Denghuaxiao

Chapter 114: Old Dreams of Lanterns and Flowers

 The flying snow is like a jade-like flower, floating unevenly.

The orange lights in front of the window were all blown out by the north wind, and deeper into the courtyard at night, the branches of plum trees were covered with snow.

In this silence and darkness, a hand stretched out from the side, and a fire broke out to light a new lamp.

 Someone lit a lamp and illuminated the night many years later.

The warm flames in the silver lamp suddenly brightened up, driving away the thick night fog just now. Everything in the room in front of the window gradually became clear. The young man sitting opposite was attracted by the color of the lamp. Looking closely, the warm color fell on him, clearly showing that it was winter. It was the twelfth lunar month, but because of the bright silver platform, there was actually a hint of spring.

Lu Zhen looked at Pei Yunying in a daze.

Where is he.

He was sitting in front of him, smiling and relaxed. For a moment, he gradually overlapped with the shadow that played with the lanterns in the ruined temple in Sunan City many years ago and suddenly appeared in the execution ground in the wind and snow.

 He is... that person.

Lu Zhen understood in an instant.

 He was the man in black that he met in the heavy snow.

The wick of the newly lit lamp was bright and dim. Pei Yunying lowered his head and took a sip of the tea in front of him. He did not notice the strange look on Lu Zhuo's expression.

Lu Zhen felt a little dazed.

 She remembered the heavy snowfall in Sunan City.

That day, she was forced to save a stranger whose identity was a mystery. It was her first time as a "doctor" and her first time to sew someone's wounds. It was a cold day, and it was very cold in Sunan City. Later, she fell asleep and woke up in the early morning.

There was no trace of the man in black in the ruined temple, and the lamp oil on the altar table had burned out. She stood up and found that she was covered with a torn blanket, and the old silver ring was still clutched tightly in her hand.

She got up from the ground, walked out with the medical kit in her arms, and opened the temple door. The sun was shining brightly outside and the heavy snow had stopped.

 She never saw the man in black again.

Like the fleeting heavy snowfall in Sunan City, there is no trace left after waking up from the dream. If it weren't for that silver ring, she would have thought that everything was just a strange and thrilling old dream she had under the clay statue in the ruined temple. Everything was in a trance and hazy, but today, on the same cold and snowy night, the old dream came to a stop again.

The falling snow is like flying spring flowers, and the shadows of the window are passing by affectionately. The old lanterns are cold and turn to ashes, and the new silver vat is spitting out red flames. The past and present, time is strangely lingering, rubbing years ago and many years later into that touch Burning lamp shadow.

 Actually, it’s not many years, just four or five years.

Lu Zong stared at the person opposite.

 Why didn’t you recognize it?

His voice, his teasing tone, and his bright and dark eyes are actually very similar to those back then if you look closely.

 But there seemed to be subtle differences. His silver knife, the ferocity hidden under the gentle appearance, and the occasional fierceness in his eyes seemed to be different from those in the ruined temple back then.

Besides, he didn't recognize her.

She didn't take it seriously when she met by chance, which was not a pleasant encounter. She accidentally escaped from the snowy passers-by under the same roof, but it was only a short stay and they had to go their separate ways.

If it weren't for revenge, she wouldn't have come to Shengjing at all. The encounter many years ago had long been forgotten by her. In the huge sea of ​​people, who would have thought that we would meet again at this time.

Pei Yunying raised his eyes and met Lu Zhen's gaze staring at him.

He was stunned, looked down at himself, and said inexplicably: "Why are you looking at me like this?"

"I was just thinking," Lu Zhen looked away: "She is retaliating against you like this, but you are not angry."

“She is just a little girl, and she is my savior. If she gets angry, wouldn’t she be repaying kindness with enmity?”

Pei Yunying held her chin with one hand and looked at the tea cup in front of her: "We are both fallen people from the end of the world."

With the world people?

Lu Zhen was slightly startled.

She didn’t know what Pei Yunying had gone through in Southern Jiangsu at that time, but under those circumstances, she didn’t have much ill feelings toward the man in black. Probably because he thought that an assassin who would pay doctors for consultation could never be any worse, no matter how bad he was.

Pei Yunying raised her eyes, glanced at Lu Chen, and said thoughtfully, "Come to think of it, you and her are quite similar."

Lu Zhen's heart skipped a beat and he subconsciously looked at him.

The young man smiled and said, "She is still a child. She was only eleven or twelve years old back then, and she was only here." He stretched out his hand and gestured, "She is probably a fledgling, and her medical skills are not as good as mine, but," Pei Yunying paused, " You are much more vicious than she is."

 Lu Huan: “…”

She was still young when she met Pei Yunying in southern Jiangsu. She had not yet really learned how to make poison, and her temperament had not yet changed drastically. The appearance of a dumpling has not completely faded away, and he is especially childish. In Pei Yunying's eyes at that time, he was probably just a child with weird behavior.

 He did not recognize himself, which was unusual.

