"Shoucheng, you see how obvious the competition for the championship is between you and Han Liao, yet Fourth Miss specifically bet on me to win. Do you think she might have a bit of a soft spot for me?"
On the way to Penglai Pavilion, Qi Zhongkai deliberately pulled Lu Zhuo to walk at the back. He grabbed a cherry cake from Lu Zhuo's plate, devouring it hastily while his tiger-like eyes sparkled with excitement.
Lu Zhuo replied indifferently, "I recall she was quite annoyed by your loud voice."
Qi Zhongkai nearly choked, remembering how he had startled Fourth Miss at the city gate. Rubbing his throat, his fervent heart quickly cooled. Such a delicate beauty, a fairy-like maiden—if she were to fancy anyone, it ought to be someone like Lu Zhuo. How could she possibly take a liking to him?
"Then why did she bet on me?" Qi Zhongkai couldn't figure it out.
Lu Zhuo glanced at Wei Rao's faintly visible figure ahead and said, "Among the six of us, she's only slightly more familiar with you."
Qi Zhongkai slapped his forehead. "Right! Since the prize goes to the winning team anyway, and she can't get it herself, I'd bet on an acquaintance too if I were her."
Lu Zhuo smiled faintly.
He suspected that Wei Rao simply didn't want him or Han Liao to win.
Last time in Cloud Mist Mountain, although he had rescued her out of goodwill, he had also mocked her. Wei Rao, capable of protecting herself without his help, would naturally only resent his lecturing and feel irritated, unwilling to see him and the Divine Martial Army steal the spotlight. As for Han Liao, Lu Zhuo had learned from elders' idle chatter that Han Liao had once proposed to Shou An Jun's eldest granddaughter but was rejected. Considering this, Wei Rao would definitely not bet on Han Liao, as it would undermine Shou An Jun's stance.
"By the way, about those prizes earlier, do you know who that golden walnut belonged to?" Qi Zhongkai asked with evident envy.
Lu Zhuo replied, "The Emperor."
Qi Zhongkai's eyes widened in surprise. "How did you know?"
Lu Zhuo said, "I didn't know originally, but I guessed it as soon as you asked."
Among the nobles in Star Plucking Tower, Qi Zhongkai interacted most frequently with Emperor Yuanjia and would only be familiar with items the Emperor commonly used.
Qi Zhongkai was impressed. "The Emperor's right hand has some issues from long hours of reviewing memorials, so he rolls a pair of golden walnuts to ease the discomfort. You, returning to the capital just once, managed to get an imperial gift—much better than me."
Lu Zhuo said, "There's still one left. You could try for it."
Qi Zhongkai scoffed, "If I took that one, wouldn't that make us a pair? Better to let Old Tutor Xie write a few more poems to flatter the dragon and get the other one back for Sixth Miss, so the two of you can be a pair."
Lu Zhuo chuckled and asked him, "You're a year older than me—has your family not arranged a marriage for you yet?"
Qi Zhongkai scratched the bridge of his nose. "They've been pushing since I returned to the capital. My grandmother, my mother, and my sister-in-law have all introduced matches. I've met four or five, but I didn't like any of them. Some family, resentful of me, spread rumors about me, so now other young ladies are too afraid to meet me. My mother and the others can only fret helplessly."
Lu Zhuo, having returned to the capital only recently, hadn't heard the gossip. "What are they saying about you?"
Qi Zhongkai said angrily, "They claim I have impossibly high standards, that I won't consider anyone less than a celestial beauty, and that even moderately pretty girls get picked apart for their eyebrows and eyes. With rumors like that, what family would dare let their daughter meet me?"
Lu Zhuo asked, "Why didn't you like those four or five matches?"
Qi Zhongkai replied, "They weren't beautiful enough. Some had small eyes, some had thick lips, some weren't fair-skinned, some were too short, and some were too thin—always something lacking."Lu Zhuo glanced at him: "Old Madam and your mother wouldn't introduce any unattractive women to you. Perhaps you truly are too picky."
Qi Zhongkai glared at him: "You say that lightly. After all, you're engaged to Sixth Miss Xie, whose reputation for beauty rivals that of Fourth Miss Wei. If you were matched with someone of ordinary beauty, you'd be just as selective."
Lu Zhuo: "No matter how beautiful someone is, they will grow old one day. I value a wife's character more."
Qi Zhongkai sneered: "Pretentious hypocrite, acting humble after getting the best."
Upon arriving at Penglai Pavilion, Wei Rao returned to Old Mrs. Wei's side.
Old Mrs. Wei silently inquired with her eyes.
Wei Rao smiled to indicate everything was fine.
