Chapter 180: Chapter 87 Mid-Autumn_4
Just a few days ago, while chatting with the lady of the house, the topic of Lord Zhao Ning’s Princely Heir, the current commander of the Palace Front Office, Pei Yunmeng, had come up.
After the recent examination scandal in Shengjing, a large number of people from the Ministry of Rites had been implicated, causing everyone in the court to feel threatened. In the wake of the emperor’s fury, Pei Yunmeng surprisingly received even greater favor. Today, on the Mid-Autumn Festival, the emperor is holding a banquet in the Minglin Garden. Apart from the princes and royal relatives, only those of high status were allowed to enter the garden, and Pei Yunmeng was among them.
The royal family’s trust in Pei Yunmeng was evident to all.
Being so young, his prospects are bound to be limitless; it doesn’t hurt to curry favor with him.
Pei Yunmeng, inscrutable in his thoughts, showed particular closeness to Doctor Lu Tong from Renxin Medical Hall. Lady Dong considered herself to be on good terms with Lu Tong, and now that she was at the banquet, she thought it would be good to do Lu Tong a favor. It might make befriending the Pei Family much easier in the future.
With her mind made up, Lady Dong called for Lu Tong to carry her medicine chest and also brought along Yin Zheng, planning to show their faces at the banquet and leave shortly afterwards.
In Xunfang Garden, the banquet was set, and the treasures and rocks were spread all around. In the Liubei Pavilion, the aristocratic ladies who had already arrived were sitting aside, laughing crisply as they watched wine cups float down the winding water channel.
As soon as Lu Tong and Lady Dong arrived in Xunfang Garden, some ladies greeted Lady Dong, "Why has Lady Dong arrived so late today?" Then, noticing Lu Tong by her side, they looked puzzled, "Who might this be...?"
Lu Tong’s attire was unadorned, unlike the ladies present, but she did not seem to be a maid given the affectionate manner Lady Dong treated her.
Lady Dong pulled Lu Tong to the forefront, "This is Doctor Lu from Renxin Medical Hall, who I’ve known for a while. I happened to run into her in Prince’s Mansion and brought her here to meet you all."
Seeing the examining looks from the ladies, Lady Dong laughed and said, "Don’t underestimate her; the popular medicinal tea ’Xianxian’ that was all the rage in Shengjing a while back was created by her hands."
At these words, the eyes of all the ladies lit up, and they instantly gathered around.
The "Xianxian" medicinal tea had been heard of before, during the summer viewing banquet, as the wife of the Examiner Official, Zhao Feiyan, had gained attention for her slim figure. Afterwards, many had bought this tea, although some believed it was overstated and refused to believe it.
But at today’s grand banquet in Prince Wen’s Mansion, with Lady Dong personally introducing her, even the skeptics now harbored a measure of curiosity to try it. After all, Lady Dong was guaranteeing it in front of so many people; it must at least have some effect.
A young lady asked Lu Tong, "Do you still have any of the tea with you right now?"
Lu Tong replied, "I do," and then opened her medicine chest, taking out a few jars of "Xianxian" to pass around, before speaking softly.
"I apologize for the inconvenience, I left in a hurry today and only brought these few jars. If you ladies wish to have more, I can make a note of your residences on paper and personally deliver them to you later."
Hearing this, the enthusiasm of the ladies grew even more, and they crowded near for Lu Tong to take down their names. Lady Dong watched, casting a meaningful glance at Lu Tong.
Those who came today were from the households of high officials and nobility; having these names written down, and visiting them one by one, would mean more connections for Lu Tong. These connections might very well become the Pei Family’s connections in the future...
Even if she didn’t consider it for Pei Yunmeng’s sake, her small broken medical hall establishing ties with so many wealthy and influential families meant that as long as one of them maintained contact with her, there would only be good, not bad, for future business. After all, in Shengjing, wealth, splendor, and unending profits were always interconnected, with no one left to fend for themselves.
She was secretly admiring Lu Tong’s shrewdness when she suddenly heard a woman’s laughing voice from behind.
