Chapter 564: Chapter 198 True and False Words_2
She looked at the jars of Jade Skin Ointment.
After a moment of thought, Lu Tong lifted her head and smiled faintly, "As for these ointments, since they are a token of Doctor Ji’s good intentions, I would be disrespectful to decline."
Doctor Ji had been frowning as he listened to her, but when he heard her last sentence, his tightly furrowed brows finally relaxed slightly.
"That’s good," he nodded, "After the injury on Huangmao Hill, you should have taken more time to rest. For these three months, you should properly recuperate in West Street."
Lu Tong nodded in agreement.
Doctor Ji stood up.
"It’s getting late, and I have to enter the palace this evening. I can’t stay any longer, so I take my leave."
He gave Lu Tong a bow, then rose to say goodbye. As he walked out the door, he saw a young man sitting against the wall in the shade of a tree. The man smiled faintly and nodded at him as a greeting.
Strangely enough, although this Commander spoke gently and had a cheerful smile, Doctor Ji always felt that he could sense a chill in the warmth of the Commander’s demeanor.
As if he didn’t quite like him.
He paused, then returned a bow to Pei Yunmeng and left.
...
Inside the house, Lu Tong sat in front of a bamboo table.
The tea on the table was still warm. She stared at the line of delicate porcelain bottles on the bamboo table and zoned out for a while.
Her departure from the Medical Officer Institute had been quite smooth. In the wake of such a jubilant scene, who could have expected Doctor Ji to intervene halfway?
Doctor Ji was just and upright. If he truly investigated Cui Min due to her suspension, he might accidentally uncover more trouble.
Lu Tong rubbed her temple, suddenly feeling a headache coming on.
Did she overact?
Even Doctor Ji seemed to feel pity for her.
Just then, Pei Yunmeng’s voice came from behind her.
"He really is generous, gifting you so much of this secret medicine."
Lu Tong turned around.
Pei Yunmeng walked over and sat down in front of the bamboo table. His gaze swept over Doctor Ji’s used teacup. He snorted softly, brushed the teacup aside, and took a new one for himself.
Watching his actions, Lu Tong felt a sense of déjà vu. The Tailor’s shop cat on West Street also marked its territory by circling the grass and urinating around it.
Noticing Lu Tong’s gaze, he asked, "What are you looking at me for?"
Lu Tong shook her head, "Does the Marshal have something to say to me?"
The celebration at the medical institute had ended, yet he lingered here, secretive, and she wondered what he wanted to say.
The man across from her poured tea and said, "I’ve been busy these past few days. When I returned to the Palace Marshal’s Mansion, I heard that you had left the Medical Officer Institute."
"I was worried you might not be used to it, but it seems you’ve adapted quite well. Your life doesn’t seem much different from the time at the Medical Officer Institute; even colleagues have followed you to West Street."
He finished speaking and glanced at the Jade Skin Ointment on the table again.
Lu Tong remained silent.
In the short time since he entered the house, he had brought up Doctor Ji twice.
She simply pushed the bottles of medicine towards Pei Yunmeng, "Marshal, if you want them, they are yours. Take them all."
He paused for a moment, glanced at Lu Tong, saw that she was serious and not joking, and then spoke deliberately, "How could I usurp what someone gave to you? Moreover, it is beneficial for your injury, keep it for your own use."
His tone was somewhat softer than before.
This person was truly capricious and confusing.
Lu Tong contemptuously thought to herself.
Pei Yunmeng looked at her, "So, why did you leave the Medical Officer Institute?"
"Leave?" Lu Tong corrected, "Marshal, I was suspended."
He smirked, "Do I look like a fool to you?"
Accusing Cui Min of plagiarism with a pretext full of holes, being sent back to West Street was a logical outcome, even a lenient one at Cui Min’s discretion.
He could have made it so Lu Tong could never return to the Medical Officer Institute.
"Why did you have to make such a fuss?" he asked.
Unable to hide anything from this man, Lu Tong frankly said, "I owed Mr. Miao a favor, and I had promised to take action as soon as I joined the Medical Officer Institute. After such a delay, it was time to repay."
Upon hearing this, Pei Yunmeng was taken aback.
He had also heard some things about Miao Liangfang’s case later on.
He thought for a moment, "Just for this? I thought you had other plans."
Lu Tong stayed silent.
"Could it be..."
The young man’s brows furrowed slightly, "Did you tamper with the prescription?"
According to the news from Qingfeng, Lu Tong had publicly accused Cui Min in front of all the medical officers, saying that Cui Min had seen the spring exam’s main prescription beforehand, and afterwards inquired about the flaws in Lu Tong’s prescription.
But, the Qi Yutai family’s hereditary madness, Lu Tong shouldn’t have known about it at that time. Why then did she write down that prescription during the spring exam?
Lu Tong smiled but remained silent.
Pei Yunmeng incredulously said, "Could it be that you knew all along about Qi Yutai’s madness, and so you arranged this in advance?"
Lu Tong shook her head.
Rarely seeing such a puzzled look on the man in front of her, Lu Tong took a sip of tea and slowly began to speak.
"During the spring exam, I didn’t know about Qi Yutai’s hereditary condition. I only knew that Cui Min was a scoundrel who would steal someone else’s prescriptions."