Chapter 236: Chapter 103: Dong Dong_1
The Incense Burner crashed onto the carpet, scattering uneven dark spots, abruptly casting a strange shade onto the brightly woven rug, contrasting with the sound of the rain outside and painfully eye-catching.
Lu Tong looked at the young man before her, her heart gradually sinking.
Why was Pei Yunmeng in Yuxian Tower?
Today was Qi Yutai’s birthday, and he’d invited many friends. His frivolous companions had no lowly statuses; if ranked by seniority, most should be staying on this level.
Yet there was Pei Yunmeng. Could it be that he was affiliated with Qi Yutai...
The young man’s gaze swept over the fallen Incense Burner, lingering for a while before raising his eyes to look at her again.
Lu Tong clenched her fists slightly.
She had seen how cunning and suspiciously minded this man was. How could she explain the current situation? Furthermore, if he was secretly collaborating with the Qi Family, seeking revenge would become even more difficult.
"Just got here?" he asked.
Lu Tong was startled.
Pei Yunmeng casually placed the silver knife on the table and seated himself at the desk, beckoning to her, "Close the door."
Lu Tong suddenly realized, Pei Yunmeng hadn’t recognized her!
Indeed, Yin Zheng’s makeup skills were exceptional. When she passed by a bronze mirror downstairs today, she glanced inside and saw her face grotesquely coated with rouge and powder, further disguised by a veil. Pei Yunmeng must have mistaken her for a dancing girl from Yuxian Tower, perhaps originally calling someone else upstairs and she inadvertently assumed that person’s identity by mistake.
"What are you standing there for?" he asked again.
Lu Tong bowed her head and walked to the door to close it.
Hesitating further would only raise suspicion; she had to go along with the plan for now.
Once the door shut, the rain outside seemed quieter. The Gold-Plated Pearl Lamp on the small table was vivid with peonies bright enough to steal one’s breath; Pei Yunmeng sat down at the table, surrounded by a dazzling array of pearls and jade. The indifference in his eyes now revealed a rare trace of authenticity.
Seeing Lu Tong look over, that trace of indifference quickly faded, replaced by a brightened demeanor. Pei Yunmeng’s lips curled up in a casual smile, "Can’t speak the official language?"
Lu Tong nodded.
The new troupe of dancers at Yuxian Tower came from foreign tribes. Some could speak Shengjing dialect, some could not. Those who spoke the dialect were always more popular here, while those who couldn’t were somewhat neglected. But to the amorous and drunken patrons of the establishment, it was all mere novelty.
Lu Tong had chosen to disguise herself as a dancer because a veil provided a cover-up, facilitating her task. She hadn’t expected to encounter someone she knew here. It was precisely because she did not speak and did not show her face that she could continue to "play" the part safely in front of Pei Yunmeng.
He looked at Lu Tong with a smile, tapping a Jade Cup on the table, "Aren’t you going to pour some wine?"
Lu Tong hesitated, then went ahead.
She stopped next to Pei Yunmeng, trying to appear meek and adorable as she picked up the wine jug to pour him a drink.
The crisp sound of wine pouring into the jade cup, clear and pleasing, echoed as Lu Tong bent down, her diaphanous garment brushing the young man’s face. He twitched his eyebrows and eyes slightly, subtly avoiding her, as if deliberately keeping a distance from her.
After pouring the wine, Lu Tong stood up straight, obediently remaining by Pei Yunmeng’s side. Perhaps it was the veil, or maybe the room’s sweet aroma was too overpowering, but the wine’s scent was faint, almost unnoticeable to her.
Pei Yunmeng took the Jade Cup, took a sip with his head lowered, and glanced towards the heavy wooden zither on the desk.
Lu Tong followed his gaze, her heart sinking.
Sure enough, the next moment, she heard his voice, smilingly challenging her, "Can you play the zither?"
Lu Tong: "..."
Back in Changwu County at her family home, they had only one old zither, bought for her sister Lu Rou to practice on. She couldn’t endure the hardship of zither practice and was plump like a dumpling as a child, with no love for music, chess, calligraphy, or painting. When they first bought it, her father hoped she would also practice, but to dodge zither lessons, Lu Tong intentionally played it terribly. Indeed, it didn’t take long before the whole street was advising her mother to give up and spare the young girl the suffering—everyone’s sleep at night was being disturbed.
So they gave up on it.
Now Pei Yunmeng was asking her if she could play the zither, Lu Tong somewhat regretted her laziness. If she had known this day would come, she would have gritted her teeth and learned the zither back then, rather than facing such an embarrassing situation now.
After a moment of silence, Lu Tong gently shook her head.
He laughed, looking troubled, and after pondering for a moment, he spoke up.
"I’ve heard that Yuxian Tower’s new dancer, Cuicui, can dance with the grace of a ’Fei Yan’, her sleeves fluttering like falling snow, her dance worth a hundred Baihu Pearls. I’ve yet to witness it." He propped his head in his hand, gazing at her with an inconsequential smile, "Then show me a dance."
Lu Tong: "..."
Having barely avoided the zither ordeal, he now suggested dancing. If she could dance, she wouldn’t have been so clumsy in her childhood. Maybe Lu Qian could even dance better than she could. Her memory of dancing was from before she was five, tagging along with Lu Rou. Lu Rou would dance, and she would fiercely fan the air beside her, so the wind could lift her sister’s hair, adding charm to the movements.