The night grew deeper.

On Qinghe Street in the southern part of the city, luxurious carriages, and fine horses competed for space, while music and drums from the brothels and entertainment houses continued through the night without ceasing. On this fifteenth night, thousands of households held evening feasts. At Luoyue Bridge, two round moons appeared – one in the sky and one reflected in the water below – bathing the capital city in a splendor of moonlight and floral radiance.

While the entire city reveled in song and wine, a certain courtyard in the Wang Residence of Wen County remained particularly cold and quiet.

Inside the room, silver lamps cast a dim light. The bed had been made with fresh bedding, and the cloud-silk curtains that had been cut by blade marks were replaced with clean blue gauze drapes. The soft curtains gently enveloped both the person on the bed and their breath within.

Pei Yunshu was very weak after giving birth and had fallen asleep from exhaustion. The newborn girl, having been fed a little milk by the wet nurse, had a tiny wrinkled face like a delicate newborn monkey, curled up in her swaddling clothes, nestling tightly against her mother.

The “Child’s Sorrow” poison she had ingested was not yet fully neutralized, but by inducing labor before the poison had completely spread, they had managed to save a thread of life for this little girl. Yun Niang said there was no cure for Child’s Sorrow – no cure for deeply ingrained Child’s Sorrow poison – but fortunately, it wasn’t too late.

But she was still too young now and couldn’t be given strong medicine. They could only nurse her carefully and wait to gradually eliminate the remaining poison from her body.

With Pei Yunshu and her daughter temporarily out of danger, the manor servants hurriedly cleaned up the mess in the room. Lu Tong sat at a table in the corner, lowering her head to contemplate antidote formulas with brush and paper.

The room was quiet, with maidservants occasionally asking Lu Tong in hushed voices about medicinal prohibitions. Yin Zheng had already returned to the medical hall, escorted back by Pei Yunying’s subordinates. Today’s events had happened suddenly, and no one had informed Du Changqing what had occurred. If his mind couldn’t figure it out and he couldn’t bear to waste the expensive banquet reserved at Renhe Restaurant, it wouldn’t be good if he and A’cheng waited there until late at night and something went wrong.

In the dim lamplight, Lu Tong picked up her brush and wrote a few characters on the paper, then frowned and crossed out what she had just written. The originally messy handwriting became smudged with spreading ink marks, like the chaotic stars in the night sky outside the window.

Tonight was the Mid-Autumn Festival, she suddenly remembered.

The ink characters before her eyes became even more blurry as if they had suddenly come alive, emitting some laughing and clamoring sounds. Those sounds swirled and whispered in her ears, slowly outlining the dark little path in Changwu County.

The rubble at the entrance to the small path had been cleared away and paved flat with stone slabs, with soft green moss filling the gaps. A dim yellow light shone out from the wooden window at the end of the small path, casting upon her and projecting a long, old shadow on the bluestone ground.

She stood still at the door, faintly hearing the happy laughter of a family gathering from inside. Lu Tong hesitated for a moment before pushing the door open and walking in.

Mother was preparing incense for moon worship at the entrance, and voices of Lu Rou and Lu Qian came from the courtyard. She walked along the corridor and saw a coarse cloth spread on the stone table in the courtyard, covered with honey pastries and yarn bought from the night market. Lu Rou was placing fresh fruits on the stone table, while Lu Qian was arranging large porcelain plates filled with various mooncakes.

“Milk cream with pine nut filling, milk cream with date filling, sesame oil filling, milk cream with sweet bean paste filling…” Lu Qian looked up and sighed deeply, “They’re all so sweet, Mother didn’t need to make all the mooncakes according to little sister’s taste.”

Lu Rou smiled slightly: “You can just eat the crust and leave the filling for Tong Tong.”

“Still feeding her filling,” the young man rolled his eyes, “Eat any more sugar, and she won’t fit into her newly made dresses.”

