Chapter 158: Chapter 82 Old Illness_1
Lights were silent, and the moon’s shadow slowly moved a few inches beyond the window screen.
Lu Tong stood among the rustling sounds of autumn, staring straight at the person before him.
This Lord Pei always carried a hint of a bright, dashing air when he smiled; when he didn’t, his features became sharp. The cold, pale moonlight cast a chilling sheen on his deep crimson official robes, making even his gaze seem piercingly cold, devoid of any warmth.
Shen Fengying was momentarily dumbstruck before realizing the gravity of the situation, internally lamenting incessantly.
He had just praised the people of this small medical clinic for their sensibility, so why had they suddenly become so tactless?
What did "the thief crying ’stop thief’" mean, and how offensive was that statement? More importantly, now that the suspicion and evidence had fallen on the Palace Front Office, should he, as the head of the Military Patrol Shop, continue the investigation?
To continue would undoubtedly offend the Palace Front Office, yet not to do so would make him appear guilty before all these people.
Of course, he was also very afraid.
But if someone gossipy were to speak out about this matter, would he still be able to get by in Shengjing?
As Shen Fengying agonized over these considerations, the young female doctor, unaware of the proper conduct, reminded him, "Doesn’t your lordship intend to have a look?"
Shen Fengying: "..."
She was rubbing salt into his wounds!
Already filled with resentment at the baseless accusations faced that night, Du Changqing seized Lu Tong’s words to fan the flames, clamoring, "Someone just accused our clinic without any evidence, and your lordship came here to ransack it. Now that they have even found a body and evidence on their side, your lordship is still dawdling here; what is this?"
"Oh dear," he sighed loudly, "There’s really no comparing people. What was that poem written by Scholar Wu? Something about seedlings and scallions? Something high and something low?"
Lu Tong: "Mountain seedlings and valley pines, taking shape from the high and low of the land."
"Ah yes, exactly! They are the seedlings upon the mountain, and we are the scallions upon the ground!"
Shen Fengying: "..."
Without that comment, it would have been fine, but the moment it was uttered, Shen Fengying’s face turned green.
Everyone knew that because of the case involving Scholar Wu in the Tribute Court, the entire capital was in turmoil. That poem was like a death warrant; in just a few days, it had implicated and brought down countless officials. Besides the Imperial Censorate, everyone now feared that poem, worried the blame would fall upon their heads.
He was just following up on an accusation to arrest someone, so how did it come to be his turn to bear this label?
What a cursed clinic, a bunch of troublemakers, not a single one knew how to read the room!
Caught in a difficult position and racking his brains for a reason, Shen Fengying heard Pei Yunmeng speak up, "Let’s go, Marshal Shen."
He was startled, "Mar, Marshal?"
This could implicate the Palace Front Office, and the Shengjing official scene was already chaotic enough; if the Office ran into trouble now, Pei Yunmeng, the Commander, would also face difficulties.
Pei Yunmeng simply smiled, as if the previous coldness in his eyes had been an illusion.
"Since there has been a murder and it relates to the Palace Front Office, naturally we should have a look," he said casually, "I’ll accompany you."
Although he was speaking to Shen Fengying, his gaze was fixed on Lu Tong.
Lu Tong met his gaze with a nonchalant air.
Shen Fengying, on the other hand, breathed a sigh of relief.
If Pei Yunmeng was going with him, then that was good. How to handle and what to do next would be up to Pei Yunmeng. If anything went wrong later and he was held accountable, he could proudly claim it had nothing to do with him. After all, Pei Yunmeng was Lord Zhao Ning’s Princely Heir, and he, Shen Fengying, was nothing; in the eyes of his colleagues, he was just like the owner of this clinic had said, a mere scallion on the ground, or rather, a pine on the ground.
Shen Fengying called out to the Pawn Shop Soldiers behind him: "Brothers, stop digging. Let’s head to Mount Wangchun now!"
The soldiers began to collect and order their gear amidst the mess of the courtyard, and as Lu Tong stood watching quietly, a sudden shadow obscured the light before him.
Lu Tong looked up.
Pei Yunmeng stood before her, his waist cinched, a silver knife at his side, his eyes shining like pearls and jade, the moonlight like water spilling over his richly hued robes, unexpectedly reminding her of Lu Qian’s verse from his school days:
The setting sun slants, the autumn wind chills. Will the old friend come tonight or not, leaving me standing in the shadow of the parasol trees.
It was a shame that the old friend she awaited in the autumn breeze, although in a fine skin, could not stir the slightest ripple in her heart, only wariness.
Lu Tong thought quietly to herself.
From the beginning until now, except for a moment of sharp coldness in his eyes when he heard the name "Duan Xiaoyan," he had shown no other signs of emotional fluctuation.