Lamp Flower Smile

Autumn nights are deserted.

The lights in the kitchen were dim, like tiny sparks of light that would be swallowed up in the turbulent night in the next moment.

The woman stood in front of the door, her camellia yellow dress rustling in the wind, and her hairpins on her temples were fresh and tender. She looked at the person in front of her and spoke slowly.

"He broke into a house late at night without any reason, and didn't even wear a face covering. It was really audacious."

She paused, looked at the other person's eyes that became rounder with fear, and continued: "If it weren't for old acquaintance, I would have thought that the medical center was broken into tonight."

Duan Xiaoyan, a young man sitting on the ground, swallowed and suddenly felt a little guilty.

"Doctor Lu."

Before he could think of a suitable reason to deceive the person in front of him, he heard the person in front of him calmly ask: "You have been with me for a day, what do you think Young Master Duan is doing?"

Duan Xiaoyan's expression changed and he looked at Lu Zhuo suddenly.

How did she know!

Early this morning, Pei Yunying went out. Duan Xiaoyan felt depressed after seeing the corpse of the man in Chunshan last night. It happened that he was not on duty today, so he left the house and planned to go shopping in the market to relax and relax.

Not far from Fangshi is the Fan family's mansion. Duan Xiaoyan passed by this place and couldn't help but slow down when he thought that he had lost his wallet here.

Suddenly, he saw Lu Zhen talking to a man at the door of Fan's house.

That man, Duan Xiaoyan, was no stranger. Fan Zhenglian's unlucky and considerate subordinate Qi Chuan was called his confidant, but he was actually a know-it-all who had done everything from purchasing the housekeepers to the housekeepers and dispatching wet nurses. It's a pity that for all his talent, in the end he was just a mediocre recording artist.

Lu Yan talked with Qi Chuan at the door of Fan's mansion.

If this had happened in the past, Duan Xiaoyan wouldn't have cared about it. However, I just experienced being framed by a purse last night, and not long ago I heard Pei Yunying's warning to stay away from Lu Zhuo. Duan Xiaoyan now looks at Lu Zhuo's every move, and feels that it has profound meanings and many tricks.

Lu Yu and Qi Chuan parted without saying a few words. Duan Xiaoyan stood there thinking for a moment and decided to follow Lu Yu.

He wanted to see if there was really something wrong with Dr. Lu.

The next day, Duan Xiaoyan's legs almost broke.

Lu Zhuo did not go back to the medical clinic directly, but wandered around the market. Duan Xiaoyan guessed that she might want to meet someone in private, so he watched her closely.

When Lu Zhuo and Yin Zheng were watching a drama, his eyes widened and he stared at them meticulously.

When Lu Zhuo and Yin Zheng watched the craftsman step on the rope, he held his breath and stared attentively.

When Lu Huan and Yin Zheng were sitting under the stage to watch a movie, he looked at Lu Huan more seriously than Lu Huan was watching the movie. He stared at everyone sitting next to Lu Huan attentively, trying to find any trace of Lu Huan's contact with them.

When Lu Huan and Yin Zheng tasted fish dumplings, fried fish rice and sugar-coated beans at Nanshi Restaurant, he squatted in the corner across the street and swallowed, staring intently.

Finally, Lu Zhen and the others went to see the bead shop.

Duan Xiaoyan didn't understand. The two of them didn't buy anything, but they could still look at it for so long? Don't you think it's a waste of time?

Anyway, at the end of the day, Duan Xiaoyan felt like his eyes were about to fall out of their sockets, but nothing happened to Lu Zhu. It's as if they just come to hang out in the neighborhood and have fun.

Duan Xiaoyan didn't know if other women had such good physical strength when they went shopping in the market. Anyway, from his point of view, Lu Zhuo and Yin Zheng didn't show any signs of fatigue after having fun today. There are many people in the city. If he were not the imperial guard in front of the palace, if he were an ordinary person, he would not be able to follow him for an hour, and he would be lost in the crowd.

Duan Xiaoyan believed that he had done a perfect job and followed Lu Yan all the way back to the hospital. He had planned to leave when nothing happened, but his curiosity was aroused when he saw her lingering in front of the Zunhei jar in the small kitchen. Only then did he touch him after they left.

