Lamp Flower Smile

In the lonely spring garden, the cold moon turns into frost.

The wind blew the corners of the young man's crimson robe. He stood in the shadow of the scattered trees, his eyebrows illuminated by a trace of the moon peeking through the branches.

Lu Chen frowned slightly, why is Pei Yunying here?

Pei Yunying walked up to Lu Xu and said, "Doctor Lu."

Su'er paused again, stared at her and smiled: "No, I should call Doctor Lu now."

The word "medical officer" sounded like an unintentional ridicule to her ears when she was currently in a panic in Nanjing Pharmacy.

Lu Zhuo looked around and saw no one around. He suddenly reached out and grabbed Pei Yunying's sleeves and wrists, and walked quickly to the other side.

Pei Yunying was slightly startled, and his eyes fell on her tugging on his sleeve. He said nothing and allowed Lu Zhu to lead him into an old pharmacy not far away.

The pharmacy is not big and is filled with some old and uncommon medicinal materials. As soon as the door is opened, a fine dust comes up. Lu Zhu pushed Pei Yunying into the room and closed the door with his backhand. When he turned around, he saw this man leaning against the window, looking around at the furnishings in the room. When he saw her closing the door, he pretended to be surprised and said, "Doctor Lu, what do you mean?"

Lu Chen turned around and walked towards him: "Why did Mr. Pei come to Nan Pharmacy?"

"Passing by."

"Passing by?"

He looked down at Lu Yan and said in a strange tone: "Medical Officer Lu, don't you think I came to see you specially?"

Lu Yan choked and said, "I'm not that sentimental."

Of course she wouldn't think that Pei Yunying came to see her, but showing up at Nan Pharmacy late at night would inevitably make people think too much. This man behaves mysteriously and mysteriously. Lu Zhuo has not forgotten the fact that Shen Fengying led people to hunt down the assassins in the palace at night. Now that he is new here, he naturally does not want to cause trouble.

Pei Yunying smiled and looked at her with his back against the window: "So, why did you bring me here?"

Lu Zhu collected his thoughts, raised his head and said, "I thought Mr. Pei didn't want others to know that you and I know each other, so he deliberately avoided others to avoid causing trouble to you."

She said it sarcastically, but it made Pei Yunying startled slightly. He thought for a while before speaking uncertainly: "It sounds like you are blaming me for not saying hello to you that day?"

On the day Lu Zhen entered the Medical Officer's Hospital, on the way to register his name as a new medical officer, he encountered a group of imperial guards in front of the palace and passed by Pei Yunying. At that time, he was aloof and gave others a stingy glance out of the corner of his eye, walking past her indifferently. Passed by.

"How is that possible?" Lu Zhen showed a hypocritical smile, "There are many rules in the palace. Lord Pei and I have different identities. I still have this self-awareness."

Lu Qian once said that she sometimes had a talent for yin and yang, but now it seems that this talent has not been buried yet.

Pei Yunying stared at her for a while, as if carefully discerning her mood when she said this, and Lu Chen looked at him calmly.

After a while, he sighed, but did not continue to struggle with this issue. He just said: "So you dragged me to this dark room?"

"good."

Pei Yunying clicked his tongue, nodded and said, "That makes sense." Then he changed the subject: "But it's just a blind act, a man and a woman alone. If you don't know, you'd think you and I are having an affair here."

The pear dimples at the corners of his lips were looming under the dim light, with a hint of malicious teasing, but his tone was slow and half-serious: "If someone sees this, it won't matter."

Lu Chen was speechless.

He is obviously a talented and arrogant Commander of the Silver Sword Palace. But every time like this, his ungrateful appearance always makes people confused. It was another person who was so surly and indifferent that the blood splattered on the gauze curtain of the county prince's palace.

He is used to acting.

With this thought in his mind, Lu Zhuo's eyes fell on a bamboo basket next to him.

The food basket looked familiar. Lu Chen remembered that when he went to Pei Yunshu's house for medical treatment, Pei Yunshu often asked people to bring some snacks to Pei Yunying. The basket he used was just like this. There was a pair of red magpies with upturned tails on the handle of the bamboo basket, which was vivid and festive.

Now Lu Chen believed that Pei Yunying had indeed passed by Nan Pharmacy, and even brought a food basket with him when no one was doing anything important.

Seemingly noticing Lu Zhuo's gaze, Pei Yunying followed her gaze and asked casually: "Have you eaten?"

"No."

He smiled and said, "Try it?" He motioned for Lu Zhen to use the food basket beside him.

Lu Chen wanted to refuse, but his stomach trembled slightly. She came back from the kitchen empty-handed just now. She had only eaten a piece of medicine cake given by Axiu during the day, and she was destined to be hungry tonight.

