The floating lanterns drifted leisurely into the distance, like stars illuminating the night sky.

Lu Tong looked up at them until a lantern vendor beside her called out to her.

“Miss, do you like floating lanterns? Would you like to take one home?” The shopkeeper wrapped in a sheepskin coat smiled and bustled about, “We have all kinds of styles here, you can take your time choosing!”

Lu Tong came back to her senses and was about to refuse when someone beside her spoke first: “Sounds good.”

Lu Tong turned around and was met with a familiar figure.

Pei Yunying?

Today he wore a deep red brocade robe with paired eagle patterns in circular medallions, making his pine-like bearing and extraordinary appearance even more striking. Unlike when he wore his official robes with their sharp-edged authority, he now looked more like those noble young masters out for evening revelry, captivatingly handsome.

Lu Tong stepped back and said, “Lord Pei?”

The small stall displayed various kinds of floating lanterns. Pei Yunying casually picked up one, speaking in a playful tone: “I didn’t expect Dr. Lu would also come to view the lanterns. I thought you weren’t interested in such things.”

“Occasionally, but not as often as Lord Pei has leisure time,” Lu Tong replied neither warmly nor coldly.

Seeing Pei Yunying’s fine attire, the lantern seller smiled even more enthusiastically, and even changed how he addressed Lu Tong: “Miss, tonight is the Lantern Festival, our little stall is joining the festivities. Three arrows—if you can hit that—” he pointed across the way, “—we’ll give you a flower lantern for free!”

Lu Tong looked in the direction he pointed.

This small stall had originally set up a little colorful pavilion in the marketplace, with all kinds of flower lanterns hanging inside and outside the pavilion from top to bottom. On the wall inside the colorful pavilion hung a piece of red cloth with black characters—a large, rounded character for “Fortune” written on it. Beside her hand sat a gleaming black horn bow, with arrow feathers adorned with large clusters of red silk ribbons that looked festive and joyful at first glance.

“For good luck!”

The shopkeeper looked toward Pei Yunying again: “The miss likes lanterns, and this young master clearly has extraordinary archery skills—help the miss win one!”

Pei Yunying raised an eyebrow and was about to take the longbow from the man’s hands when suddenly his hand was empty—Lu Tong had snatched the longbow from him.

“I’ll do it myself,” she said.

Pei Yunying paused.

Because of their outstanding appearances, their pause here had already attracted quite a bit of attention. Everyone had expected Pei Yunying to help Lu Tong shoot arrows to win a lantern, but unexpectedly Lu Tong took the bow and arrows to do it herself. For a moment, many people stopped to watch Lu Tong’s movements.

Lu Tong raised the bow and arrow.

The horn bow was very heavy and large. When held by a slender woman, it created a strange sense of incongruity that made people worry whether her delicate arms might be crushed by the bow.

Her posture holding the bow looked somewhat strained, and her arrow-nocking technique wasn’t particularly skilled either. After watching for a moment, Pei Yunying stepped forward and grasped her arm: “Don’t shake.”

Lu Tong was startled.

A crisp, clear scent drifted down from above. He maintained an excellent sense of propriety in his distance, his movements neither too light nor too heavy, only providing virtual support from behind as he helped adjust her arrow-holding posture.

Lu Tong looked up and could see his handsome jawline. His arms reached around from behind, encircling her shoulders like an embrace that was both intimate and distant.

It was still too intimate.

Lu Tong frowned slightly and loosened her grip on the bow and arrow.

“Whoosh—”

The arrow shot from the string and sped away, striking the edge of the “Fortune” character at an angle, with the silk ribbons falling to the side.

Regretful voices rose from the surrounding crowd: “Oh no, she missed!”

“Still not good enough.”

Pei Yunying’s gaze shifted, looking at Lu Tong with some surprise.

Lu Tong looked at the arrow that had gone astray, a flash of disappointment crossing her eyes.

She hadn’t hit it.

Actually, this wasn’t her first time drawing a bow.

Years ago on Falling Plum Peak, when Yunniang needed corpses for her medicine, Lu Tong occasionally had to visit the chaotic burial grounds. Once there, she had seen a corpse torn apart by wolves—probably a hunter who had gone into the mountains to hunt and been trapped by snow. The body had been eaten hollow, with animal traps scattered around and a cracked bow and arrows nearby.

Lu Tong buried the corpse and brought the bow and arrows back, rewrapping them with thread, thinking she could use the bow and arrows to hunt foxes and rabbits to store as dried provisions. However, she never hit anything once—the mountain animals ran too fast, and her archery skills weren’t nearly advanced enough.

But practicing with the bow and arrows every few days had given her some feel for it. Later, the bow and arrows still broke after a few years, and no amount of thread could help. Lu Tong put the bow and arrows away, and when Yunniang was buried, they were buried together on Falling Plum Peak.

