The most dissolute couple in the capital

into the night.

When Cui Zhiyuan finished his shift and returned home, it was already dark.

Instead of going directly back to the Cui residence, he took a detour and went to Cui Wenhan's residence in the east of the city.

Cui Wenhan was the head of the Qinghe Cui clan's branch in Chang'an, and he rose to the position of Minister of Personnel, just one step away from becoming prime minister. In contrast, Cui Zhiyuan's lineage was already a distant branch, barely maintaining the title of "Cui family descendant" only because of his integrity and the official position of Secretary.

Inside the study, a censer of ambergris incense burned on a long sandalwood desk, its smoke curling upwards.

Cui Wenhan personally poured Cui Zhiyuan a cup of hot tea. The tea soup was clear and bright, and it was this year's new tribute tea. He did these things in a leisurely manner, as if the commotion at today's flower viewing banquet was nothing more than an insignificant spring rain in Chang'an.

Cui Zhiyuan, however, was in a state of turmoil. He held the warm teacup in both hands and spoke first: "Brother, you must have heard about what happened today."

Cui Wenhan hummed in agreement, placing the small purple clay teapot back onto the tea tray with a smooth, even movement. "Lingyi mentioned it when she returned home."

His tone was unreadable, which made Cui Zhiyuan's heart sink even further.

"It's more than just muddying things up..." Cui Zhiyuan's face was bitter. "Three imperial gifts have already arrived at your residence. This... this is clearly putting you on the hot seat."

Cui Wenhan picked up his teacup, but didn't drink immediately. He gently stirred the floating tea leaves with the lid and asked, "What are the rewards?"

Cui Zhiyuan went through the list in his mind and recited it in a dry voice: "Princess Yongning bestowed a headdress, the Empress Dowager bestowed Shu brocade and a jade bracelet, and as for the Emperor..." He paused and said with difficulty, "The Emperor bestowed a jade ruyi."

"As one wishes……"

Cui Wenhan read the two words aloud, then gently tapped his fingertips on the warm cup, producing a crisp, soft sound.

He raised his eyes and calmly looked at his cousin.

"Zhiyuan, you have spent so many years in the Secretariat, spending your days surrounded by classics and historical texts. You should understand best that there is no such thing as a reward without a reason."

Cui Zhiyuan's heart skipped a beat.

"What my cousin means is..."

Cui Wenhan succinctly stated, "This is about attitude."

Cui Zhiyuan's fingers tightened suddenly as he gripped the teacup, his knuckles turning white.

Looking at his expression, Cui Wenhan sighed inwardly, but showed no sign of it on his face. He continued, "Now that the princes are growing up and the succession is still uncertain, you know better than I how turbulent the undercurrents are beneath the surface of Chang'an. At this time, any powerful family that gets close to any prince is tantamount to gambling the lives of their entire clan before the storm arrives."

He put down his teacup, looked at Cui Zhiyuan, and his eyes sharpened: "I ask you, if it weren't for what happened today, would you have any family in mind to consider for Qingyi?"

"...The Zheng family," Cui Zhiyuan said in a low voice, "the Zheng family of Xingyang, the eldest son of Minister Zheng."

"Minister Zheng?" Cui Wenhan's lips curled into a barely perceptible smile, tinged with coldness. "The Zheng family is a great honor for you, but unfortunately, they will never come to propose marriage again."

Cold sweat broke out on Cui Zhiyuan's forehead.

Cui Wenhan's tone softened somewhat, "Although we don't easily form marriage alliances with the royal family, Prince Liang is just a pawn. If Qingyi marries into his family, we can still maintain neutrality."

"But...but Prince Liang..." Cui Zhiyuan began with difficulty, "...he has difficulty having children. If Qingyi marries him, her life..."

"A lifetime?" Cui Wenhan interrupted him, his eyes becoming somewhat profound. "Zhiyuan, you're confused. For a noble family like ours, sometimes, having no offspring is the cleanest thing. A princess consort without an heir means that our Cui family is naturally cleanly out of the running for the throne in the next generation. Isn't that a blessing?"

Cui Zhiyuan put down his teacup. It wasn't that he hadn't thought of it, but his cousin's affirmation once again confirmed the matter.

