Denghuaxiao

Chapter 258 Extra Five (Pei Zhuo): Portrait
After the Cold Dew, the weather turns suddenly cold.

In the evening, the lanterns in front of Renxin Medical Clinic lit up.

Lu Tong had just put away the medicine books on the table and cabinet and put the unsold finished medicines on the medicine shelf. The shelf was too high, so she stood on tiptoe to reach up. A hand reached out from behind her and put the jar of finished medicine in her hand on the medicine shelf.

When he turned around, Pei Yunying was standing behind him, picking up the lantern on the table.

Lu Tong looked at the clepsydra and was a little surprised: "Why is it so early today?"

"After two days of continuous duty, you can leave early today." Pei Yunying held up the lantern and shone it into the inner shop. The inner shop was empty, without a single person.

He looked around and asked, "Where are the others?"

"Looking for a shop in the south of the city."

After Lao Miao left, Lu Tong took over as the doctor at Renxin Medical Clinic.

Sometimes, when I have free time, I try to develop some new prescriptions. But now I write new prescriptions, probably influenced by Miao Liangfang and Ji Xun, as well as Chang Jin's previous advice in the Medical Officers' Institute. Now the medicines used are much milder. But even so, the new medicines in the clinic are still praised by patients.

In addition, she had worked in the Imperial Academy of Medical Officers before. Although she resigned due to poor health, she became famous in Shengjing for a while because of Pei Yunying. She became the living signboard of Renxin Medical Clinic.

How could Du Changqing miss such a great opportunity? He immediately found a shop on Qinghe Street in the south of the city that specialized in selling ready-made medicines and called it "Renxin Pharmacy".

However, the signboard of "Benevolent Heart" is worthy of its name in West Street, but not so "Benevolent Heart" in Qinghe Street.

The same medicine, if put in a different jar or wooden box, would cost more than twice as much. Yin Zheng once tried to persuade Du Changqing that this might not be a good idea, but Du Changqing refuted her argument with confidence.

"Can the rent of the shop in the south of the city be the same as that of the shop on West Street? Besides, the shop on West Street is ours. Besides, you don't understand the minds of rich people. If you set the price of this medicine too low, people will not be willing to buy it and will suspect that it is not a good product!"

"Listen to me, raising the price is the right thing to do!"

Although Du Changqing sometimes looked out of tune, he had a good grasp of the minds of the rich. As the price of finished medicines increased, more and more people bought them. It was a matter of mutual consent, and others could not say anything. However, the business in the south of the city was good, so Yin Zheng, Du Changqing and Ah Cheng had to go over to help.

Lu Tong lowered her head and came out of the inner bunk. Pei Yunying took the medical kit for her and asked, "Why don't you go?"

"You know," Lu Tong replied, "I hate the rich and powerful the most."

She answered seriously. Pei Yunying stared at her for a while, then said after thinking: "You make me feel a little dangerous when you say that."

Lu Tong handed him a cup of tea. He took it and lowered his head to drink it all.

"Why didn't you ask what it was before drinking it? Aren't you afraid that I might have poisoned it?"

Pei Yunying smiled, leaned close to her ear, and whispered, "Doctor Lu gave it to me. I have to drink the arsenic."

Lu Chen: "..."

This guy is always like this, even though they have been married for a year, he always likes to tease her deliberately. Sometimes Lu Tong was amazed by his words, and she didn't know what they were teaching in the Palace Front Office all day long.

He glanced at Lu Tong's expression and coughed lightly: "It's still early. Since Yin Zheng is not here, why don't we go out for a walk?"

There were no extra medical records to sort out today, and there was nothing to do at night, so Lu Tong nodded: "Okay."

……

The east side of Panlou Street is much quieter if it is not the Chinese Valentine's Day.

It was autumn again, and the night was bleak. Many vendors had gone home. However, with few people around, it was not crowded. As Lu Tong and Pei Yunying walked, they saw a small stall in front of them.

