Chapter 415: Chapter 153: His Nervousness
The room quieted for a moment.
A moment later, the sharpness against her neck gradually relaxed, and the other person let go. Lu Tong turned around, fumbled for flint and steel, and relighted the lamp.
The weak light illuminated a small section behind the bookshelf and also the face of the other person.
Pei Yunmeng stood in front of the wooden frame, seemingly squinting slightly from the sudden light, and said to her, "Doctor Lu."
Under the lone light of the lamp and the cold moon, the quiet night seemed barren. Surrounded by shelves of books, it was like a person could drown in the torrent of scrolls within.
The young man wore only simple black clothes, not as bright as he was during the day, appearing quiet and cold, his gaze also lacking the usual warmth, calm and dim like the deep sea.
Lu Tong’s eyes scanned the medical records in his hands.
He was holding a case record.
Even the medical officers in the medical archives couldn’t view the case records at will, let alone Pei Yunmeng, a complete outsider. But just now, she clearly heard the sound of Pei Yunmeng unlocking the case with a key. Regardless of where he got the key from... was he here tonight for a case record?
The oil lamp in her hand could only light up so much, and the small characters on the case record seemed like ripples, growing from fuzzy to somewhat clear shadows, barely visible...
Before she could see clearly, darkness fell before her eyes.
Her eyes were covered by someone’s hands.
The hand covering her eyes was slightly cool, like the subtle itch of a snowflake lingering on one’s cheek.
Pei Yunmeng’s voice, containing a smile, sounded by her ear, "You dare to look? Doctor Lu is really not afraid to die."
Lu Tong was silent.
After a while, the cool snowflake left her eyes, and the light gradually returned. When she looked up again, Pei Yunmeng had already tucked the medical record back into his chest.
Lu Tong furrowed her brows.
She wasn’t particularly concerned with what Pei Yunmeng was doing, coming to the Medical Officer Institute’s archives in the middle of the night; he obviously wasn’t just out for a stroll.
This man, the Commander of the Palace Front Office, had chased someone on a snowy night and walked among imperial assassins, not to mention his uninvited visit tonight... none of it seemed simple.
Mysterious, but also dangerous.
He bent down to take the oil lamp from Lu Tong’s hand, his eyes briefly pausing on the medical record she was holding, and after a slight pause, he said, "What bad things does Doctor Lu plan to do, being out so late?"
Lu Tong: "Shouldn’t I be asking Lord Pei that question?"
Both were sneaking into the medical archives late at night; if it came to holding the upper hand, it was a case of pot calling the kettle black.
He nodded, looked at her, and said with a slight smile, "I intended to be unnoticed, but who knew I would bump into you."
"... What to do now, Doctor Lu?"
Lu Tong’s expression remained cold.
He was very close to her.
When he had covered her eyes earlier, Lu Tong had been forced to step back, her spine pressing against the cold bookshelf. Looking up, she saw his deep black eyes.
His features were extremely handsome, refined and gentle, like a beautiful dreamer from Shengjing’s spring night, his shadow carrying a hint of romantic fragrance.
Yet, his gaze was extremely cold.
It was like icy snow hidden under the calm surface of the deep sea, only visible through the occasional ripples.
Lu Tong calmly looked at him, "What does Lord Pei intend to do?"
She remembered the coldness on her neck in the darkness a moment before, feeling the dangerous breath emanating from his body.
It wasn’t an illusion.
Pei Yunmeng smiled, put down the oil lamp, was about to speak when his gaze suddenly stopped on the shelf behind her.
There, a small bottle was placed.
He picked up the bottle.
The bottle was exquisite, its body faintly illuminated by the lamp light with three small characters on it—
Quiet Sparrow Powder.
Pei Yunmeng glanced down, and upon seeing the characters, his expression suddenly turned somewhat profound.
"Why is such a dangerous thing left here?"
The Medical Officer Institute kept various prepared medicines around for easy access, and the archives were no exception.
"Quiet Sparrow Powder" was a mute medication.
Servants in the Imperial City who had made a mistake or masters who wanted to keep secrets often used this medicine.
This bottle, it was unknown who had casually placed it here.
"Lord Pei might as well speak frankly."
He looked at Lu Tong, shaking the medicine bottle in front of her with eyes devoid of any smile, "Doctor Lu should know, this is often used in the Imperial City to keep secrets."
The night was like water, a breeze carried through and a small orb of light in the oil lamp trembled on the verge of being extinguished by the sea tide of the dark night.
Lu Tong stared coldly at him.
His expression was indifferent, unmoved by the situation.
Suddenly, Lu Tong reached out, snatched the medicine bottle from Pei Yunmeng’s hand, uncorked it, and downed its contents.
She moved so fast that Pei Yunmeng didn’t expect it. By the time he reacted, his expression changed drastically, "What are you doing?"
"Didn’t Lord Pei want me to drink it? Now I have," she replied.
Her wrist was seized in a grip, and he said angrily, "Are you mad?"
Lu Tong frowned slightly.