A sleepless night.

The next morning, just as the rooster crowed, the Imperial Medical Academy became lively.

Chang Jin got up and dressed before dawn, going early to the kitchen to brew a large pot of medicinal water. It was all herbs for strengthening righteousness and dispelling evil—peach leaves, windbreak root and the like. When they were boiled to emit a bitter fragrance, he called the medical officials staying in the academy to come with their silver basins to fetch some—bathing hands with herbal soup on the morning of ceremonial days had always been a custom.

When Lu Tong went to fetch the medicinal soup, she also got a basin for Lin Danqing.

Upon returning to her room and setting the copper basin of medicinal soup on the table, someone emerged from behind the screen.

Lin Danqing wore a light blue robe and skirt, her long hair bound high with a matching colored hair ribbon. A dark belt was cinched tightly at her waist, and the robe’s hem fell loosely, revealing black boots as she walked. The medical official’s robe should have been scholarly and reserved, but on her it appeared as elegant and romantic as an ink painting.

She extended her hand and spun around in front of Lu Tong, asking: “How do I look?”

Lu Tong: “Very beautiful.”

She became proud: “Naturally. You’re not bad either.”

Today was the Tianzhang Platform ceremony. Lu Tong had returned to the Imperial Medical Academy the previous night to depart with everyone in the morning.

The Tianzhang Platform ceremony was grand and lively, destined to keep everyone busy for an entire day. During the day there would be red boat competitions at Changle Pool, His Majesty would ascend the tower to watch water plays and bestow banquets on his ministers, and after the ceremony, there would be Nuo rituals at night. Most medical officials in the Imperial Medical Academy, especially newly appointed ones who rarely had the chance to behold the imperial countenance, had been excited for quite some time.

Just as they reached the door, they saw Chang Jin waiting outside with a group of medical officials. Seeing Lu Tong and the other, Chang Jin urged: “We were just waiting for you two. Hurry and get in the carriage.”

The group hurriedly boarded carriages. Lu Tong, Lin Danqing, and several other medical officials sat together. Having gotten up late this morning, Lin Danqing peeled some blue-shelled eggs in the carriage to have something to fill their stomachs first.

Lu Tong, seeing that she seemed truly hungry, gave her own egg to her as well.

Lin Danqing handed her one instead: “Sister Lu, you should eat something too. The ceremony will keep us busy all day, and with so many people at the gathering, sometimes we have to put on appearances and don’t eat satisfactorily. Since this is your first time attending a ceremony, you don’t know—I came once before with my father, and I was truly starving.”

A neighboring medical official laughed: “Medical Official Lin is scaring Medical Official Lu again. Would the palace really shortchange you on food?”

Lin Danqing turned her head: “We won’t go hungry, but it’s not as comfortable as being at home.”

Seeing Lu Tong remain silent, she consoled: “Though we eat less, the entertainment is good. In the water palace of Changle Pool, you can see various water plays—water puppets, water swings… and Nuo rituals, which you can’t see elsewhere!”

As they chatted idly, the journey didn’t seem long, and after a bumpy ride, they soon reached their destination.

The carriage stopped, and Lu Tong’s group got off to see that outside the long gate corridors, many carriages had already stopped one after another.

After Chang Jin counted the names of the group, he led everyone inside.

Actually, by rights, Lu Tong had been previously suspended from duty. Even though Cui Min had met with misfortune, her previous matter had been handled rather vaguely. It was just that now she was treating Qi Yutai, and the Imperial Medical Academy was temporarily under Chang Jin’s management. Chang Jin thought it over and figured that this ceremony was just for entertainment anyway. After consulting with Ji Xun, he added Lu Tong’s name to the list.

Upon entering the martial ground, Lu Tong looked up to see a vast square before them, with an endless long pool already equipped with water pavilions. Dozens or hundreds of ornately decorated red boats were moored at the pool’s edge.

Around the water palace on the shores were flag-shooting ceremonial guards and the like—this was where various departments would compete later.

