The most dissolute couple in the capital

The Liang Prince's Mansion.

Li Chengjing lay on his back on the chaise longue in the corridor, one leg dangling from the armrest, holding a list of betrothal gifts sent by the Imperial Clan Court in his hand. After looking at it for a while, he yawned.

"Sixty-four gold artifacts... thirty-two jade artifacts... one hundred and twenty bolts of palace satin..."

He rolled over and smeared the sheet over his face.

"boring."

The attendant Zhao Lu, who was serving nearby, asked cautiously, "Your Highness, regarding the list of betrothal gifts, has the Court of Imperial Clan Affairs asked if you have any requests for additions or subtractions?"

"What's there to add or subtract?" Li Chengjing lifted the list, squinted at a cloud drifting by in the sky, "Let them write whatever they want, it's not my money, it's my brother's."

Zhao Lu: "...Yes."

"That's not right." Li Chengjing suddenly sat up, a rare serious expression appearing on his face: "Isn't betrothal still done with wild geese?"

Zhao Lu breathed a sigh of relief: "Your Highness, rest assured, the Imperial Clan Court has prepared a pair of live geese, which are being raised in—"

"No way," Li Chengjing interrupted him. "Those were raised by the Imperial Clan Court, not captured by me."

Zhao Lu was stunned: "Huh?"

Li Chengjing jumped off the chaise longue, patted the wrinkles on his clothes, and took two steps with his hands behind his back.

"Tell me, when other families give wild geese as betrothal gifts, who caught those geese?"

Zhao Lu answered honestly, "Your Highness, it's usually the hunters or servants from the household who go hunting..."

"Superficial, utterly superficial!" Li Chengjing slapped his thigh. "Wild geese are birds of loyalty. Since they're used for betrothal, how can they be used by others? How will Miss Cui know it's my heart's desire when she receives it?"

Zhao Lu opened his mouth, wanting to say, "The betrothal is just a formality," but looking at his prince's bright eyes, he swallowed the words back.

"Does Your Highness mean... you intend to fight it yourself?"

"Otherwise what?" Li Chengjing strode towards the armory, instructing as he went, "Go and call He Li and Wang Chengyuan here, and tell them we're going hunting outside the city tomorrow."

Zhao Lu chased after him, his voice hoarse: "Your Highness, this is too dangerous, Your Highness..."

Then he continued walking forward, his tone even more determined: "Then I'll have to do it myself. The harder it is, the more sincere I am, understand?"

Zhao Lu was on the verge of tears: "Your Highness is wise."

-

The next morning.

Ten miles outside the south gate of Chang'an City, there is a reed marshland where wild geese often stop to rest when they fly south in autumn.

Three horses stood beside the official road.

He Li yawned, half his face buried in his fur collar, his voice muffled: "Your Highness, you dragged me out of bed so early in the morning just to hunt a bird?"

Wang Chengyuan rode a pure white steed, glanced disdainfully at He Li's wrinkled outer robe, and then looked at Li Chengjing with even greater disdain.

"Is Your Highness dressed like this for hunting?" Wang Chengyuan looked Li Chengjing up and down. "You're wearing a narrow-sleeved hunting outfit made of brocade, with gold-threaded python patterns embroidered on the collar. Are we going to hunt geese or have a beauty pageant?"

Li Chengjing glanced down at his clothes and said matter-of-factly, "Even hunting requires a certain appearance. If Miss Cui asks about it someday, I can't very well say I was dressed like a farmer, can I?"

He Li: "Why did she ask you what you wear hunting?"

Lee Seung-kyung: "What if?"

Wang Chengyuan: "...Fine, you win."

The three of them rode their horses into the reeds.

In early spring, before the reeds sprouted new shoots, most of the withered reed stalks had fallen, revealing a shallow mudflat. In the distance, dozens of greylag geese foraged for food by the water, with one or two occasionally craning their necks to look around warily.

Li Chengjing gripped his bow, squinted at the flock of geese, and lowered his voice as if commenting on some rare treasure: "Look at that pair, inseparable, even preening their feathers side by side. They're clearly a model couple. These are the ones!"

