East of Pan Tower Street, the Qiqiao Market bustled with activity.

Carriages and horses filled the marketplace, silk and brocade lined the streets. Along the roadway stood colorful tents selling Qiqiao items, with well-dressed children buying newly bloomed lotus flowers to wear in their hair, while fake grinding boys hurried past on the street.

As soon as Lu Tong’s group alighted from their carriage, they were dazzled by the lively scene before them.

“So bustling! This rivals even the Lantern Festival!” Duan Xiaoyan exclaimed.

Lu Tong raised her eyes to gaze into the distance.

Night was gradually deepening, with lantern colors and flower lights filling the entire road. In the distance, music thundered from the Qiqiao Tower, mingled with the clear laughter and chatter of women, all the way illuminated by brilliant lanterns and bright moon. There were also theater stages with various entertainments and acrobatics – rope walking, spinning tricks, somersaults, cuju ball games… creating a dizzying spectacle.

Pei Yunshu instructed: “There are too many people, be careful not to get separated.”

As soon as she finished speaking, Lu Tong felt herself being gently pushed inward. Pei Yunying walked on the outside, lowering his head to remind her: “Watch your step.”

Last year’s Qixi Festival, Lu Tong had been working at the clinic on West Street. The Renxin Medical Hall wasn’t as lively then as it was now, and she had been busy preparing medicinal teas, never having gone out to walk around. Only now did she discover that the capital’s Qixi Festival was no less spectacular than the Lantern Festival.

Young men and women, or young couples, all came out in full force. The streets were filled with carriages, horses, and fragrant breezes, with bright lights illuminating even the clear night sky in brilliant splendor.

Lu Tong walked on the inside, beside Pei Yunshu, when she saw a crowd gathered ahead. Pei Yunshu smiled and said: “That’s the Fragrant Bridge Assembly.”

“Fragrant Bridge Assembly?”

Lu Tong was puzzled.

In the center of the crowd stood a bridge as tall as a person, which at first glance appeared to be made of paper. The bridge railings were decorated with many silk-embroidered flowers and plants in rich, vivid colors. A woman stood directly in front of the bridge head, holding a candlestick and speaking to the crowd.

“That’s a bridge made of incense sticks, representing the Magpie Bridge,” came Pei Yunshu’s explanation beside her ear. “People place woven flowers on the fragrant bridge, and after nightfall, they worship the Twin Stars and burn the bridge, symbolizing the Cowherd and Weaver Girl ‘crossing the Magpie Bridge,’ so that lovers will have smooth sailing in the future and grow old together.”

She asked Lu Tong: “Miss Lu, do you have someone you fancy? Would you like to place a flower too?”

Lu Tong politely declined.

“I’ll do it, I’ll do it! I’m interested!” Duan Xiaoyan said, then excitedly pushed into the crowd, paid some copper coins, and carefully pinned a flower on the bridge beam, then devoutly bowed three times.

When he returned, he encountered everyone’s various expressions and added: “…I placed it for Zhizi. May she not entrust herself to the wrong dog next time.”

Hearing this, Pei Yunshu was startled, and Xiao Zhufeng, who had been silently walking behind, glanced at her.

Fang Zi coughed lightly and pointed to a distant tower hung with colorful lanterns: “The Qiqiao Tower ahead has maiden festival skill competitions. Let’s go watch the excitement too.”

So everyone continued forward.

When they reached the front of the Qiqiao market, the crowds grew even denser. At the very front stood a small building constructed in pavilion style, with each floor bustling with activity. The bottom floor had a table set up, with copper bowls on top containing pastries, dates, hazelnuts, peanuts and other fruits and treats. Several women wearing square scarves were organizing the visitors.

Below the platform hung several wooden signs reading: “Happy Spider Divination,” “Threading Needle Cleverness Seeking,” “Night of Cleverness Competition,” “Threading Needles by Moonlight,” “Needle Threading Skill Verification,” and so forth.

Duan Xiaoyan looked confused: “What is this?”