Father walked out of the room, smoothing his sleeves and stroking his beard, saying: “Tonight is the fifteenth, I received a ‘Moon and Autumn Sound Painting’ from the academy, perfect for testing you all. The three of you each compose a poem, write it down after the moon worship is over, and there will be punishment for those who can’t write one.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a dissatisfied voice came from the side: “Father, why do we still have to compose poems on the fifteenth? I won’t do it, I want to go to the temple entrance to see the river lanterns!”

This voice was clear and spoiled, still carrying a hint of childishness, but it made Lu Tong pause.

A five or six-year-old girl ran out from the room, wearing a half-new light yellow jacket with a plain skirt underneath, each of her double buns pinned with a black-gold paper butterfly. She was like a fresh butterfly herself, flying into the courtyard in the blink of an eye, her round face like a lantern flushed with anger, making the two yellow butterflies at her temples tremble and flutter.

“Lu San!” Father’s face reddened with anger, “A young lady running about wildly, what kind of manner is this!”

“It’s the fifteenth today, I don’t care.” The little girl twisted away, quickly darting behind her mother, “I want to go to the temple entrance to see the river lanterns.”

“No!”

The little girl stamped her foot: “I insist!”

Lu Tong stared for a long time at the girl hiding behind her mother with impunity, that fresh and tender little face with such vivid and lively smiles made her feel somewhat dazed for a moment.

That was her former self, yet so unfamiliar that it felt like another person.

The five or six-year-old Lu Tong ran past her like an uncatchable wind. She instinctively followed the shadow of the running girl, but saw that little girl standing behind her, looking at her with a suspicious face: “Who are you?”

“Who am I?” she murmured.

The moonlight gradually became obscured by clouds, no longer bright. Her former family members stood together, looking at her with complex, intertwined suspicion as if looking at a dangerous stranger who had suddenly intruded.

Lu Rou held little Lu Tong tightly in her arms, Lu Qian looked at her and called out in surprise: “Blood!”

So Lu Tong looked down.

Her hands were unknowingly soaked in fresh blood, those sticky drops of blood with a thick fishy smell dripped endlessly from her fingertips, forming a small pool of blood on the ground.

She stared blankly at what was before her.

Yes, she had killed people, her hands were stained with blood.

She was no longer that protected, carefree third young lady of the Lu family, no longer the cherished pearl in her family’s palm. From the moment she killed someone, she could never go back.

Someone called her name, in a gentle and loving tone.

“Little Seventeen.”

She suddenly turned around. Yun Niang stood behind her, wearing a peach-red short jacket with gorgeous persimmon calyx pattern paper-cut embroidery, holding a bowl of brown medicine, smiling and beckoning to her.

“Come here.”

A cold wind blew through the window gap, and the candle on the table flickered several times.

Lu Tong gave a start and suddenly woke from her dream.

There was no Lu family courtyard in Changwu County, no moon worship in the fifteenth courtyard, no parents and siblings, and no Yun Niang.

In the distance were hanging blue curtains, the room was lively and warm, this was not Changwu County, but the bedchamber of Wen County’s Princess Consort Pei Yunshu.

Just a dream…

The yellowish candlelight was like a layer of light gauze, softly draped over her. She sat dazedly, hearing someone call her: “Doctor Lu.”

Lu Tong looked up in confusion.

At the table, Pei Yunying saw her expression and paused slightly.

The night was already very deep. With Pei Yunshu and her daughter temporarily out of danger, the servants in the courtyard were busy. Pei Yunying intended to find Lu Tong to ask about Pei Yunshu’s condition. Upon entering the room, he saw Lu Tong sitting at a table in the corner of the room, nodding off with her head down.

She had come to the Wang Residence early, reportedly just to deliver medicinal tea to Meng Xiyan, but had accidentally stayed behind and been busy for an entire day. She must have been extremely tired to fall asleep sitting there.