The stall owner was a young girl, not very old, at most eleven or twelve years old. Perhaps she wanted to sell out her jewelry quickly and go home quickly. When she finally saw a tourist passing by, she enthusiastically solicited: "We have only a few jewelry strings left, sister." She looked up at Lu Tong who was passing by and said with a smile: "Come and take a look at my jewelry. I'll give it to you at a lower price."

Lu Tong paused, but before she could say anything, Pei Yunying had already walked to the stall and raised his eyebrows at her: "Pick one?"

Lu Tong laughed inwardly.

When she and Pei Yunying were at loggerheads, she always felt that he was not kind and had a heart of stone. Later, she felt that Pei Yunying was a soft-hearted person. Every time she passed by him on the street, there were often old women and children setting up stalls. He would buy the stall owners' things and let them go home as soon as possible.

He once said, "It's always the bad guys pretending to be good guys, why is Dr. Lu doing the opposite?" In fact, this sentence should be directed to himself.

Fortunately, all the little gadgets I bought were finally given to Baozhu, otherwise the house would probably not be able to accommodate them all.

She walked to Pei Yunying and looked down at the things on the stall.

Most of the beads and jewelry had been sold, leaving only a few earrings. However, she didn't wear earrings, so she brushed away a few of them on her face with her fingers, only to see a corner of wood exposed under the earrings. Lu Tong reached out and picked up a wooden comb from under the earrings.

The wooden comb was curved like a half-moon, and lay in the palm of his hand. Pei Yunying lowered his eyes and looked over, and suddenly said meaningfully: "It's a comb."

"Yes." She responded, suddenly reacting and looking up at him.

Pei Yunying looked at her leisurely.

He didn't say anything, but Lu Tong suddenly felt a little guilty.

On the night of the Qixi Festival, she and Pei Yunying went to the Qiqiao Tower. Thanks to his blessing, she found a golden magpie and exchanged it for a comb. In retrospect, the comb was of great significance. When she rejected Pei Yunying, she told him directly that she had thrown it away.

I used to do things without leaving any room for maneuver, always thinking that the future outcome could not be changed. However, I did not expect that a few years later, I would actually shoot myself in the foot.

Unable to bear the condemning look in front of him, Lu Tong carefully considered his words: "Actually... I didn't mean it..."

He suddenly chuckled.

Lu Tong stopped talking immediately.

"Why are you so nervous?" Pei Yunying said leisurely, "I'm not such a fussy person." Seeing that Lu Tong was still frowning, he slowed down his tone and said helplessly, "I know you didn't mean it at the beginning."

"How do you know?" She looked up.

"The Qi family's spies later told me that you were once called to Qi Huaying's courtyard alone, so I guessed it." Pei Yunying's smile faded, and he looked at Lu Tong and said, "I'm sorry, I didn't know your situation at the time."

He was feeling lost and torn because of a love affair at that time. Later he found out what kind of mood Lu Tong was in when she rejected his feelings and lived a hard life alone.

Whenever I think of it, I always feel that I owe a lot.

Just as he was thinking, Lu Tong tugged at his sleeve and said nonchalantly, "I've long forgotten what happened in the past. Anyway, that comb doesn't look good. I think this one is better." She clenched the comb in her hand and showed it to Pei Yunying, "Buy this one. I'll wear it tomorrow."

He shook his head and smiled, then lowered his head to pay the bill. Lu Tong put away the comb when he suddenly heard a voice from the front: "Doctor Lu?"

Lu Tong looked back and saw a group of people coming down the stairs of a restaurant not far away. The leading official was in his official uniform. When he saw the two of them, he ignored the people behind him and ran down the stairs. He said excitedly, "Marshal Pei!"

Lu Tong was stunned for a moment: "Lord Shen?"

Shen Fengying was wearing his official uniform, but he didn't have a sword on his waist like before. He was wearing a wide-sleeved robe, which was different from the past. Lu Tong looked at the people on the steps behind him and asked in confusion, "What is Lord Shen doing..."