Just as he was thinking about it, a soft wind blew from outside the courtyard, causing goose bumps to suddenly appear on his back. Duan Xiaoyan came back to his senses and looked at Lu Zhuo.

"...You have discovered it a long time ago?"

Lu Chen was silent.

During those years in Luomeifeng, she lived on the mountain alone most of the time. A teenage girl was not as courageous as she is now.

Afraid of wild animals, afraid of snakes, insects, rats, ants, sudden natural disasters, and also afraid of evil people with malicious intentions.

Sometimes when I wake up early in the morning, there is no one on the mountain, and there is deathly silence all around. I feel a sense of loneliness and fear that I am the only one left in the world. She hid poison powder and scissors on her body, ready to fight against sudden dangers at any time.

Probably people who live in fear for a long time will have an instinctive intuition about danger. Or maybe Duan Xiaoyan's method of stalking people is still too immature, and his gaze is too hot, making it difficult for people to ignore him.

Almost immediately, she noticed the sight behind her.

Lu Zhuo's eyes moved to Duan Xiaoyan's elbows.

The boy's forearm was dripping with blood, and two sharp tooth marks were clearly visible in the blurry blood.

Those were snake bites.

She noticed the sight behind her in the street. Someone was following her closely, never leaving for a moment, but making no other moves, as if they were waiting for something.

The other party was reluctant to take action, so she changed her mind.

Lu Yan bent down and picked up the soft long insect in front of the door under the young man's surprised gaze.

The snake was dead, and its pitch-black corpse was wrapped around her pale yellow silk sleeves, like a dead thread wrapped around a fresh flower. The darkness shone coldly.

Duan Xiaoyan looked at it and felt that the forearm that had been bitten began to swell and hurt again.

Lu Yan stretched out his fingers, brushed the rough snake head with his fingertips, and spoke softly.

"This is called Qi Bu San. I asked someone to find it after a long search. I just put it in early this morning. I didn't expect that Young Master Duan would find it."

She glanced at the wound on Duan Xiaoyan's forearm, her expression was hesitant to speak.

Duan Xiaoyan was horrified by her sight and couldn't help but ask: "What is Qi Bu San?"

"Don't you know, Young Master Duan?"

"Qibu San is a highly venomous snake. Anyone bitten by Qibu San will be completely stunned within seven steps."

As soon as these words came out, there was a moment of silence in the room.

After a moment, Duan Xiaoyan turned pale and stammered: "Just kidding, Doctor Lu, don't try to trick me."

Lu Chen smiled.

"Why is Young Master Duan so scared? There is no snake in the world that can make someone fall in just seven steps."

When Duan Xiaoyan heard this, he breathed a sigh of relief. Just as he was about to make someone smile, he heard the person in front of him continue to speak.

"An hour."

He was confused: "What?"

Lu Yan looked at him, the smile on his face gradually faded, and his tone was calm.

"It takes an hour to be bitten till the venom comes out."

She said: "If there is no antidote in an hour, Mr. Duan, even the King of Hell will not be able to save you."

…

The night breeze is cold, and under the lights under the eaves, the black dog is lying in the yard, its figure blending into the night.

When Pei Yunying returned to the Palace Commander's Mansion, it was almost Haishi.

The vases everywhere in the palace are filled with freshly folded osmanthus, and the whole palace is filled with the fragrance of osmanthus. Tomorrow is the 15th, it is a public holiday in the office, and many guards have gone away.

He entered the palace early this morning. The matter of the corpse of Wang Chunshan was not a big deal, but it was a small matter. It was stuck in the case of the Ministry of Tribute and Etiquette. It would inevitably make a fuss about it for those who were interested.

Not to mention the delicate relationship between the three yamen, the Privy Council would never let go of this good opportunity. Fortunately, the emperor now had no time to take care of the front office, so the matter was considered to have been revealed.

Pei Yunying sat down in the room, picked up the teapot on the table and poured herself a cup of tea.