He walked around the small table, intending to put a thin blanket over Lu Tong, but caught sight of Lu Tong’s tightly furrowed brows. Before he could react, as if sensing someone approaching, Lu Tong opened her eyes.

Perhaps because she had just woken from a dream and wasn’t quite clear-headed, her gaze lacked its usual calmness and wariness, looking scattered and dazed, like a porcelain vase covered in cracks, about to shatter at any moment.

Pei Yunying’s eyes moved slightly.

After a pause, he spoke: “Are you alright?”

Hearing this, the dazed look in Lu Tong’s eyes quickly faded away, her expression becoming clear again, and she shook her head at him.

“Elder sister is asleep.” Pei Yunying glanced in the direction of the bed, lowering his voice to speak to Lu Tong: “Shall we go outside for something to eat?”

With his reminder, Lu Tong only then felt the emptiness in her stomach, having not eaten all day. She tidied up the paper and brush on the table and followed Pei Yunying out of the room.

It was already the end of the hai hour (9-11 PM). Moonlight flowed through the courtyard, and under the osmanthus tree in the small courtyard, some fruits were laid out on the stone table. The prince’s manor gardens had always been rich in flowers – golden osmanthus, silver osmanthus, red osmanthus… When a breeze came, the flower particles fell rustling down, filling the courtyard with fragrance.

It was in this osmanthus branch fragrance that Lu Tong sat down.

Pei Yunying sat down across from her. On the table was a carved red lacquer begonia flower tea tray containing six small mooncakes. A jar of osmanthus sugar, a plate of osmanthus steamed chestnut powder cake, and several bowls of tangyuan, served in small blue and white porcelain bowls with lotus patterns.

He picked up the porcelain pot to pour tea, saying: “It’s too late, the refreshments are rough, Doctor Lu will have to make do.”

Lu Tong said “Thank you” and reached out to bring a small bowl of tangyuan in front of her, using a silver spoon to send it to her mouth.

The tangyuan was cooked soft and glutinous, filled with osmanthus and walnuts, both fragrant and sweet. After eating the hot food, her body also warmed up.

Seeing Lu Tong eating with relish, he smiled and pushed the blue and white teacup toward Lu Tong.

Lu Tong looked at the cup.

Pei Yunying said: “It’s not wine, just osmanthus tea dew.”

Lu Tong had never drunk it before, and upon hearing this, took a light sip. The taste was of faint sweetness and tea fragrance.

The moon was bright the wind clear, the candlelight dim. There was no one else in the courtyard, only the distant sound of zither and se floating over from outside the wall, drifting past the brightly lit brothels and painted pavilions, past the fragrant main streets and gardens, past the quiet lanes and alleys, past the deep mansions with red walls, gradually drifting into this moonlit osmanthus shade.

Lu Tong concentrated on listening for a while, feeling only that the zither sound was sobbing and desolate, creating a sense of the difficulty of reunion in this festival of gathering, and that the bitterest thing in life is gathering and parting.

She slightly furrowed her brows, but when she looked up, she met Pei Yunying’s thoughtful gaze.

Seeing her look, he smiled: “This is the ‘Breaking the Osmanthus Branch’ section from ‘Journey to the Wide Cold Palace.'”

Lu Tong remained silent.

There were many books at home, but no zither, as a good zither was very expensive. Lu Rou liked to play the zither, and her parents saved some silver to buy her a used one.

Lu Rou played the zither well and was beautiful, so there were always some young men in love with the beauty squatting outside the Lu family door late at night to listen to her play. The neighbor who sold melon seeds was often frightened by the group of young men when closing shop at night, so later the zither was sold – the neighbors’ resentment was too deep.

“I hear Doctor Lu is from Southern Su?” The voice interrupted her memories, and Pei Yunying smiled at her: “How did Doctor Lu celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in the past?”

She pulled back her thoughts, answering very coldly: “I didn’t celebrate the Mid-Autumn Festival in the past.”

