During the dragon boat race, the Embroidered Uniform Guard drew lots and happened to be placed in Group A for the first round of competition. Wang Daxia, with his handsome looks, well-built physique, and considerable strength, served as the face of the Embroidered Uniform Guard and was positioned in the front row of the dragon boat, right behind the drummer.
He had tied a red cloth around his forehead to prevent sweat from dripping into his eyes and obstructing his vision. Amidst the sea of men, that touch of red stood out strikingly.
Wang Daxia's little trick instantly caught Wei Caiwei's attention from the spectator stands. Stretching his neck, Wang Daxia scanned the densely packed crowd. Though he couldn't make out her face clearly, he still waved his paddle energetically in her general direction to greet her.
Wei Caiwei instinctively wanted to wave back at that splash of red in the dragon boat, but restrained herself due to Ding Wu's presence beside her, maintaining an indifferent demeanor.
The race began. The Embroidered Uniform Guard's dragon boat surged forward immediately after the leading team, with the Imperial Guard and the Feather Forest Left Guard close behind. All the dragon boats were tightly bunched, separated by no more than a person's length, competing fiercely and thrillingly in a neck-and-neck battle.
Wei Caiwei nervously fixed her gaze on that patch of red, unaware that her clothes were soaked through with sweat.
Ding Wu had been fanning her with a folding fan. Seeing she was still hot, he handed her the fan and went to buy an ice bowl. Back in Tieling, whenever they went out, Ding Wu would always handle errands like buying things so that Banxia could rest.
In areas crowded with commoners, mung bean soup and sour plum drink were sold to relieve the heat, but ice bowls were more expensive. The spectator stands were filled with somewhat prominent figures from the capital, so most ice bowl vendors did business here, with each stall having no shortage of customers and long queues forming in front.
An ice bowl consisted of a layer of crushed ice at the bottom, topped with lotus root, lotus seeds with the bitter core removed, water chestnuts, and fox nuts, sprinkled with snowflake sugar, and drizzled with fresh walnut kernels, almonds, diced sweet melon, and honey peaches. Icy cold, sweet, and delicious, it was the perfect treat to beat the heat.
Ding Wu surveyed the stalls, intending to join the shortest queue to avoid making Banxia wait too long. Just as he was about to head to the ice bowl stall under the willow tree to the west, a vendor pushing a wheelbarrow arrived. On the cart was a large barrel wrapped in a cotton quilt, which stopped right beside him.
The vendor pointed at the wooden barrel and said, "Want an ice bowl? Ready-made. We use only the finest ice, no dirty scraps or debris. See for yourself if you don't believe me."
The quality of ice depended on the water source. In winter, ice was harvested from rivers—some clean, some mixed with scraps and garbage that could cause severe diarrhea. Every summer, there were cases of people dying from eating ice bowls.
As the vendor lifted the lid, Ding Wu bent down to check if the ice in the barrel was clean. He sensed a crowd gathering behind him but didn't become alarmed, assuming they were just customers waiting to buy ice bowls.
Suddenly, a heavy blow struck the back of his neck, and Ding Wu immediately lost consciousness. Under the cover of the crowd, the vendor stuffed him into the barrel and closed the lid.
Wei Caiwei only snapped out of her trance when that patch of red disappeared around the river bend. Ding Wu still hadn't returned. At first, she thought the ice bowl stall might be crowded and he needed more time, so she didn't pay it much mind. But when the dragon boats turned back and the drumbeats reached the stands, everyone craned their necks, anxiously watching the river to see which guard's boat would take the lead.
Wei Caiwei was also eager to know. Only the top team from each of the four groups in the preliminary round would advance to the semifinals. If they weren't first, they would lose their chance to compete further.But when she stood up to gaze at the river, she noticed that all the customers buying chilled bowls had returned to the viewing stands. The row of chilled bowl stalls under the trees now had only vendors, no patrons.
Where was Ding Wu?
The drumbeats grew closer as the race approached its end. All four dragon boats were sprinting toward the finish line, the drumming intensifying rapidly, mirroring Wei Caiwei's anxious heart.