Pei Yunying glanced sideways at the wound on his shoulder. She didn't know what she thought of, but she clicked her tongue and said in disgust, "The embroidery work is really bad."

 Lu Huan: “…”

Looking along Pei Yunying's shoulder, the scar has faded over time and is not as ferocious as before, but the rough fact still cannot be changed. His new and old wounds all passed through her hands, like the same painting, painted at different times, from clumsy to delicate, and recorded.

Inexplicably, Lu Yan suddenly remembered what Pei Yunshu had said to her during the baby shower at Wenjun Prince's Palace.

Pei Yunshu asked: "Doctor Lu is from southern Jiangsu, and Aying also went to southern Jiangsu a few years ago. Did you know each other in southern Jiangsu?"

She subconsciously denied it at that time, but she never thought that fate would go round and round, and the passers-by who had sheltered from the cold on the way would one day meet again somewhere else.

 Silver lamps bear luxuriant flowers, like brilliant red millet. Lu Zhen looked at the lone lamp on the table in trance.

 Hand waved in front of her face.

 Lu Zhuo raised his eyes.

Pei Yunying took back her hand and said with a smile: "Doctor Lu seems to have a lot on his mind."

Lu Zhen recovered his thoughts: "If Mr. Pei could come less uninvited a few times, I would have a lot less worries."

When she said this, although she was speaking sarcastically, her expression was much more relaxed than before, as if she was feeling at ease facing an old friend she had known for a long time.

This freedom was captured by Pei Yunying, and his expression became a little strange.

 After a moment, Pei Yunying's eyes flashed and he muttered: "I don't know why, but I always feel that this scene seems familiar."

Lu Zong pursed his lips.

The men in black in the temple never inquired into Lu Huan's personal affairs. Even though they teased her for stealing things from dead people at first, after Lu Huan explained that it was for medicine, the men in black didn't ask any more questions. .

He ignored her strange behavior and did not take off her veil in the end, as if she was just an ordinary girl who accidentally met him in a ruined temple.

Perhaps because of this reason, when Lu Zhen looked at Pei Yunying again, he could not help but look like an old friend.

Although they only met each other once.

 The heavy snow fell to the ground silently, and the continuous snow fell on the window edge, quickly melting into a transparent water stain.

 “The snow will stop soon.” He looked out the window.

The moon was completely hidden behind the clouds, and in the dark and snowy night, a subtle bird song sounded from the distant sky.

Pei Yunying's expression changed slightly.

In a moment, he drank the tea cup in front of him in one gulp, tied his collar and stood up.

"Doctor Lu," he lowered his eyebrows and looked at Lu Huan, his smile looking very gentle under the dim candlelight, "Thank you for your help tonight."

 “You’re welcome,” Lu Yan said calmly, “My lord, I paid for the consultation.”

Pei Yunying raised her eyebrows, the corners of her lips sparkling, "Then I'll come and thank you next time."

After saying that, he picked up the knife and left.

 “Master Pei.” Lu Zhu stopped him.    He turned around.

Lu Zhen handed him the medicine bottle containing the medicine, "Fifty taels, don't forget it."

 He was startled, then smiled, took it and said, "Thank you very much."

 “Creak—” a sound.

After the door of the hospital opened softly, everything returned to silence. The wooden window was pushed further open by the north wind. Looking out through the wooden window, the garden was full of wind and snow.

Yin Zheng came over with a lantern and carefully looked outside: "He...he's gone?"

"gone."

Yin Zheng patted her chest with lingering fear: "I was scared to death just now. Girl, he didn't do anything to you, right?"

 Lu Zhuo shook his head.

That bird song came suddenly in the snowy night...the person who responded to him should have arrived.

I wonder if it's because the cold and snowy days always make people put down their guard and know the past level, but now she looks at Pei Yunying differently from before. They are not really friends, and they may even meet each other at war in the future, but at this moment, it feels like meeting an old friend for the first time.

Lu Zhen walked to the low table in the inner room and opened the lid of the medical box.

 In the medical box were some trivial medicine bottles, a silver jar, gold needles and a few yellowed old medical books. Lu Yan stretched out his hand and pressed the edge. With a "click", the lid of the most rim opened.

This grid is not big, only finger-long and square. It was originally used to hold mulberry white leather threads, but inside it is a white jade pendant and a blackened silver ring.

 Lu Zhu picked up the silver ring.

Time has passed so long that the silver ring is not as warm as before. It is covered with rust and the patterns on it cannot be seen clearly. When you hold it in your hand, you can feel the cold lines.

Yin Zheng looked over and said in surprise: "What is this?"

Lu Zhen only took the golden needle medicine bottle from the medical box. This was the first time Yin Zheng saw the dark layer in the medical box.

 Lu Huan replied: "A token of trust."

At that time, Pei Yunying pledged this silver ring to her as medical money, and asked her to use this silver ring to go to Shengjing to exchange for candied haws with him. Lu Chen didn't pay much attention to it, but in a way, this was the first medical check she received, so she kept it carefully for many years.

