Lamp Flower Smile

At night, the door of Renxin Medical Center was closed.

Acheng and Miao Liangfang both went home. Lu Zhu packed up the medicinal materials in the backyard. When he returned to the house, he saw Yin Zheng sitting under the lamp, arranging the newly made needlework.

Lu Zhu put down the lamp, Yin Zheng looked up at her and said with a smile: "We have collected some new pieces of cloth in Tailor Ge's shop. It's the beginning of autumn, and it will get colder soon. The girl has time to find some time to get dressed." New clothes."

Lu Chen nodded, sat down next to her, thought for a while, and finally asked.

"Shopkeeper Du treated you earlier..."

Yin Zheng was startled, then helplessly said: "Why does Acheng tell you everything?"

This is considered the default.

"You rejected him?" Lu Yan asked, "Don't you like Shopkeeper Du?"

When I came to Shengjing in early spring last year, in a blink of an eye, it was already the Chinese Valentine's Day of the second year. Lu Chen didn't like to ask about Yin Zheng's personal affairs. Since she went to Hanlin Medical College, she had no time to take care of the affairs of the hospital. As for love, she herself was still ignorant. When did Du Changqing fall in love with Yin Zheng, and when did the relationship between the two begin? The undercurrent of it, she only became aware of it later.

"It doesn't matter if you like it or not," Yin Zheng lowered her head to collect the thread, "We are not suitable for each other."

"Why is it inappropriate?"

As soon as the hand that was collecting the thread stopped, Yin Zheng pursed her lips, looked at the rags in the basket and sighed.

"Shopkeeper Du doesn't know my identity. Doesn't the girl know my identity too?" She said in a very soft voice. "What I looked like in the past, ordinary men would avoid me. Although Shopkeeper Du has some shortcomings, he is a good person and there are many good girls. How can you be with me if you are worthy of him?”

Lu Yan said: "I don't think your status is not worthy of him."

Yin Zheng was stunned for a moment and smiled gratefully at her.

"I know the girl has never disliked me, and what she just said was true. But it's different."

Lu Zhu frowned: "What's the difference?"

Yin Zheng said nothing.

Lu Yan added: "Even if you tell Du Changqing your past now, he may not dislike it. It was you who prejudged his death sentence."

After staying at Renxin Medical Center for a long time, Lu Zhu thought he knew Du Changqing somewhat. Du Changqing did not choose people based on their status. He was kind-hearted, otherwise he would not have agreed to the down-and-out Miao Liangfang to sit in the medical center. .

The rags on the table were mixed into a ball, and Yin Zheng smiled bitterly.

"Girl, I'm not afraid that he will dislike me. You're right. Even if Shopkeeper Du knows that I'm in Sunan Flower House now, he may not despise me. But what I'm afraid of is that if it's true that I don't care now, I'll have a thorn in my heart in the future. real."

She shook her head: "I have been in Hualou for so many years, and I have seen many things about the fickleness of people's hearts. What if I can't stand the advice of others in the future? What if I regret it?"

"I don't want to waste my love in the long days to come and become a pair of resentful couples. I don't want to gamble either. As it is now, it's good to live peacefully."

"But," Lu Yan said, "If you really like him, wouldn't it be a pity to miss him like this?"

Yin Zheng laughed again.

She casually picked up the half-turned storybook on the table and said: "Girl, look at these romantic dramas. Each story is true and has a good beginning and a good ending. But there is not so much perfection in the world. In this case, what is not the end? Just don’t start.”

"I'm afraid he'll regret it, so I'd rather not start. Do you understand, girl?"

Lu Chen shook his head: "I don't understand."

She only felt sorry for Yin Zheng.

"If you don't understand, then you don't understand." Yin Zheng smiled, lowered his head and stood up holding the bamboo basket, "I would rather the girl never understand for the rest of her life. If there is someone who loves her, she doesn't have to worry about everything and we can be together happily."

She glanced at the lamp oil, which was running low, and said, "It's getting late. I have to help Mr. Miao load the medicine tomorrow morning. The girl should go to bed early. Reading for a long time at night is not good for the eyes." She whispered a few more words before carrying the bamboo basket. leave.