Upon hearing this, Shen Fengying was very proud.

"I am now the chief clerk of the Duquyuan under the Sinong Temple, in charge of making koji for the wine brewing and sales in the inner wine warehouse." He said, "Medical Officer Lu, oh no, I should call him Doctor Lu now, if you need to brew wine in your house in the future, just come to me."

Seeing that he looked refreshed, completely different from the tired look he had when he was inspecting the shops before, Lu Tong said, "Master Shen looks good."

"That's right," Shen Fengying said with a smile, "To be honest, when I was on duty at the patrol shop, I had little pay but a lot of work. Although the pay is still little now, the work is much less than when I was patrolling the shop, and it is not dangerous. On weekdays, I just check the wine, which is easier than checking people." He looked at Pei Yunying again, cupped his hands and smiled, "This is also thanks to Pei Dianshuai."

Lu Tong: "Pei Yunying?"

"Duquyuan is short of people, and it was Marshal Pei who recommended me. Although this position is not high, it is great. Now I can go to work on time every evening, which is much better than staying up late every day in the patrol room."

Pei Yunying said: "You passed the clerk examination yourself, it has nothing to do with me."

"That's more or less thanks to Marshal Pei," Shen Fengying said, and stuffed a small porcelain jar in his hand into Lu Tong's hand without saying anything: "This is the newly brewed osmanthus wine from the restaurant in front. It has passed the inspection. You two can take it back and try it. It's also my small token of appreciation."

"and many more……"

Before Lu Tong could speak, he lifted his robe and ran back to the stone steps, saying only, "This wine is not expensive, and it is not considered a bribe. Doctor Lu, don't worry."

This man was indeed a patrol officer in the past. He was surprisingly agile and hurriedly led his colleagues away. Lu Tong lowered his head, looked at the porcelain jar in his hand, and then looked at Pei Yunying.

"Take it." He sighed, "I'll have someone send the silver over later."

"……it is good."

……

They wandered around Pan Tower for another half an hour, until it was getting dark, and then Lu Tong and Pei Yunying returned home.

Yin Zheng had come back to rest. The shop in the south of the city was very busy, so Lu Tong did not disturb her. Pei Yunying had some official business to deal with, so he asked Lu Tong to go to bed first. He finished the documents to be handled in the study. It was already very late at night.

Pei's house was very quiet. When he finished bathing and washing himself and returned to his bedroom, he saw a light still on in the bedroom window.

Lu Tong hasn't gone to bed yet.

He pushed the door open and saw Lu Tong sitting under the lamp, with his chin supported by one hand as if he was dozing off. Then he smiled: "Didn't I ask you to go to bed first..." When his eyes swept to the table, his expression suddenly paused.

A porcelain jar was tilted upside down on the long table.

That porcelain jar looked somewhat familiar. It was the osmanthus dew that Shen Fengying forced on Lu Tong when she met him today on the east side of Panlou Street.

He was startled.

Pei Yunying reached out to pick up the porcelain jar and shook it. It was empty. At this moment, Lu Tong woke up, rubbed his eyes and raised his head.

"You drank it all?" he was surprised.

"It's sweet." Lu Tong looked at him strangely. "Besides, I'm immune to all poisons and I can drink a lot, you know."

Pei Yunying pressed his forehead.

Lu Tong is indeed immune to all poisons. Because of her experience as a medicine man, ordinary wine has no effect on her. Lu Tong also attended the celebration banquet in front of the palace. When he went out to call someone, half of the guards in the department had been drunk by Lu Tong when he came back. It can be said that his alcohol tolerance may be inferior to Lu Tong.

but……

That was in the past.

Since her health gradually improved, Ji Xun's medicine took effect on her old illness, and her previously fearless drinking was naturally affected. During several family banquets, Lu Tong gradually showed signs of being drunk.

But the funny thing is that Lu Tong was drunk, but his face didn't show it at all. He didn't blush, nor did he say drunken words. His expression was very clear, except for one thing...