A martial arts ground was set up with long tables covered with fine wine and delicacies, with each department having its designated seating. The Imperial Medical Academy’s position was rather remote. Chang Jin led everyone to sit at the long table in the corner, and as soon as they were seated, greetings came from the neighboring table.

Sitting next to them were people from the Imperial Pharmacy.

The Imperial Pharmacy and Imperial Medical Academy had always had a delicate relationship. When both sides met, they exchanged exceptionally polite greetings. Then everyone pretended nothing had happened, turned their heads away and talked among themselves, no longer bothering with courtesies.

Lu Tong scanned her surroundings but didn’t see Ji Xun’s shadow. She supposed Ji Xun’s position wasn’t here—with his official rank, perhaps he was seated further forward.

On the table, the porcelain pot contained chrysanthemum wine, chrysanthemum cakes, and Double Ninth cakes—all foods for the Double Ninth Festival, which had just passed. The flower vases before each jar of chrysanthemum wine also held small clusters of chrysanthemums, their flying yellow and flowing crimson particularly charming.

More and more ministers were taking their seats around them, and ceremonial guards were beginning to move about on the red boats in Changle Pool. After an unknown amount of time, amidst the excitement, a ceremonial official loudly announced: “His Majesty arrives—”

The crowd immediately fell silent, and the ministers prostrated themselves.

Lu Tong also knelt in worship, and when she lifted her eyes, she caught a distant glimpse of Emperor Liang Ming surrounded in the high hall.

This was Lu Tong’s first time seeing the face of this legendary Son of Heaven.

Emperor Liang Ming looked very young.

In his early forties, wearing a bright yellow robe embroidered with colored clouds and golden dragon patterns, with a golden crown on his head. The pearls hanging from the crown obscured the emperor’s expression but still couldn’t diminish his imperial presence. Only his complexion was somewhat pale, making him appear rather gloomy overall.

Emperor Liang Ming raised his hand to excuse everyone from kneeling and took his seat on the high platform. To his left and right were the Empress Dowager and Empress, followed by the Third Prince, Second Prince, Fourth Prince, and several princesses.

Lu Tong’s thoughts stirred slightly.

Crown Prince Yuan Zhen was not among them.

She looked again toward Emperor Liang Ming’s back.

The imperial family sat high in a small tower above the water palace, from where they could overlook all the scenery of Changle Pool—the perfect location for watching water plays.

Behind Emperor Liang Ming stood a young man.

Pei Yunying wore a dark green brocade official robe with dark flower and black eagle patterns, topped with an official hat. His bearing was as sharp as the beautiful silver sword at his waist—heroic, keen, and strikingly handsome, truly outstanding at first glance.

In just an instant, Lu Tong understood that Pei Yunying was the Commanding Officer of the Palace Front Division, and naturally should attend beside Emperor Liang Ming at any banquet ceremony, protecting the emperor’s safety.

Just as she was thinking, her arm was gently nudged.

Lu Tong turned around, and Lin Danqing nodded toward the distant seats: “Look.”

Lu Tong followed her gaze and saw, not far from the high tower, in the inner part of the long hall, a young lady sat gracefully. Though covered with a veil, her dignified nobility, elegant fragrance, and extraordinary background were immediately apparent.

Lu Tong paused slightly.

Qi Huaying had come too.

At the water palace’s long seats, Qi Huaying sat gracefully beside Qi Yutai. The large peonies on her dress were gorgeous and dazzling, making her appear like the most brilliant beauty at this gathering, attracting secret glances from male guests in the distance.

Qi Huaying frowned uncomfortably.

Even with a veil covering her face, even though due to Qi Qing’s relationship her seating area had no outsiders around—only Qi Yutai for company—she still felt uncomfortable and unwilling to be in the same place as these mixed crowds. Those admiring gazes didn’t make her proud, only adding to her annoyance.

The woman looked up, but the person in the high tower had never once glanced in this direction from beginning to end.