After several years, drawing a bow again, her hand was inevitably rusty.

Some men in the surrounding crowd began to jeer: “Little lady, don’t waste arrows, quickly hand over the bow and arrows and let your lover win one for you!”

“Exactly, exactly!”

Pei Yunying’s expression paused slightly as he cast a cold glance at the jeering people.

But Lu Tong paid no attention and raised her hand to take the second arrow.

This time her bow-holding posture was much more skilled than the first time, looking much less awkward. Pei Yunying stepped back slightly, no longer grasping her arm to guide her as before. Lu Tong stared intently at the distant “Fortune” character and released her grip again.

“Whoosh—”

The arrow flew out.

“Just a little off!” Someone beside her slapped their thigh in frustration, as disappointed as if they themselves had missed the shot. “It got close to the character, what a pity!”

Lu Tong’s expression remained calm.

The lantern seller cheerfully picked up the third arrow and handed it to Lu Tong: “Miss, don’t be discouraged, it’s fine, we still have one arrow. This time make sure to aim carefully before shooting!”

Pei Yunying leaned against a pillar with his arms crossed, watching Lu Tong nock this final arrow to the longbow with an amused expression.

The surroundings gradually became quiet, with the watching crowd unable to help holding their breath.

At first, seeing this woman’s delicate and frail appearance, they thought she couldn’t even lift the bow and arrows, but who knew that after two consecutive shots, both were beyond people’s expectations.

Lu Tong nocked the arrow. The “Fortune” character in the pavilion ahead was bright red and festive, creating a kind of blurred liveliness among the colorful lantern lights around it.

She focused intently on that patch of liveliness and suddenly drew the bow—

The arrow adorned with red tassels flew like a red magpie with an extended tail, joyfully rushing toward its destination.

It hit the bull’s eye with perfect accuracy!

The surrounding crowd immediately erupted in cheers!

Even the lantern seller looked at this seemingly delicate young lady with new respect: “Miss, excellent archery!”

Lu Tong put down the bow and arrows in her hands. Pei Yunying walked to her side, tilted his head to look at her, and said, “Such strength, how did you practice that?”

That horn bow was not light, and even ordinary men needed to exert some effort to draw it. The reason there had been so many spectators earlier and so many cheering now was precisely because Lu Tong looked far too frail—no one would believe she could pull it.

But she had managed to pull it.

“Practiced by killing people and burying corpses,” Lu Tong answered with complete seriousness.

Pei Yunying: “…”

He looked Lu Tong over and didn’t mind her nonsensical answer, only asking: “You hit it in three tries, you knew how before?”

To say that Lu Tong was some kind of archery genius who could master it at first sight would indeed be rather far-fetched.

Lu Tong turned to look at him and smiled slightly: “I never said I couldn’t.”

“…”

He was rarely at a loss for words.

For some reason, seeing Pei Yunying’s frustrated expression, Lu Tong’s mood inexplicably improved somewhat.

One could say this person was arrogant and looked down on others, thinking she couldn’t draw the bow, and insisted on being a good teacher to “guide” her. But he should know that while she wasn’t some divine archer who could hit a target a hundred paces away, she could still manage ordinary bow-drawing and arrow-shooting. After all, the Fortune character was just hanging on the wall—it wasn’t like the mountain prey that could run and jump.

Hunting dead objects was much simpler than live ones.

“Miss hit the Fortune character, come pick a lantern!” The vendor’s voice beside her interrupted Lu Tong’s thoughts, and she looked up ahead.

The small stall pavilion was hung inside and outside with all kinds of flower lanterns—silk ones, dragon and phoenix ones, peony ones, white rabbit ones… They were exceptionally eye-catching in the night. The sight was dazzling.

Lu Tong’s gaze settled on one spot, then she took the bamboo pole from the shopkeeper’s hand and reached toward the cluster of lanterns hanging above.

The shopkeeper looked and smiled: “Miss has good taste, there’s only one butterfly lantern left, just right to take home!”

The butterfly lantern hanging high up was made in the shape of a pink butterfly, covered with a layer of thin gauze with gold powder painted designs that made it particularly eye-catching.

Lu Tong’s bamboo pole lightly passed over the butterfly wings, but hooked down the lantern beside it instead.

The vendor was stunned.

Pei Yunying raised his eyebrows slightly.

After a long moment, the shopkeeper looked at Lu Tong uncertainly: “Miss, did you pick the wrong one?”

Lu Tong took down the toad lantern hooked on the end of the bamboo pole and held it in her hand, saying: “I didn’t pick wrong, I just like toads.”

The toad lantern in her hand was entirely yellow-green, and because it was made so realistically and large, even the wrinkles on the toad’s skin were visible in minute detail, making it look completely mismatched with a beauty.