She could no longer wait idly for Ding Wu's return.
Wei Caiwei searched while calling out Ding Wu's name, even checking near the chilled bowl stalls and outside the men's restroom.
There was no response.
Wei Caiwei sensed something was wrong—Ding Wu would never leave without a word.
Braving the scorching sun, she headed toward the viewing stands at the finish line where the commanders of the twenty-four imperial guards of the capital were seated.
Just then, one dragon boat surged ahead to cross the finish line first, snatching the red flower. The crowd cheered, "The Embroidered Uniform Guard wins!"
On the viewing platform, Lu Bing, commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, felt inwardly delighted but maintained a calm demeanor as he cupped his hands toward the commanders of three other guard units—the Chess Player Guard, the Left Imperial Forest Guard—and said, "Thank you for your courtesy!"
The three commanders thought: Hypocrite!
On the dragon boat, Wang Daxia, who had just secured the victory, was completely exhausted and unbearably hot. He decided to jump into the river to cool off. When he emerged from the water and climbed ashore, his soaked clothes clung tightly to his body, outlining his youthful physique—so much so that even Wang Xiaoxia was nearly exposed.
This startled the female spectators, who quickly covered their faces with fans.
Lu Ying saw it too, but since she was disguised as a man, she couldn't cover her eyes. Lu Bing felt furious, believing Wang Daxia had sullied his daughter's vision, but he refrained from showing anger publicly. He instructed his subordinate, "Have him change into dry clothes to avoid catching a cold. There's still the final race later."
Just then, a guard whispered something into Lu Ying's ear. Upon hearing it, she immediately requested leave.
After changing clothes, Wang Daxia followed his teammates to receive awards from Lu Bing when he passed by the hurried Lu Ying.
Lu Ying's expression was perpetually unchanging, as if paralyzed, revealing no emotion. Wang Daxia couldn't gauge her mood, but as he ascended the stairs to the viewing platform, he spotted Wei Caiwei being stopped by guards below.
Wei Caiwei appeared visibly distressed, and notably, Ding Wu was not with her.
Wang Daxia would have been thrilled if Ding Wu disappeared—but not now!
Wang Daxia made an excuse, "Everyone, go ahead. I need to use the restroom."
He turned back and followed Lu Ying.
As Lu Ying approached, she also noticed that someone was missing from Wei Caiwei's side. She signaled with her eyes, "Let's talk over there."
On the day of the dragon boat race, it wouldn't do for people to learn that the Embroidered Uniform Guard had lost an exile.
Away from the crowd, Wei Caiwei informed Lu Ying that Ding Wu had gone to buy chilled bowls and never returned. Lu Ying remained unruffled and said, "I had people secretly tailing Ding Wu. We can ask them."
It turned out Lu Ying had never fully trusted the viewing stands and had maintained surveillance on Ding Wu all along, just as she had previously assigned people to follow Wei Caiwei, never overlooking any suspicion.
For the first time, Wei Caiwei found Lu Ying's paranoia to be an advantage. "Quick, find the undercover agents."
Lu Ying blew her bamboo whistle to summon the agents, but after several attempts, none came to report.
Frowning, Lu Ying ordered her subordinates to spread out and search.
The subordinates found two undercover agents under a large willow tree. Both had fainted, with spilled chilled bowls beside them—lotus seeds, fox nuts, peach juice, and more scattered across the ground.
Wei Caiwei checked their breathing. "They're fine, just unconscious. Someone must have drugged the chilled bowls."Wang Daxia suddenly popped out, "This place is far from the viewing stand where Doctor Wei is sitting. How could they monitor from here?"
"Why are you here? The finals are about to start!" Lu Ying pulled a Western telescope from the unconscious spy's embrace. "They used this for surveillance. Getting too close would have drawn attention."
Wang Daxia raised the telescope and confirmed it was true—he could even see a brat digging his nose near Wei Caiwei's seat.