“This is Qixi’s ‘divination’ for cleverness.”

The woman at the front table explained: “On Qixi, maidens seek cleverness and use ‘divination’ methods to judge whether a girl is skillful or clumsy. If you win, Weaver Girl will send a gift and bless the maiden to become dexterous and skilled in needlework from then on.”

The woman looked at Lu Tong and Pei Yunshu, the two at the front of the group, and seeing their graceful beauty, her smile became even more enthusiastic: “Oh my, such beautiful maidens! At first glance, you’re clever and dexterous. Why not try ‘divination’ once? Threading needle cleverness-seeking is the simplest – just five copper coins. If you win first place, we’ll give you a ‘grain board.'”

Lu Tong looked at the grain board displayed in front of the table.

On a small wooden board, soil had been spread and millet planted. The millet seedlings had grown somewhat, with wooden houses and villages placed on top, and carved wooden figures of old men, children, and yellow dogs standing in the “fields” – very delicate and charming.

Pei Yunshu also took a fancy to the grain board.

“Taking this back, Bao Zhu would definitely love it,” she said with a smile, asking Fang Zi to hand over money. “Let me try.”

The woman took Pei Yunshu’s copper coins and immediately retrieved a roll of five-colored silk thread from a nearby basket, handing it to her along with a seven-holed needle.

“Miss, please stand here.”

The woman led Pei Yunshu to an empty platform under the first floor of the pavilion, where seven or eight other young maidens were already standing. Pei Yunshu hadn’t joined such lively gatherings with people for a long time, looking somewhat uncomfortable. Fang Zi quickly stepped forward to stand protectively beside her.

“On the seventh day of the seventh month, thread seven-holed needles. When the copper gong sounds, you’ll begin threading needles and tying threads. Whoever threads fastest will gain the most cleverness.”

The woman’s voice carried from the platform.

“The fastest will be named the Marquis of Cleverness! Most impressive!”

With that, the copper gong sounded and everyone began threading needles.

Pei Yunshu had felt somewhat uncomfortable earlier, but seeing the other maidens beside her all sitting down to thread needles by moonlight, she also picked up silk thread and began threading carefully. Once immersed in the activity, she forgot her embarrassment. Around them rose the sounds of the crowd cheering and creating excitement – exceptionally lively.

Lu Tong watched intently.

Changwu County was small, and the Double Seventh Festival wasn’t as lively as in the capital. When she was in Sunan, she had seen even less, so this was her first time witnessing “cleverness divination.”

Beside her ear came Duan Xiaoyan’s noisy cheering, which Xiao Zhufeng frowned and interrupted: “Quiet down, don’t disturb them.”

On the platform, seven or eight maidens all bent their heads, concentrating on threading. The colored lamp shadows from the Qiqiao Tower fell on them, making them appear particularly ethereal.

Pei Yunshu threaded seriously.

Before her marriage, she hadn’t done much needlework. After arriving at Prince Wen’s mansion, she hadn’t managed household affairs, let alone touched needle and thread. It was only after Bao Zhu’s birth that she occasionally made small clothes for her, but her needlework skills really couldn’t be called good.

But today, perhaps due to the lively atmosphere, or perhaps because she was surrounded by such young maidens full of enthusiasm and hope, she felt a long-lost joy arise, as if she too had returned to her unmarried days, forgetting status and troubles on this birthday, indulging in carefree play.

“Dong—”

The copper gong sounded – time was up.

Pei Yunshu was the last to finish threading the seven-holed needle.

She felt somewhat embarrassed: “I was too slow…”

Compared to these dexterous maidens, she really couldn’t be called skillful, even somewhat clumsy – after all, she rarely did needlework.

The woman comforted her: “Losing once in cleverness divination doesn’t matter – there are other competitions.” Her gaze then fell on Lu Tong beside Pei Yunshu. “This beautiful maiden here, why not give it a try too?”

“Me?” Lu Tong was puzzled.

Pei Yunshu looked at her: “Yes, I said I was accompanying you young people, but instead I went and played a round. Miss Lu, why don’t you try too?”