It's not like she can't be hungry.

but……

Of course it is best to be full.

Lu Tong walked over and opened the lid of the food basket.

Pei Yunying raised his eyebrows slightly.

There were pastries in the woven bamboo basket, and a few delicate lotus cakes were held in a cloisonné enamel yellow-bottomed red flower plate. One piece was only half the size of a palm, and there was nothing else.

Lu Zhen was a little disappointed, and thought maliciously that it was a bit inappropriate for a tall man like Pei Yunying to eat such exquisite snacks.

Pei Yunying didn't know what she was saying, so when she saw that she didn't move, he asked, "Don't you like it?"

"No." Lu Yan picked up a piece of lotus cake and put it in his mouth.

Pei Yunying was startled, as if he didn't expect her to be so straightforward. After a pause, he said with a smile: "Aren't you afraid that I might poison you?"

"Don't be afraid," Lu Yan said, "I am immune to all poisons."

She was really hungry. She didn't have a good appetite before, but when she was sitting in Renxin Medical Center, Yin Zheng and Du Changqing always fed her some fresh fruits. After a long time, she almost forgot about her hunger. The taste in the belly.

Pei Yunshu probably considered Pei Yunying's taste. The cakes were not too sweet, so they felt a bit bland in Lu Zhu's mouth.

She ate calmly, as if just to fill her stomach, and didn't care about the taste of the food. There was no disturbance at all. Pei Yunying looked at it for a while, as if she couldn't stand it anymore, and said, "Be careful of choking. Do you want some water?"

"Need not."

The people at Nanping Pharmacy swept away the leftovers in the kitchen, just to make things difficult. If it would cause trouble if it alarmed others, it would be better to just make do with it here.

Thinking of this, the days when Lu Rou and Lu Qian were roasting sweet potatoes in the kitchen late at night suddenly came to mind.

So similar to now.

The movements of his hands slowed down unconsciously, until Pei Yunying's voice came to his ears: "Your hairpin..."

Lu Tong was stunned and subconsciously reached out to touch the silver hibiscus hairpin in his hair.

She wore the silver hibiscus flower hairpin and her sister's hairpin on her head. From the day she entered the palace, she tied it in her hair to remind herself of what she wanted to do and why she came here.

Pei Yunying leaned against the window and asked casually, "Is the hairpin your sister's?"

Lu Yan said: "Yes."

He nodded: "No wonder you spent a lot of money to redeem it."

At that time, at Luyuan Pawn Shop on Qinghe Street, she accepted a lot of old jewelry in order to cover it up, but in fact it was just for this hibiscus hairpin.

Pei Yunying's eyes fell on her hair and said, "It suits you very well."

Suitable?

The cake in his mouth suddenly became difficult to swallow. Lu Xu lowered his hands and was silent for a moment before speaking: "Master Pei, do you know that hibiscus is a lowly flower?"

Pei Yunying was startled.

Her bun was a little messy, and her robe was not neat after a day's work. However, her somewhat embarrassed posture did not damage her beautiful face at all. Even the silver hairpin was inserted slightly askew, making her even more beautiful. The flowers that have been damaged by wind and rain have lost their beauty and beauty.

But her voice was very cold.

"This flower blooms in the morning and falls in the evening, and its glory is only for a moment. It only grows on the wild banks of the border. The courtyards and gardens of wealthy people do not look down on this kind of flower."

People often say that hibiscus is the meanest flower. Perhaps in the eyes of those distinguished guests and wealthy families, my sister, she, or the Lu family are all like this lowly flower. They only exist for one day, and they will not be ignored whether they are alive or dead. In the eyes, unknown.

Pei Yunying looked at her, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he didn't.

Lu Chen lowered his head and continued to eat the unfinished piece of cake, as if he didn't take what he just said to heart.

After finishing the plate of shortcakes, she put the empty plate back into the basket, closed the basket lid, and said to Pei Yunying, "Thank you, Mr. Pei, for the snacks."

He looked at her from the window and smiled: "I'm not here to bring you food."

Lu Chen thought for a while, then took out the silver zheng from his arms and stuffed it into her purse, poured out a handful of broken silver, thought about it, took out the smallest one and handed it to Pei Yunying.

Pei Yunying looked at the broken silver for a while, then moved his eyes from the silver to her face, and sighed: "Medical Officer Lu is too stingy."

"When we first entered the palace, we need a lot of money. I will make up for it for Master Pei when I get my salary." Lu Zhuo replied seriously.

Hearing this, his smile faded a little: "Do you think you can return to the Medical Officer's Hospital?"

"certainly."

Pei Yunying was silent, the moon marks shone on his face through the window, and those dark eyes stared at her silently, like mist, making it difficult to explain.

