As the Dragon Boat Festival approached, the festive atmosphere in the capital grew increasingly vibrant.
A Bao had initially thought the festival was only about eating zongzi, but after accompanying her parents on an outing, she discovered the bustling markets offered far more than just vendor stalls—there were magic tricks, monkey performances, and ring toss games. A Bao tried every activity she could participate in, returning home with an armful of prizes before rushing to the Loyalty Hall to boast to Old Madam about her afternoon adventures.
Lu Zhuo only had this half-day free, as he needed to supervise the Dragon Boat training drills for the Divine Martial Army in the afternoon.
To Wei Rao’s surprise, Lu Zhuo had decided to participate in this year’s palace-hosted Dragon Boat Race.
Objectively speaking, Lu Zhuo was thirty-one this year—similar in age to Han Liao when he had competed a decade earlier—and with his youthful, handsome features, his participation shouldn’t have been remarkable. Yet Wei Rao sensed ulterior motives. Lu Ya, Lu Cong, Lu Ze, and Lu Che had all reached the age suitable for Dragon Boat Race commanders. Lu Zhuo had previously yielded the position to Lu Ya, so why suddenly steal the spotlight from his younger cousins this year? Even Qi Zhongkai had withdrawn from competing.
When Wei Rao suggested bringing their daughter to watch the training, Lu Zhuo refused, insisting that previewing would spoil the surprise—he wanted to astonish their daughter during the actual race.
Wei Rao gradually understood: Lu Zhuo sought to showcase his prowess before their daughter, hence his decision to claim the commander position over his younger relatives.
On the day of the festival, Wei Rao and her daughter entered the palace with the female relatives of the Duke of Yingguo’s manor. Shortly after taking their seats, Consort Zhou sent attendants to escort Wei Rao and A Bao to the Star Plucking Tower atop Qionghua Island.
This year, the tower was exclusively occupied by imperial relatives.
Emperor Yuanjia presided as expected. Among the consorts, the Empress was absent due to illness, so Consort Zhou’s seat was arranged beside the Emperor, flanked by Virtuous Consort, Moral Consort, and Benevolent Consort. All four imperial princes attended: Prince Duan arrived with his wife and their two legitimate children.
Prince Jing, as the Empress’s legitimate son, was accompanied by his primary consort—who had borne two daughters and brought one today—and his secondary consort Xie Hualou. Having borne two sons, Xie Hualou enjoyed elevated status and brought her eldest son to spectate. Renowned for peony-like beauty that rivaled Wei Rao’s, Xie Hualou had captivated the aesthetics-obsessed Prince Jing. His devotion extended to heeding her counsel to prioritize duties over pleasures, earning praise from Emperor Yuanjia for her virtue.
Prince Fu and his consort also brought their two children.
Wei Rao’s younger brother, Fourth Prince Zhao Chengyan, remained a twelve-year-old youth.
When Wei Rao led A Bao into the tower, all eyes turned to the mother-daughter pair.
Consort Zhou smiled fondly at her granddaughter.
Wei Rao guided A Bao in paying respects to Emperor Yuanjia and her mother.
The Emperor responded with a gentle smile.
A Bao nearly addressed him as “Grandfather” out of habit—she called Consort Zhou “Grandmother”—but Wei Rao had sternly instructed her to properly address him as “Your Majesty.” Though confused, A Bao obeyed.
"A Bao pays respects to Your Majesty," the little princess articulated clearly.
Emperor Yuanjia nodded and offered two phrases of praise.
Palace attendants provided seats positioned behind and to the side of Consort Zhou.A Bao lingered in her grandmother's embrace for a while before going to find her youngest uncle. After all, being a child, she preferred playing with her young uncle.
The Fourth Prince was usually reserved and taciturn, maintaining a serious demeanor even around Wei Rao, as if he were an adult. Only in front of A Bao would he show a hint of a smile.
"Uncle, are those the dragon boats?" A Bao sat on her uncle's lap, pointing at the six teams in different colors along the shore.
The Fourth Prince nodded and began introducing them to A Bao one by one: "The team in crimson uniforms is the Divine Martial Army..."
The young man's voice was clear and melodious. With nothing else to discuss for the moment, everyone listened to the conversation between uncle and niece.