This wasn’t a lie. At least in those years on Luomei Peak, the moon on the fifteenth of the eighth month was no different from the moon on any other day.

Hearing her such perfunctory answer, Pei Yunying sighed, looking at her half sincerely and half teasingly, “Doctor Lu needn’t be so guarded against me, at least tonight, we should not be enemies.”

She had just saved his sister and niece, and in the short term, he indeed wouldn’t turn against her.

Lu Tong calmly raised her eyes, staring at the person before her.

The night wind was still, and the full courtyard moonlight gave the young man’s crimson official robes a layer of silver frost, making his handsome face with dignified eyebrows even more strikingly beautiful.

His voice was clear and crisp, his smile bright, obviously well-educated and very measured, polite and friendly to people, even when suspecting her of murder and pressing her hard before, he still wore a smile, seeming carefree.

But Lu Tong remembered not long ago, through the gap in the cloud silk curtains by Pei Yunshu’s bed, his unsheathed silver long sword. That was the first time she saw such a cold side of Pei Yunying.

All along, he had been lofty and self-assured, like an impenetrable puzzle standing before people, giving them no way to approach. However, at that moment, she glimpsed the flaw hidden deep within this puzzle, or rather, his weakness.

Pei Yunshu was his weakness.

His weakness was family.

Seeing her continued silence, Pei Yunying looked her over, “Why aren’t you speaking?”

Lu Tong replied coolly: “What does Lord Pei wish to say?”

Pei Yunying thought for a moment, put down his cup, and looked at her.

Under the osmanthus shade, the lamplight on the stone table was hazy. He gazed at her pitch-black pupils reflecting the bright moonlight, without the usual probing and arrogance, showing a clarity rarely seen.

He said: “Thank you.”

His tone was solemn.

Lu Tong was slightly startled.

Although she hadn’t dealt much with Pei Yunying, she felt she understood him somewhat. For young masters of noble families like them, kindness was just another mask showing their upbringing, their so-called politeness was distance, and their courtesy was arrogance.

But at this moment, his gratitude showed some sincerity, perhaps because Pei Yunshu and her daughter were indeed very important to him.

People with weaknesses are always manageable.

As she thought this, she heard Pei Yunying say: “Thank you for stepping in to help today. To be honest,” he looked down at the cup before him and smiled, “I thought you wouldn’t save them.”

Lu Tong inwardly sneered.

In Pei Yunying’s eyes, she was a murderer who framed others and shifted blame, with evil intentions and vicious methods. It would indeed be asking too much for him to believe she was a living bodhisattva who healed the sick and saved people.

She stirred the tangyuan in the small bowl before her with a silver spoon and replied: “Originally, I wasn’t planning to save them.”

Pei Yunying raised an eyebrow: “Then why did you change your mind?”

Lu Tong smiled slightly and raised her head to look directly into his eyes.

“Because if I didn’t save them, I wouldn’t have had the chance to have Lord Pei owe me a favor.”

At these words, Pei Yunying was stunned.

A gust of wind blew, making the whole tree of osmanthus leaves rustle, the night wind mixed with golden flower rain falling, covering people in fragrance.

It seemed it was also on an afternoon on Qinghe Street, in front of the pawnshop, when the young commander paid for a hairpin for the penniless female doctor, standing before her with an enigmatic smile.

“Because if I had said it then, I wouldn’t have had the chance to have Doctor Lu owe me a favor.”

In just a few months, she had returned these exact words – one couldn’t tell if it was coincidence or grudge-holding.

The young man clicked his tongue and reminded her: “You can’t say it like that. Counting the time at Baoxiang Tower, I’ve saved you twice.”

“Oh?” Lu Tong showed no gratitude: “But today I was in danger because I was saving the Princess Consort. Moreover, I’m just a common person. My life isn’t worth as much as the Princess Consort and her daughter’s. Counting it up, you still owe me more favors.”

Though her tone was calm when speaking of the value of lives, her eyes couldn’t hide a trace of disgust.