Duan Xiaoyan immediately agreed: “Great! Doctor Lu will definitely win first place.”

Lu Tong declined: “I’m not skilled with needles and thread.”

“How is that possible?” Duan Xiaoyan said. “Sister Pei rarely touches needles and thread, but Doctor Lu handles needles daily. Others sew fabric, Doctor Lu sews wounds. Wounds require much higher standards than fabric.”

“Doctor Lu’s wound suturing must be beautiful, not like the scar on Brother Yunying’s back – don’t know which quack doctor sewed it, their technique so terrible even I could do better. Right, Brother Yunying?”

Lu Tong: “…”

She unconsciously looked at Pei Yunying.

Pei Yunying looked at her with a half-smile.

Thinking of her own “masterpiece” left on Pei Yunying’s back, Lu Tong felt somewhat guilty.

Pei Yunshu also smiled and persuaded: “Consider it just for fun. Winning or losing doesn’t matter – as long as Miss Lu enjoys herself.”

Seeing the situation, Fang Zi produced copper coins and handed them over. The woman’s face brightened with joy as she hurriedly led Lu Tong forward. “Miss, at first glance you have a clever heart and orchid nature – you’ll surely win the Marquis of Cleverness!”

Lu Tong stood still and looked back at the wooden board standing in front of the platform.

“How do I compete in this?” she asked.

The wooden sign she pointed to read: “Happy Spider Divination.”

“That’s Happy Spider Divination,” the woman explained upon seeing it. “Early this morning, we caught small spiders and put them in boxes. Later, miss can choose a box, open it together with others, and whoever has the most spider webs will be the Marquis of Cleverness. Whoever has fewer webs has less cleverness.”

She lowered her voice: “Fewer people compete in cleverness divination – it’s all about luck. Would miss like to try your luck too?”

Lu Tong pondered.

This sounded no different from gambling.

If Yin Zheng were here, perhaps she could achieve great victory in this competition. Yin Zheng was good at gambling – last time at the Pleasure House, she had made Wan Quan lose everything.

But she knew nothing about gambling.

She said: “I choose this one.”

She still selected the “Happy Spider Divination” competition.

The woman was slightly surprised, then smiled: “Very well, miss, please come to the front of the platform.”

On the other side, seeing that she hadn’t chosen threading seven-holed needles, Duan Xiaoyan was puzzled.

“Doctor Lu actually chose Happy Spider,” he scratched his head. “I didn’t expect her to like gambling so much. Brother Zhufeng,” the youth nudged Xiao Zhufeng’s arm, “do you think she can win?”

Xiao Zhufeng replied with his cold three words:

“Don’t know.”

Lu Tong followed the woman to the front of the platform.

Five or six young maidens were already seated in front of the platform, huddled together discussing in low voices. Before the table sat a large wooden basket densely packed with dozens of palm-sized, jet-black small wooden boxes.

The “Happy Spiders” were contained in these small wooden boxes.

The maidens looked at the boxes in the wooden basket, hesitating over which to choose.

Lu Tong, however, directly picked up one.

Her casual manner surprised the other maidens, and the next moment, Lu Tong directly opened the box.

“Eh?” Duan Xiaoyan was surprised. “Why is she so direct?”

Without any thought or hesitation, she acted as if picking vegetables at the market, showing not the slightest respect for “cleverness divination.”

Several maidens and the woman were also stunned.

Lu Tong opened the box, looked inside, then frowned and let out a surprised exclamation.

The maidens grew more curious, craning their necks to look.

“It’s a Silver Dream Spider…” She looked down at the contents of the box, her tone somewhat strange.

The maiden closest to her timidly spoke up: “Um, what is a Silver Dream Spider…”

Lu Tong looked at her.

“It’s a type of spider.”

She stood there, explaining in a calm tone: “This spider has mild toxicity. Though not life-threatening, when spider silk brushes human skin, it easily causes allergic reactions, especially on the face. Once it touches the face, red rashes need seven or eight days to disappear.”