Little Zhou's gaze swept over Xie Hualou's face before turning to her own daughter. In her eyes, no peony or herbaceous peony could compare—her daughter was the most beautiful girl in the capital.
Wei Rao understood her mother's look and gently tugged at her sleeve. Those were matters of the past, and she didn't want her mother to stir up trouble now, just as the Empress had once bullied her. Wei Rao didn't want her mother to behave that way, nor did she need it.
Little Zhou was naturally not that narrow-minded. The so-called peony and herbaceous peony debate that had once spread through the capital was ultimately fabricated by the Empress Dowager and the Empress out of idleness. Xie Hualou was blameless, but as the girl who had been elevated above her own daughter, Little Zhou couldn't bring herself to like her either.
But Little Zhou didn't need to do anything, because she knew that no matter how beautiful or virtuous Xie Hualou was, the highest position she could achieve in this lifetime was that of a prince's consort. With Prince Jing's character, Emperor Yuanjia would never pass the throne to him.
"I heard Shoucheng is competing this year?" Little Zhou asked her daughter casually with a smile.
Wei Rao replied, "Yes, he wants to show off in front of A Bao."
Little Zhou teased, "He usually seems so steady, but it turns out he still has a childlike temper."
Before Lu Zhuo's feigned death, Little Zhou had always treated him coolly, as if still resentful of his past humiliation of her daughter. But since Lu Zhuo's return, knowing that Wei Rao had considered remarrying yet still insisting on staying with her, Little Zhou's opinion of him changed completely. She now smiled when she saw her son-in-law.
The mother and daughter spoke softly, but Emperor Yuanjia, who was nearby, overheard them.
He glanced at A Bao, then at his youngest son, before turning his gaze toward the Divine Martial Army.
If Lu Zhuo had joined the dragon boat race just for A Bao, he could understand. Lu Zhuo had been missing for three years, unable to see his beloved daughter. Upon returning, he would naturally want to make up for those lost years. Emperor Yuanjia also had his most cherished son, with whom he had been separated for many years due to various circumstances.
The dragon boat race began.
A Bao refused to stay seated and ran to the front of the Star Plucking Tower, cheering loudly for her father. Wei Rao watched with a nervous heart, but fortunately, the Fourth Prince immediately took A Bao's hand and never let go.
"The Flying Eagle Army is performing quite well this year," Little Zhou remarked, gazing at the archery field. The Divine Martial Army was far in the lead, but the Flying Eagle Army showed signs of overtaking the Valiant Tiger Army, temporarily holding second place.
As if intentionally speaking for her to hear, Emperor Yuanjia said quietly, "This year's commander of the Flying Eagle Army is Li Wei."Little Zhou heard this and looked toward her son-in-law's position in the Divine Martial Army, suddenly understanding.
She turned her head to look at her daughter.
Wei Rao had heard Emperor Yuanjia's words. Only now did she finally understand that Lu Zhuo not only wanted to display his skills before their daughter, but also wished to compete with Li Wei once more in her presence. That year by the Shun River, when Lu Zhuo challenged Li Wei to a contest, she had left, and Li Wei had found an excuse to escape. Lu Zhuo must have held this grudge all along.
Meeting her mother's teasing gaze, Wei Rao's face flushed slightly.
In the equestrian archery competition, the Divine Martial Army took first place, with the Flying Eagle Army coming in second.
Next was the Dragon Boat Race.
This time, the Divine Martial Army's equestrian archery went smoothly, and their victory in the Dragon Boat Race was equally unsurprising. They even arrogantly rowed their dragon boat directly in front of the Flying Eagle Army's vessel. Though they had the strength to lead by a wide margin, they deliberately blocked the Flying Eagle Army the entire time. Through this, Lu Zhuo's act of using public affairs to settle personal scores became known to all the officials and their families on Qionghua Island.
What grudge did Lu Zhuo hold against the Flying Eagle Army?
The only rift was that Li Wei had once pursued Wei Rao and had invited Wei Xiao out for a horseback ride on the day Lu Zhuo returned to the city.
The most aggrieved was Li Wei. On the night of the Lantern Festival, he had retreated voluntarily upon seeing Lu Zhuo appear and had not competed with him further. Li Wei felt he had shown Lu Zhuo enough respect, never expecting Lu Zhuo to be so vindictive as to humiliate him so blatantly during the Dragon Boat Race in front of the Emperor!
