Chapter 625: Chapter 216: Wild Flowers Dazzling to the Eye
A sleepless night.
Early the next morning, as the rooster had just crowed, the Medical Officer Institute became lively.
Chang Jin got up to dress before dawn, he had gone to the kitchen early to boil a large pot of herbal water containing fortifying peach leaves and Greater Windroot. It wasn’t until the brewing gave off a bitter aroma that he called for the medical officers who had risen from their lodgings to come with their silver basins to scoop some—the ritual of bathing one’s hands in an herbal bath on the morning of a ceremony was an age-old custom.
When Lu Tong went to fetch her herbal bathwater, she brought back a basin for Lin Danqing as well.
After she returned to her room, she placed the copper basin with the herbal water on the table. Behind the screen, a figure emerged.
Lin Danqing was in a light blue robe, her long hair tied up high with a band of the same color, a dark belt cinched tight around her waist. As the hem of her robe fell, her black boots peeked out with each step. The medical officer’s robe, elegant and refined, looked like a free-flowing painting on her.
She stretched out her hand and twirled in front of Lu Tong, asking, "How do I look?"
Lu Tong: "Very pretty."
Flattered, she said, "Of course, you’re not bad yourself."
Today was the festival at Tianzhang Platform, and Lu Tong had returned to the Medical Officer Institute the night before so that she could leave early in the morning with everyone from the institute.
The ceremony at Tianzhang Platform was grand and lively. They were going to be busy all day long. During the day, at the edge of Chang Le Pond, red boats would compete for marks, and His Majesty would ascend to watch the water shows from the platform, bestowing a feast upon his ministers. After the ceremony, there was the exorcistic dance at night. Except for the inside Imperial Physicians, most of the medical officers, especially the new ones, were rarely graced by the Holy Visage and became excited early on.
Just as they reached the doorway, they saw Chang Jin waiting outside with a group of medical officers. Upon seeing the two of them, Chang Jin urged, "We were waiting just for you two. Hurry up and get on the carriage."
The group hurried onto the horse-drawn carriages; Lu Tong, Lin Danqing, and a few other medical officers sat together. Lin Danqing, who had gotten up late that morning, peeled a few green-shelled eggs on the carriage to fill her stomach in advance.
Seeing that she seemed truly hungry, Lu Tong gave her own eggs to her.
Lin Danqing pushed one back to her, "Younger Sister Lu, you should eat as well. The ceremony will keep us busy all day long. There are many people at the feast, and sometimes to appear courteous, you end up not eating to your heart’s content. You don’t know since it’s your first time at the ceremony, but I’ve come here once with my dad before, and I was famished."
A neighboring medical officer laughed, "Doctor Lin is scaring Doctor Lu again. How could the Palace leave you short of food?"
Lin Danqing turned her head, "While we’re not shortchanged, it’s just not as comfortable as being at home."
Seeing that Lu Tong was silent, she reassured, "But though the food is less, the entertainment is quite good. Inside the Water Palace at Chang Le Pond, you can watch all sorts of water shows, water puppets, water swings... and then there’s the exorcistic dance, something you certainly can’t see outside!"
Talking idly like this, the journey didn’t seem long, and within no time at all, they had arrived at their destination.
The carriage stopped, and when Lu Tong and her company disembarked, they saw carriage after carriage already parked outside the long corridor.
After Chang Jin checked the list of attendees, he led everyone in.
Technically speaking, Lu Tong had previously been suspended, and even though Cui Min had met with trouble, her own case was still quite ambiguous. Nevertheless, since she was now diagnosing for Qi Yutai, and Chang Jin was temporarily in charge of the Medical Officer Institute, he thought it over. Given that the ceremony was merely recreation, he asked Ji Xun, and then added Lu Tong’s name back onto the list.
Once inside the Martial Arts Field, Lu Tong looked up to see a vast plaza in front of her, with an endless pool over which several shelters had been set up. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of ornately decorated red boats were moored along the edge of the pool.
On the shores around the Water Palace, there were flag archery guards and others, marking where the various departments would later compete in races.
At the Martial Arts Field, long tables were set with fine wines and dishes. Each department had its own designated area. The Medical Officer Institute’s location was somewhat remote, and as Chang Jin led the group to the corner of a long table to sit down, neighboring seats began to call out greetings.
Those seated beside them were from the Imperial Apothecary.
The Imperial Apothecary and the Medical Officer Institute always had a subtle relationship; when they encountered each other, the greetings were particularly polite. Afterward, everyone pretended as if nothing had happened, turned their heads, and talked among their own groups without any more pleasantries.
Lu Tong glanced around but didn’t see Ji Xun anywhere. She guessed that Ji Xun’s seat wasn’t here; with his official position, he was probably further forward.
On the table were porcelain pots containing Chrysanthemum Wine, chrysanthemum cakes, and Chongyang cakes—foods from the Chongyang Festival that had just passed. In front of each pot of Chrysanthemum Wine, vases held small clusters of chrysanthemums, vibrant and bright, exceptionally delicate.
More and more ministers settled in around them, and on the red boats upon Chang Le Pond, the guards began to move around. After some indeterminate time amidst lively noise, a Ceremonial Officer announced in a high voice that His Majesty had arrived—
The crowd instantly fell silent, and the ministers bowed down in respect.