After Yin Zheng left, Lu Zhuo was still sitting at the table.

Quietly at night, she had simply washed herself and planned to take off her bun and change into her middle coat.

Fang raised his hand and couldn't help but pause when he ran his fingertips through his hair.

The comb is exquisite, with slightly raised carvings when you rub it over.

Yin Zheng's words echoed in her ears.

If there is no ending, it is better not to start.

…

After a few days, the yin became heavier and turned into frost, and Shengjing ushered in white dew.

"Compendium of Materia Medica" records: the autumn dew on the heads of the herbs, collected when it is still dry, can cure all diseases, relieve thirst, make the body light and not hungry, and the muscles are refreshed.

The maids of Taishi Mansion were waiting in the garden early in the morning, collecting autumn dew and boiling water in trays to make tea to soothe the lungs and resolve phlegm and prevent autumn dryness.

Qi Qing picked up the tea cup on the table and took a sip of the newly brewed white dew tea. The tea was sweet and mellow, diluting the slight dryness he had felt recently.

The prince was grounded.

At this juncture, when the power of the third prince Yuan Yao was gradually increasing and the Qi family was in trouble one after another, Emperor Liang Ming's move was undoubtedly adding insult to injury and did not take into account the face of the Taishi Mansion.

Burning bridges across rivers.

The old housekeeper entered the house carrying a gauze gown and put it on Qi Qing. It has been very cold in the morning and evening recently, so elderly people should keep warm and add more clothes.

Qi Qing gathered his gauze robe, and the old housekeeper stood aside and bowed: "Master, there is news from Sunan."

A few days ago, Qi Qing asked someone to go to Sunan Medical Clinic to check on a medical woman named Lu Shen.

Qi Qing: "How?"

"People from Sunan Medical Clinic said that there was indeed a medical woman named Lu who practiced medicine in the city in the past, but her whereabouts were uncertain and she appeared occasionally."

Qi Qing paused.

He asked: "Is there any news from Changwu County?"

"Sir, the people who went to Changwu County also said again that the Lu family is completely exhausted and there are no other living relatives."

This is the second time I have inquired about the Lu family in Changwu County.

Qi Qing stared at the tea cup in his hand and remained silent.

"Master, do you still suspect that Lu Chen is a descendant of the Lu family?"

The housekeeper hesitated, "But there are no mistakes in these two places, and the time and age are also right."

"There are no mistakes or omissions, but the biggest doubt is." Qi Qing narrowed his eyes, "It's too deliberate."

"Master wants to..."

"Keep an eye on her. If she really has a problem, it would be extraordinary to have the heart of a mayfly to shake a tree."

The butler was silent.

Qi Qing took a sip of tea, paused, and asked, "Master, have you been troubled lately?"

"No, since the last time, the young master seems to have realized his mistake. He no longer bothers to leave the house these days. He only reads and practices calligraphy in the house every day. He is very sensible."

After saying this, the housekeeper looked at Qi Qing: "Master, the young master is young and will inevitably be childish. He was just angry and said something that didn't mean it. You don't have to worry about your child."

Since the last time Qi Qing slapped Qi Yutai in the house, Qi Qing has not been to Qi Yutai's yard for seven or eight days in a row.

This was certainly because he was busy with the grounding of Prince Zhou Quan, but the more reason was probably the boredom and complexity that Qi Qing could not hide in his eyes when facing Qi Yutai.

"He is very ill," Qi Qing closed his eyes and rubbed his forehead, "Back then I promised Shuhui to keep him, but now it seems that I am not sure whether I was wrong or right."

There was silence.

Qi Qing opened his eyes and sighed.

"That's all, give him a cup of freshly brewed white dew tea."

"Yes, sir."

…

The maid made a new pot of white dew tea and brought it to Qi Yutai's room, then bowed her head and left.

In the tea room, Qi Yutai had half of his coat removed, and Lu Zhu stood behind him, giving him acupuncture.