Such a common experience as indifference seemed to pity her for her already doomed ending.

After a while, he asked: "Don't you have any plans for the future?"

after?

Lu Chen was stunned for a moment, and then almost laughed.

Perhaps Master Pei felt compassion for her at this moment, so he kindly reminded her not to take revenge without knowing the truth. But she never thought about looking back since she first entered the palace.

Lu Zhuo raised his head and looked Pei Yunying in the eyes: "No."

"Master Pei," she said, "a humble flower that blooms in the morning and fades in the evening will never have a future."

…

After meeting Pei Yunying at the entrance of Nan Pharmacy that night, Lu Chen never saw him again.

Of course, the imperial city is not as vast as the outside of the imperial city, but it is not impossible for two people with different identities to never meet each other in their lifetime.

After picking the red fragrant catkins for several days, these herbs had to be cleaned and sorted separately and sent to the Imperial Medicine Institute. The heavy burden naturally fell on Lu Yun and He Xiu.

He Xiu led Lu Zhuo to the warehouse where medicinal materials were sorted. A large pile of red fragrant catkins was piled in a corner of the courtyard, covered with a coarse cloth to prevent the catkins from flying around. Even so, the air was still filled with the unique fragrance of red fragrant catkins.

Axiu handed Lu Zhuo a handful of pickles and sat down in front of the silver basin. There were a lot of red catkins piled up in the silver basin. She wanted to pick them out one by one and remove the broken branches, leaving the catkins and intact stems and leaves.

It's not an easy job, and the noxious aroma alone is enough to make you dizzy. Just picking tidbits in Hongfangyuan a few days ago has caused many red spots on He Xiu's face.

Lu Yan glanced at He Xiu, who was rubbing her eyes. Even though she was wearing a scarf, the scent of red fragrant catkins still made her dizzy when she got close.

Lu Yan brought the silver basin in front of her to him, "I'll do it."

He Xiu was stunned and hurriedly took the silver basin back and said, "How can this be done? You have already helped me a lot!"

In the past few days, Lu Zhuo has done most of the work of picking red fragrant catkins alone. She was not affected by the aroma, did not develop red spots on her face, and picked quickly. He Xiu was also very grateful.

"I also have my salary, so I can't do nothing." He Xiu smiled awkwardly, "Speaking of it, in a few days it will be the day when the salary will be paid. After taking the salary, I will make two things for my younger brothers and sisters in the spring. New clothes, children grow up quickly, last year’s clothes may be too small.”

Lu Zhu lowered his head to pick up flower branches: "Do you have any younger siblings? How old are they?"

"One is seven years old and the other is nine years old." Speaking of her younger siblings, He Xiu's smile was much more genuine. "My family has an ordinary family background. Back then, when I was able to go to the hospital, my parents had to travel a lot. Now, although Nan Pharmacy is not as good as other places, , but the monthly salary is still paid on time. Even the medical officers of Nanpharmacy are not allowed to leave the imperial city, and I haven’t seen my family in three years..." Her voice dropped again.

Lu Chen didn't speak.

After a pause, He Xiu hurriedly smiled and said: "But Doctor Lu is so fast. It used to take me half a day to clean these flower branches in one pot. You just picked them with only half a stick of incense. I'll watch and wait for the imperial medicine to be sent." Courtyard, this year’s Yimengdan should be enough.”

Lu Zhen's heart moved: "Yimeng Dan?"

"It's an elixir made by the Royal Medicine Academy, specially designed to treat people who have difficulty falling asleep." He Xiudao: "The Concubine Rou of Danyang Palace always has difficulty waking up and falling asleep every spring. The medical officer of the Medical Academy prescribed many prescriptions. It didn’t seem to be getting better, but someone from the Imperial Medicine Institute got a prescription and used red fragrant catkins as medicine, and made a dream pill, and Concubine Rou felt better after taking it."

"Later on, every March, the Royal Pharmacy would bring fresh red fragrant catkins from Nan Pharmacy to make medicines. However, red fragrant catkins are inherently poisonous, and it is not easy to make medicine. Like the ones we picked a few days ago, they were finally made into pills. There aren’t even a few bottles.”

"This year, thanks to Dr. Lu, more red fragrant catkins were harvested than in previous years. The Royal Pharmacy Hospital should be satisfied this time and won't complain that there are not enough medicinal materials."

After He Xiu finished speaking, he saw Lu Zhuo's expression was different and couldn't help but ask, "What's wrong?"

Lu Yan pondered for a moment: "Are these red fragrant catkins in the palace only used to make a dream elixir?"

He Xiu nodded: "Yes, Hongfangxu is poisonous after all, and there are very few medicines that can be used. In order to make this medicine, the people at the Imperial Pharmacy spent a year grinding the recipe."

