Chapter 16 Chapter 16 What happens if a man drinks the sterilizing medicine...
Several red ribbons were hung on the branches of the overhanging willow trees outside Huichun Hall. This was because the old lady's birthday was approaching, and several younger generations of the Pei family went to look for the congratulatory words written by Master Pansu.
The red color fluttering in the wind amidst the dancing snow adds a unique and dazzling vitality to Huichun Hall.
Lu Suizhu stood in Huichun Hall, looking at the maids and servants busy coming and going, feeling a little uneasy. Nanny Yun had called her here early in the morning, but no one showed up.
After a long time, Mrs. Pei came out of the inner room with her maid Chunmei. She was still wearing plain clothes as usual. After Lu Suizhu greeted her, she smiled gently and waved at her.
When Lu Suizhu came closer, he took her and walked forward.
The woman was over forty years old, but her hands were still soft and delicate, without a single wrinkle. Lu Suizhu felt uncomfortable with her hands being held, but she couldn't break free.
"I've been so busy lately that I haven't been able to take care of you. Are you used to staying in the Pei Mansion?"
"Thank you for your concern, ma'am. I'm fine."
At first glance, Huichun Hall seemed to have been improved. The agarwood was simple and pleasant, and there was a sense of heaviness floating in the air. The front hall seemed to have added many new calligraphy and paintings. Mrs. Pei took Lu Suizhu to walk slowly through, admiring each painting one by one, with a smile on her face all the time.
Finally, he stopped in front of a wooden-framed calligraphy scroll.
"But what is this painting?"
Faced with the sudden question, Lu Suizhu had no choice but to observe it carefully. She was not someone who understood painting, so she could only briefly describe the scenery and mountains, and she did not see what was special about this painting.
"This was painted by Mr. Lan in early winter. When he heard that it was the old lady's birthday, he spent two months painting this Narcissus Embracing the Moon to congratulate the old lady." Mrs. Pei touched the painting for a moment and quickly put it down.
Lan Xian was indeed a very famous painter, and he was also very arrogant. It was said that his paintings were extremely valuable, and even the royal family did not have many of them in their collection.
Just as Lu Suizhu was pondering Mrs. Pei's intention, she heard her next words: "Mr. Lan and the master are old friends."
He stood with his posture straight, and his sleeves brushed lightly, stirring up the scent of incense ash from the Buddhist temple.
"Every calligraphy and painting here is from a famous scholar. I'm not going to say it was created by Mr. Lan. Just one of them is enough for an ordinary person to live on for several lifetimes."
She turned around, but the smile on her face did not reach her eyes. Her expression was calm and not overbearing, but it gave people a feeling of discomfort.
"Miss Lu is a smart person. You should understand what I mean, right?"
"Please explain, Madam."
Mrs. Pei slowly took out a family letter from her bosom and handed it to Lu Suizhu. As Lu Suizhu opened it with doubts, she heard Mrs. Pei continue to speak.
"This is a letter Huai Shen sent home a few days ago. It took several twists and turns before it arrived home. The letter is only three pages long, but one entire page asks me to treat you well."
Mrs. Pei chuckled softly at this point: "Although you are of humble status, I only have this one son, and I don't want to create any rift with him because of this."
"Huai Shen is the legitimate son of the Pei family. He will marry a noble lady of equal status in the future. You are also a woman, so you should understand the sincere and painstaking efforts of a mother for her children."
Lu Suizhu gently flipped through the letter from home, and indeed, she was mentioned several times in it, earnestly asking her mother to keep her.
After reading the letter from home, Lu Suizhu felt very complicated. Pei Huaishen was a sincere person. What would he do if he knew that all this was just a calculation?
"Miss Lu, I can allow you to stay with Huai Shen, but you must not give birth to a child before he gets married."
The agarwood was about to burn out, and the aroma inside Huichun Hall became even stronger.
"This is the biggest concession I can make as the mistress. If you agree, we can live in harmony in the future. I will also teach you some things about managing the household so that you can gain a firm foothold in the Pei Mansion."
As soon as he finished speaking, Chunmei came over with a bowl of decocted medicine.
That night, the dark medicine was still steaming, and just the smell of it gave off a pungent, bitter taste.
This must be the sterilizing medicine that the woman drank. It came so quickly. It seems that Madam Pei had already thought about how to treat her. The previous calm was indeed extremely false.
When I first met her, I thought Mrs. Pei was the most kind-hearted person in the Pei family, but I didn't expect her to be so heartless and hypocritical.
"What if I refuse to drink this medicine?"
Moving her gaze from the medicine to her face, Lu Suizhu stared straight into Mrs. Pei's eyes.
During the exchange, those gentle eyes began to show a look of canthus.
After crossing the threshold of Huichun Hall, Pei Zhiji's voice dropped, easing the tense atmosphere. He changed into a dark-colored robe embroidered with gold and silver patterns today, which made him look dignified and upright.
"Why is my mother here? Where is my grandmother?"
Lu Suizhu understood that he must have changed into clothes that were even older than yesterday's because he was afraid that the wound would burst and be noticed.
"It's Zhiji. Your grandmother fell asleep after taking the medicine. She gets tired easily at her age, and she has to take a nap every noon because of the tranquilizers the doctor prescribed."
The image of a kind and virtuous mistress immediately emerged.
In front of Pei Zhiji, Madam Pei took Lu Suizhu's hand and said with a smile: "This is the medicine I prepared for Miss Lu to help her recover."