A trace of disappointment secretly crossed Qi Huaying’s eyes.

She had already seen Pei Yunying.

This Marshal Pei attended beside the current emperor. From his angle, he should easily be able to see her.

She had deliberately dressed up today, choosing a dress that was both gorgeous and dignified and elegant. When taking her seat, she had carefully calculated every inch so that when she sat down, the person in the tower could see the most beautiful angle of her profile.

Currently, it might not be from romantic feelings, but just a bit of unwillingness. She had always been the one to look down on others—when had others ever looked down on her first?

Unfortunately, though all the male guests at the gathering were amazed by her figure, when she raised her sleeve to lift her cup and secretly glanced toward the tower through her long sleeves, she still felt deeply disappointed.

Pei Yunying stood indifferently, never looking in her direction.

He hadn’t noticed her at all.

Her self-esteem felt like it had been doused with cold water, though she maintained three parts composure on her face. Qi Yutai beside her, unaware of her current dejection, was chatting with others and seemed to be in good spirits today.

On the other side, Lin Danqing was whispering to Lu Tong.

“You should be careful.”

“That Miss Qi had never attended ceremony gatherings before, yet today she’s dressed up to attend. I noticed earlier that she stole five or six glances at that tower. It can’t be that she’s looking at the Emperor! That would be quite interesting.”

Lin Danqing sat up straight and sighed: “The character for ‘love’ harms people.”

The two women whispered together with their heads close, but they didn’t notice that in the high tower, the young man quickly glanced in their direction before swiftly withdrawing his gaze.

Soon, the cluster of red boats on Changle Pool began to make noise. A medical official beside them excitedly spoke: “Look quickly, the water plays are starting!”

Lu Tong withdrew her thoughts and looked up into the distance.

Changle Pool was boundlessly vast. At the very front, on a large boat, court music officials first came forward to speak. Then drummers at the water pavilion began beating drums, and amid the intense drumming, dozens of small red boats scattered and lined up neatly along the shores of Changle Pool.

On these red boats, each carried ten to twenty red-clad soldiers, with large red banners at the bow, and dozens of tiger-head boats alongside, their crews wearing blue short garments and blue long scarves, all waving oars together.

There were also two flying fish boats, painted with colorful designs in gold lacquer, exquisite and delicate. On the boats were groups of ceremonial officers in theatrical costumes, waving gongs, drums and other musical instruments.

Lin Danqing sat beside her and explained: “The people on the flying fish boats are music officials who will perform water puppet shows and such later. The tiger-head boats are pulling the red boats—the ‘competition for the standard’ is about to begin.”

“Competing for the standard” was the highlight of the water plays.

Those green-clad oarsmen rowed hard, pulling the red boats carrying red-clad soldiers forward. Gongs and drums rang out across the pool, and several red boats moved forward together like arrows all shooting toward their destination. The red boats crossed and passed each other like two armies at war.

At the very center of Changle Pool, a military officer held a long pole with a golden arrow hanging from it. Whichever red boat first reached the destination and obtained that golden arrow to shoot the colored ball by the pool would achieve “seizing the standard.”

At a command from the soldiers on shore, “multiple arrows were fired simultaneously.” The sound of gongs and drums, cheers, and theatrical singing echoed endlessly across the water. Changle Pool was a riot of color, with music like metal and stone, churning waters, as if hidden scales leaped from the sea and fish-dragons clashed.

The atmosphere suddenly became heated.

Lin Danqing watched excitedly, wishing she could roll up her sleeves and join in personally. Her screams were so loud that even Lu Tong found them unbearable. Looking at Chang Jin beside her, he was equally excited, raising his wine cup and cheering loudly, no longer showing his usual scholarly, stuffy demeanor.

Indeed, completely absorbed in the performance.

The red boat competition in Changle Pool was intense, and viewing it from above made the situation even clearer.

In the small tower, Emperor Liang Ming stood with his hands behind his back, looking down from the tower. He seemed infected by the intense drumming, and his pale face gained some color.

