Chapter 216: Chapter 97: Baby Washing Ceremony_4
Ah Cheng, clutching his head, said aggrievedly, "What trouble could there be?"
"There’s plenty of trouble... never mind, you wouldn’t understand," Du Changqing took the lantern into his hand. It was getting late, and the medical hall needed to close. He walked to the door, thought of something, and then turned back to instruct Lu Tong, "Be careful of..."
"Someone died on Mount Wangchun, and the murderer hasn’t been found yet. We two weak women have no means to protect ourselves, so we must be wary of being targeted."
Before Du Changqing could finish speaking, Yin Zheng took over, smiling, "Understood, Shopkeeper Du. We will be careful and won’t wander off recklessly."
Du Changqing pointed with his finger and finally said, "Good, as long as you know." He then left with Ah Cheng.
Yin Zheng and Lu Tong bolted the medical hall’s door and entered the small courtyard.
When Lu Tong returned from the Prince’s Mansion, she brought a basket from the Baby Washing Ceremony for the guests, filled with auspicious symbols like dates and colorful silk. Yin Zheng picked out the candied fruit and sorted the silk separately, washed them with clean water, planning to choose a few with suitable colors to make silk flowers for Lu Tong.
"Did you see any important figures at the Prince’s Mansion today?" Yin Zheng squatted on the stone platform, washing the silk and asking Lu Tong.
Lu Tong handed her a stool and shook her head, "No."
She knew what Yin Zheng was implying, but among the guests invited by the Prince’s Mansion today, there were no people from the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion.
She originally attended the Baby Washing Ceremony hoping that, among the guests invited by the Prince’s Mansion, there would be members of the Qi Family. It would have been good if she could use the occasion to get close to them.
But now it seemed there wasn’t much connection between the Prince’s Mansion and the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion, and this path didn’t seem viable.
Seeing Lu Tong silent, Yin Zheng wrung out a wet cloth, her smile comforting, "Don’t worry, Miss. Because of ’Chun Shui Sheng’ and ’Xianxian’, our Renxin Medical Hall is also slowly gaining a reputation in the medical community. Today, the carriage from the Prince’s Mansion brought you, and earlier, the Minister of Imperial Treasury. Your fame will only grow bigger. Eventually, those officials and wealthy households will have to come with invitations, asking you to visit them for medical consultation. There’s no hurry."
Lu Tong nodded, "Mhm."
The silk was quickly washed, and Yin Zheng hung the strips one by one on the thick lines in the courtyard, carefully smoothing out the wrinkles on top.
"Knock knock knock—"
An urgent knocking sound rose from outside, particularly clear in the night.
Yin Zheng wondered, "Who could it be, knocking at this late hour?"
"It could be a patient seeking treatment," Lu Tong said. With Renxin Medical Hall’s growing reputation, Xinglin Hall on West Street wasn’t doing so well and closed early every day, leaving patients with no choice but to knock on Renxin Medical Hall’s door.
Lu Tong said, "I’ll go have a look."
Not far ahead on West Street was an inn, and every night there were military guards on patrol. Lu Tong walked to the door, and as the knocking quieted down, she lifted the lantern and pulled open the wooden door of the medical hall.
There was no one at the door.
The pale red lantern under the eave flickered in the wind, and the night breeze rushed down the long street, instantly raising a layer of tiny goosebumps on anyone it touched. West Street was deserted, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Yin Zheng came up from behind, wiping her hands, and asked, "Miss, who is it?"
Lu Tong turned around, about to speak when suddenly, a bright flash of knife light stabbed toward her from the side.
Yin Zheng’s eyes widened, and she let out a terrified scream.
Lu Tong stood at the door of the medical hall, with no obstructions around. She was about to be hit by the knife when it seemed too late to dodge—
But in the fleeting moment, with a "bang," another shadow of a sword darted from an angle, blocking the knife tip aimed at Lu Tong’s heart.
Someone descended from above and rushed in front of her in a flying leap.