But the beauty didn’t mind and seemed particularly satisfied with the “ugly toad” in her hands.

The vendor looked at Lu Tong with an indescribable expression, holding back for a long time before managing to say: “Miss has unique taste, truly different from ordinary people.”

Lu Tong held the lantern and nodded to the shopkeeper, about to leave. But the shopkeeper stretched out his hand to block Lu Tong’s path, saying: “Miss, you haven’t paid yet!”

Lu Tong was stunned and frowned, asking: “Didn’t you say that hitting the Fortune character would get a free lantern?”

“Yes! The lantern is free, but shooting arrows costs money!” The shopkeeper pointed into the pavilion.

Lu Tong looked in the direction he pointed.

On the large red arrow quiver where the arrows were placed in the lantern pavilion, there was indeed a line of small text, no bigger than ants, written in light pink colored ink: “One arrow thirty wen—”

Lu Tong was momentarily speechless.

The characters were written so inconspicuously that only a ghost could see them clearly.

Someone beside her seemed to let out a soft laugh. Lu Tong turned her head and saw Pei Yunying turn his face away, his shoulders slightly shaking.

Was he laughing at her for being tricked and taken advantage of?

Lu Tong felt extremely frustrated.

When she had gone out, all the silver money was with Yin Zheng. She herself hadn’t planned to buy anything, so who knew she would stumble here.

The paper-made ugly toad in her hands suddenly became as heavy as a thousand pounds. Facing the shopkeeper’s still enthusiastic and earnest expression, Lu Tong stiffened for a moment, then shoved the flower lantern into the person opposite her: “I don’t want it anymore.”

“Eh?”

The vendor was about to speak when another hand reached out, placing a piece of broken silver on the wooden table of the lantern pavilion. Pei Yunying smiled and said: “Give it to me.”

This silver was far more than the price of one lantern. The vendor immediately smiled until his eyes narrowed: “Wonderful! Young master and miss, take your lantern. Light our family’s lantern and you’ll have good fortune and great luck in the coming year!”

Lu Tong: “…”

Having received the silver, the shopkeeper turned to attend to other customers. Lu Tong stood in front of the lantern pavilion, unable to leave or stay, staring at the toad lantern in Pei Yunying’s hands, feeling that this brief stop at the lantern pavilion tonight had been very inappropriate.

Pei Yunying looked at her unpleasant expression and found it somewhat amusing: “Dr. Lu is intelligent beyond compare, how is it that you always get deceived in these matters?”

Last time at the Luyuan Pawn Shop on Qinghe Street was the same—a hairpin of poor quality had easily been used to extort her.

Lu Tong only felt that this person’s barely suppressed laughter was extremely irritating, and left behind a sentence: “It’s because the people of Shengjing are too good at business.”

Then she turned and walked away.

Clearly saying the lantern was free, who knew shooting arrows would cost money, and writing the characters so small—it was obviously a trick to deceive people. Indeed, the old saying was true: greed for small advantages leads to big losses. When the people of Shengjing did business, each one was more cunning than the last.

A soft laugh came from behind, and Pei Yunying caught up in a few steps, stuffing the toad lantern into her hands.

Lu Tong frowned: “The Marshal paid silver for this lantern, why give it to me?”

“With the spring examinations approaching, I dare not take an omen of ‘plucking osmanthus in the moon palace,'” he said leisurely.

Plucking osmanthus in the moon palace? Spring examinations?

Lu Tong’s heart stirred.

The toad lantern indeed had the auspicious meaning of “plucking osmanthus in the moon palace.” Pei Yunying thought she had chosen the toad lantern because of the approaching spring examinations, and Lu Tong didn’t correct his misunderstanding.

The toad lantern in her hands emitted a dim green light in the night. Lu Tong was silent for a moment, then spoke: “When I see Yin Zheng later, I’ll return the lantern money to the Marshal.”

“No need to be so formal, consider it an advance congratulatory gift for your spring examinations.”

A congratulatory gift?

Pei Yunying’s tone was so natural that Lu Tong couldn’t help looking up at him.

The street market was bright as day with flower lanterns, with lantern light everywhere. Pei Yunying walked forward unhurriedly with the crowd, as if his words had just been casually spoken and he hadn’t taken them to heart.

But Lu Tong couldn’t help thinking deeply.

That day on New Year’s Eve, when they had shown their cards in the medical hall under the fireworks, Pei Yunying already knew the purpose of her coming to the capital. Perhaps it was momentary compassion, or perhaps he had other motives. But one thing Lu Tong was very clear about—the people she had to deal with were from the Grand Tutor’s Manor, or even people of higher status.

Pei Yunying might pity her, but would absolutely not help her in this matter.

So why was he doing this?

Because of pity?

