Chapter 605: Chapter 210 Attracting Peach Blossoms_2
He stepped back two paces and suddenly let out a bitter laugh.
Lu Tong said that she had been stubborn since childhood, but her father was stern with her while praising her effusively in public.
An old man surnamed Yang from Mangming Township, whose son was an idiot, still took pride in him when speaking with others.
Their casual conversations sounded particularly harsh to his ears.
He yearned for such acceptance yet, because of it, he felt envy.
"Have you always thought I was crazy since I was a child?" Qi Yutai suddenly spoke.
Without waiting for Qi Qing to reply, he added, "You’ve thought so since I was five, haven’t you."
In reality, his illness didn’t start five years ago.
It was even earlier.
Qi Yutai vaguely remembered that his father used to be good to him, but after that, things changed. Qi Qing treated him with indifference, like a failed product that couldn’t be destroyed but also couldn’t be admitted to, only to be kept in the mansion as an ornamental piece that was neither here nor there.
To not invest emotionally, to observe coldly—this was how he hid his repugnance.
The servants in the mansion were tight-lipped about the past, but as the sole legitimate son of the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, if he wanted to know, he could ultimately find out some information.
"You didn’t believe me when I said Light-vented would kill, and you did nothing when I said someone in Fengle Building wanted to harm me."
"Father, do you deep down think I’m mad, and all that I say is the ravings of a lunatic?"
Qi Qing looked down, "You are too agitated, you need to calm your mind."
"I told you I’m not sick!"
Qi Yutai shouted, "If you despise me so much, then kill me like you did my mother, so I won’t bring shame to the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion——"
"Slap——"
A crisp sound echoed through the room.
Qi Yutai covered his face, looking incredulously at the person before him.
The old man’s grey-white eyes stared dead at him, the usually placid surface of water suddenly whipped up waves. The surging anger made those eyes appear grim and sinister, causing the fury in Qi Yutai’s heart to turn to fear for a moment, and then gradually subside.
Qi Qing watched him with a dark expression, and Qi Yutai dared not speak for a time.
After a moment, Qi Qing turned and coldly said, "Convalesce in the mansion and do not step a foot outside the courtyard."
He left the room.
As he left the courtyard, the steward who had been standing at the entrance followed along and said in a low voice, "Young Master spoke without thinking in his haste today; my lord mustn’t take it to heart."
"He mentioned Shu Hui..."
Qi Qing closed his eyes.
"A scourge."
...
The maids in the room bent down to pick up the shattered pieces of porcelain and cleared away the incense ash from the blanket.
Qi Yutai sat at the table, his brows and eyes steeped in brooding darkness.
His face where he had been slapped was burning with pain, for Qi Qing had used all his strength.
He touched his face, where a vague mark was gradually swelling.
Someone entered from outside; Qi Yutai lifted his eyelids to see Lu Tong enter the room, place the medical box on the table, and pause as her gaze fell upon his face.
The swelling on his face had not gone down, making it obvious to anyone he had been hit. In the entire Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, the person who would dare to hit him was easy to guess.
Lu Tong bowed her head to open the medical box. Not asking anything, she instead made Qi Yutai feel even more humiliated, certain that this Female Doctor who feigned calm was mocking him in her heart.
"Has Young Master Qi taken his medicine?" she asked.
"It was spilled."
It was always like this; he would waste the medicine Lu Tong had prepared and she would then have to endure the laborious task of preparing another batch in the sweltering heat.
Qi Yutai liked to wear her down with such trivial matters.
Lu Tong nodded, not a hint of impatience on her face, "I will go prepare another dose."
The pleasure of tormenting someone vanished amidst her composure.
Qi Yutai cursed under his breath.
Regardless, at the very least, Lu Tong was free to come and go from the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion each day while he was confined here, less free than even a lowly commoner.
Qi Yutai watched as Lu Tong bent down to take the Silver Jar out of the medical box, a sudden idea striking him.
He grabbed Lu Tong’s arm in one swift move.
Lu Tong looked at him.
"You once told me that you could find a substitute for Cold Food Powder, didn’t you?"
"Yes."
"Go make it and bring it to me."
Lu Tong looked surprised and said, "Young Master Qi, you’ve just recovered from a serious illness and should not take other medicines."
"No more nonsense!"
Qi Yutai gripped her hand fiercely. His roughness caused Lu Tong to slightly frown.
This pained expression, however, momentarily soothed him.
"Medical Officer Lu, I’m not afraid to tell you," he said coldly, "once you enter the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, it’s not so easy to leave. Even if you cure me, if I am not pleased, you’re still going to die."
"Don’t think that by pleasing my father, you will be safe. Cui Min was also once a dog under my father’s command, and now look at his grim fate."
He leaned in close to Lu Tong, his tone mocking, "Instead of trying to please my father, you’d better please me. If you make me happy, perhaps I’ll soften my heart and stop making things difficult for you. Otherwise..."