He stood up, walked to the window, stood with his hands behind his back, leaving Cui Zhiyuan with a composed and steady back view.

"Perhaps this marriage is not something you or I can decide. It is your daughter who, with her courage and life, earned the safest path for herself."

Cui Zhiyuan fell completely silent. He stared at the tea swirling in his cup, his heart filled with a complex mix of emotions.

After a long silence, Cui Wenhan turned around, his voice carrying a rare gentleness: "Go back. Since the imperial decree hasn't been issued yet, go back and ask that girl what she thinks. Let her choose for herself. However, you should also make her understand that the choice she made by the cold pool today will determine the stability of our Qinghe Cui clan for the next twenty years."

He added as a final note: "Go back and praise that girl for me. She did a very good job today. She has the integrity of our Cui ancestors."

Cui Zhiyuan stood up, bowed deeply to Cui Wenhan, said nothing, and turned to leave.

-

The Cui residence, the inner quarters.

Cui Qingyi, like a cat whose martial arts skills had been crippled, lazily nestled in the brocade quilt, with a steaming bowl of ginger tea beside her.

The imperial physician just came to check on her and said she had choked on water and caught a chill; a few days of medicine would do the trick. She was still a little cold, but her spirits were high—after all, she had lived two lives, and this little incident was nothing compared to the deadly toil of her previous life.

Su Xin brought in a bowl of medicine, carefully placed it on the table, and said in a low voice, "Miss, Madam has arrived."

Cui Qingyi's eyelashes trembled slightly.

coming.

When Li pushed open the door and entered, she first glanced at Cui Qingyi's complexion, then sat down on the stool by the bed, her tone gentle:

Are you feeling better?

Cui Qingyi immediately sat up from the covers, clasped her hands to her chest, and said in a voice that was just the right amount of weakness and fear: "Thank you for your concern, Mother. I am much better now."

Li didn't reply, but just sighed heavily.

She was adept at using this kind of behavior to exert pressure, never speaking first, while young people would eventually lose their composure and reveal something on their own.

But the person in front of you is Cui Qingyi, who has lived a whole life and is unlikely to be defeated by such things.

She lowered her head, her eyes slightly red, and soon large tears began to fall onto the quilt as if they were free.

Seeing her crying with tears streaming down her face, Madam Li could no longer remain silent. She could only step forward and say with a hint of helplessness in her voice, "I haven't said anything yet, why are you crying, child?"

Cui Qingyi burst into tears:

"I know I was wrong... When I saw that young man struggling in the water, I acted impulsively and jumped in without thinking. Only later did I realize that I am an unmarried woman and shouldn't... shouldn't have had that kind of contact with a man outside the family. It was all my recklessness that caused trouble for you and my mother and brought shame to the Cui family..."

Looking at her stepdaughter, who was trembling with fear, Li's scrutiny gradually eased.

She paused for a moment, then asked, "Qingyi, tell me, at that time...did you know who that young master was?"

Cui Qingyi shook her head vigorously, like a rattle-drum: "I don't know! I only saw someone sinking in the water, and after calling for a long time without anyone coming, I went down to save them. My father taught us from a young age, 'To see what is right and not do it is cowardice,' and I really had no other choice at the time!"

Li stared into her eyes for several breaths.

Cui Qingyi withstood the gaze, tears welling up in her eyes and clinging precariously to her eyelashes.

Holding back tears for three times without letting them fall is a core skill I honed in my past life as a scheming daughter-in-law.

I am grateful for the training provided by the Zheng family; it has benefited me for life.

"Mother," Cui Qingyi said softly, "I really didn't... I didn't mean to curry favor. I'm just a girl from a sixth-rank family, how could I dare to dream of His Highness Prince Liang? He's a member of the imperial family..."

Li's brow finally relaxed a little.

She sighed deeply and patted Cui Qingyi's hand. "I understand. You should rest now. Your father will handle this. You were frightened and chilled today, so take good care of yourself and don't overthink it."

"Yes." Cui Qingyi nodded obediently and watched Li Shi get up and leave.

The moment the curtain fell, the fear on Cui Qingyi's face vanished cleanly, as if someone had pressed the power button on a computer.

