Chapter 217 Wild Flowers

Sleepless night.

Early the next morning, as soon as the rooster crowed, the Medical Officer's Hospital became lively.

Chang Jin got up before dawn, got dressed, and went to the kitchen early to boil a large pot of herbal water. They were peach leaves and gale roots that strengthened the body and dispelled evil spirits. When it was boiled until it gave off a bitter fragrance, he was called to stay in the courtyard. The medical officers who got up brought the silver basins to serve themselves - it has always been the custom to bathe hands in grass soup in the early morning of the festival day.

When Lu Tong went to get the medicinal soup, he also made a pot for Lin Danqing.

After returning to the house, he put the copper basin filled with medicinal soup on the table, and someone came out from behind the screen.

Lin Danqing was wearing a light blue robe and skirt. Her long hair was tied high with a hairband of the same color. A dark belt was tied tightly around her waist. The corners of her robe fell down, revealing black boots when she walked. The medical officer's robe was elegant and elegant, and she wore it. It's like a freehand painting.

She stretched out her hand, turned around in front of Lu Zhen, and asked, "How is it?"

Lu Yan: "Very beautiful."

She became proud: "That's natural, you're not bad either."

Today is the Tianzhangtai Festival. Lu Zhuo returned to the Medical Officer's Hospital last night, so he could set out early in the morning with everyone in the Medical Officer's Court.

The Tianzhangtai ceremony is grand and lively, and will be busy for a whole day. During the day, red boats compete for bids by the Changle Pond, His Majesty ascends the tower to watch the water play, and gives banquets to the ministers. After the ceremony, there is a Nuo ceremony at night. In addition to the imperial doctors, most of the medical officers, especially the new medical officers, seldom paid homage to the holy face and began to get excited early on.

As soon as he walked to the door, he saw Chang Jin waiting outside with a group of medical officers. When he saw Lu Zhu and the others, Chang Jin urged: "We're just waiting for you two. Get in the car quickly."

The group of people hurriedly got into the carriage, with Lu Zhuo, Lin Danqing, and several medical officers sitting together. When he woke up a little late in the morning, Lin Danqing peeled a few green-shelled eggs on the carriage to fill his stomach in advance.

Lu Zhen saw that she seemed really hungry, so he gave her his eggs.

Lin Danqing gave her one in return: "Sister Lu, you should eat something too. The festival has to be busy all day long, and there are many people at the table. Sometimes, just to show off, I don't eat as much as I can. It's your first time attending the festival. I don't know. I came here once with my dad and I was so hungry that my chest pressed against my back.”

The neighboring medical officer laughed and said, "Medical Officer Lin is scaring Medical Officer Lu again, how can the palace deprive you of some food?"

Lin Danqing turned around: "It's not a loss, but it's still not as comfortable as in your own house."

Seeing that Lu Chen was silent, she was relieved: "However, I ate less, but I had a good time. In the Changlechi Water Palace, you can watch various water plays, water puppets, water swings... and Nuo rituals. That's not it. You can see it from outside!”

While chatting like this, the road didn't feel far and wobbly, and soon we reached our destination.

The carriage stopped, and Lu Zhuo and his party got off the carriage, and saw many carriages parked one after another outside the long door veranda.

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

In fact, it stands to reason that Lu Yan was suspended from her job before. Even if something happened to Cui Min, her previous affairs were handled vaguely. But now that she was treating Qi Yutai, Chang Jin was in charge of the hospital for the time being. Chang Jin thought about it and concluded that after all, this festival was just for fun. After asking Ji Xun, he added Lu Xun's name. .

After entering the martial arts field, Lu Zhuo looked up and saw an endless long pool in front of the vast square, with a water shed already built on top. There are dozens or hundreds of ornately decorated red boats docked at the edge of the pool.

On the shore around the water palace, there are flag shooters, ceremonial guards and the like. This is where the various divisions behind are racing.