"Why is there such a crowd gathered here? What is so lively?"
When everyone turned to look, Lu Tong also looked up and saw a young woman, surrounded by several maids, gracefully approaching from behind the pavilion.
This woman was dressed in a pomegranate red peony and butterfly patterned silk dress, her hair elegantly coiffed, adorned at the side with a golden threadwork ruby pendant, and her ears decorated with coral earrings, accentuating her white skin, smoky eyebrows, and eyes bright as water. As she came closer, the sound of her jeweled ornaments echoed gently, emanating an irresistible charm.
The seated ladies stood up, addressing her as "Madam Meng."
Lady Yan?
As Lu Tong was watching "Lady Yan" gracefully approach, Lady Dong gently tugged at her sleeve and whispered in her ear.
"This is the Consort of Prince’s Mansion, Meng Xiyang."
So she was the Consort.
Before Lu Tong could speak, Lady Dong continued to instruct, "If she comes over to talk to you later, remember, never mention little Lord Pei."
Lu Tong was taken aback, "Why?"
"You don’t know?" Lady Dong looked at her in surprise, "The Princess Consort of Prince Wen’s Mansion, Pei Yunshu, is the blood sister of little Lord Pei from the same mother. The Princess Consort and Meng Xiyang have always been at odds. If she knows you belong to the Marshal, she will surely find ways to make things difficult for you. How come," Lady Dong’s gaze flickered, "little Lord Pei hasn’t told you about this?"
Lu Tong shook her head, her heart stirring slightly.
She had heard from Du Changqing that there was also an eldest legitimate daughter in the Zhao Ning Manor, who was Pei Yunmeng’s sister, but she had married and left the household many years ago. Lu Tong only knew that Miss Pei’s marriage was to another noble family in Shengjing, but she hadn’t inquired who exactly it was.
To think that she was the Princess Consort of Prince Wen’s Mansion.
However, in the midst of preparing the feast at Prince’s Mansion, why was the Princess Consort not in charge, instead allowing the Consort to be accompanied before and after, her demeanor so haughty, acting very much like the mistress of the household.
As Lu Tong pondered this in her heart, Consort Meng Xiyang over there seemed to have heard about Lu Tong from someone else, casting a casual glance her way, appearing as if she didn’t regard Lu Tong as significant.
Lu Tong remained silent and rose to give her respects to Lady Dong.
"My lady, the banquet is about to begin, and I should take my leave," she said.
Lady Dong thought for a moment and nodded, "That’s fine."
This was Prince’s Mansion, not the Dong Family after all. Light-hearted jokes were acceptable, but Lu Tong, being a mere commoner of low status, was not qualified to join the banquet. Even if Lady Dong wanted to do a favor for Lu Tong, she wouldn’t offend all the ladies present and certainly wouldn’t want to upset the Prince’s Mansion.
Yet, judging by the large book of names that Lu Tong had just memorized, it seemed she would gain quite a lot today; this favor was now considered given.
Lady Dong smiled and said, "When you have some time in a few days, come over to my house for a chat."
Lu Tong softly agreed, shouldered her medical box, and was about to leave with Yin Zheng when suddenly, from behind the pavilion, someone shouted in a panic, "My lady, my lady, something terrible has happened—"
This voice emerged suddenly, shattering the joyful atmosphere of the banquet in an instant. Everyone fell silent and looked forward, while Lu Tong’s footsteps also came to a halt.
Under the watchful eyes of all, a maid in green clothes stumbled around the flower bed and rushed to Meng Xiyang, collapsing to the ground with a "thump."
Meng Xiyang looked at the person by her feet, her brows arching slightly, her voice tinged with a hint of irritation, "What are you yelling about so hastily?"
The maid raised her head, her face filled with terror as she looked at Meng Xiyang.
"My lady, there’s been an accident. Just now, someone from the Princess Consort’s quarters said that the Princess Consort suddenly suffered unbearable abdominal pain—she may have upset her fetal Qi. She’s in great discomfort right now, please hurry over to see!"