The banquet seating was separated by gender. Since Wei Rao had taken an interest in Qi Zhongkai, she paid special attention to the female guests from the Marquis of Pingxi's household.
The female members of the Marquis of Pingxi's family present today were Qi Zhongkai's grandmother Old Madam Qi, his mother Madam Marquis of Pingxi, his elder sister-in-law Deng Shi, and a four or five-year-old girl who was likely Qi Zhongkai's niece. The child strongly resembled the Qi family with her bold eyebrows and large eyes. Even sitting obediently beside her mother, she didn't appear to be a quiet, demure girl but rather seemed to be putting on this manner due to family expectations.
The Qi family had simple family relations. Qi Zhongkai's father was an only son, with Qi Zhongkai having an elder brother above him and a married younger sister below.
This aspect also pleased Wei Rao greatly.
Withdrawing her gaze, Wei Rao focused on accompanying her grandmother in conversation. If other female guests approached them, Wei Rao would respond with a smiling face.
As the banquet began, palace maids successively served dishes.
Due to the abundant flowers and plants surrounding them, occasional small bees would fly by. Swatting them away would appear undignified, so it was better to simply avoid dishes that insects had touched.
Suddenly, a yellow butterfly flew over the table next to the Wei family, hovered for a while, then came over to their side.
Butterflies were much more likable than bees. Just as Wei Rao patiently waited for the butterfly to fly away, it unexpectedly flew toward her, passing upward before her face. Though she could no longer see it, she deduced from the surrounding women's glances and discussions that the yellow butterfly had landed on the begonia silk flower adorning her hair.
"Among so many young ladies, why did it choose to land on her head?"
"She must have tampered with the silk flower. Today's Dragon Boat Race participants are all elite from the six armies - she's deliberately using such seductive tricks to attract attention."
"Truly a peony among flowers."
"Just like her mother - shameless and without virtue."
Wei Rao kept her eyes lowered while eating, pretending not to hear anything. In contrast, Wei Chan's face flushed red with anger, though it was unclear whether she was more upset about the gossip or about Wei Rao causing them embarrassment.
The butterfly soon flew away, and the surrounding discussions gradually faded.
"Try this, Raorao - the fried yellow croaker is quite good," Old Mrs. Wei said cheerfully, placing a dried fried small yellow croaker on her granddaughter's plate.
Wei Rao gave her grandmother an apologetic look. Had she known this would happen, she wouldn't have worn the silk flower to avoid unnecessary trouble.
Old Mrs. Wei didn't blame her - no one could have predicted this. Those foolish women were simply jealous of her granddaughter's beauty. Didn't they realize that if her granddaughter truly wanted to compete in beauty, she wouldn't need to rely on such external adornments?
"Miaomiao, what's wrong with you!"
A sharp, trembling voice suddenly came from ahead. Wei Rao and others looked up to see Qi Zhongkai's sister-in-law Deng Shi urgently questioning her daughter Qi Miaomiao while holding her shoulders. Qi Miaomiao's pale little face was flushed red, her small hands clutching her throat as she struggled to speak."Is she choking? Quick, give her water to wash it down!"
"Washing won't help! You need to hold her upside down by her feet and pat her back!"
"What do any of you know? Go fetch the Imperial Physician at once!"
The women clamored with various suggestions while Deng Shi, utterly panicked, first tried pouring tea into her daughter's mouth. When that failed, she attempted to hold the child upside down. Poor Qi Miaomiao was struggling terribly, her distress painful for even bystanders to witness.
Suddenly, Wei Rao recalled a memory from her martial arts training in the mountains with her master. An old farmer had brought his seven- or eight-year-old grandson to gather firewood. Wild jujubes grew in those hills, and the boy had stuffed his pockets with them, eating as he walked. When he tripped, a jujube became lodged in his throat. Her master had immediately rushed over...
Remembering this, Wei Rao swiftly rose from her seat and dashed to Deng Shi's side. Ignoring the shocked expressions around her, she took the already-upside-down Qi Miaomiao and positioned the child with her back against Wei Rao's front. Wrapping her arms around the girl, Wei Rao placed one fist above Qi Miaomiao's navel and below her ribcage, covered it with her other hand, and applied quick, upward thrusts.
This was the method her master had taught her long ago. Having never used it before, Wei Rao hadn't immediately recalled the technique.
As people crowded around, some tried to pull Wei Rao away. She blocked out their voices and resisted their attempts, steadily repeating the procedure her master had demonstrated. In that moment, Wei Rao didn't know if she could save Qi Miaomiao—she only trusted her master's teaching and what she had witnessed that day in the mountains.