There is a long table in the martial arts arena, which is filled with fine wine and dishes, and each department has its own place. The location of the medical hospital is relatively remote. Chang Jin led everyone to the long table in the corner and sat down. As soon as Fang sat down, he heard a greeting from the neighbor.

The person sitting next door was from the Imperial Medicine Institute.

The Royal Pharmacy Hospital and the Medical Officials Hospital have always been delicate, and when they met each other, they greeted each other very politely. Then everyone pretended that nothing happened, turned their heads and talked to themselves, no longer being polite.

Lu Yan glanced around and saw no trace of Ji Xun. It is expected that Ji Xun's position is not here. Based on his official position, he may be further forward.

In the porcelain pot on the table, there was also some chrysanthemum wine, chrysanthemum cakes, and Double Ninth Festival cakes, all of which are part of the Double Ninth Festival diet - the Double Ninth Festival has just passed. In the vase in front of each altar of chrysanthemum wine, there are small clusters of chrysanthemums, which are flying yellow and flowing red, which is particularly delicate and beautiful.

More and more ministers were sitting around, and ritual guards gradually began to move around on the red boat on the Changle Pond. I don’t know how long it took, but in the bustle, a ceremony official spoke loudly, and the Holy One arrived——

The crowd suddenly fell silent, and the ministers bowed down and worshiped.

Lu Yan also knelt down and bowed. When he raised his eyes, he saw Emperor Liang Ming surrounded high up in the hall from a distance.

This was the first time that Lu Zhuo saw clearly the holy face of the legendary emperor.

Emperor Liang Ming looked very young.

He is in his early forties, wearing a bright yellow robe embroidered with clouds and gold dragon patterns, and a gold crown on his head. The beads hanging down from the crown cover his imperial expression, but it still does not reduce the imperial aura, but his face is slightly pale, which makes the whole person look a bit... gloomy.

Emperor Liang Ming raised his hand and ordered everyone to sit down on the high platform without ceremony. To his left and right were the Queen Mother, the Queen, and then the Third Prince, the Second Prince, the Fourth Prince and several princesses.

Lu Zhuo's thoughts moved slightly.

Prince Yuan Zhen was not among them.

She looked behind Emperor Liang Ming again.

The royal family sat on a small building above the water hall, where they could have a panoramic view of the Changle Pond, and it was also an excellent location to watch water plays.

Behind Emperor Liang Ming, there was a young man standing.

Pei Yunying was dressed in a dark green official uniform with brocade patterns of dark eagles and an official hat on his head. His posture was as neat as the beautiful silver sword on his waist. He was heroic, sharp and handsome. At first glance, he really stood out.

In just a moment, Lu Tong understood that Pei Yunying was the commander of the Palace Front Department. Whenever there was a banquet, he should naturally accompany Emperor Liang Ming and protect his safety.

Just as he was thinking, his arm was gently poked.

Lu Tong turned his head and Lin Danqing pointed to the long seat in the distance: "Look."

Lu Tong followed her gaze and saw a young lady sitting in the inner part of the long hall not far from the tall building. Although she was covered with a veil, she was still graceful and elegant. It was obvious that she had an extraordinary background.

Lu Tong paused slightly.

Qi Huaying also came.

At the long seat in the water palace, Qi Huaying sat beside Qi Yutai. The large and dazzling peonies on her dress made her look like the most eye-catching beauty at the table, causing the male guests in the distance to secretly look over here.

Qi Huaying frowned uncomfortably.

Even with a veil covering her face, even though there were no outsiders around her table because of Qi Qing, and only Qi Yutai was with her, she still felt uncomfortable and didn't want to be in the same place with these mixed people. Those admiring eyes would not make her proud, but only make her feel annoyed.

The woman raised her eyes, but the people on the high building never looked at this side from beginning to end.

Qi Huaying's eyes secretly flashed a trace of loss.