 I never thought that I would actually come to Beijing many years later.

It’s hard to say whether the original joke was true or not. Perhaps Pei Yunying himself has forgotten this old incident. No one can tell what this silver ring can be exchanged for, whether it is silver, status, or something higher.

Tokens weigh more than a thousand catties to a person who makes a heavy promise, but are as nothing as a piece of cake to a person who makes a light promise.

But now Pei Yunying does not look like a gentleman.

Yin Zheng's sudden voice sounded beside her: "Could it be...that this is the token left by the 'fiancé'?"

As if seeing the tip of the iceberg, Yin Zheng's eyes showed excitement.

When Du Changqing asked Lu Zhuo why he came to Beijing, Lu Zhuo only said that he came to Beijing to practice medicine in order to find a lover, who had been rescued by Lu Zhuo on the road and gave him a token as a token.

At that time, Yin Zheng thought this was just Lu Zhu's perfunctory words to deal with Du Changqing, but now looking at the jade pendant and silver ring in the dark layer, she felt that it was a bit subtle.

Lu Zhen looked at the silver ring in his hand, his eyes slightly absent-minded.

 Now is not the time to recognize each other. Before that, this is just a dead thing at best.

 Seeing her delay in speaking, Yin Zheng became more and more sure of his guess and looked at Lu Shu with wide eyes: "It turns out that you really have a lover in Shengjing!"

 Lu Tong was startled.

Lover?

A rescued person on the road, a token left behind, and an unexpected reunion many years later, if involved in some romantic drama, would indeed sound a lot like a destined lover who fell from the sky.

only…

 Just don't say she is her lover. Based on what she will do in the future, it will be fine if she does not fight to the death with Pei Yunying. It is hard to say whether this thing will become Pei Yunying's relic.

 That’s all, it’s better to put it away.

 She put the silver ring back into the compartment, closed the medical kit, and shook her head slightly.

 “Maybe he is an enemy.”

 …

The winter is freezing cold, and one hundred thousand people in the city have closed their homes and built red stoves, and the snow has not stopped at midnight.

On a snowy night in Shengjing, a man in black was walking in a dark alley.

 The wind and snow were covering the man's shoulders in layers, and the snowflakes fell on the man's shoulders and melted quickly, leaving behind a small icy water stain.

At the end of the quiet dark alley, a figure appeared silently under the wall covered with long snow.

"Master." Chi Jian whispered: "Deputy Envoy Xiao has just sent a message. There is great chaos in the palace and the whole city is under martial law. His Majesty ordered all the troops in front of the palace to enter the palace and accompany him."

Pei Yunying nodded: "I understand."

 “You are…”

"I'm not supposed to be on duty in the palace today. Of course I have to change my clothes and go back to the palace to answer the imperial edict."

Chi Jian was silent and looked at the person in front of him.

The young man was wearing a pitch-black arrow jacket, and his expression was as usual. The places where the clothing material was scratched on his shoulders were wrapped in layers of white silk.

 “Your injury…”

“It’s okay,” Pei Yunying said, “It’s been taken care of, let’s go.”

 Red Arrow made no sound.

The young man paused, turned his head, and looked at the tall guard beside him: "What else can I do?"

Chi Jian hesitated for a moment, and finally plucked up the courage to speak: "My master is staying at the Renxin Medical Center tonight. The female doctor Lu has probably guessed the truth after seeing my master's injuries. The matter is very important at this time. If her secret report is leaked, , I'm afraid it will cause a lot of trouble for the master..." He tightened his grip on the waist knife, and a murderous intention flashed in his eyes: "Do you want..."

It is hard for Chi Jian not to be wary of Lu Huan from Renxin Medical Center. Whether it was the previous tribute case or the subsequent frame-up of Wangchunshan's body, we could see that Lu Lu was more scheming than ordinary people. She was inseparable from the downfall of the Fan family, the official in charge of the trial court, and even the rumors about the Taishi Mansion may not have been without her contributing to them.

A mysterious woman whose past cannot be traced. It is difficult to distinguish between friends and foes. She dares to stab others with a knife, and naturally she also dares to stab Pei Yunying.

"No need." Pei Yunying interrupted Chi Jian.

Chi Jian was startled.

Pei Yunying turned around and glanced at the bright lights of the streets in the distance.

The thousands of flying flowers are silent in the distance, the West Street is quiet, and the solitary lamp shines on the flying snow. It seems that through the lonely plum tree in front of the door, one can see the plaque of the medical center hidden by the wind and snow, as well as the warm red brocade lantern under the eaves.

 He said: "She won't tell anyone."

Chi Jian was puzzled: “Why?”

Lu Zhen does not seem like a kind-hearted person who deserves such firm trust.

Pei Yunying looked back, lowered her head and smiled.

"Because," he said, "I paid for the consultation."

 (End of this chapter)