Qi Yutai lowered his head and covered his nose with his sleeves. From a distance, he looked like he was taking a nap with his head down. However, when his long sleeves covered the tip of his nose, he quickly licked a small packet of powder into his mouth. He suddenly reached out and drank a large pot of white dew tea and warm tea. The original powder became more and more full, and a warmth instantly flowed through his limbs and bones. Qi Yutai suddenly let out a sigh and actually shivered in comfort!

Behind him, the piercing of the silver needle seemed to make the joy more acute.

He closed his eyes and savored the changes in his body every moment, not wanting to let go of every tiny bit of pleasure.

There was silence in the room.

I don't know how long it took, but someone's voice came from behind: "Mr. Qi, the acupuncture is over."

Qi Yutai then reluctantly opened his eyes.

Lu Zhu straightened up and walked forward with the medical box in his arms. When he passed by him, he lowered his head and picked up the white paper with the powdered medicine on the ground, and threw it into his medical box as if by accident.

Qi Yutai looked at it with a flash of interest in his eyes.

After Qi Qing slapped him, Qi Yutai couldn't go out, and his drug addiction became severe again. He had heard Lu Zhuo talk about the medicine powder that blindly replaced Hanshi Powder, so he simply blackmailed Lu Zhuo to make the powder for him.

Anyway, she is just the Qi family's dog. There is no difference between doing things for her father and doing things for herself.

Qi Yutai didn't have high hopes at first, because the medicine powder mentioned by Lu Yu sounded too bizarre, until Lu Yun sent a medicine powder to him.

He didn't trust the woman at first, so he gave half of the medicinal powder to Lu Zhen and asked Lu Zhen to take it in front of him.

Half a day after taking the medicine, Lu Chen showed no reaction except that his face turned slightly red.

Qi Yutai was sarcastic in his heart. Sure enough, the other party was just exaggerating, which had no effect at all - people who took Hanshi Powder would not be so calm at all.

So he took the medicine powder without any worries.

Unexpectedly, the effect of this medicinal powder was beyond his expectation!

As soon as he took it, the taste was sixty-seven times similar to the real cold food powder. Even this similarity was enough to relieve Qi Yutai's craving.

What's even better is that this medicinal powder may not be as strong as Hanshi Powder. Although he feels happy after taking it, he will not lose his mind like Hanshi Powder. Therefore, it will not arouse suspicion in the house.

Even the medical officer his father hired to take Lu Zhuo's pulse after he left couldn't find anything wrong.

This made Qi Yutai ecstatic.

He only had to wait for Lu Zhuo to come to the clinic every day, and give him this powder every two days to temporarily relieve his craving. Although it was not as intense as the real cold food powder, it was a timely help for Qi Yutai.

He doesn't even bother going out anymore.

The servant in the mansion told him that restaurants and restaurants in Shengjing were now strictly prohibited from providing cold food powder. Even if he was let out now, he would not be able to buy it.

Not as happy as now.

Qi Yutai squinted his eyes, picked up the teapot on the table, took a sip, wiped his mouth, and looked at the person at the table.

The female medical officer was packing the silver needles and silver medicine jars into the medical box. She only wore a lotus-colored shirt and skirt. She had a slim figure and black hair like clouds.

Qi Yutai's heart moved.

I don’t know whether it’s because the lingering effects of the medicine powder just left have not worn off, or because he hasn’t been to the building for a long time. Both Pei Yunying and Ji Xun treat you differently."

"Such a capable woman, to be honest, I can't bear to let her go."

He reached out and stroked Lu Zhu's cheek with one hand, but Lu Zhu turned his head to avoid it.

Qi Yutai was not annoyed. He had just taken the medicine and was in a good mood. He just smiled with his eyes narrowed.

"Medical Officer Lu, neither the Ji family nor Duke Zhaoning will tolerate you. Even if you follow them, you will only be a concubine at most."

"Why bother with the near and the far?"

"Actually, there is no deep hatred between you and me. It was just a misunderstanding. I am willing to put aside the past grudges with you and make peace with you."

He stretched out his hand and stroked the back of Lu Zhuo's hand with his fingertips, his tone ambiguous and low.

"You are so good at making medicine. If you follow me, I won't treat you badly. Even if you make up for the mistake of killing a tiger and catching a tiger..."