She had seen Pei Yunying.

This Pei Dianshuai accompanied the emperor on both sides, and from his angle, it should be easy for him to see her.

She dressed up today and chose a gorgeous and dignified and elegant skirt. When she sat down, she carefully calculated every inch so that when she sat down, the person upstairs could just see the most beautiful side of her profile.

Now it may not be because of love, but just a little unwillingness. She has always been the only one who looks down on others, so how can others look down on her first?

Unfortunately, even though all the male guests at the banquet were shocked by her figure, they were still deeply disappointed when she raised her sleeves to hold the cup and took a sneak peek upstairs through her long sleeves.

Pei Yunying stood indifferently and never looked over.

He never noticed her at all.

Her self-esteem was like being poured with cold water, and her calmness was barely three points. However, Qi Yutai beside her didn't know that she was depressed at the moment, and was talking to others. She seemed to be in a good mood today.

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

"You have to be careful."

"That Miss Qi never came to the festival before, but she came in a gorgeous dress today. I noticed that she glanced upstairs five or six times just now. It can't be that she was looking at the emperor! That would be very interesting."

Lin Danqing sat up and sighed: "Love hurts people."

The two of them whispered together, but they didn't see that the young man on the high building quickly glanced over here, and then quickly retracted his gaze.

Soon, the group of red boats on the Changle Pond began to make a noise. A medical officer beside him excitedly said, "Look, the water show is about to start!"

Lu Tong collected his thoughts and looked up into the distance.

The Changle Pond was boundless. On the large boat in the front, the music officer of the Jiaofang came forward to speak. Then the drummer at the water shed in the pond began to beat the drums. Amid the fierce drumbeats, dozens of small red boats scattered and lined up neatly on the Changle Pond.

On each of these red boats, there were more than ten or twenty red-clad soldiers standing on each boat, with a big red flag on the bow. There were dozens of tiger-head boats on the side, with people wearing green short clothes and green long scarves, waving oars together.

There were also two flying fish boats, painted with gold lacquer, delicate and exquisite. A group of ceremonial officers in costumes on the boats waved instruments such as gongs and drums in their hands.

Lin Danqing sat beside her and explained: "The people on the flying fish boat are the music officers, who will perform water puppets and other plays later. The tiger-head boat is pulling the red boat, and they will immediately start to 'compete for the mark'."

"Competing for the mark" is the highlight of the water play.

The blue-clothed boatmen paddled hard, dragging the red boat carrying the red-clothed soldiers forward. The gongs and drums on the pool sounded together, and several red boats moved forward together, like several arrows rushing to the destination. The red boats staggered in front of each other, like two armies fighting.

In the center of the Changle Pool, there was a military school holding a long pole with a golden long arrow hanging on it. The red boat that paddled to the destination first, got the golden long arrow, and shot the colorful ball on the poolside with the arrow, and it would be the "winner".

The sergeant on the shore gave an order, and immediately "several arrows were fired at the same time", and the sound of gongs and drums, cheers, and singing of various plays on the water surface was endless. The Changle Pond was a scene of splendour, with drums and music like gold and stone, and the water in the pond surging like a fish leaping into the sea, and fish and dragons fighting each other.

The atmosphere suddenly became heated.

Lin Danqing was so excited that he wanted to roll up his sleeves and take part in the competition himself. The screams shocked Lu Tong a little. Looking at Chang Jin on the side, he was also excited, holding up his wine cup and shouting loudly, no longer showing his usual polite and old-fashioned appearance.

He was really fully engaged.

The red boats in the Changle Pond were racing fiercely, and the situation became more vivid when you look down from the building.

On the small building, Emperor Liang Ming stood with his hands behind his back, standing on the small building and looking down, as if he was infected by the fierce drums, and a trace of blood appeared on his pale face.

The Queen Mother smiled and said, "This year is more lively than in previous years."