The tiny bit of useless sympathy bestowed by those in high positions was like people pausing when they saw pitiful stray cats and dogs on the roadside. People would give stray cats and dogs food, but wouldn’t care what the stray cat was thinking. Therefore, this pause wouldn’t make one feel comforted, but would only make one more disgusted by this unequal, condescending charity.

“Lord Pei,” she suddenly said.

“What?”

“You should pay more attention to your behavior in the future. If you always act this way, you’ll make me misunderstand.”

He was somewhat puzzled: “Misunderstand what?”

“Misunderstand that you want to help me.”

Pei Yunying was stunned.

He stopped walking and looked down to meet Lu Tong’s calm gaze.

Her words were suggestive, gentle, even somewhat ingratiating.

However, her eyes were full of mockery.

As if she deliberately wanted to puncture the harmonious facade, forcing both of them to directly face each other’s hypocrisy and the distance between them.

The flower lanterns extending along both streets cast colorful light and shadows on the ground from above. He stood in the brilliant light—a talented, intelligent, outstanding heir of a noble family, while she stood in the shadows—a scheming, sword-bearing commoner of humble birth.

Light and shadow, clouds and mud, nobles and commoners.

He was someone destined for higher places, while she was determined to drag those in high places down and trample them in the mud.

People going in opposite directions were never on the same path and were destined never to become friends.

Wind blew from the riverbank, bringing the cold of the clear night. Perhaps they had lingered here too long and attracted the attention of surrounding vendors.

Several little girls in red clothes with double buns pushed a bamboo frame through the crowd, with small plum-red gold-inlaid lantern balls hanging from the front and back of the bamboo frame. The little girls beat drums while calling out their wares: “Bodhi leaves, bees, snow willows, golden moths—”

Lu Tong came back to her senses.

This was a mobile cart selling women’s hair ornaments.

There were often sellers of such ornaments in Shengjing’s lantern markets—white silk plum blossoms, butterflies cut from black gold paper, snow willows made of paper, bodhi leaves and such. Whether noble or common, on such festive days, women always wanted to dress up beautifully and charmingly.

A red-clothed little girl pushed the cart to Lu Tong’s side, looked up at her and smiled sweetly: “Sister, buy a moth!”

Those moths cut from black gold paper trembled on the bamboo frame piled with fresh flowers. Among the golden branches and leaves, purple and bright colors fluttered, particularly eye-catching.

Lu Tong shook her head and declined.

The little girl was somewhat disappointed and pushed the bamboo frame away.

Pei Yunying looked down at the person beside him.

Lu Tong held her lantern, silently passing by those clusters of flowers and continuing forward. Perhaps because it was the Lantern Festival today, her hair was styled more elaborately than usual. Those fine braids fell to her shoulders along with her long hair, with fluffy white flowers adorning them, making the woman’s skin appear crystalline as jade. The toad lantern in her hands emitted a blue-green ethereal light, like the maidens in ancient temple wall paintings.

Beautiful but lonely.

Pei Yunying’s gaze lingered for a moment on the snow-white fluffy flowers atop her head, then suddenly spoke: “It’s the New Year, wearing white is unlucky.”

Avoiding the previous topic of conversation.

Lu Tong looked at him strangely, not understanding why he suddenly said this.

Pei Yunying said calmly: “I thought you would wear those golden butterflies.”

She understood.

So it was about this.

Those golden butterflies were still lying in the box in the medical hall drawer. Since New Year’s Eve, Lu Tong hadn’t even opened it once. She had no interest in dressing up and doing her hair anyway, let alone with something Pei Yunying had given her.

Lu Tong nodded: “Thank you for the Marshal’s kind intention, but gold ornaments don’t suit me. I’ll have someone return the items to the Marshal later.”

Some things couldn’t be accepted. There was no such thing as a free lunch in this world—the vendor selling toad lanterns had already taught her this lesson.

“No need,” he turned his face, “there’s no reason to take back gifts that have been given.”

Lu Tong was very insistent: “I’m not used to receiving gifts from people,” she paused, then added, “it’s like owing a debt.”

“Then consider it a debt,” the young man smiled, “I am your creditor.”

Lu Tong was choked up.

This person seemed completely oblivious to her deliberate distance and wariness, remaining casually friendly as always. From others’ perspectives, they might think this Marshal of the Palace Command was excessively good-tempered.

Lu Tong thought for a while and decided to let it go. Anyway, in a while, Pei Yunshu’s people would also come to the door to get Bao Zhu’s medicine. They were siblings—if Pei Yunying wouldn’t take it, she could just send it directly to Pei Yunshu’s hands.

Borrowing money for business, selling fields to pay debts. Since the people of Shengjing were so good at business, it was better not to owe favors.

Especially to Pei Yunying.