Chapter 627: Chapter 216 Wildflowers Catch the Eye_3
Lin Danqing sat beside her and explained, "The Music Officers are on the Flying Fish Boats, and they’ll soon perform with Water Puppets and the like. The Tiger Head Boats are pulling the red boats, and the ’grabbing arrows’ contest is about to begin."
’Grabbing arrows’ is the highlight of the water spectacle.
The boatmen in blue vigorously rowed, pulling the red boats carrying soldiers in red forward. The drums and gongs on the water resounded; several red boats rushed forward simultaneously like arrows speeding toward their target. The red boats crisscrossed, much like two armies in battle.
In the very center of Chang Le Pond, there stood a military officer with a long pole, on which hung a Golden Long Arrow. The first red boat to reach the destination and take the Golden Long Arrow, and then shoot the Colored Ball on the bank with the arrow, would be the champion of ’grabbing the standard’.
With the military officer’s command from the shore, the phrase "arrows flying together" came to life; the sounds of drums and gongs, cheers, and the singing of various plays were incessant to the ears. Chang Le Pond was dazzling, with music resounding like metal and stone, and the water surged, as if dragons were leaping from the sea, inciting a ferocious display.
The atmosphere suddenly intensified.
Lin Danqing watched with excitement, wishing she could roll up her sleeves and join the fray herself, her screams so piercing that even Lu Tong found it somewhat unbearable. Glancing over at Chang Jin, he too was caught up in the fervor, toasting and shouting his approval, his usual reserved and stale demeanor nowhere to be seen.
Indeed, she was fully immersed.
On Chang Le Pond, the competition among the red boats was fierce, and from the building above it all, the scene was even more vivid and clear.
Standing on the building with hands behind his back, Emperor Liang Ming looked down at the spectacle below, as if affected by the intense drumming; his pale face gained a hint of color.
The Empress Dowager laughed, "This year is more lively than in the past."
The Water Palace contest was a tradition established by the late emperor, and every year Divine Treasure Hall would behold this spectacle. The late emperor had a hearty and hearty personality, while Emperor Liang Ming was quite the opposite, reserved and calm. Since the late emperor’s passing, with each year’s ceremony lacking the presence of an emperor who would join in the joy on the Water Palace, it always seemed to be missing something. As for this year, with the ceremonial rites and exorcism rituals combined, the preparations were indeed a bit more grand.
In Chang Le Pond, amidst the vigorous race of the red boats below, two gradually outpaced the rest and took a commanding lead. As they fiercely stuck to each other, they approached the standard-bearing boat. Suddenly, the leading soldier of one boat stood up and leapt towards the flagpole on the target boat, aiming for the Golden Arrow.
Seeing this, the leading soldier on the other boat refused to be outdone and also jumped up, landing on the standard boat and grabbing the other man’s thigh, yanking him down from the pole.
The two soldiers immediately engaged in a brawl on the standard boat.
"Good! Good!"
The audience grew even more excited.
What’s the fun in just rowing? It’s about the entertainment, the fight, that’s right, let them fight!
The two soldiers on the boat were evenly matched; as soon as one tried to grab the arrow, the other immediately followed. The red boat rocked violently, splashing water everywhere. The soldiers on the boat either waved flags and shouted, or other boats attempted to block them, while the crowd on the shore cheered and applauded. Yet, the Golden Arrow on the red boat remained steadfast.
The Third Prince, Yuan Yao, laughed and said, "Both sticks of incense have passed, and the two soldiers have still not decided a victor, which seems a bit dragged out."
Hearing this, the Empress sitting beside the Emperor, with a flicker in her eyes and a feigned smile, said, "Why hurry, Yao’er? In a battle between two armies, the outcome is unknown until the end. What’s the point if it ends too early? The last one to laugh is the winner."
Now the court was divided into two factions: the Crown Prince and the Third Prince each had their own supporters, and their relationship was far from warm.
With the Crown Prince currently under house arrest and the Emperor having shared military power with the Chen Family, associated with the Third Prince’s mother, the Empress was quite anxious.
Bringing the covert power struggle into the open didn’t alter Emperor Liang Ming’s expression. Seeing this, the Empress Dowager, seeking to defuse the situation, spoke up: "While the red boat contest is splendid, this year’s standard-grabbing soldiers truly aren’t as good as before." She glanced at the young man standing beside Emperor Liang Ming and said with a smile, "In my view, if it were Marshal Pei, he would have taken the Golden Ball and ended the contest within a stick of incense."
Upon hearing this, everyone in the building turned their gaze toward the young man behind Emperor Liang Ming.
Pei Yunmeng stood there, and upon hearing the Empress Dowager’s praise, showed no other reaction but a smile and a nod, "Thank you for the kind words, Empress Dowager."
Clad in his brocade official uniform and cap, he stood tall and handsome, appearing modest and polite, but without saying a word, he outshone several Princes standing beside the Emperor.
The Empress, toying with the fingernail guards on her fingertips, also smiled and said, "Mother speaks the truth. I still remember the military exercises on the third of March; at the willow-shooting ground, where soldiers galloped and shot arrows, Marshal Pei hit the target with every shot, unmatched in glory."
With her reminder, everyone recalled Pei Yunmeng’s gallant figure on horseback at the shooting ground. Back then, he was even younger, like a newly unsheathed treasure sword, impossible to hide his dazzling brilliance.