Chapter 695: Chapter 235 Fragrance_2
Lu Tong turned her head and suddenly spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.
Pei Yunmeng’s gaze drastically changed as he caught her in his arms, "Lu Tong?"
"I..."
The pain in her chest was more intense than ever before, all the pain she had desperately suppressed attacked her at this moment. She shivered with pain, cold sweat pouring down, curling up in his embrace, she managed to say, "Bring my flowers back... Golden Qin..."
Having said that, she could no longer hold on and blacked out.
The last thing she heard was Pei Yunmeng’s urgent calls.
"Lu Tong!"
...
Lu Tong had a brief dream.
She dreamed of that year’s heavy snow in Changwu County, where she met Lady Yun, who was about to get on the carriage in front of Magistrate Li’s residence.
Lady Yun helped her up as she knelt, saved the Lu Family, and she followed Lady Yun to Su Nan, moving into Luomei Peak.
Testing drugs, trying poisons, learning medicine, learning about herbs, she spent years on Luomei Peak, visiting every place, and when she finally left the mountain, she turned back to look at the lonely little cabin left on the mountain, and the seventeen disheveled and desolate graves hidden deep in the foliage.
The person in the seventeenth grave wasn’t her.
It was Lady Yun who had taken her up the mountain.
When she woke up, everything before her eyes was a blur, and she felt herself lying on someone’s back, being carried down the mountain.
The person was walking fast, his back safe and warm. She moved her fingers, turned her head, and asked, "Pei Yunmeng?"
Her breath warm against his ear, Pei Yunmeng was startled and asked, "Are you awake?"
"What are you doing?" Lu Tong asked weakly. The previous pain was no longer as acute, like a mighty tide that had passed, leaving only tranquility behind.
But her body felt very tired, so tired that even speaking another word seemed difficult.
"You fainted just now; there is a Medical Officer down the mountain." Pei Yunmeng continued walking without pause, saying, "Hang in there, I’m taking you down the mountain now."
Lu Tong had experienced an attack just now.
He had checked her arms and found no sign of peach blossom spots or purple clouds spots, indicating it wasn’t an epidemic disease. However, the way she shivered in his arms earlier was alarming.
He was not a Medical Officer, the only thing he could do was to take Lu Tong down the mountain as quickly as possible to find Chang Jin.
"What about my flowers?"
"They’re all here."
Lu Tong was relieved.
She clasped her hands around his neck, and for some reason, she felt an unexpected calm in her heart. It was as if a huge stone suspended in the air had finally crashed down at a certain moment. With unavoidable resignation, there was also a sense of relief.
Pei Yunmeng eventually found out.
She never wanted him to know; she had also earnestly tried to save herself. But after those years on Luomei Peak, the poisons had become a part of her, permanently fused with her body.
Perhaps there was no poison in the world that could defeat her anymore.
Similarly, there was no medicine that could save her.
She was doomed to sink into the mire, yet at the very last moment before sinking, she met someone she wanted to be with.
How regrettable.
Lu Tong closed her eyes.
"You’re crazy," there were tears in her eyes, yet she managed a faint smile, her voice a soft reproach, "daring to go down the mountain without me leading the way."
Pei Yunmeng with his back towards her, spoke soothingly, "I made marks with red cloth when we went up the mountain—Doctor Lu, rest assured, the selection for Palace Front Office isn’t based only on looks."
Lu Tong chuckled softly.
He had said this before, when he didn’t know everything, when she had foolishly dreamt of the future, it was teasing and amusing, but now, there was also a bit of sorrow hidden in the jest.
"Why didn’t you tie a blindfold," she touched Pei Yunmeng’s eyes, his long lashes like the fluttering wings of a butterfly, tickling slightly in her hand, "Aren’t you afraid of going blind?"
"It’s very dangerous, so Doctor Lu, look at me, don’t sleep."
He tried to sound as gentle as possible, yet Lu Tong saw no smile on his face. She had never seen Pei Yunmeng with such an expression before; it reminded her of the night in Prince Wen’s Mansion when Pei Yunshu gave birth to Treasure Bead.
It was such helplessness while striving to maintain calm.
She suddenly felt a pang of heartache.
Being the one left behind is painful, she knew that feeling.
She didn’t want Pei Yunmeng to experience that pain as well.
However, it seemed that in the end, things didn’t go as she wished.
His scent was crisp and gentle yet aloof, Lu Tong rested her head against his cheek, her voice faint and somewhat dazed, "You smell good... I like the scent of your sachet."
Pei Yunmeng was taken aback.
She had said more than once that she wanted his "Lover’s Incense." At first, he thought it was a joke, then he realized she didn’t understand the implication and avoided it to prevent misunderstanding. Now, at this moment, he regretted it.