The weather was splendid on the day of the Spring Splendor Banquet. Before the morning hours had passed, carriages and horses already filled the countryside.
The site was a scenic spring retreat nestled between hills and water, with gentle slopes behind it and open plains to the southwest. Distant green mountains looked like dark eyebrow paint, while fragrant grasses flourished nearby. Only the eastern ground rose slightly higher. Peach trees filled a hollow there, now in full bloom, looking from afar like a pale red cloud that had settled among the spring hills.
The Shen family had sent people to prepare the grounds several days beforehand. The roads leading to the venue had been swept clean, and matching little green bamboo flags lined both sides, each embroidered with the character "Shen."
Near the venue, several long curtains had been erected to mark its bounds. Bamboo fences, colored ropes, and draperies joined in staggered rows, with a Shen family attendant posted every few yards to keep the carriages orderly and prevent outsiders from wandering in. Quite a few sightseers and local residents had gathered nearby. Though they could not slip inside to watch the contests, no one stopped them from watching the great families arrive amid the endless stream of carriages and horses.
Inside the curtains, everything bustled with life. Colorful awnings stood on the eastern and western sides, fully furnished with teacups and incense burners, their tables covered with pastries and fruit. The eastern side held the pitch-pot area, where fine sand had been laid and marked with graduations to indicate distance. Folding stools and low couches stood beyond the sand for the young ladies to sit and rest. To the west lay the cuju field, its ground already leveled, with a goal at either end and boundary flags fluttering