The tea was warm and bitter. He took a few sips. He didn't hear the familiar noise from the past, so he asked the guard Qing Feng.

"Duan Xiaoyan isn't here?"

Qing Feng replied: "Master, Duan Xiaoyan went out early in the morning, saying he was going to visit the market."

Pei Yunying paused while drinking tea.

After a moment, he said: "When did you leave the door?"

"It's almost time."

Pei Yunying frowned slightly.

Duan Xiaoyan had already gone out, and it was almost midnight. It's been six hours, and tomorrow is the official holiday in the office. He wants to go back to the office to take a roll call, but he's still nowhere to be seen.

Seeing this, Qing Feng asked: "Master, do you think there is anything wrong?"

Pei Yunying pondered for a moment and said, "What did he say before he left?"

Qing Feng shook his head: "No. It's just that he wasn't very interested. Maybe he was upset about looking at the corpse of the man in Chunshan."

Wangchun Mountain...

Pei Yunying's eyes narrowed slightly as he didn't know what he thought of.

The night falls outside the window, and the breeze makes the sycamore trees in the courtyard rustle.

He stood up in a hurry, picked up the silver knife on the table, and strode towards the door.

…

The night is getting deeper.

In the trees in the small courtyard, a few weavers were humming low. The night firefly hung by Acheng under the eaves has long been dimmed, and only the silver wind chime hanging from the bag is spinning in the wind.

The cold lamp was swaying in the night wind, as if it would be extinguished in the next moment. The mottled light and shadow fell on the face of the person at the table, but her distinct facial features were reflected softer.

The young man sat motionless on the ground, looking stiffly at the person at the table who was slowly preparing the medicine.

She didn't think there was anything wrong. After telling him that he was poisoned, she sat down at the table, picked out the dried herbs in the bamboo plaque, and went about her work as if nothing had happened. .

No regard for his life or death.

Duan Xiaoyan gritted his teeth and said with a threat: "Doctor Lu, I am from the front office of the palace, and I am plotting to kill the emperor's guards. Are you willing to kill yourself?"

"Conspiracy to kill the emperor's guards?"

She seemed to have heard something funny, but she laughed and glanced at him meaningfully: "Young Master Duan broke into a house late at night for no reason. He was suspected of stealing property, but he was accidentally bitten by a poisonous snake that I brought in for medicine. .”

"You came to the hospital uninvited, and you opened the jar without telling me. The thief opened a jar with poisonous snakes and lost your life. When word spreads about this, others will say that God's law is clearly retributive. How can you blame me?" How can you use the word 'murder' when the blame is on me?"

Her eyes were calm, but her tone was a bit sarcastic.

"Are all the people in your palace's front office so unreasonable?"

Duan Xiaoyan was speechless.

To be fair, what Lu Zhuo said is correct. It was he who secretly followed Lu Chen and entered Renxin Medical Center in the dark, and saw her staying in front of the desk for a long time, which aroused his curiosity, and then he touched the porcelain jar with the snake in it.

But... this is a snake jar. Why did she stay in front of the table for so long and look at it very carefully? It makes people think.

Duan Xiaoyan's body trembled suddenly as if he thought of something.

He raised his head and looked at Lu Chen in disbelief.

"Did you deliberately lead me to touch the jar?"

If she hadn't stayed there on purpose and was secretive in front of the desk, why would he have gone up to flip the bamboo basket?

She simply lured him into the trap on purpose!

Lu Yan smiled faintly: "Young Master Duan wants to throw dirty water on others for no reason again?"

The young man was so angry that he suddenly sneered.

"The medical center and drug store, which saves and treats people, secretly store highly poisonous things. Even if you didn't lure me here on purpose, you must have evil intentions. Waiting for the day when you want to use this poisonous snake to bite someone!"

This kind of dangerous poison was just put in a jar so casually without even a note of reminder. It looked weird.

Lu Zhuo's movement of pounding the medicine was slightly stagnant. He looked at the wooden jar in front of him and sighed slightly, with a somewhat regretful expression.

"The nature of snakes is to move upwards, so it is best used as a medicine inducer. I bought the seven-step powder to use as a medicine inducer. It is very rare and hard to find. I paid two taels of silver just for the materials."