He turned around and said to Lu Suizhu: "Drink it quickly, the medicine will not be effective if it gets cold."
When it's stiff and hard to bear——
A hand stretched out and took the medicine bowl directly from Lu Suizhu. The vertical sleeve lightly scratched her jaw, causing a tingling sensation.
When no one reacted, Pei Zhiji simply raised his head and drank it without changing his expression.
The hand that wanted to stop him was suspended in the air. Lu Suizhu was so shocked that she could not move at all. Suddenly, she took the empty bowl that Pei Zhiji put down, and the weight in her hand suddenly increased.
The bottom of the bowl is white and colorless.
This... this... sterilizing medicine... he just drank it like that?
"It just so happens that I didn't take any medicine today, so this bowl will save me the trouble. Please, mother, make another bowl for Miss Lu."
Mrs. Pei smiled and nodded, without any unusual expression. Only Lu Suizhu was still standing there in a daze, a little frightened.
"Have you finished copying the scriptures that the old lady ordered? If not, then don't get in the way of Mother here. Why don't you leave now?"
After realizing what was happening, Lu Suizhu nodded repeatedly and jogged to catch up with Pei Zhiji who was already striding forward.
The scene was just as it was when they first met. The two of them were walking back and forth along the eaves and corridors inside the palace walls. Snow was flying everywhere they went. Lu Suizhu had to jog to barely keep up with him.
It was not until they reached the edge of the pond that the two of them slowed down their pace. As soon as they rested, Lu Suizhu hurriedly stood opposite Pei Zhiji, and her voice still sounded a little breathless from walking too fast.
"Master Pei...are you feeling well?" Lu Suizhu spoke with a stutter.
Pei Zhiji took a half step back, somewhat helplessly avoiding her gaze that was looking him up and down: "I'm fine now, yesterday... were you the one who changed my clothes?
Hearing this tone that was half questioning and half hesitant, Lu Suizhu took a breath, and his eyes were no longer as firm as before. His throat rolled slightly as he thought about how to explain it better.
"I was about to leave last night, but Master Pei held me tightly and wouldn't let go. In the second half of the night, you had a high fever again, and your clothes were soaked. You didn't let me call for help, so I just..."
Before he could finish his words, he was interrupted coldly by Pei Zhiji. He put one hand behind his back, and his pale and handsome face and neck actually had a noticeable warmth.
It was Pei Zhiji who asked the question first, and now he put on this expression. After a while of silence, Lu Suizhu felt dissatisfied and tried to find another thing to break the silence.
"Master Pei, are the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess on good terms?"
The words that Xiao Mao instructed his servants that day kept lingering in her mind. Lu Suizhu wanted to ask about it early in the morning, but she just didn't find the opportunity to open her mouth.
"From the highest to the sun and moon, from the closest to the most distant husband and wife, those in high positions admired by thousands are generally like clay couples who love each other without a doubt."
After a long time, Lu Suizhu did not respond, so Pei Zhiji raised his eyebrows, intending to ask.
"Can't understand."
Lu Suizhu shook her head honestly: "So is it good or bad?"
“…”
Pei Zhiji was silent for a while, as if he found it difficult to answer. He thought for a long time before he said softly, "I don't know."
"Why are you asking this suddenly?"
Lu Suizhu shook her head and said nothing was wrong. She felt something wet on her neck. She reached out to touch it and found that it was snow that had turned into water in an instant against her skin, wetting a strand of her hair. Spring was about to come.
Before she knew it, she had been in Pei Mansion for almost two months.
"I didn't have time to ask you yesterday, but did you find any clues about the illegal mine when you went to the East Palace?"
As expected, what is coming will come. Lu Suizhu took a few steps forward. The ice in the pond was no longer solid. It broke into several large pieces and floated on the silver layer. She turned around and faced Pei Zhiji.
"Xiao Mao is very strict and thorough in his actions, never allowing outsiders to get close to him. I've been in and out of the East Palace many times, and I only overheard him telling his subordinates that the mine seemed to be in the north."
Feeling guilty, Lu Suizhu deliberately distanced himself from him and said a direction that was completely opposite to the actual location of the mine. His thin shoulders shrugged slightly as he inhaled.
I don’t know whether Pei Zhiji will believe this statement full of loopholes.
Sensing the footsteps approaching from behind, Lu Suizhu felt nervous and her shoulders were unable to relax until she felt the weight of the man's fingers gently resting on her.
What is he going to do?
He probably wanted to push her down, Lu Suizhu turned around suddenly and used some strength.
What he saw was the man in front of him falling straight down, half-kneeling on the ground with his body hunched over, his palms resting on the gravel beside the pond, vomiting blood.
The crimson seeps into the depths of thousands of rubbles.
The few drops that splashed were indeed not noticeable on the black clothes. There was a trace of pain between his lowered and calm brows, and only a mouth that was as hard as gold and stone remained.
"I'm fine."
If the situation wasn't wrong, Lu Suizhu would have almost laughed out of anger. She really had no intention of arguing with him about whether he was okay. She helped him back to the room. When Xiao Feng called for a doctor, she was still pacing back and forth nervously.
I was afraid that it was the problem with the bowl of medicine just now.
"It's nothing serious, just a chronic illness. I'll get you some medicine later. Remember not to overwork the patient."
When the doctor was about to leave, Lu Suizhu deliberately asked Xiao Feng to stay and take care of Pei Zhiji, while she went to see the doctor out.
When no one was around, Lu Suizhu whispered to the elderly doctor, "What would happen if a man drank the sterilization soup that women drink?"
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