The competition for the water palace was a program set up by the previous emperor, and every year when watching the hundreds of performances in the Shenbao Palace, this would happen. The late emperor had a bold and cheerful temperament, but Emperor Liang Ming was completely different, tepid and silent. After the late emperor passed away, the annual sacrifices always felt a little less interesting without the emperor enjoying himself in the water palace. As for this year, the sacrifices and the Nuo rituals were held together, and the preparations were more grand.

In the Changle Pond, the red boats under the stage were racing, and gradually two red boats gradually surpassed the other red boats and took the lead. The two boats were stuck together, and as they were getting closer and closer to the flag ship, the leading soldier on one of the boats suddenly stood up and flew towards the golden arrow on the flagpole of the flag ship.

Seeing this, the leading sergeant on the other ship, not to be outdone, flew up and landed on the flag ship. He grabbed the man in front of him by the thigh and tore him from the flagpole.

The two immediately fought on the standard ship.

"well!"

The onlookers became even more excited.

What's the point of just watching rowing? It's all about having fun. If it's a good fight, let's fight!

The two sergeants on the boat were equally skilled. One was just about to pull out the arrow, and the other followed closely. The red boat rocked, and the water splashed up due to the shaking. The sergeants on both sides of the boat were waving flags and shouting, and there were other boats. When he advanced to stop him, everyone on the shore shouted and cheered, and the golden arrows on the red boat remained unmoved.

The third prince Yuan Yao said with a smile: "The two sticks of incense have passed, and the two sergeants have not yet decided the winner, so there will be some delay."

When the queen sitting next to the emperor heard this, her eyes moved, and she said with a smile: "Why should Yaoer be impatient? The two armies are fighting, and the outcome is not known until the end. What's the point of settling down early? Have the last laugh. That’s the winner.”

Nowadays, the court is divided into two factions. The prince and the third prince each have a group of supporters, and their relationship is really not close.

Now that the prince is under house arrest, and His Majesty has assigned military power to the Chen family, the mother clan of the third prince, the queen is very anxious.

When the overt and covert struggles were brought to light, Emperor Liang Ming looked worried. Seeing this, the Queen Mother on the side spoke out to smooth things over: "Although Red Boat is wonderful, this year's bidding for sergeants is indeed not as good as before." She glanced at the young man standing next to Emperor Liang Ming, smiled and said: "Look at the Ai family, if it changes It's Pei Dianshuai. Within one stick of incense, he has already won the gold medal and the bidding is over."

When everyone in the building heard this, they all looked at the young man behind Emperor Liang Ming.

Pei Yunying stood and did not do anything else when he heard the Queen Mother's praise. He only smiled and nodded: "Thank you, Queen Mother, for your good reputation."

He was dressed in royal robes, tall and handsome, and handsome in appearance. He seemed humble and polite, but he outshone all the princes beside His Majesty without making a move.

The Queen touched her fingertips and laughed too, and said: "What the Queen said is true. I still remember that at three o'clock in March, the soldiers broke off the willow rings and planted them on the ground. The sergeants galloped to shoot them. Pei Dianshuai was hit by the arrow.毬, the limelight is the same.”

When she reminded her, everyone just remembered the flying appearance of Pei Yunying when he galloped into the field. He was still younger at that time, and his dazzling brilliance could not be concealed like a sword that had just been unsheathed.

Nowadays, as he gets older, he becomes more handsome and his temperament becomes more calm, which makes people miss the past a little bit.

Emperor Liang Ming looked at Pei Yunying for a long time. He didn't know what he thought of, but suddenly he twitched the corner of his mouth and his tone was a little strange.

"In this case, Pei Aiqing will also end up. Let's teach those sergeants what 'fighting for bids' is."

Everyone upstairs was having a meal.

Pei Yunying raised his eyes, but Emperor Liang Ming had already retracted his gaze and looked at the pool downstairs.

He handed over his hand and said, "Yes."

