Chapter 464: Chapter 168 Ji Xun’s Apology_4
"’Also’?"
Lin Danqing laughed, "I was just joking." He sighed, "If you talk about the best-looking faces in Shengjing City, Marshal Pei from the Palace Front Office, and Doctor Ji from our Medical Officer Institute, are without flaws. It’s a shame one has a problematic temperament, barely saying a word in three days, so sullen. And the other, well, he’s entangled with the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion."
Lu Tong’s eyes flickered as she asked, "Is the Pei Family really going to enter into a marriage alliance with the Grand Preceptor’s Mansion?"
"Do you want to hear the truth?"
Lu Tong nodded.
Lin Danqing shook his head, "From what these wise eyes can see, though the Grand Preceptor’s daughter is of noble birth, it might not necessarily work out. Don’t be fooled by Pei Yunmeng’s outwardly courteous demeanor, never bending even a little when speaking to people; he’s extremely proud on the inside. Miss Qi is accustomed to being coddled daily, does he have the patience for her?"
"I think it’s doubtful."
In her heart, Lu Tong thought, that’s good.
Both publicly and privately, she did not wish for Pei Yunmeng to become Qi Qing’s son-in-law. Otherwise, with old grievances not yet forgotten, newer resentments would be added.
Lin Danqing, unaware of her silent criticism, just stretched lazily, "The Grand Preceptor’s daughter also has her troubles, being able to choose only one man for life. Naturally, she has to choose carefully, which is nothing like us, the ordinary daughters from common families."
"Nothing like us?"
Lu Tong puzzled, "Can ordinary daughters from common families choose many men?"
She had only heard of men having several wives and concubines. Having lived on Luomei Peak for many years, could it be that in the Liang Dynasty women could now have several husbands and favorites?
Lin Danqing chuckled dryly, "Without so many prying eyes, it’s fine as long as you handle it yourself. My wise ancestor once said, never give up an entire garden for one flower. With a thousand streams of weak water, I’d rather take three thousand ladles to drink from. One ladle is simply not enough, is it?"
Lu Tong was at a loss for words.
She cleared her throat and, seeing the thick stack of medical books on Lu Tong’s table, asked curiously, "Isn’t the Medical Officer Institute’s Official Examiner’s exam half a year away? Why are you studying so hard so early? You’re so dedicated, staying in the pharmacy all day."
Lu Tong looked down and reached for a medical book, bringing the oil lamp closer.
"I want to make some new medicine," she said.
...
The summer night was stuffy and hot.
When Qi Yutai returned to the mansion, the courtyard lanterns had just been lit.
Although Qi Qing no longer confined him, she nonetheless forbade his mischief, requiring him to return home by Si Time each day.
Today, he had also sneaked out of the mansion, and just evading the servants his father had set to watch him had been quite troublesome.
Qi Yutai, with his outer clothing unbuttoned, descended the jade steps. In the dark night, a pair of eyes shone brightly; his usually sallow face was unnaturally flushed. His inner garment was slightly undone, a stark contrast to his lethargic appearance from a few days prior.
A breeze blew through, and Qi Yutai comfortably squinted, feeling as elated as if walking on clouds.
Just a few hours earlier, he had stealthily left the house and taken Cold Food Powder.
Days of restraint had finally found relief. Qi Yutai had indulged once more, feeling immensely refreshed. The residual effect of the drug had dissipated, but his brain was even more stimulated after the joyous experience, impelling him to do something spontaneously.
As he walked into the courtyard, he saw someone leading a hunting dog through. The massive and agile dog was the size of a small calf, instilling dread at first glance. It was catching bloody raw meat thrown by a servant from a bowl.
Qi Yutai stopped in his tracks.
The servant also saw his master and hurriedly paid his respects: "Young Master."
Qi Yutai was in a good mood, smiling as he looked at the hunting dog: "Qinhu has grown stronger again."
The hunting dog seemed to know Qi Yutai was talking about it, abruptly turning its head, displaying its ghastly white teeth. The blood from its recent raw meat meal mixed with drool dripping continuously on the ground, making it seem as fierce as a wild wolf.
Qi Yutai was startled as well.
However, his fear quickly gave way to satisfaction.
"Not bad," he said, pleased.
Qinhu was Qi Yutai’s beloved dog, large and ferocious, constantly fed raw meat to maintain its wild nature. Every year during the hunt, Qi Yutai would bring Qinhu to the hunting grounds.
He wasn’t good at horseback archery, and it was only with Qinhu’s help in capturing a few game that he avoided the private ridicule of the other nobility.
He valued this dog greatly, and had hired someone specifically to care for it. At first, not knowing the hunting dog’s ferocity, the previous servant who tended to Qinhu had been bitten to death, only to be replaced by the current beast tamer from an alien race who claimed he could train a wolf to be a dog. Indeed, after a few years, he managed to train Qinhu into a good dog that obeyed Qi Yutai’s commands.
The beast tamer glanced at his master’s expression: "These days, I have been taking Qinhu to the western farmlands of the city to hunt, in preparation for the hunting season. Today, he bit off the ear of a farmer’s child..."
Qi Yutai enjoyed hearing about Qinhu injuring people, as if the more vicious the dog, the better it showcased his owner’s deterrent power. Hearing this, he indeed smiled and said: "Good, you have done well in training the dog, you are rewarded!"
He didn’t mention the farmer’s child whose ear had been bitten off at all.
After all, they would compensate with silver, an amount those lowly commoners couldn’t earn in decades. In a way, it was these commoners who profited.
The beast tamer continued: "It’s just that the young miss found out about this when we returned to the mansion, and she seemed quite upset."
Qi Yutai was unconcerned: "My sister is just too soft-hearted."
If she weren’t soft-hearted, how could she allow a lowly female doctor to walk all over her, suffer in silence herself, and still not let him take action? It pained him to see his sister like this.
Thinking of the female doctor, Qi Yutai’s mind suddenly stirred, his gaze landing on the hunting dog before him.
In the night, the hunting dog slurped noisily, once again lowering its head to eat the raw beef in the silver dish, its sharp teeth chewing the vague bloody flesh with a "crunch, crunch" that sounded especially tense in the night’s silence.
He stared at the lump of meat for a long time as if through the scene before him, he were envisioning another image, his expression gradually becoming peculiar.
After a while, Qi Yutai spoke.
"Tell me, if I wanted Qinhu to bite whoever I wished, would that be possible?" he asked.
The beast tamer was taken aback, then replied: "Back to the Young Master, of course it’s possible."
After a pause, the servant raised his head, tentatively asking, "Young Master, who would you like Qinhu to bite?"
Qi Yutai remained silent.
The wind at night was like a damp, hot net, ensnaring the bloody scent from the ground until it became even more chilling.
After a while, Qi Yutai turned around.
"Come," he said.
He said to the beast tamer: "I have something to tell you."