Pei Yunying’s expression shifted slightly, and he teased with a smile: “Who says so? Doctor Lu is a physician, how can you see different values in lives?”

“Those blessed with fortune are served by others, those without fortune serve others. The Princess Consort is served, I serve – this is the distinction between noble and common.”

His smile faded somewhat: “How vulgar?”

“Poor people have always been vulgar.”

He nodded, leaned forward slightly, his black eyes fixed steadily on Lu Tong, and curved his lips.

“It’s always bad people pretending to be good, how is Doctor Lu doing the opposite?”

Lu Tong’s heart skipped a beat.

His bright black eyes seemed able to see through everything in her heart, the dimple at the corner of his lips appearing and disappearing in the moonlight, extremely captivating in the flowing moonlight.

Lu Tong lowered her eyelids.

He was truly handsome, but it was useless – beautiful medicinal herbs could be used to make poison, and handsome men… were just handsome, nothing more.

Pei Yunying was also looking at Lu Tong.

Deep in the night with sleeping flowers, the bright moon was lovely. The woman sat in the melting lamplight. She was beautiful, and compared to the brilliance of capital city women, she had more of the delicate beauty of a Jiangnan woman, her figure thin and light, seeming so frail that a gust of wind could scatter her.

The half-old blue dress with algae pattern embroidery she wore was stained with some blood – that was from the delivery earlier – and there were signs of wear at the sleeves. Her crow-black hair was braided diagonally – probably for convenience in preparing medicines – and was somewhat disheveled now. The blue velvet flower at her temple was still the same one she had worn when they first met at Baoxiang Tower; the velvet flower had been soaked in blood and hadn’t washed very clean. But in this moonlight it was blurred and unclear, making her look particularly lonely sitting there by herself.

Pei Yunying’s eyes moved slightly.

She appeared very frugal. Although he had previously told Duan Xiaoyan that Lu Tong’s clothing expenses had increased quite a bit, he had to admit that most of the time, she wore old clothes. She never wore any accessories either, looking too plain for a girl of seventeen or eighteen.

Yet Renxin Medical Hall has had very good income these past six months.

Moonlight filtered through the uneven tree shadows onto the stone table. The night was long, dawn still far away.

He took a sip of tea and smiled: “Alright, how much consultation fee does Doctor Lu want?”

Lu Tong didn’t speak.

Pei Yunying looked at her leisurely.

After a while, Lu Tong spoke.

She said: “Lord Pei, why don’t we make a deal?”

“What kind of deal?”

“I saved the Princess Consort and her daughter – two lives. One repays the life-saving grace at Baoxiang Tower, while the other, considers the matter at Wangchun Mountain never happened, the previous misunderstanding cleared.” Lu Tong’s expression was calm.

For the time being, she didn’t want too many entanglements with the Palace Guard. This person was truly difficult to deal with, and eliminating him would inevitably arouse suspicion. However, seeing how much he cared about Pei Yunshu, at least regarding Pei Yunshu’s matter, he would always owe her a favor.

Seeming not to have expected Lu Tong’s condition to be this, Pei Yunying paused, then laughed lightly, looking at her with a somewhat subtle gaze: “Why not mention Elder Master Ke? Doctor Lu, are you trying to slip past?”

Lu Tong’s heart moved – he had guessed it after all.

She smiled faintly: “Do you have evidence?”

The young man sighed: “No.”

He shook his head and smiled: “Deal. Whatever private grudge you have with him, I won’t interfere. I won’t pursue this matter further, but next time, I won’t cover for you.”

Lu Tong was somewhat surprised. She had thought he would probe further, but hadn’t expected him to agree so readily – it made her feel a bit mean-spirited in comparison.

She picked up a mooncake from the plate and ate it. The mooncake was her former favorite milk cream with pine nut filling, sweet to the point of being cloying. She ate slowly while across from her, Pei Yunying watched her eat and suddenly asked: “Doctor Lu, who was your teacher?”