"I asked people to search for it for a long time, and finally found one, but you threw it to death for no reason. I spent a month of money in vain."

Duan Xiaoyan almost vomited blood when he heard this.

He was in danger, but she only cared about her two taels of silver. Did she care about human life?

Lu Yan glanced at him, his eyes slowly moved to the wound on the young man's arm, and he spoke consolingly.

"Young Master Duan, it's best not to get angry. Although you won't die in seven steps if you take a seven-step walk, you should avoid losing your energy and blood. Every time you get agitated and take an extra step, the snake's poison will spread deeper, so don't move around."

Duan Xiaoyan stiffened.

Isn't it because he is afraid of this thing that he is still sitting here without moving? Otherwise, with his skills, he would have already stepped forward to blackmail Lu Zhu and force her to hand over the antidote.

The young man looked at the person in front of him.

Lu Yan was sitting at the small kitchen table, holding the medicine jar in one hand and pounding the medicine hard with the medicine hammer in the other. The light-colored skirt looked like a budding flower under the light. The woman's eyebrows were beautiful and her hair was like clouds, as if she were in a toad palace. Chang'e, the moon soul leaves fragrance.

Pei Yunying's words before leaving came to mind again.

"That's a madman, stay away from her. Otherwise if something goes wrong, I won't be able to save you."

Is she really crazy?

If someone had said this to Duan Xiaoyan in the past, he would have scorned him, not believing that Lu Zhuo had evil intentions, and he would never believe that she could really kill someone.

But now he is not sure.

Lu Zhen has refused to provide him with an antidote until now, and seems to be happy to watch him die.

He regretted endlessly in his heart that he should not have ignored Pei Yunying's words and stayed away from Lu Zhuo, and should not have followed him alone in a hurry.

Duan Xiaoyan calmed down and decided to change his path.

He said: "Doctor Lu, in fact, you and I have no grievances. Why should we end up in a life-and-death situation? What happened today is my fault. Give me the antidote and let's discuss it carefully."

While he was talking, he raised his head and looked around. He went out in a hurry today and did not bring the fire letter with him. Pei Yunying must have returned to the Palace Commander's Mansion at this time, and he wondered if he would be found to have been restrained.

Just as he was thinking about it, he heard Lu Zhuo say: "Who are you waiting for? Are you waiting for your Lord Pei?"

Duan Xiaoyan was startled.

Lu Chen stopped his movements and looked at him with a pair of clear eyes, as if he had seen through everything in his heart.

"Young Master Duan, why don't we make a bet."

"What bet?"

"I bet on whether your Mr. Pei can find you?"

Duan Xiaoyan was stunned: "What?"

Lu Tong rubbed his sore wrist, "It's been half an hour since I was bitten. You still have half an hour."

"If Mr. Pei of yours can find this place in half an hour, maybe you can survive."

"Young Master Duan, do you want to bet?"

Duan Xiaoyan trembled all over.

When she said this, her tone was indifferent, and there was even a hint of a smile on her lips. Duan Xiaoyan suddenly had a strange illusion, treating human life as child's play, as if he had become a powerless lamb to be slaughtered, and she was The butcher, who holds the power of life and death, looks down mockingly at the struggle of his prey.

A strand of lanterns swirled down and shattered onto the table. In the small courtyard, there was frost and cold moon, and there were hundreds of cicadas everywhere.

In this deathly silence, someone's voice suddenly came.

"Then you might lose the bet."

Lu Zhuo raised his eyes.

The felt curtain was lifted in the distance, and a figure walked in from the courtyard. The young man's handsome outline became more and more distinct under the moonlight. As he approached, there seemed to be a very light blue musk scent coming towards him.

He stopped in front of the kitchen door. He was dressed in a rich and elegant deep red brocade suit with a pattern of pearls, and the silver knife around his waist shone with a cold light.

Pei Yunying glanced at Duan Xiaoyan who was lying on the ground and smiled suddenly.

"Doctor Lu."

He looked at Lu Yan indifferently and said, "I thought that the person who detained me should at least say hello to me first."