She leaned back, snuggled back into the covers, and casually grabbed the jade ruyi bestowed upon her by the emperor from beside her pillow, examining it with great interest in the candlelight.

As one wishes.

May your wishes come true, may your prayers be answered quickly.

Cui Qingyi closed her eyes, and the curve of her lips became more pronounced.

She wrapped herself up in bed like a silkworm cocoon, radiating a joyful aura of a salted fish turning over.

Outside the door, Su Xin peeked in and asked softly, "Miss, would you like another bowl of ginger soup heated up?"

Cui Qingyi, muffled by the covers, said lazily, "No need. Cuiwei, remember to put away that set of red coral jewelry tomorrow; you might need it later."

Cuiwei was taken aback: "Miss, that was a gift from Princess Yongning. Where are you going to take it?"

Cui Qingyi paused for a moment.

"It was placed in the dowry chest."

Cuiwei: "...Miss?"

Cui Qingyi turned over, pulled the blanket up to cover half of her face, leaving only her curved eyes showing.

"It's nothing, just talking in my sleep. Go to sleep now."

Cuiwei left, completely bewildered.

Cui Qingyi lay awake in the darkness, the face she had seen by the cold pool earlier that day flashing through her mind—

When the boy was pulled out of the water, he was soaking wet, his expensive brocade clothes were covered with water plants and mud, and his hair was sticking messily to his face. He looked as disheveled as a handsome little rooster that had fallen into the water.

Even so, that face... tsk.

Cui Qingyi pulled the blanket up a little higher, completely hiding the smile on her lips inside the soft cotton blanket.

-

On the other side, Cui Zhiyuan returned from Cui Wenhan's residence and went straight to the main hall.

Li was already waiting there.

The two sat facing each other in the dim light.

Madam Li spoke first: "I went to see Qingyi. The child was terrified. She said she jumped into the water in a moment of panic and didn't know beforehand that the person who fell into the water was Prince Liang."

Cui Zhiyuan was silent for a moment: "How much of it is true or false?"

Madam Li thought for a moment: "It doesn't seem like a lie. That girl is usually honest and upright, not the kind of person who would be so scheming. Besides, the water in the early spring pond is deep and icy; who would risk their life to plot something like this?"

Cui Zhiyuan nodded and briefly recounted his visit to Cui Wenhan's residence.

After hearing this, Madam Li frowned. "If we were to marry into the Prince's household, it would be a great honor for us. However, that prince's reputation..."

"His reputation is indeed not good." Cui Zhiyuan changed the subject: "But what my cousin said makes sense. No matter how bad the Prince of Liang is, he is still the Emperor's own brother, a first-rank prince. How can you and I be so picky?"

Li opened her mouth, then hesitated for a moment.

What she was most worried about was that outsiders would say she was mistreating the eldest daughter left behind by her predecessor. So she had always arranged marriages for her with men from prestigious and wealthy families. Now that it was the Prince of Liang, although his reputation was somewhat tarnished, her husband was right.

That's a first-rank prince...

If it weren't for the sake of the Cui family's reputation, it would probably have been decided long ago.

"Then... let's see what His Majesty decides," she finally said.

Cui Zhiyuan let out a long breath.

Outside the main hall, a slender figure flashed by before quickly retreating back into the shadows of the corridor.

Cui Qingyi's half-sister, Cui Qinghui, stood there, her hands tightly gripping her sleeves, her gaze fixed on the half-closed door of the main hall.

Is my sister going to marry the Prince of Liang?

She only turned and walked back to her courtyard when the night wind made the lanterns sway. Her steps were light and hurried.

The sound of the courtyard gate closing was so soft it was almost inaudible.

Meanwhile, in Cui Qingyi's room, a former minister's wife, now a high-ranking official, was already fast asleep, wrapped in a blanket.

In my dream, there were no account books, no illegitimate children to discipline, no younger sister-in-law's poetry gatherings to sponsor, and no messes from the second and third wives to clean up.

On one sunny spring afternoon, she lay on a large chaise lounge, and someone put a grape into her mouth.

"So sweet." She smacked her lips in her dream.

Cuiwei stood guard outside the door, hearing indistinct murmurs coming from inside, and shook her head helplessly.

The girl was probably terrified; she was even talking nonsense in her dreams.