Lu Tong paused.

Pei Yunying looked down at the remaining mooncakes in the carved red lacquer begonia flower tea tray on the table, “You said the poison my niece has ingested is currently difficult to neutralize. If your respected teacher were to help…”

Pei Yunshu had asked her this question before too. Lu Tong said: “My teacher has passed away.”

Pei Yunying swallowed the rest of his words.

Lu Tong thought for a moment, “I will do my best to detoxify the young lady. Lord Pei can rest assured for now.”

These words sounded like a serious promise, different from her usual bland delivery of casual lies.

Pei Yunying smiled.

He was overthinking it. Among all the coming and going medical officials at the Medical Officials’ Institute, only Lu Tong had discovered the truth about Pei Yunshu’s poisoning. At least in the capital, her medical skills were not to be underestimated.

Without realizing it, the night had grown late. Beyond the walls, the music never ceased. In the plaintive flute sounds, autumn dew was like pearls, the autumn moon like jade. Among the swaying shadows of the osmanthus trees, the flowing light made the woman appear like Chang’e who didn’t partake of mortal food in the moon palace.

Chang’e might not eat mortal food, but she particularly loved sweets.

Pei Yunying saw Lu Tong pick up another piece of osmanthus steamed chestnut powder cake and couldn’t help but smile. A breeze came, making Lu Tong’s temple hair flutter. His gaze paused, suddenly becoming fixed.

On the woman’s fair face, below her ear was an extremely faint blood mark, probably from being grazed by a blade during the fighting in the room earlier. Like a jarring crack on a jade-white porcelain vase, it was quite eye-catching. It had been hidden by her loose hair earlier, only now becoming visible.

He hesitated: “Your wound…”

Lu Tong casually touched it and said: “It’s nothing, I’ll treat it with medicine when I get back.”

When she said this, Pei Yunying remembered their first meeting below Baoxiang Tower. At that time she had been held hostage, her neck injured and bleeding. He had been unusually kind and offered her a bottle of scar-removing medicine, which she had immediately left at the rouge shop without even a glance.

So very cold.

Thinking of this, his gaze fell on the blue velvet flower at Lu Tong’s temple.

Behind that blue velvet flower were three silver needles, sharp and keen, superior to ordinary hidden weapons. He also recalled the guard’s corpse he had seen when he rushed to Pei Yunshu’s chamber in the afternoon, with vases shattered all around. Later when Fangzi told him about what had happened, there was disbelief in her tone, clearly quite shocked by this seemingly frail female doctor’s ruthless actions.

Pei Yunying thought casually that even if he hadn’t arrived then, Lu Tong might not have been at a disadvantage. Her velvet flower needles were truly sharp – she had never been one to accept defeat passively.

The zither music had stopped at some unknown time. The courtyard’s moonlight mixed with osmanthus fragrance covered their bodies. Lu Tong raised her eyes and met Pei Yunying’s thoughtful gaze. His eyes were black and bright in the lamplight, his crimson official robes looking less serious on him and more romantic, especially handsome and extraordinary.

The long night was like water. On such a beautiful night, with cold osmanthus, light tea, zither music, and candlelight, the two people drinking under the moon in the courtyard – the talented young official with his distinguished bearing, the young female doctor delicate as a willow and tender as a flower – appeared like old friends who had known each other for long.

Lu Tong said: “The poison the Princess Consort ingested was accumulated over a long time. This poison is hidden, and the person who administered it must be hiding in the manor. Is my lord just going to let it go like this?”

His gaze moved slightly, then he raised an eyebrow and smiled: “What suggestions does Doctor Lu have?”

Lu Tong picked up the porcelain pot on the table, poured herself a cup of tea dew, and raised the cup to her eyes toward Pei Yunying.

She spoke coolly: “Commander, let me give you a gift.”

Well then, let me wish everyone a happy Mid-Autumn Festival eight months in advance!