The Empress Dowager smiled: “This year is livelier than previous years.”

The water palace competition for the standard was a program established by the previous emperor. Every year, watching various performances at Shenbao Palace required this ritual. The previous emperor had a bold and straightforward temperament, but Emperor Liang Ming was completely different—mild and quiet. After the previous emperor’s death, year after year at ceremonies, without the emperor who shared joy with his subjects at the water palace, it always felt like something was missing. As for this year, combining the ceremony with Nuo rituals, they had prepared more grandly.

In Changle Pool, as the red boats below the platform competed fiercely, two red boats gradually overtook the crowd and took a clear lead. The two boats were locked in competition, and as they drew closer to the target boat, the leading soldier on one boat suddenly stood up and leaped toward the golden arrow on the target boat’s flagpole.

Seeing this, the leading soldier on the other boat, not to be outdone, also leaped up and landed on the target boat, grabbing the other man’s thigh and forcibly pulling him down from the flagpole.

The two immediately engaged in combat on the target boat.

“Good! Good!”

The spectators watched even more excitedly.

What fun was there in just watching rowing? You had to see some action—fighting was good, let them fight!

The two soldiers on the boat were evenly matched. Just as one was about to pull out the arrow, the other immediately followed. The red boat swayed back and forth, the motion stirring up splashing water. Soldiers on both sides of the boat either waved flags and shouted, while other boats moved forward to block them. The crowd on shore cheered and applauded, but the golden arrow on the red boat remained unmoved.

Third Prince Yuan Yao then smiled and said: “Two incense sticks have passed, and the two soldiers still haven’t determined a winner. This is somewhat dragging things out.”

The Empress, seated beside the Emperor, heard this and her eyes moved. She spoke with a smile that didn’t reach her eyes: “Why is Yao’er so impatient? In warfare between two armies, until the very end the victor is uncertain. What’s the point of deciding early? The one who laughs last is the true winner.”

Currently, the court was divided into two factions, with the Crown Prince and Third Prince each having their own supporters—their relationship could hardly be called cordial.

With the Crown Prince under house arrest and His Majesty having given military power to the Third Prince’s maternal family, the Chen clan, the Empress was quite anxious.

When open rivalry and covert struggles were brought to the surface, Emperor Liang Ming’s expression became displeased. The Empress Dowager beside him, seeing this, spoke to smooth things over: “Though the red boats are exciting, this year’s competing soldiers are indeed not as good as in previous years.” She glanced at the young man standing beside Emperor Liang Ming and spoke with a smile: “This dowager thinks that if it were Marshal Pei, he would have seized the golden ball and ended the competition within the time it takes to burn one stick of incense.”

Those in the tower, hearing this, all looked toward the young man behind Emperor Liang Ming.

Pei Yunying stood there, and even hearing the Empress Dowager’s praise, he made no other gesture, only smiled and nodded: “Thank you for the Empress Dowager’s kind words.”

In his brocade robes and official hat, with an upright and heroic bearing, and his naturally handsome and refined appearance, he seemed modest and proper, but without making a sound, he had outshone several princes beside His Majesty.

The Empress stroked her fingertip guards and laughed along: “Mother Empress speaks truly. This palace still remembers the army inspection on the third day of the third month years ago, when willow branches were bent into rings and placed on the polo field for soldiers to shoot at while riding. Marshal Pei hit every target, unmatched in his glory.”

With this reminder, everyone then remembered the spirited image of Pei Yunying galloping and shooting on the polo field years ago. At that time he was even younger, like a treasure sword just unsheathed, unable to hide his dazzling brilliance.

As the years passed, he had become increasingly handsome, though his temperament had grown more steady, making people somewhat nostalgic for the past.

Emperor Liang Ming watched Pei Yunying for a long time, and thinking of something unknown, suddenly the corner of his mouth twitched with a somewhat strange tone.

“In that case, let Marshal Pei also join and teach those soldiers what ‘competing for the standard’ truly means.”

