Chapter 558: 196 Chapter Lady Yun_3
"It’s not bitter," he said earnestly to everyone, "It’s actually sweet."
Everyone: "..."
No one believed him.
Having tasted the bitterness himself, Du Changqing was not content to be the only victim and insisted on dragging everyone down with him. He glanced sideways and said, "Why aren’t you drinking? The host has drunk it, do you look down on him, or are you not giving face to Doctor Ji?"
"Lift your bowls, stop dragging your feet!"
Everyone’s face showed their reluctance.
Ji Xun felt a bit uncomfortable and explained softly, "Good medicine tastes bitter. Though it tastes a bit harsh, it is beneficial for the body."
His earnestness somehow made those who wanted to dodge the drink feel embarrassed not to drink. They thought that luckily the glazed pots were not large, just enough for one bowl per person, tantamount to taking a tonic. They might as well drink it and then have some preserved fruit to remove the bitter taste.
The crowd then lifted their bowls to comply, raised their wine bowls with auspicious phrases, and drank the medicine from the bowls before them.
The medicine was apparently very bitter.
There were those like Miao Liangfang and Ji Xun, who were older and more composed, preferring short pain over prolonged suffering, and drank it all in one go. And there were others like Zhu Ling and Duan Xiaoyan, who were as pale as death, retching after each sip as if they were drinking poison.
Lin Danqing and Yin Zheng fared better, but after drinking, their noses wrinkled tightly, clearly affected by the bitterness.
Pei Yunmeng was even more composed than the others, he took the wine bowl without hurry and finished it.
As poised and calm as if he had just drunk a bowl of clear water.
Lu Tong looked down at the wine bowl before her.
It was filled with a large bowl of bamboo extract, which at first glance appeared quite refreshing, but the overpowering bitter scent was truly unpleasant, instinctively making one want to avoid it.
Everyone else had swallowed their bitter liquid, leaving her as the only one delaying. Lu Tong took a deep breath, ready to lift the bowl before her—
A hand reached over from the side.
Lu Tong looked up.
Pei Yunmeng took the bowl from her hands, lowered his head, and poured the medicine into his own empty bowl.
He then refilled her bowl with the peach wine Yin Zheng had bought, saying casually as if it were an afterthought, "Drink this instead."
His movements were so natural that Lu Tong’s hand trembled, and as she looked up again, she met the varied gazes of all those present.
Lin Danqing, already bitterly close to tears, choked on his medicine at the sight and began to cough violently.
Even though Lu Tong hadn’t touched the medicine and even though Pei Yunmeng’s actions seemed casual, perhaps...
they were also a bit too intimate?
Especially since Lu Tong was always so icy.
For a moment, no one knew whether to be surprised that the Commander of the Palace Front Office would take the initiative to deal with someone else’s leftovers or that Doctor Lu, who usually kept people at a distance, did not vehemently refuse this time.
Noticing everyone’s gaze, Pei Yunmeng looked up.
The young man’s handsome face had a light smile; he didn’t seem as unapproachable as when he wore his official uniform. He seemed approachable, almost like the boy next door. He "tsked" in amusement, seeming somewhat puzzled by everyone’s reaction, and innocently asked, "Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"Isn’t it valuable? It would be a waste to throw it away."
He looked towards Ji Xun, his lips curving into a smile.
"I drank an extra bowl of medicine; Doctor Ji wouldn’t mind, right?"
Ji Xun pursed his lips.
It was supposed to be nothing of consequence, but for some reason, he felt a surge of irritation, and the warm smile of the man before him seemed somewhat irritating to the eyes.
Duan Xiaoyan clenched his fist in silent support, while Du Changqing’s face grew very long.
Outside, the wind had risen at some point, causing a rustle in the tents set up in the courtyard. Yin Zheng laughed and called out, "Don’t just sit there, come on and eat before the meal gets cold. Shopkeeper Du and I prepared the menu half a month ago. It can’t compare to the fanciness of the Imperial City, but I hope the young masters and ladies won’t mind."
"We don’t mind, we don’t mind," Duan Xiaoyan eagerly lifted his chopsticks, "It’s much richer than the monotonous meals in the Imperial City!"
The atmosphere gradually became lively again.
Yin Zheng and Lin Danqing, both shrewd people adept at lifting spirits, together with Duan Xiaoyan’s chatty nature and Du Changqing’s intermittent sarcastic side comments, the initial discomfort among the crowd dissipated a lot.
As the conversation flowed, it naturally turned towards the matter of Lu Tong being suspended from the Medical Officer Institute.
Du Changqing discontentedly said, "I say, our West Street finally produced a Medical Officer, only to be sent home in less than half a year. What’s that about? Is it such a big deal to have an extra look at a prescription? People in the Imperial City make a mountain out of a molehill; as if glancing at a prescription could reach the heavens?"
Upon hearing this, Ji Xun looked at Lu Tong in surprise.
It seemed that Lu Tong had not told Shopkeeper Du the real reason for her suspension.
"People in the Imperial City are just like that, they lack discernment," Lin Danqing shook her head. Not great with alcohol, she turned rosy after a bit of peach wine, becoming bolder in her speech than before.