Li Wei longed to fight Lu Zhuo openly and fiercely, but he lacked the confidence to defeat him. If they fought, Lu Zhuo would truly enjoy himself, while Li Wei would only suffer further humiliation.
After the competition, Emperor Yuanjia summoned the commanders of the six armies at the Star Plucking Tower as usual.
As soon as Lu Zhuo arrived, A Bao happily ran over to him: "Daddy!"
Lu Zhuo smiled and picked up his daughter, his gaze shifting to Wei Rao standing behind the Imperial Consort.
Wei Rao glared at him.
Lu Zhuo's smile deepened.
Xie Hualou sat beside Prince Jing. Having heard numerous accounts of Lu Zhuo and Wei Rao's affection, and witnessing it again today, she finally let go of the last trace of obsession in her heart. She thought to herself, even if Lu Zhuo had not fallen ill back then, and Wei Rao had not entered into the Marriage to ward off misfortune with him, and even if she herself had married into the Duke's Manor, Lu Zhuo would never have cherished her with the same unwavering devotion he showed Wei Rao.
After the palace banquet, Lu Zhuo had to return to the Divine Martial Army. Wei Rao and the others went back to the Duke of Yingguo's Manor first. Lu Zhuo did not return until dusk.
Sweaty from head to toe, he went to bathe first. While bathing, he suddenly remembered something.
After changing clothes, Lu Zhuo headed toward the storeroom.
A Gui followed him.
Lu Zhuo went to the spot where he had placed the imperial-gifted golden walnut years ago. He searched the shelves all around but could not find the small box from his memory.
"Ten years ago, after the Dragon Boat Race, I received a golden walnut and placed it here. Where has it gone?"
Lu Zhuo turned and asked A Gui. That year at the border, during their daughter's first birthday grabbing ceremony, when Lu Zhuo saw the golden walnut in Wei Rao's hand, he decided to place the two golden walnuts together upon returning to the capital. Unexpectedly, a three-year mishap occurred. After returning to the capital, he and Wei Rao, both anxious and stubborn, delayed meeting for a full month. Lu Zhuo was too preoccupied with being angry that she did not come to see him, and he completely forgot about the golden walnuts.
A Gui thought for a moment and said, "The golden walnut has always been kept here. In principle, no one would dare to touch it. However, three years ago, the Princess came here once. It's possible the Princess took it."
Lu Zhuo's heart trembled.
It must have been her. She still remembered his words. Even thinking he was dead, Wei Rao had brought the two golden walnuts together.
Leaving the storeroom, Lu Zhuo went to the rear courtyard.Wei Rao was playing with A Bao when she saw him return, so she instructed Liuya to have the kitchen serve the meal.
"Father was amazing today!" A Bao ran over and praised her father once more.
Lu Zhuo smiled. "It's all thanks to A Bao. Father heard you cheering for him."
A Bao giggled.
Lu Zhuo turned his gaze to Wei Rao.
Wei Rao suddenly felt there was something odd about his expression.
After their daughter went back to her room to sleep, Lu Zhuo followed Wei into the inner chamber. Wei sat at the dressing table combing her hair, while Lu Zhuo sat on the edge of the bed, watching her intently.
Wei Rao couldn't help but ask, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
Lu Zhuo smiled. "How am I looking at you?"
Wei Rao couldn't quite explain it. The feeling was like that of a newlywed couple, where Lu Zhuo hadn't yet experienced a woman—wanting to pounce on her immediately yet restraining himself, waiting for her to come closer.
Sure enough, as soon as Wei Rao walked over, Lu Zhuo pulled her into his arms and kissed her with fiery passion.
"What's gotten into you?" Wei Rao asked, grabbing his long hair.
Lu Zhuo couldn't explain it either.
On the night of the Lantern Festival, when Wei Rao told him she hadn't taken a liking to any of the suitors, including Li Wei, Lu Zhuo believed her.
But it wasn't until today that Lu Zhuo truly felt that even if he had never returned, Wei Rao, who had silently kept that pair of golden walnuts, would never have looked at anyone else.
He wouldn't ask Wei Rao if she truly felt that way—he just knew.
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