Everyone in the tower paused.

Pei Yunying looked up, but Emperor Liang Ming had already withdrawn his gaze and was listlessly looking down at the pool below.

He then cupped his hands: “Yes.”

Lu Tong was sitting among the water palace’s long seats, expressionlessly listening to the deafening cheers beside her, when she suddenly heard an exclamation from ahead. Chang Jin beside her let out a high-pitched scream, causing her to frown and look up, suddenly freezing.

Suddenly, a figure swept across the water surface of Changle Pool. This person wore familiar dark green brocade with dark flower patterns, moving lightly and beautifully like a blue bird spreading its wings across the water. As wind passed and water swayed, only ripples remained on the surface.

The cheers around them suddenly became more intense.

“Marshal Pei, Marshal Pei has also entered the competition!”

Lu Tong fixed her gaze on the scene.

Pei Yunying had already removed his official hat and took a black embroidered headband to cover his forehead. His movements were extremely fast—the pool full of red boats was like flat ground beneath his feet. The crowd only felt their eyes blur before the young man had reached the “competition” boats.

He moved forward again. The two men fighting desperately under the bamboo pole seemed to sense the approaching crisis and immediately put aside their differences to unite against their common enemy, flanking him left and right with ceremonial long spears.

“Good! Good!”

Another round of applause and cheers erupted around them.

This was much more exciting than the water puppets on the dragon boats earlier.

Two long spears thrust from left and right beside him. Pei Yunying paid no attention, not using his sword but casually picking up a red-tasseled long spear from the performance rack to block them. The spear tip was like a meteor, the red silk brilliant as cloud brocade, dazzling in its flight.

The spectators watched with rapt attention. Some refined ministers shouted until their faces were red and necks thick. Qi Huaying sat amid the hall full of cheers, suddenly feeling her heart flutter like the red tassel on that long spear, flying red and beautiful with each movement of the spear-wielder.

Someone else raised a wine cup, gazing at the young man on the distant red boat, and flattered someone beside them: “The young master has peerless bearing, with the bearing of one who reaches the clouds. Lord Pei truly knows how to raise a son.”

Duke Zhaoning Pei Di lowered his head to drink, his expression calm, not answering.

Suddenly there was another gasp from the crowd. Everyone looked up to see that the two red-clad soldiers were somewhat overwhelmed. Pei Yunying thrust his spear forward, and the two couldn’t dodge in time—”splash,” “splash”—they fell into the water one after another. The young man under the flagpole smiled at this sight, easily flicked his long spear, and the golden arrow hanging at the top of the pole fell in response, along with a small, delicate golden bow, both falling into his embrace.

At this moment, red boats surrounded him on all sides, with intense drumming on the boats and the crowd cheering from shore. In the distance, the shore stretched green, pomegranate flowers bloomed competitively, and the handsome young man drew his bow and aimed at the golden ball hanging by the shore—

“Bang—”

The golden ball fell with color—a direct hit.

The seats fell silent for an instant, then erupted in tremendous cheers and applause.

“Good! Beautiful! Too exciting!”

Chang Jin’s excitement made his voice crack, Lin Danqing was also clapping and cheering, and along the shores of Changle Pool, gongs and drums thundered everywhere.

The young man smiled, raised his hand to remove the black embroidered golden headband from his forehead, and his radiant appearance glowing in the sunlight brought to mind a line of poetry—

“Youth of Chang’an, feathered forest guards, riding and shooting gracefully, serving the wise emperor.”

The light reflected brilliantly on people.

Soon, the two soldiers knocked into the water by Pei Yunying’s spear swam to the red boat, climbed aboard dripping wet, both looking rather embarrassed. The soldiers who had been expected to compete for the standard had actually been thrown into the water by the commanding officer in just a few moves—truly humiliating.

However…

The marshal’s skills were too good—no wonder they couldn’t compete!

