"...Okay."
...
They had spent another half an hour wandering around Panlou, and as the night deepened, Lu Tong returned to the Pei Mansion with Pei Yunmeng.
Yin Zheng had already returned to rest as the South City store was very busy, so Lu Tong didn’t disturb her. Since Pei Yunmeng still had some official duties to attend to, he told Lu Tong to go to sleep first. He stayed in the study to deal with the pending documents until very late into the night.
The Pei Mansion was very quiet. After he had bathed and groomed himself, when he returned to the bedroom, he noticed a light still shining through the window.
Lu Tong hadn’t gone to bed yet.
He pushed the door open and saw Lu Tong sitting under the lamp, supporting her chin with one hand, seemingly dozing off. He immediately smiled, "Didn’t I tell you to go to sleep first..." His gaze swept towards the table and his expression paused abruptly.
A porcelain jar lay askew on the long table.
It was the jar of Osmanthus Dew that looked familiar, the one that Shen Fengying had forcibly given to Lu Tong on East Panlou Street earlier in the day.
He was startled.
Pei Yunmeng picked up the porcelain jar and shook it; it was completely empty. Just at that moment, Lu Tong woke up and, rubbing her eyes, looked up.
"You drank it all?" he asked, astonished.
"It was sweet," Lu Tong said, giving him a strange look. "Besides, I’m immune to poisons and have a good tolerance for alcohol. You know that."
Pei Yunmeng pressed a hand to his forehead.
It was true that Lu Tong was immune to poison, and due to her experience as a Medicine Man, ordinary alcoholic brews had no effect on her. At one celebration with the Palace Front Office, Lu Tong had joined the fun. In the short time he went out to call someone, by the time he returned, half of the Imperial Guards were already outdrunk by Lu Tong. 𝚏𝕣𝐞𝗲𝐰𝕖𝐛𝐧𝕠𝕧𝚎𝚕.𝐜𝚘𝗺
It could be said that perhaps his own tolerance for alcohol fell short in front of Lu Tong’s.
However...
That was in the past.
Ever since she had gradually started to recover, with Ji Xun’s medicine effectively treating her old ailments, the alcohol that she used to drink fearlessly naturally began to affect her. During family feasts later, signs that Lu Tong was getting intoxicated had gradually begun to show.
But funnily enough, when Lu Tong was drunk, her face didn’t show it at all—she neither blushed nor spoke drunken nonsense. She looked completely sober, except for one thing...
She would become extremely industrious after getting drunk.
The first time she got drunk, Lu Tong silently wrote medical prescriptions all night.
The second time, she organized the herbs in the backyard all night.
The third time she got drunk, she had everyone in the Pei Mansion get up in the middle of the night to take turns having their pulses checked by her, and even Treasure Bead was not spared.
Later, Pei Yunshu had repeatedly warned Pei Yunmeng, advising him never to let Lu Tong drink too much as it was quite terrifying.
It seemed that tonight, her old habit had kicked in again. Sure enough, before Pei Yunmeng could speak, Lu Tong suddenly grabbed a vermillion brush from the pen holder and pulled a piece of white paper towards her, ready to write.
"Wait," Pei Yunmeng caught her hand, "...It’s too late, why don’t you write it tomorrow instead."
She frowned slightly and looked up at Pei Yunmeng. His uncomfortable feeling under her direct gaze made him want to say more, but then she gently tapped his shoulder.
"Sit down," Lu Tong said. "I’ll draw a portrait of you."
"A portrait?"
Lu Tong nodded.
Pei Yunmeng was puzzled.
He was skilled in Danqing painting and, when they were newly married, Lu Tong had once impulsively wanted to learn painting from him. He had been willing to teach his wife, in part to share the joy of painting as a couple. However, while Lu Tong was calm and patient when it came to revenge planning, she had no patience for learning to paint. Not only were her paintings a mess, but after a few criticisms from him, she put down the brush and declared she wouldn’t learn anymore, and she indeed let it go. Duan Xiaoyan had secretly told him, "I never realized before, but Doctor Lu has such a fiery temper."
Lu Tong was indeed very temperamental, so her sudden desire to paint for him tonight seemed particularly odd.
"Are you sure?"
Lu Tong pushed him to sit down in front of the desk, "Sit properly." She went back to her table, laid down the paper, took up the brush, and started to sketch, looking quite serious about it.
Knowing that he wouldn’t avoid some sort of ordeal that night, Pei Yunmeng shook his head helplessly and leaned back, curious about what she was actually going to do.
Lu Tong was very focused on her task.
Every couple of strokes, she’d dip her sleeve into the ink. The autumn night was silent, and the warm light of the lamp fell upon her face as she painted, lifting her head now and then to look at Pei Yunmeng, her gaze concentrated as if she wanted to deeply engrave his features in her mind.
He was initially observing her with a smile, but as he watched, he gradually became lost in thought.
Time seemed to slow down at that moment, as if the flickering lamp wanted to freeze in the night air.
He watched Lu Tong silently, feeling a comforting satisfaction in his chest, as if he wished this moment could stretch into eternity. It was not until Lu Tong, with a "bang," set down the brush—flinging a splash of ink over the table, oblivious to it—and joyfully held up the paper, saying, "Done!"
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