Before Lu Yan could speak, at this moment, a voice called "Young Master" suddenly came from outside the door.

Being interrupted suddenly, Qi Yutai suddenly became impatient: "What are you doing?"

The person who came was the guard in the yard. He lowered his head and said, "Just now, Miss Qiangwei in the yard said that Miss is feeling unwell and asked Medical Officer Lu to come over and take a look."

"Hua Ying?"

Qi Yutai's expression changed and he immediately urged: "Then what are you waiting for? Go quickly!" Then he asked: "What's wrong with my sister?"

The guard just said he didn't know.

Lu Zhuo nodded, packed the medical box and left.

Qi Yutai stood at the door and watched Lu Zhuo go out. Although it was Qi Huaying's order, he felt that it was unfair to have good things interrupted, so he glared at the guard who just spoke.

The guard had a fresh face, he must have been new here not long ago, and there was a red birthmark in the corner of his eye, which was disturbing to look at.

Qi Yutai cursed: "Get out!"

The guard bowed his head and retreated.

…

Lu Zhuo carried the medical box on his back and followed a young maid to a courtyard of the Taishi Mansion.

She had been coming to Taishi Mansion for a long time, but she had only been to Qi Yutai's courtyard from beginning to end. This was the first time she had been to another courtyard.

This courtyard is beautifully restored.

Flowers are planted everywhere, and there are many jasmine, autumn orchid, and tuberose under the window. The courtyard is paved with Wukang stone, which is gorgeous and neat.

The maid stopped in front of a door, opened the bamboo curtain, and followed her in. As soon as she entered the house, she saw a man sitting with his back to her.

As soon as Lu Zhuo took a step forward, the maid in front of him hurriedly said: "Wait!"

She raised her head, and the maid pointed at the woven carpet in the room: "You came into the house from outside the house, and there is mud under your shoes. This is a newly bought woven carpet from Songjiang. It is a hundred gold pieces. It is difficult to clean if it is dirty. Remove the shoes and socks and then Let’s go.”

Lu Chen looked at the moon-blue background carpet in front of him, which was embroidered with lotus flowers and sea water patterns. The embroidery was very gorgeous, and the sea water pattern stitches were exquisite.

She lowered her head to take off her shoes and socks.

Just as she bent down, she heard someone in the room say: "Forget it, Qiangwei, let her come in directly."

When the maid heard this, she looked at Lu Huan and said, "Then come in."

Lu Zhen straightened up again and followed the maidservant inside.

When I got closer, I saw a beautiful young woman sitting in front of the small bed. She was wearing a pale pastel embroidered peony pattern dress. She had beaded hair on her temples. She was very pretty. She was holding a snow-white cat in her arms. When she saw her entering the room, she was anxious. He said, "My cat refused to eat this morning. Doctor Lu, please take a look. Is he sick?"

Lu Yan lowered his head and looked at the white cat in the woman's arms. The white cat looked sleepy. She stretched out her hand towards Qi Huaying: "Give it to me, Miss Qi."

Qi Huaying carefully handed the white cat to her hand.

When he was at Luomei Peak, Lu Zhuo also saw various animals on the mountain, and it was easy to see a cat getting sick.

After looking at the white cat's body and asking about the white cat's behavior in the past few days, Lu Yan said: "Maybe he ate the wrong thing, poisonous bugs, etc. He just needs to rest for a few days and he will be fine."

Qi Huaying asked: "Don't you need to take medicine?"

"Taking medicine will have quicker effect, and it will get better on its own without medicine."

Qi Huaying nodded, feeling a little relieved.

She called Qiangwei to take the white cat away, and then looked at Lu Chen: "Medical Officer Lu."

Lu Xun bowed and bowed.

"I heard that something happened to Cui Yuan envoy, and you were the medical officer who treated my brother. I wanted to talk to Xun Kong. But I heard the people in my brother's hospital said that you were very busy, so I gave up. If it wasn't Mao'er today, If you feel unwell, I won’t come to you.”

"My brother started to torture people when he got sick. It's been hard on you these days."

Lu Tong said: "It is your duty as a lower official, so there is no need for you to be polite, young lady."