The red boat carrying the pole gradually returned to the front of the water pavilion. A music official in red robes emerged from the pavilion, holding a golden tray and respectfully approaching Pei Yunying, saying quietly with a smile: “These are ceremonial flowers for you to choose from, Lord Pei.”

At Liang Dynasty birthday celebrations, wedding banquets, and sacrificial feasts, imperial flowers were often bestowed to be pinned on silk caps or worn on the chest. Today’s imperial flowers were bestowed by the palace to the water play soldiers as honorary rewards.

The victor of “competing for the standard” should be the first to choose a ceremonial flower.

Pei Yunying looked down.

The golden tray held various delicate and beautiful flowers of different ranks—silver-red large luo flowers, multicolored luan branches, silver-red large silk flowers… There was also a purple-red silk peony, with petals luxuriant and flourishing like a beauty’s drunken face, a national beauty with heavenly fragrance.

The soldier smiled and said: “My lord, why not choose this peony? Rich and magnificent, extraordinarily beautiful—it’s the most gorgeous of all the ceremonial flowers on this tray!”

The water pavilion was some distance from the long seats by the water palace, so the crowd couldn’t hear clearly what the two were saying, but they could see their movements.

Qi Huaying was seated closer to the water pavilion, so she could also see the peony on the golden tray before Pei Yunying.

She unconsciously looked down at her own dress.

“Gorgeous flowers heavy with smoke, struggling to bloom; red pistils centered with a touch of sandalwood. The young master returns drunk to the lamplight; the beauty inserts flowers before her mirror at dawn…” She had deliberately worn this long skirt embroidered with magnificent peonies, for only such dignified and rich colors could do justice to herself.

If Pei Yunying took away that peony…

In the water pavilion, the young man looked down at the various ceremonial flowers before him, pondered for a moment, then reached toward the golden tray.

That hand—with distinct knuckles, slender as jade—paused for a moment over the purple-red peony silk flowers, then withdrew.

“My lord?”

Pei Yunying stepped back and smiled: “Today I shouldn’t be competing for the standard. It’s just that His Majesty’s interest has been aroused—the ceremonial flowers should be left for the red boat soldiers.”

The music official was stunned, momentarily unsure what to do. After thinking, he said: “But my lord hit the golden ball and should rightfully choose a ceremonial flower.”

The young man raised his eyebrows, about to say something, when his gaze suddenly paused.

The water pavilion was adjacent to the shore, with a long pavilion above and soft grass below. Behind the music official, amid a stretch of misty green, there were bushes that hadn’t been completely cleared, dotted with pure white, pale-colored small flowers swaying pitifully in the wind.

These wild flowers looked extremely unremarkable—easily overlooked at first glance. Due to wind and rain, or perhaps deliberate trimming by officials, some flower branches had been cut, with broken petals scattered on the ground like layers of fine snow.

Pei Yunying looked for a long time, then suddenly stepped past the music official and bent down to pick up a fallen white small flower from the ground.

The music official was stunned.

Qi Huaying in the water palace seats also widened her eyes.

Lu Tong, who had been watching coldly since he entered the water pavilion, felt her gaze flicker slightly.

“How about this flower?” he asked the music official with a smile.

The music official, not bothering about his unexpected action of not choosing from the golden tray, could only remind him in confusion: “My lord, this is a hibiscus flower…”

Hibiscus was lowly, blooming at dawn and falling at dusk, withering in an instant. Wealthy households’ gardens wouldn’t appreciate such wild flowers—precisely why all the wild hibiscus by Changle Pool had been cut away.

Unexpectedly, Pei Yunying picked up one.

The young man held the hibiscus flower delicately between his fingertips, gently turning it. The snow-white flower, soft as Chang’e, bloomed gracefully in his hand.

“Wild flowers enchant the eye—no need for peonies.”

He smiled and lifted his eyes, his gaze seemingly casually sweeping over the people at the water palace seats before finally settling again on the hibiscus flower at his fingertips.

“I love hibiscus,” he said.

“Wild flowers enchant the eye—no need for peonies” —from “Records of the Small Window”