Lu Yan was sitting in the long banquet of the water hall, expressionlessly listening to the deafening cheers beside him. Suddenly he heard a cry of surprise from the front, and Chang Jin beside him let out a high-pitched scream, and he couldn't help but wince. Frowning, he looked up and was suddenly startled.

On the water surface of Changle Pond, a person suddenly passed by. This person was dressed in a familiar dark green and dark flower brocade. His movements were light and beautiful, like a bluebird spreading its wings across the water. The wind shook the water, leaving only a few ripples on the water. .

The cheers around him suddenly became excited.

"Dian Shuai Pei, Dian Shuai Pei is gone too!"

Lu Chen stared at it.

Pei Yunying had taken off his official hat, took an ink embroidered piece and put it on his forehead. He moved very quickly, and the whole pond of red boats was as flat as the ground beneath his feet. Everyone's eyes were dazzled by the fact that the young man had already reached the "competing bid" boat.

When he stepped forward again, the two people who were fighting fiercely under the bamboo pole seemed to have noticed the approaching crisis. They immediately put aside their previous suspicions and shared the same hatred. One on the left and the other on the right picked up the Baixi spear from the shore and rushed towards him.

"well!"

There was another round of applause and applause all around.

This is much more exciting than the water puppet on the dragon boat just now.

Two spears stabbed him in the side, one from the left and one from the right. Pei Yunying didn't care. He didn't use a knife. He picked up a long spear with red tassel on the opera stand and held it against it. The head of the spear was like a shooting star, and the red silk was as bright as clouds and brocade. It flew quickly. The time is dazzling.

Everyone at the banquet watched intently, and some elegant ministers roared until their faces turned red and their necks thickened. Qi Huaying sat in the hall amidst the cheers, and suddenly she felt that her heart was like the red tassel on the spear, following the movement of the gunman up and down, beautiful. Flying red.

There were also people holding wine glasses, looking at the young man on the red boat in the distance, and complimenting the person beside him: "The prince is extremely handsome, with a figure that reaches the sky. Mr. Pei is really good at teaching his son."

Duke Zhaoning, Pei Di, lowered his head to drink with a calm expression and did not answer.

Suddenly, the crowd exclaimed again. When everyone looked up, they saw that the two red-coated sergeants were somewhat outmatched. Pei Yunying fired a shot, but the two of them were unable to dodge. There were two "plop" and "plop" sounds and they fell into the water one after another. The young man under the flagpole smiled when he saw this, and he raised his spear easily. The golden arrow hanging on the top of the flagpole fell down, and a small golden bow beside it fell into his arms.

At this time, he was surrounded by red boats. The gongs and drums on the boat were beating fiercely. People on the shore cheered and applauded. In the distance, the shore was green and pomegranates were blooming. Young men with beautiful eyebrows and handsome faces bent their bows and pointed arrows at the shore. The golden pin shot from afar——

"boom--"

The golden pin fell in color and hit the target with one hit.

The table was quiet for a moment, and then burst into loud cheers.

"Good! Beautiful! So wonderful!"

Chang Jin's excited voice changed its tune, Lin Danqing also clapped the table and cheered, and there was a roar of gongs and drums on the banks of Changle Pond.

The young man smiled and raised his hand to take off the black embroidered gold on his forehead and wipe it with his forehead. The look of his face sparkling in the sun reminded people of a poem -

There was a young man named Yu Linlang from Chang'an who rode and shot gracefully to serve the wise emperor.

Very bright light shines on people.

After a while, the two sergeants who were picked off by Pei Yunying's spear swam to the red boat and climbed onto the boat wetly. They were both a little surprised. The sergeant who had high hopes of competing for the bid was actually thrown into the water with just a few moves. It was really embarrassing.

but……

The commander-in-chief’s skills are so good, no wonder they are there!