Lu Chen lowered his head and looked at the flower branches in his hands.

The bright red flower branches were picked, and some floating flowers were scattered on the ground, like a layer of blood-colored light velvet. The refreshing fragrance comes from the flower branches and floats into people's noses.

He Xiu was startled, snatched the red fragrant catkins from Lu Xun's hand, and said in a panic: "Although Doctor Lu is not affected by the fragrance of flowers, don't get too close, it is poison after all."

Lu Zhuo let her snatch the flower branches and said nothing for a while. He only turned his head and looked towards the courtyard. There were large crimson flower branches piled in the corner. Just looking at them made him feel gorgeous and eye-catching.

She looked at it for a while and then said, "Axiu."

"What's the matter? Doctor Lu?"

"give it to me."

Lu Zhu lowered his head and picked up a flower branch.

"I'll arrange the flowers."

…

After March, the spring rain gradually began to fall.

The peach tree at the gate of the Royal Medicine Court was broken by the rain overnight, and its branches were scattered all over the ground.

A few steps away from the peach tree, Yi Zheng Shi Chang Pu was standing on the steps, instructing the medical workers to pile the red fragrant catkins sent from the Medical Officer's Hospital into the warehouse.

The two young medical workers lost their grip and a small bundle of red fragrant catkins rolled down from the car. In shock, Shi Changpu spread his sleeves to cover his mouth and nose and scolded: "Be careful, this thing is poisonous!"

The medical workers hurriedly wrapped the red floss scattered on the ground with coarse cloth and hurried into the warehouse.

Iris looked back, and spread her hands in the air on her face a few times. Until she could no longer smell the fragrant scent of the flower, she lowered her hands and breathed a sigh of relief.

Hongfangxu is a medicinal material sent from Nanjing Pharmacy.

The Imperial Pharmacy is affiliated to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Press the palms of your hands to test the secret recipes and medicines in case your Majesty and the court need them. Some of the materials used to prepare the medicinal materials come from the medicine garden of Nanjing Pharmacy.

Hongfangxu is one of them.

This flower has a fragrant name, but it is quite toxic. Just smelling it will inevitably lead to poisoning. However, the most important medicinal ingredient in the Yimengdan that Concubine Rou needs to cure her insomnia is Hongfangxu. Therefore, no matter how fearful it is, every March after the new year, the Royal Pharmacy Hospital still has to take over the batch of red fragrant catkins from Nan Pharmacy and take the risk to concoct the pills.

This is really not a good thing.

When the red fragrant catkins grow in the garden, their medicinal properties are strongest, but after being picked, their medicinal properties gradually fade. Each bottle of Yimengdan consumes a lot of red fragrant catkins. Concubine Rou is arrogant and domineering, and she is always dissatisfied with the Yimengdan they make. In the end, it is they, the people of the Royal Medicine Academy, who are the ones who suffer and get scolded.

Shi Changpu sighed and turned around. The two medical workers who had just transported Hong Fangxu had come out of the warehouse.

"Master Yi Zheng, don't worry." Seeing his frown, the young medical worker thought he was worried about the shortage of medicinal materials, so he took the initiative to please: "This year we sent more red fragrant catkins than last year, and the small warehouse was full of them. Yi Meng Dan's The material is sufficient.”

"Oh?" Shi Changpu was surprised, "So many?"

The red fragrant catkins are too toxic and difficult to pick. Most of the people who pick them will suffer from the poison. There are only a few people in Nanpharmacy, and no one is willing to risk their lives to pick poisonous flowers. Therefore, although there were not many Hongfang catkins delivered each time, Shichangpu turned a blind eye.

After all, Concubine Rou was only unable to sleep well for a few days at night, and the medical workers who picked red fragrant catkins lost their good health!

We are all slaves, why bother making things difficult for each other.

This is what Shichangpu thought, but he didn't expect that the amount of red fragrant catkins sent this year would suddenly increase.

Another medical worker scratched his head and said: "I heard that there are new people in the Medical Officer's Hospital, and some people went to Nan Pharmacy. Maybe there are more people picking flowers, so there are a lot more medicinal materials."

"Newcomer?"

Shi Changpu was stunned for a moment, and then felt a little sad. The newly appointed medical officer went somewhere wrong. He went to Nan Pharmacy instead, and was sent to pick red fragrant catkins... I don't know who he offended, and he will have to pay for it for the rest of his life.

That's the bad thing about being a slave. Life and death are all decided by the person in charge, not you.

He put his hands behind his back and walked slowly towards the warehouse, sighing: "Let's go make medicine. I hope the empress will be satisfied with this year's Yimeng Dan."