That is, she would work extremely hard after getting drunk.

The first time he got drunk, Lu Tong wrote down a medical prescription all night long.

The second time she got drunk, she spent the night sorting herbs in the backyard.

When he got drunk for the third time, Lu Tong woke up everyone in the mansion in the middle of the night to feel everyone's pulse, even Baozhu was not spared.

Later, Pei Yunshu warned Pei Yunying several times not to let Lu Tong get drunk, as it was really scary.

It seemed that her old problem had come back tonight. Sure enough, before Pei Yunying could say anything, Lu Tong suddenly grabbed a red brush from the pen holder, tore off a piece of white paper and was about to write.

"Wait," Pei Yunying held her hand, "...it's too late, why not write it tomorrow."

She frowned slightly and looked up at Pei Yunying. Pei Yunying felt uncomfortable with her direct gaze and was about to say something else when she suddenly patted him on the shoulder.

"Please sit down," Lu Tong said, "I will draw a portrait for you."

"portrait?"

Lu Chen nodded.

Pei Yunying was puzzled.

He was good at painting, and when he and Lu Tong were newly married, Lu Tong wanted to learn calligraphy and painting from him. He also wanted to teach his wife and enjoy the happiness of husband and wife. Who knew that Lu Tong was calm and patient in revenge, but had no patience in learning painting. Not only did she paint a mess, but he only pointed out a few things, and she put down her pen and threatened not to learn, and later it really came to nothing. Duan Xiaoyan secretly said to him: "I didn't realize that Doctor Lu had such a bad temper before."

Lu Tong was quite irritable, so her initiative to paint for him tonight seemed particularly strange.

"you sure?"

Lu Tong pushed him to sit down in front of the desk and said, "Sit still." He went back to the desk, spread out the paper, picked up the pen, lowered his head and sketched. It looked quite realistic.

Knowing that he would inevitably have a lot of trouble tonight, Pei Yunying shook his head helplessly, and simply leaned back, watching what she was going to do at her leisure.

Lu Tong was very serious in his actions.

After every two strokes, she would dip her sleeve into ink. The autumn night was quiet, and the warm light fell on her face. She painted a picture, then looked up at Pei Yunying, her eyes focused, as if she wanted to engrave the person's appearance deeply in her eyes.

He was originally looking at her with a smile on his face, but as he looked, he became absent-minded without realizing it.

Time seems to slow down at this moment, and the shaking bright lights are about to freeze in the night.

He stared at Lu Tong silently, feeling a warm and satisfying feeling in his chest, as if he wanted this moment to last forever. Until Lu Tong put down her pen with a bang, and the ink splashed a little on the desk, she didn't notice it at all, and happily held the drawing paper and said, "It's done!"

Pei Yunying came back to his senses, stood up, walked towards her, and said with a smile: "Let me see."

He had been painting for such a long time and was still so serious that his posture was stiff. She felt a little bit of anticipation and wanted to see what Her Majesty Lu Tong looked like. Although her painting skills were not very good...but she had a good foundation, so it would be difficult for her to draw him ugly.

He walked behind Lu Tong, supported his hands behind her, leaned over to look at the painting on the table, and fell silent after one look.

Lu Tong tilted her head: "Does it look good?"

Pei Yunying: "..."

It was hard to say whether the painting was good-looking or not, because if she didn't tell anyone, it would be hard to tell who the painting was of. There was only a skeleton drawn on the white paper, with acupuncture points written on the side of the skeleton.

"Baihui, Jiuwei, Tiantu..." Lu Tong said while comparing it with the portrait, "That's right, why are you unhappy?"

Pei Yunying continued to remain silent.

So she asked him to sit down and pose for a long time opposite her and then drew a picture of the acupuncture points?

Even the facial features were not fully painted.

Although Lu Tong's painting skills were average, his ability to read people's expressions was first-rate. He keenly sensed his silence at the moment and was a little puzzled: "Did I draw it wrong?"