Time stretched unbearably, though it might have been brief. With one final thrust, Qi Miaomiao—who had been silent for what felt like an eternity—suddenly expelled an object and burst into loud sobs.
Wei Rao's back was drenched in sweat, her hairline damp with perspiration. As Qi Miaomiao began crying, Wei Rao's grip loosened, and Deng Shi immediately snatched the child back.
Old Mrs. Wei quickly pulled Wei Rao to her side.
"Her Majesty the Empress has arrived!"
Old Mrs. Wei looked up to see the Empress and the Duchess of Duan arriving with grave expressions, followed by the Marquis of Pingxi and his two sons. The men looked equally tense—had protocol not restrained them, they would have rushed forward immediately.
"Daddy!" wailed Qi Miaomiao from her mother's shoulder, crying even harder upon seeing her father.
"What happened?" Qi Zhongkai's elder brother Qi Bowei could no longer contain himself, striding forward urgently.
While Deng Shi wept uncontrollably, the Madam Marquis of Pingxi remained comparatively composed and explained the situation.
A palace maid retrieved the object Qi Miaomiao had expelled—a half-eaten cherry, the remaining portion still as large as a thumb.
"How could you be so careless with the child?" Qi Bowei scolded Deng Shi, his concern for his daughter sharpening his tone.
Deng Shi's legs weakened with retrospective fear as she wept silently without rebuttal. Her daughter was five years old and had eaten cherries independently at home countless times without incident. Who could have predicted this would happen? She had been quietly discussing Wei Rao's appearance with her mother-in-law and had looked away for only a moment when disaster struck.
"What matters is she coughed it up. Just be more careful next time," the Empress said, pressing a hand to her own chest in shared relief. The palace hosted the Dragon Boat Race only once every three years. Had a noble child come to harm on such a celebratory occasion, it would have cast a pall over Emperor Yuanjia's festivities.While everyone was busy comforting Deng Shi and her family spanning three generations, those who arrived later, including the Empress, had not witnessed the incident. Strangely, none of the ladies and young maidens who had seen Wei Rao’s rescue attempt mentioned it. It was only after the Empress and the Marquis of Pingxi’s party had departed that Madam Marquis of Pingxi expressed her gratitude to Wei Rao. She removed a bracelet from her wrist, intending to present it as a token of thanks.
Though it was an expression of gratitude, Madam Marquis of Pingxi’s demeanor was distinctly aloof, clearly conveying that with this gift, all ties between the two families would be severed, with no intention of fostering further relations.
Young girls might not have noticed, but the experienced ladies present understood perfectly—Madam Marquis of Pingxi looked down upon Wei Rao.
Old Mrs. Wei stepped forward with a smile, standing in front of her granddaughter, and addressed Madam Marquis of Pingxi kindly, "We appreciate your kindness, but it is the Wei family’s tradition to offer help without expecting anything in return. We truly cannot accept this gift. Moreover, Rao Rao has a compassionate heart—she would have done the same for any child in need, even one from an ordinary family on the streets. There is no need for such courtesy."
Having said this, Old Mrs. Wei offered her arm to Wei Rao, and the grandmother and granddaughter gracefully withdrew to their seats.
Madam Marquis of Pingxi glanced at the bracelet in her hand, pressed her lips together, and slipped it back onto her wrist.
As the banquet drew to a close and guests began to disperse, a young maid made her way through the chatting crowd of ladies and approached Wei Rao. Holding out a silk begonia hair ornament in both hands, she said, "Fourth Miss, you dropped this hair ornament when you went to assist earlier. My Old Madam instructed me to return it to you."
Wei Rao was taken aback—she hadn’t even realized the ornament had fallen from her hair.
Accepting the hair ornament, Wei Rao asked the maid to convey her thanks to the kind Old Madam on her behalf.
The maid smiled and turned to leave.
Wei Rao watched her curiously as the maid lightly threaded her way through the crowd, finally stopping before an elderly lady with silver hair and a youthful complexion.
Wei Rao was astonished to realize that this kind Old Madam was none other than the Duchess of Yingguo, Lu Zhuo’s grandmother.
As if sensing Wei Rao’s gaze, the Duchess of Yingguo turned her head slightly and offered her a gentle smile.
Suddenly, warmth blossomed in Wei Rao’s heart.
Among these self-proclaimed noble ladies of the capital, there were those who looked down on others, but not all were like that.
Wei Rao did not expect everyone to praise her or change their opinions of her because of today’s events. Yet, as long as there were those willing to believe in her kindness and trust that her actions were selfless, she felt that human warmth was not entirely absent.
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