Chapter 612: Chapter 212 Using Me _2
The other party arrived just in time.
Lu Tong said, "Lord Pei has been considerate, I have yet to thank you."
Pei Yunmeng heard the detachment in her words, his expression somewhat strange. After a moment of thought, he added, "Staying in the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion is still too dangerous. Even if someone watches over you from the shadows, it’s not foolproof." He said, "Now with the Qi Family entangled in trouble, why not, after the festival, I help you..."
"Lord Pei," Lu Tong interrupted him, "to avenge someone, one stops only at the grave. If I feared death, I would not have come to Shengjing in the first place."
His brows furrowed. "What if the guards hadn’t appeared today, what if he had... to you..."
"No matter the method, I must have my revenge."
Her tone was very firm.
Outside the window, the wind and rain whirled, water beat against the eaves, blurring the outside into a misty white fog.
Pei Yunmeng stared at her, and after a moment, he opened his mouth to speak, "If your family was here..."
"Don’t mention them."
She seemed to be pricked by a taboo, suddenly becoming agitated.
Pei Yunmeng was taken aback.
She rarely showed anger, her pitch-black eyes shining intensely, her voice sharp and biting.
"What does that count for? Lord Pei, didn’t your guard tell you about my days in the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion?"
"Every day I had to bow down to them more than a dozen times, waiting on the enemies who killed my family, showing them the utmost respect and calling them ’My Lords.’ No matter how disgusted I felt in my heart, I had to bow my head, because it would make them let down their guard and make it easier to take action."
She looked at Pei Yunmeng, "For revenge, I could do anything. No self-respect, no future, no human relations, Lord Pei, this is me, this is the most important thing to me."
Pei Yunmeng’s brows furrowed deeply.
She steadied herself. "Lord Pei, thank you for Huangmao Hill, but back then I was too naive; I oversimplified everything. Now, I don’t think kneeling makes one inferior. It doesn’t matter if he touched me inappropriately or if I became his forbidden concubine, as long as I don’t look down on myself, no one else will ever have the chance to look down on me."
"Stop talking." He suddenly spoke, his tone laced with anger.
It was unclear whether he was upset about her deep self-deprecation or the clear, deliberate distance she was setting.
Lu Tong watched him, those ever-calm eyes not as serene as usual, but turbid, seeming angry and yet also reflecting a deeper sorrow.
His heart softened abruptly, and his tone became gentler.
"I said I would help you."
Lu Tong’s heart skipped a beat, her fingertips hidden in her sleeve digging deep into her palm, the pain bringing her abruptly back to clarity.
"What is the Marshal really doing?"
She spoke coldly, "The old favor from Su Nan has long been repaid; can’t you see that I have always been using you?"
"I didn’t say you couldn’t use me," he suddenly interrupted Lu Tong.
She paused.
Pei Yunmeng kept his gaze fixed on her.
"Lu Tong, you can use me."
The rain outside had become more urgent, each drop sounding mournful. A chilled air, despite being outside the window, seemed to pierce into the room; the young man sitting opposite her had lost the smile from his eyes, leaving them inscrutable and dark.
She suddenly shivered, instinctively wanting to tighten the robe around her but stopped abruptly, just short of touching it.
This garment, this robe of Pei Yunmeng’s, made of superior fabric, luxurious satin heavy with quality, felt like warm clouds when draped over someone, encasing her and warding off the cold even from a driving rainstorm during an afternoon carriage ride.
But the coolness of summer nights would pass, leaving no trace with the wind, and beautiful, warm robes would eventually rest on the shoulders of another.
A story without an ending is better left not begun.
Lu Tong looked down, placing the hot tea back on the table, and stood up.
"I should go back."
She avoided his gaze.
Pei Yunmeng paused, seemed to want to say something but ultimately didn’t; rising, he offered, "I’ll see you out."
"No need," she was very resolute in her reply.
Pei Yunmeng’s brows furrowed, and after a moment, he relented, "I’ll have Qingfeng see you out."
This time, Lu Tong did not refuse.
Qingfeng took Lu Tong out, leaving the spacious study once again empty.
The table still held her half-drunk cup of Ginger Honey Drink. Pei Yunmeng rubbed his forehead, his expression troubled.
Lu Tong was very out of the ordinary today.
Every day she was always so calm; since recognizing each other at Huangmao Hill, this was the first time she had spoken to him so coldly. As though suddenly she had wrapped herself in an outer cloak, very clearly isolating herself from others.
Leaving no room for any interjection.
The spies from the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion reported that Qi Yutai had behaved inappropriately towards Lu Tong today, but that alone would not have caused such a reaction from her. It was more as though she was deliberately distancing herself from him.