The tournament begins. The Dragon Cavalry arrives.

When Zhao Yeli announced the start of the contest, a thunderous cheer rose at once around Ziyun Tower. People had hurried over early in the morning, only to spend so long listening to idle talk that they were already growing impatient. In truth, Zhao Yeli had no choice. Though the day’s grand contest was chiefly for scholars, His Majesty had also intended to use it to welcome the Dragon Cavalry Army. Yet although the army was due back today, dawn was still early and they were certainly not going to arrive in time. After discussion, they decided to have the old gentleman stall for time on the platform. Even so, despite all his efforts, he still could not delay matters until the Dragon Cavalry entered the city. With no alternative, he could only declare the contest begun.

To make the event more entertaining, they arranged for the music contest to be held at the same time as the painting and go board contests. That way, the audience could enjoy the music while waiting for the results. As for poetry, the judges would set topics on the spot and let the candidates recite them as they wished.

Though many scholars had come to compete, not everyone was a master of every art. And some, judging their own abilities too poor, were unwilling to embarrass themselves by attempting even subjects they had only dabbled in. Thus fewer than three hundred people entered the first painting round. Ziyun Tower could easily accommodate that many, so the entire painting contest was held inside it.

The judges’ topic was no easy one. Each contestant had to portray the splendor of the day within the time it took a single stick of incense to burn. This required the painters not only to be skilled in figure painting, but also to have real accomplishment in landscape painting. Hearing this, the candidates went up to the second floor to observe carefully the crowd below and the scenery around them.

This posed a bitter problem for Li Zhi. Everyone else, however short, was still an adult and could easily lean over the railing to look. But Li Zhi was only four years old, and his height did not even clear the railing. Standing there, he searched in all directions and failed to recognize a single acquaintance. Nor could he bring himself to ask a stranger to lift him up for a better look. So after some hesitation, he finally clenched his teeth and decided to step onto the railing himself in order to observe below.

This was rather dangerous, for with one careless jostle he might be shoved off by the crowd around him. Just as one of his feet touched the railing and he was about to push off, a hand suddenly came down on his shoulder.

Turning around, Li Zhi saw a young scholar standing behind him. Seeing Li Zhi look his way, the man said, "I am Fang Yizhi, and I pay my respects to Your Highness, Prince Jin."

Hearing him introduce himself, Li Zhi asked with delight, "Could you be the eldest son of Chancellor Fang, Fang Yizhi?"

Fang Yizhi smiled slightly. "My father is indeed Fang Xuanling."

Li Zhi clasped his hands. "I have heard my teacher mention you many times, yet never had the chance to meet you. I did not expect we would encounter each other here. My younger self greets Brother Fang."

Fang Yizhi laughed. "My father ordered me to keep watch over Your Highness in secret, and I never imagined Your Highness would attempt something so dangerous."

Li Zhi said a little awkwardly, "My height is insufficient. I had no other choice."

Fang Yizhi said, "Shall I lift Your Highness so you may have a look?"

Li Zhi replied, "Then I shall trouble Brother Fang."

While the two were making each other’s acquaintance, several scholars confident in their painting skills had already returned to Ziyun Pavilion and were preparing to light incense and begin their work. Others who were less certain of themselves were still studying the scene in detail.

When Fang Yizhi lifted Li Zhi, Li Zhi at once saw the packed crowd below, murmuring to one another beneath the bright sunlight. His gaze swept left and right, and soon the sights around him were fixed in his mind.

Just as he felt he had seen enough and was about to have Fang Yizhi set him down, he noticed a troop of soldiers in perfect order slowly appearing at the far edge of his vision. He knew at once that it was the Dragon Cavalry, returning from their special training, and advancing here.

So he involuntarily studied them a little longer before finally allowing Fang Yizhi to set him down in satisfaction. By then Fang Yizhi had also seen the approaching army in the distance, and could not help being drawn by the force of their spirited bearing. After lowering Li Zhi, he took another careful look at the marching host before going into Ziyun Tower with him.

By then there was no one left in the outer corridors, so the music contest had also begun, with pairs performing in turn. Contestants were required to sit on the east and west sides of Ziyun Tower to play. Whoever drew the audience into a longer pause would be declared the winner. Only when the difference between them was slight would the judges render a professional decision.

The contest would be held in several rounds, eliminating one person in each, until a final winner emerged.

Li Zhi had no mind to appreciate the music outside for the time being. After lighting the incense beside him, he quickly immersed himself in his own composition.

The painting Li Zhi meant to make was not easy to seize. Originally, he only needed to blend the fervent mood of the spectators outside the tower into the scenery around them. Yet at the very last moment, he had seen the Dragon Cavalry marching in from afar. The chilling severity of an advancing army and the joyful bustle of the Lotus Garden stood in fierce contrast to one another, and at the same time seriously disrupted the concept the judges had set.

Li Zhi was unwilling to erase that unit from his painting, so he had to do his utmost to lessen the conflict between the two. After some thought, he finally lifted his brush. By then, however, many others had already nearly finished their paintings.

Outside Ziyun Tower, the spectators were constantly moving between the east and west sides of the building. They were carefully comparing which scholar’s performance sounded more beautiful.

Just as one round had ended and the crowd had settled into place, the Dragon Cavalry’s neat formation reached the outskirts of Qujiang Pool. There they dismounted in unison, then formed ranks under Su Lie’s command.

The process of assembling was quiet and swift, with even the warhorses showing no disturbance. After asking the allied troops stationed outside Qujiang Pool to look after the horses, Su Lie led the formed soldiers toward the Lotus Garden.

The disciplined cadence of their march, together with the murderous air they had carried upon arrival, deeply astonished the soldiers assigned to guard the area outside Qujiang Pool. They, too, were elite of the Great Tang, and before today scarcely any allied unit in the capital had ever inspired admiration in their hearts.

Yet today, at the first sight of the Dragon Cavalry, they were overwhelmed by the force of its bearing. What impressed them even more was the flawless accord with which the army moved. It was as though the horses beneath them had fused into a single body.

More than a thousand riders advanced, yet the sound of hooves striking the ground was impossible to sort into any clear order. And when the Dragon Cavalry marched in formation, their step was just as perfectly synchronized. The crisp beat of their footsteps left all those soldiers staring in dumbfounded silence.