This spot was perfect for surveillance: far from the crowd, shaded by trees, and conveniently close to the shaved ice stall, allowing them to monitor while eating.
Wang Daxia returned the telescope to Lu Ying. "There are two possibilities: either Ding Wu escaped with help from accomplices, or someone kidnapped him right under the Embroidered Uniform Guard's nose."
If an exile escaped during repatriation, they became fugitives who could be killed on sight!
Wei Caiwei was frantic. "Ding Wu wouldn't run away. If he had accomplices, I'd be the only one. But I was on the viewing stand—how could I possibly drug the shaved ice and knock out the Embroidered Uniform Guard spy? Someone must have kidnapped him, and they've been watching us, knowing the Guard was surveilling."
Lu Ying said, "The kidnapper must have disguised themselves as a shaved ice vendor, first drugged my spy, then abducted Ding Wu. But Ding Wu is a grown man—if he were kidnapped, he'd resist. Why didn't any passersby notice?"
Seeing Wei Caiwei's distress, Wang Daxia pointed at the row of shaved ice stalls. "Look, the ice buckets are wrapped in thick quilts—someone could be hidden inside. I'll check them first. If we're dealing with bold professionals, he might still be in a bucket."
He proceeded to open every ice bucket but found nothing.
Meanwhile, Lu Ying brought a hound. Wei Caiwei unfolded Ding Wu's habitual folding fan for the dog to sniff, hoping it would track him. During the dragon boat race's initial stages, Ding Wu had been fanning her with it.
Wei Caiwei's eyes reddened. "He protected me like a real sister, yet I lost him."
She was consumed by regret! In her previous life, Ding Wu had safely served as a clerk in Tieling until the dynasty changed. The new emperor pardoned Ding Rukui's crimes, restored their property, and granted him an official position, allowing their reunion in the capital.
But in this life, because of her, Ding Wu was brought to the capital for identification and now faced disaster.
The hound led them to the shaved ice stalls but stopped there.
Ding Wu couldn't have vanished into thin air. Wang Daxia and others questioned the vendors, who all claimed ignorance: "...There were layers of customers buying shaved ice then. We were busy taking money and doing business—who would notice such things?"
How could they find him in the vast capital?
Wei Caiwei forced back tears and steadied herself. "I believe Vice Minister Yan is the prime suspect. We fooled him that night, but someone within the Embroidered Uniform Guard must have leaked information, alerting him. Ding Rukui is isolated in custody—only Lord Lu's warrant permits visits. Killing Ding Rukui would be difficult, but Ding Wu is different. Ding Wu is Ding Rukui's only weakness. Control Ding Wu, and you control Ding Rukui's fate."
Lu Ying's eyes lit up. "You mean Vice Minister Yan is using Ding Wu's life to threaten Ding Rukui?"
Wei Caiwei nodded. "As a loving father, if he had to choose between his son and himself surviving, what would he do?"Wang Daxia had a sudden inspiration and said, "Actually, we can look at this problem from the opposite angle. As long as Ding Rukui is alive, Ding Wu must be alive too, because they still need to use Ding Wu's life to threaten him. Doctor Wei, don't worry. Even if Ding Wu might suffer some physical torture, his life won't be in danger. The capital is so vast, and Vice Minister Yan holds immense power. Even with evidence, we can't get to him. Therefore, we—"
"I understand what you mean," Lu Ying said. "Let's return to the Imperial prison immediately. Whoever delivers the message threatening Ding Rukui to commit suicide using Ding Wu as leverage must be the mole. Then we can follow the clues from the mole to find where Ding Wu is imprisoned."
Wang Daxia wanted to go along, but Lu Ying stopped him. "There's still the finals later. Changing players at the last moment would shake the team's morale. You focus on your task, and I'll handle mine. You secure the first place, and I'll find Ding Wu."
Author's note: Lu Ying and Ding Wu are following the Romeo and Juliet script where sworn enemies become lovers. Judging by their combat abilities, it's actually Lu-meo and Ding-liet. Don't get it backwards.
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