Upon hearing this, the surrounding maidens immediately touched their faces and unconsciously moved away from the wooden basket.

Lu Tong closed the lid.

“Perhaps the spider catcher didn’t notice earlier and put Silver Dream Spiders together with ordinary spiders in the boxes. But with these boxes all mixed together, there’s no way to know which boxes contain Silver Dream Spiders without opening them.”

The maidens moved even further from the wooden basket.

Allergic reactions might not be fatal, but they affected the face. Who wanted to suddenly develop facial rashes? Young ladies loved beauty and certainly didn’t want their cleverness divination to result in disfigurement.

“Is what you’re saying true?” a maiden asked skeptically. “Are they really poisonous spiders?”

Lu Tong nodded, her expression serious: “Of course. I work at the Hanlin Medical Academy.”

Working at the Hanlin Medical Academy meant she was a Hanlin Medical Official!

Recalling how the youth beside Lu Tong had repeatedly addressed her as “Doctor Lu,” everyone immediately showed respect and no longer doubted her. They also stopped lingering around “Happy Spider Divination” and asked the woman to switch them to needle threading instead.

In an instant, only Lu Tong remained on the platform.

She calmly walked to the woman and placed the wooden box in her hands in front of her.

“The competition is finished.”

Woman: “…”

Finished indeed – everyone else had run away, leaving only her. Whether sparse or dense, what did it matter? With only one person competing for Marquis of Cleverness, there was no competition left!

The woman smiled dryly: “Yes, miss has won.”

Lu Tong picked up the “grain board” that had been placed in front of the platform as the prize.

“I can take this, right?”

The woman nodded, then pulled her aside and asked hesitantly: “Miss, was there really some silver spider in that box?”

She had heard people calling her “Doctor” earlier.

A doctor’s words couldn’t be doubted. If the spiders were poisonous, they needed to be removed quickly.

Lu Tong glanced at the wooden basket on the platform and smiled slightly: “The lamp light is dim, I couldn’t see clearly. It seemed like it but also didn’t – perhaps I was mistaken.”

When she returned to Pei Yunshu’s side, Duan Xiaoyan and the others were unusually quiet, looking at her with indescribable expressions.

Lu Tong handed the grain board to Pei Yunshu: “This is for Bao Zhu.”

Pei Yunshu looked at the grain board in her arms, then at Lu Tong, her expression quite complex.

Duan Xiaoyan spoke first: “Doctor Lu, this is the first time I’ve learned that gambling can be played this way.”

Everyone had thought Lu Tong chose “Happy Spider Divination” and so decisively lifted the box lid because she was confident and had some strategy. They didn’t expect she hadn’t intended to gamble at all – she directly overturned the whole setup.

“Impressive!” Duan Xiaoyan was greatly moved, though whether this was praise or criticism was unclear. “As long as no one competes with me, I’m first!”

Silence fell around them.

Pei Yunying turned his head, his shoulders slightly shaking.

Lu Tong had to explain.

“My needlework isn’t good, so threading needles wouldn’t guarantee first place. Better to try something else. This way I could win.”

“No need to be modest,” Pei Yunying raised an eyebrow. “Clever victory for the wise, foolish defeat for the unwise. Doctor Lu is still so good at strategic wins.”

“The gentleman competes through skill and convinces through ability; the petty person competes through cunning schemes for profit,” Lu Tong answered frankly. “After all, I am a ‘petty person.'”

Her tone was very serious. Pei Yunying laughed and looked down at her: “Doctor Lu is pretending to be a villain again?”

Lu Tong corrected: “Not a villain, a ‘petty person.'”

As the two engaged in verbal sparring, Pei Yunshu shook her head and laughed.

“Thank you, Miss Lu,” Pei Yunshu grasped Lu Tong’s hand. “I received your thoughtfulness. Bao Zhu will definitely love it. I’ll treasure it carefully when we return. Cleverness competition is all about the word ‘clever’ – your method shows more cleverness than threading needles.” She couldn’t help but be amused.