The red boat with the pole hanging on it gradually returned to the water shed. A music official in red walked out of the water shed, holding a gold plate. He walked respectfully in front of Pei Yunying and said with a low laugh: "This is a hairpin flower." , please choose Mr. Pei.”

In the Liang Dynasty, imperial flower hairpins were often given to silk hats or chests at birthday celebrations, wedding banquets and sacrificial banquets. Today, these imperial flowers were given by the palace to the water opera sergeants as a token of honor.

The winner of the "bid competition" should be the first to choose the hairpin.

Pei Yunying lowered his eyes and looked.

The gold plate is filled with delicate flowers of various colors, according to their grades. There are silver-red large flowers, variegated twigs, silver-red silk flowers... There is also a purple-red silk flower called a peony on top, with petals of the peony. The luxuriant flowers are as beautiful as a beautiful woman, and the country is beautiful and fragrant.

The sergeant said with a smile: "Your Excellency, why not choose this peony? It is rich, graceful, and stunningly beautiful. It is the most beautiful flower in this set of hairpins!"

The water shed was some distance away from the long seats in the water hall. Everyone couldn't hear clearly what they were saying, but they could see their movements.

Qi Huaying was closer to the water shed, so she also saw the peony on the golden plate in front of Pei Yunying.

She subconsciously looked down at her dress.

The beautiful smoke is heavy and it is difficult to open it, but the red pistil is careful of a touch of sandalwood. The young master drunkenly returned to the room under the lamp, and the beauty looked into the mirror... She specially wore this long skirt embroidered with gorgeous peonies, because only such a dignified and rich color could complement herself.

If Pei Yunying takes away the peony...

In the water shed, the young man looked down at the hairpin flowers in front of him, thought for a moment, and stretched out his hand towards the golden plate.

The hand had clear joints and was as slender as jade. It rested on the purple peony flower for a moment, and then took it back.

"grown ups?"

Pei Yunying took a step back and said with a smile: "It's not my place to compete for the bid today. It's just His Majesty's interest. It's better to leave the hairpin to Sergeant Hongzhou."

The music officer was stunned and didn't know what to do for a moment. He thought for a while and then said: "But if you hit the golden pole, you should pick a hairpin."

The young man raised his eyebrows and was about to say something when his eyes suddenly stopped.

The water shed is next to the shore. There is a long shed above it, but there is soft grass below it. Behind the music officer, in the smoky green, there are shrubs that have not been cut off. The shrubs are dotted with small pure white flowers, swaying slowly in the wind.

These wildflowers look so inconspicuous that they can easily be overlooked at first glance. Due to wind, rain, or deliberate pruning by the officials, some flower branches were cut off, and the broken flowers fell to the ground, like a layer of fine snow.

Pei Yunying looked at it for a long time, then suddenly passed over the music officer, leaned down and picked up a fallen white flower from the ground.

The music officer was stunned.

Qi Huaying in the water palace banquet also widened his eyes.

Lu Zhen, who had been watching him coldly since he entered the water shed, moved his eyes slightly.

"How do you like this one?" he asked the music officer with a smile.

The music official ignored his unexpected move of not picking the hairpin from the gold plate, and only reminded him blankly: "Sir, this is a hibiscus flower..."

Hibiscus is humble, blooming in the morning and falling in the evening, falling apart instantly. Wealthy people do not like this kind of wild flowers in their gardens. It is for this reason that all the wild hibiscus trees beside Changle Pond are cut off.

Unexpectedly, Pei Yunying picked up one.

The young man grasped the hibiscus flower with his fingertips and turned it slightly. The snow-white flower was as soft as a beautiful lady, blooming gracefully in his hand.

"Wildflowers are beautiful, no need for peonies."

He smiled and raised his eyes, his eyes passing over the people at the water palace banquet, and finally landed on the hibiscus flower at his fingertips again.

"I just like hibiscus," he said.

"Wild flowers are beautiful, no need for peonies" - "The Secret of a Small Window"