She spread the painting flat on the table, turned around, and put her hand on his face while comparing it to the portrait.

"Baihui, Touwei..."

"Zanzhu, four hundred..."

Her fingertips fell on his eyebrows and moved down along the bridge of his nose.

He was stunned and stared at her, but Lu Tong was completely unaware and continued to touch her little by little.

"Ditch..."

His fingertips stroked across his lips and continued downwards, and Pei Yunying's Adam's apple moved slightly.

She was still touching, from the neck to the shoulders, and then to the chest. Her breath was also filled with the fragrance of sweet wine: "Tiantu, Tanzhong..."

Pei Yunying couldn't stand it any longer and grabbed her hand that was still moving downwards: "Stop touching me."

Lu Tong was unhappy: "Why not? Doctors are all men and women. I'm not afraid, so what are you afraid of?"

Pei Yunying: "..."

He was both angry and amused.

This man was already drunk, and was talking in drunken words, but he had to use such a serious and old-fashioned tone, which made people feel guilty as if they were taking advantage of him if they wanted to do anything.

"Are you really not afraid?" he asked meaningfully.

Lu Zhuo shook his head.

Pei Yunying nodded, thought for a moment, and suddenly pulled her arm around his neck and picked up Lu Tong horizontally.

Lu Tong was carried by him towards the bed. She was stunned for a moment, vaguely remembering the acupuncture point map she had just finished, and said, "Wait, I haven't finished drawing the acupuncture point map yet."

He sneered, "Don't draw it. I think the acupuncture point map is too rough. I think Doctor Lu has neglected his medical skills these days. It would be better for your husband to help you review it."

"Nonsense," Lu Tong shouted angrily, "How could I be so ignorant of medical skills?"

"Then compare it with the real person and see what the difference is..."

The curtains were drawn down, and the sounds inside the tent gradually faded.

……

The next morning, when Lu Tong woke up, he felt sore in his back and waist and felt confused.

There are some vague fragments in my mind that are not quite clear, but when I think about it carefully, I don’t want to recall them. It would be embarrassing. It is better to just muddle through and let myself go without forcing myself to recall them.

Pei Yunying went to the imperial city to perform her duties early in the morning. She stood up, walked to the table, and was suddenly stunned.

There are two paintings on the table.

One look at the painting showed that it was her work, with crooked lines and rough-looking figures. It was just a rough sketch of a skeleton with acupuncture points marked on it, and three large characters: Pei Yunying.

Lu Chen: "..."

This is really horrible. To be fair, if it were her, she would have thrown the painting in Pei Yunying's face by now.

As for the other one...

Lu Zhuo's eyes froze.

In the autumn night, a solitary lamp is on and a sleepless night is approaching. A woman in a middle-length dress with her hair hanging down is sitting at a table, dozing off with her head supported by one hand and her eyes slightly closed. A wine jar has fallen diagonally on the table.

The painter's brushwork is delicate and lifelike, as if one can see the moonlight on an autumn night through the painting. The woman is also vivid, with even her hair dancing in the wind, which is completely different from her rough painting skills.

It was herself.

She was stunned for a moment, her heart slightly moved.

Did he draw this last night, or early in the morning?
He has great energy, but the painting is very similar, which shows that the painting left a deep impression on him.

There was a note placed next to the two paintings, and Lu Tong picked it up and took a look.

The handwriting was sharp, vigorous and beautiful, with two lines of large characters written in a very fluent manner.

"My wife gave me a painting, and I gave her a painting in return."

"I hope you will give it to me. I will do it again when I have time."

Lu Chen: "..."

The last extra chapter of Denghua is finished. I won't write about Yin Zheng and Xiao Du separately. This couple has an open ending, just like what Yin Zheng said in the article: "Whether they become family, friends or lovers in the future, it's all a matter of the future. In the end, Renxin Medical Clinic will not be disbanded." I think this is the best place to end.

Thank you all for accompanying this new story and spending more than 200 days of self-discipline together. I also wish you all a happy new year and all the best in advance!