Chapter Fifty-Five: A Windfall—The Reward Is Mine
More than a dozen dragon boats lay moored along the broad banks of the Bian River. The shore was alive with noise, and the spectators’ excitement was plain on every face. Many had even placed bets in secret. After hearing that Emperor Jing had offered an additional reward, they made inquiries about Li Xubai’s background. By then, few still held out any hope that the Wude Office’s Investigation Bureau would take first place.
“Second Brother, can you really do this?” Li Xuzhang followed closely at Li Xubai’s heels. Seeing him struggle even to put on his racing uniform, he could not help worrying.
His second brother knew how to do nothing but study.
How had he dared make such a boast this time?
Li Xubai tied his cuffs, patted Li Xuzhang on the head, and said with an easy smile, “Relax. Even if I’ve never eaten pork, I’ve certainly seen pigs run. It’s only beating a drum, isn’t it? Don’t worry—I’m very good at it.”
Li Xuzhang’s heart remained thoroughly unsettled. He fixed Li Xubai with a deeply suspicious stare. “When have you ever beaten a drum? How come I never knew?”
Li Xubai’s heart gave a lurch.
The boy had grown up. He was no longer so easy to fool.
“Er, I may never have beaten one myself, but I’ve read books on how it’s done.” Li Xubai pretended to be offended. “What? You’ve grown up enough to look down on your second brother now?”
Li Xuzhang drew in his neck and accepted this explanation.
People always said that books contained golden houses. His second brother loved books as dearly as his own life; there was nothing strange about him learning anything from them.
Every dragon boat bore pennants of a different color. Their brilliant hues fluttered in the wind, rattling and snapping loudly.
The flags represented the various government offices.
The Wude Office’s Military Affairs Bureau had sent no one to this race. Every contestant from the Wude Office belonged to the Investigation Bureau, and they had chosen its strongest, most powerfully built men.
Among them, Li Xubai looked so frail that he resembled a stunted chick.
Upon hearing the emperor’s verbal decree, these young and vigorous men had summoned every ounce of their strength, determined to win the reward of advancement by half a rank.
The moment Li Xubai appeared, countless assessing gazes turned toward him.
The men of the Wude Office’s Investigation Bureau, in particular, looked at him with fervor mingled with doubt.
At the command to begin, the waters of the Bian River erupted into waves.
The dozen or so dragon boats shot forward like arrows loosed from bows, surging into the distance and throwing up great swells.
Shouts, drums, and the rhythm of oars blended into a deafening tumult.
The Wude Office’s boat flew a black flag. The instant it left the bank, it took second place, trailing the Imperial Guard’s boat by barely half a boat’s length.
More than halfway through the course, the Wude Office’s boat still had not managed to catch the Imperial Guards.
The cheers from both banks of the Bian River were thunderous enough to shake the heavens.
Li Xubai glanced sideways. His expression darkened slightly, and he clenched his teeth as his drumsticks struck the drumhead faster and faster.
The dense, urgent pounding seemed to stir the very hearts of men. The rowers aboard the dragon boat drew a single breath together, the muscles in their arms swelling as they threw themselves into their strokes.
The water churned and rolled, its crashing roar almost drowning out the cries from shore.
Little by little, the Wude Office’s boat began to overtake the Imperial Guards’ vessel.
The two dragon boats advanced side by side, each fighting for supremacy, yet neither could pull ahead of the other.
“Your Majesty, look. The Deputy Commander is about to ask you for another reward.” Yu Zhong could barely contain his excitement as he watched the scene on the river.
He knew that His Majesty had always wished to treat the Li family generously, in an attempt to make up for a regret that could never truly be laid to rest.
If Li Xubai could win the emperor a glory beyond measure, His Majesty would have the confidence to grant him honors beyond measure in return.
Zhao Yizhen did not blink. His eyes remained fixed on the Wude Office’s dragon boat as it crept forward. He could see Li Xubai clearly, standing at the dragon’s head and beating the drum.
His gaze was resolute, refusing ever to yield.
“The outcome is not yet decided,” Zhao Yizhen said with a smile. Although the Wude Office might still lose this time, his mood was excellent.
The tension in Li Xuzhang became visible to the naked eye. His hands hung at his sides, fists slowly tightening.
Zhao Yizhen turned to glance at him and said calmly, “There is no need to worry so much, Third Brother. Even if Second Brother loses, he will lose with honor.”
Yu Zhong hurriedly added, “Indeed. To lose to Your Majesty’s personal guards is to lose with honor.”
Even as they spoke, the situation on the Bian River suddenly changed.
The Imperial Guards’ dragon boat seemed to receive a sudden burst of strength. It lunged madly forward, breaking the delicate balance in an instant and once again pulling ahead of the Wude Office’s boat by nearly half a boat’s length.
At that point, only thirty or forty feet remained before the finish line.
Seeing this, the men of the Wude Office began to panic.
The Imperial Guards’ boat was visibly drawing away.
Li Xubai glanced sideways, then bit down hard on the tip of his tongue. The metallic taste of blood instantly cleared his mind, setting his blood racing.
He remembered a zither piece he had learned during his days in the entertainment industry, when he had been trying to curry favor with a veteran film director.
The piece was performed with both a zither and a great drum. Its melody was impassioned and stirring—a weapon designed to rouse the human heart.
An idea flashed through Li Xubai’s mind. Without disturbing the rhythm of his hands, he shifted into the great-drum section of that piece.
The moment the rhythm changed, the effect was unmistakable.
The rowers seemed almost to make their oars blur.
The Wude Office’s dragon boat once again began to overtake the Imperial Guards, inch by inch, and then passed them little by little.
Zhao Yizhen unconsciously held his breath as he watched the astonishing scene unfold.
Indeed, until the very last moment, victory and defeat remained in human hands.
With a great splash, the Wude Office’s dragon boat, its black flag flying, smashed across the finish line.
Cheers surged forth like a tide.
Sheng Yanming regarded Li Xubai with a complicated expression and gasped, “You little rascal. It seems you really are going to host that banquet after all.”
Li Xubai: “...”
“Your Majesty, we won! The Deputy Commander and the others won!” Yu Zhong cried, trembling with excitement.
Zhao Yizhen was overjoyed, yet his face held only a thin veil of amusement, making him seem unfathomably profound. “This fellow has remarkable tenacity. I shall reward him handsomely.”
Li Xuzhang finally let out a breath of relief.
The reward itself did not matter. What mattered was that his brother had committed neither merit nor fault.
The result of the dragon-boat race was now settled. The spectators gradually recovered from their shock, each turning over his own calculations.
It seemed the Li family was about to rise from being merely favored newcomers to becoming the emperor’s trusted intimates.
Li Xubai and the others bathed and changed clothes. Only after calming themselves did they go to pay their respects to the emperor.
Zhao Yizhen was in excellent spirits, a smile lingering on his face. The moment he saw Li Xubai, it deepened.
“Second Brother, your Wude Office has won. The reward I promised naturally stands. Come, take this.”
He personally picked up the dragon pendant and solemnly placed it in Li Xubai’s hands.
“Why does that dragon pendant look so familiar?”
“It seems to have belonged to the late Consort Chen—the former emperor bestowed it upon her.”
Everyone exchanged knowing glances.
Hearing this, Li Xubai felt as though the pendant weighed a thousand pounds in his hand. Yet an emperor’s reward could not be refused. He had no choice but to kneel and offer his thanks.
Zhao Yizhen gazed at Li Xubai’s face, his eyes distant and shadowed, his expression faintly sorrowful. It was as though, through him, he had glimpsed someone from the faraway past—someone forever beyond his reach.