Qi Huaying leaned on the low couch, covered her lips and smiled, looking at her quietly.

Lu Zhen wore a simple lotus-colored sarong with no jewelry on her body, except for a wooden comb inserted in her hair.

Qi Huaying paused, then raised his hand to take off the golden curtain comb from his forehead.

The curtain combs are exquisite and connected into a golden flower net. When someone takes it off, a golden light sways, which makes people feel rich and noble.

Qi Huaying said: "Rose."

The maid named Qiangwei stretched out her hand to take it, walked to Lu Zhuo, presented the golden curtain comb to Lu Zhuo, and said with a smile: "Ms. Lu is giving it to you, Medical Officer Lu should keep it."

Qi Huaying glared at her and spoke to Lu Yan in a warm voice: "Father said that you worked hard for my brother's illness. I know that there were many misunderstandings between my brother and Medical Officer Lu in Huang Maogang's group earlier. My brother is not sensible, so this gold curtain comb is considered as an apology. , I hope Medical Officer Lu doesn’t dislike it.”

Lu Zhuo did not reach out to take the curtain comb, but only lowered his head: "Miss, you are too worried."

Qiangwei laughed: "Miss, this is a reward for you, why are you so shy? This curtain comb is much more noble than the wooden comb on your head, I'll put it on for you -" After saying this, she reached out to pick up the comb from Lu Yan's hair. .

Lu Zhu turned sideways and hid.

The rose came to nothing.

Qi Huaying looked at Lu Chen, who stretched out his hand and subconsciously protected the comb in his hair, his expression condensed.

After being startled for a moment, Qi Huaying stared at Lu Yan, his eyes falling on the ordinary wooden comb in her hair, and he said suspiciously: "Could this be... Pei Dianshuai gave it to you, right?"

Lu Zhu pulled out the wooden comb: "No."

The woman on the low couch looked at her, her smile weakening.

After a moment of silence, she said, "Does Medical Officer Lu know about Duke Zhaoning's wife?"

Seeing that Lu Zhu was silent, she said to herself: "When the Shengjing rebels started a rebellion, Duke Zhaoning and his wife were held hostage by the rebels. In order to protect the overall situation, Duke Zhaoning would rather sacrifice Duke Zhaoning and his wife."

She looked at Lu Yan with pity in her eyes.

"I have also heard the rumors about Doctor Lu and Pei Dianshuai. Now that you are treating my brother, you have a relationship with the Qi family. For this relationship, I also need to remind you. Lord Zhaoning was willing to give up his wife's life for the sake of the overall situation, and so was the prince of Zhaoning. As the prince of Zhaoning, Pei Dianshuai will definitely marry a noble lady from a high family in the future, and they will be well matched and live together forever."

"If you are greedy for the momentary pleasure, you will eventually hurt Doctor Lu."

Lu Tong was silent for a long time.

The silence in the room was embarrassing.

Qi Huaying lowered his head and rubbed his forehead, "In fact, I am overstepping my bounds by saying these words. I hope Doctor Lu will not blame me for being out of line."

"No." Lu Tong lowered his head: "Thank you for your advice, Miss."

Qi Huaying smiled: "Qiangwei, let Doctor Lu wear the curtain comb."

Qianwei responded and carefully put the golden curtain comb on Lu Tong's forehead.

Lu Tong was like a puppet, indifferent and dull as she dressed up.

The curtain comb was exquisite and expensive, worn on the forehead, while the cotton skirt was simple and rough. The contrast between the two was ridiculous.

"Thank you for the reward, Miss." Lu Tong bowed his head, "If there is nothing else, I will go first."

Qi Huaying nodded, and Lu Tong bowed his head and was about to leave the room, but was suddenly stopped again.

"Doctor Lu, your comb."

Qiangwei held the wooden comb in her hand, raised it mischievously, and joked: "This comb is so rough, it's worthless, why not throw it away?"

On the low couch, Qi Huaying was stroking the fur of the white cat with her head down, as if she didn't hear what the two said.

Lu Tong glanced at the comb in Qiangwei's hand.

After a long time, she said: "It's worthless."

"Throw it away."