Lu Tong usually appeared calm and composed, lacking some of the liveliness a young maiden of her age should have. But tonight’s episode allowed Pei Yunshu to glimpse the vivacity beneath this girl’s cool exterior.

A mischievous girl with cunning thoughts.

As they spoke, Duan Xiaoyan began muttering beside them: “So lively, watching makes my heart race.”

The youth rubbed his hands together excitedly, about to charge forward: “I want to try too—”

“Wait, wait, wait—”

The woman at the table quickly stopped him, looking him up and down: “Young master, these are all for maidens seeking cleverness. We’ve never had men participate.”

“What’s wrong with men? Why the discrimination?” Duan Xiaoyan argued righteously. “My daughter can’t come out conveniently, so I can’t represent her?”

The woman forced a smile: “These are all for maidens. You, a man, mixing in – wouldn’t that be unreasonable?” She glanced at the others behind Duan Xiaoyan and pondered: “If young master is truly interested, needle threading and happy spider competitions are impossible, moon worship and needle casting are also for women only. But the Night of Cleverness Competition could be tried.”

Duan Xiaoyan humbly asked: “What is the Night of Cleverness Competition?”

“See the upper floors?” The woman pointed to the Qiqiao pavilion.

From the building adorned with colorful lanterns, the sound of flutes gradually drifted down.

“Young men and women, lovers, can go upstairs for the Night of Cleverness Competition.”

The woman explained in detail: “Upstairs, five-colored silk threads are interwoven and bound together, with various cleverness-seeking objects carved from water chestnuts and lotus roots hidden in the hall. When the time comes, lights are extinguished for searching. Those who can find objects win prizes.”

“However, since the Night of Cleverness Competition involves searching in darkness, even with guards in the building, there are inevitably those who take advantage of the chaos. Therefore, those who can enter for the cleverness competition are all young married couples or lovers. In the darkness where nothing can be seen, two people join hands to help each other, which both deepens their affection and allows them to work together through difficulties in the future.”

The woman seemed to love matchmaking, or enjoyed watching young people in love. Speaking of this, she looked yearning and turned to Duan Xiaoyan.

“If young master wants to try, just bring your sweetheart along. You two go in together and won’t be stopped. You just mentioned having a daughter – is your wife here today? Which one is she?”

Duan Xiaoyan: “…”

Pei Yunshu fell silent, Lu Tong remained expressionless, and even Fang Zi disgustedly stepped back.

Seeing this scene, the woman understood and smiled: “Young master might wait a bit. Coming again next year for Qiqiao would be the same. Every year brings the Double Seventh, every year the festival – there will always be a time when young master can compete in cleverness.”

Duan Xiaoyan felt the truth of this but was helpless that no one could accompany him, only watching pitifully as the woman was about to leave.

Pei Yunshu glanced at Pei Yunying and suddenly spoke: “How much does the Night of Cleverness Competition cost?”

At these words, everyone paused. Xiao Zhufeng looked at Pei Yunshu in surprise, his eyes full of disbelief.

The woman quickly said: “The Night of Cleverness Competition is for two people, so naturally it’s not cheap – twenty copper coins per round.”

Pei Yunshu had Fang Zi hand over the copper coins.

Pei Yunying was startled: “Sister?”

Lu Tong was also surprised.

This sounded utterly joyless – just a game of searching for objects in darkness. Why was Pei Yunshu so interested?

The next moment, Pei Yunshu extended her hand and firmly pushed both Pei Yunying and Lu Tong forward.

“You two go play,” she stood behind them, smiling as she looked at the pair, her tone so light it seemed deliberately casual. “Today is a festival for young people after all. I wanted to experience it, but my status isn’t suitable. You two are more convenient.”

“A-Ying, Miss Lu, after you come out, tell me about it – I’ll feel as if I went in too.”

Lu Tong: “Wait…”

“I already paid the money.”

In the crowd, Pei Yunshu winked at her. “It’s not cheap – can’t let it go to waste.”

Wishing everyone a happy 520!