep again, Lu Tong had no more nightmares.
When she awoke, it was already light outside.
Lu Tong got up. The oil lamp on the table had burned out, and there was no one in the room.
She pushed open the door; the wind and snow outside had stopped.
Heavy snow bent the branches of the plum trees on Luomei Peak, covering everything in silver white, but the sky remained gloomy, laden with thick clouds, as desolate as ever.
Lu Tong stood at the door, momentarily lost in a trance.
She had lived on Luomei Peak for seven years, seeing its snow countless times. However, after just two years in Shengjing and returning, she already felt unaccustomed.
Habits are indeed terrifying things. They can change everything.
Lu Tong carried her herb basket and walked towards the Red Plum Tree.
Lady Yun loved to plant poisonous flowers and herbs in the open space in front of her house. The area beneath the Red Plum Tree was where she planted the most.
Now, the once-thriving plants were overwhelmed by the heavy snow, no longer as lush as before, leaving only a few scattered and solitary clumps standing.
Lu Tong sighed inwardly.
Two years had passed. Even the most poisonous plants required attentive care; without it, they would wither.
She set the herb basket aside, knelt down, and carefully picked and stored the still intact plants, one by one.
There weren’t many herbs left, and she quickly finished picking them. Just as she was about to leave, her gaze caught a glimpse of a vibrant color beneath the tree and she paused.
In the haphazard white snow, a tender yellow peeked out.
The yellow color was striking against the snow. Lu Tong frowned slightly, took a few steps forward, bent down, and brushed the snow away. When she finally saw what it was, she froze.
"Golden Qin?"
"How..." She couldn’t hide her astonishment.
Lady Yun only planted poisonous plants and herbs on Luomei Peak.
Non-poisonous herbs were useless to her; there was no need to bring them up to Luomei Peak.
Once, Lady Yun obtained a handful of Golden Qin seeds. This flower, from the Western Regions, was valuable and non-poisonous. In fact, it could detoxify fevers. Lady Yun wanted to discard the bag of seeds, but Lu Tong secretly picked them up behind her back.
She planted the seeds behind the house, watered them diligently, and checked on them daily, but the Golden Qin refused to grow. Puzzled, she dug up the soil and found the seeds had rotted in the earth.
Lady Yun leaned against the door frame, watching her with cold amusement and said with a containing smile, "Golden Qin fears the cold and loves the heat. It will never grow on Luomei Peak."
"Little Shiqi, why waste your effort?"
Lu Tong pursed her lips and said nothing, her determination growing.
Back then, she was determined to prove that one could change their fate if she could just grow a detoxifying herb on Luomei Peak. Despite many attempts and careful care, the seeds never sprouted.