He Li's eyes widened: "Those two are on the outermost edge. If there's any movement, they'll definitely fly together. It's much harder than taking down just one!"

"That's the effect I wanted." Li Chengjing nocked his bow, but then hesitated. "Uh, should I shoot the male or the female? What if I shoot the male and the female runs away? If I shoot the female, the male will definitely fly away too. How can I shoot two at the same time?"

His hesitation caused the horse's hooves to shift slightly in the shallow water with a splash.

The flock of geese all raised their heads in unison.

Then they all flew away in unison.

Li Chengjing's arrow shot out instinctively.

It's obviously off-center.

He Li, watching from behind, slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Your Highness's hand was shaking when you drew the bow!"

"I'm not shaking!" Li Chengjing shouted as he spurred his horse and chased after them. "It's the wind! The wind is too strong!"

Wang Chengyuan looked back—the leaves on the treetops were completely still.

"...Yes, it is indeed the wind." Wang Chengyuan echoed expressionlessly, urging his horse to catch up.

What followed was horrific.

Li Chengjing's horsemanship was the worst among the three, and his archery was even worse. Of the ten arrows he shot, seven stuck in the reeds, two went into the water, and the last one almost hit He Li's hat.

He Li rolled off his horse, clutching his head: "If Your Highness wants to kill me, you can just ask for permission! No need for this roundabout way!"

"Misunderstanding, misunderstanding!" Li Chengjing, panting heavily, reined in his horse, his forehead covered in sweat and his gold-threaded hunting clothes splattered with mud. "Besides, I was clearly aiming at the geese, why did they fly towards you?"

Wang Chengyuan couldn't stand it anymore: "How about I shoot for you?"

"No way." Li Chengjing said firmly, "I have to do it myself."

Wang Chengyuan was silent for a moment: "Then why don't you hit one?"

Li Chengjing gritted his teeth, dismounted, handed the bow to Zhao Lu, and squatted down to take off his boots.

He Li was startled: "What are you doing?"

"If I can't hit them with arrows, I'll just grab them." Li Chengjing threw down his boots, rolled up his trousers, and waded into the reeds.

"Are you crazy?" He Li paced anxiously on the shore. "You just recovered from your illness! If the Empress Dowager finds out, she'll skin me alive!"

"Just don't tell her." Li Chengjing had already walked into the knee-deep water and was reaching out towards the flock of geese in the distance.

The flock of geese had just landed back on the water and were leisurely preening their feathers.

Li Chengjing crept closer, the mud beneath his feet making a squelching sound.

A goose turned its head and met his gaze.

Lee Seung-kyung held his breath.

The goose tilted its head.

Then it let out a squeal.

The entire flock of geese was thrown into chaos.

Li Chengjing lunged forward—but missed, landing on the water's surface and splashing water up to half his height.

He Li covered his eyes on the shore.

Wang Chengyuan sat upright on his horse, took out an exquisite little silver pot from his sleeve, unscrewed the lid, and slowly sipped the wine.

"Absolutely brilliant," he commented.

Li Chengjing climbed out of the water, soaking wet, his gold-threaded hunting attire clinging to his body, the python patterns twisted like a dead snake. He wiped the water from his face, his gaze fixed on the departing flock of geese.

"Again."

Zhao Lu looked at his master, almost in tears: "Your Highness, can't we try another method? Nets, traps, even raising hawks to catch them—any method will do!"

Li Chengjing wiped his face and stood in the water catching his breath.

"Are there any hunters nearby? Let's buy a big net and find someone to help pull it down." Li Chengjing walked ashore, a tuft of seaweed hanging from his trouser leg. "I refuse to believe that I, the dignified Prince of Liang, can't even catch a goose."

Half an hour later.

Three of Chang'an's most notorious playboys squatted by the reeds, working together to pull a hemp net borrowed from a hunter.

The net was bought with Zhao Lu's money. The masters searched their bodies thoroughly and found no loose silver. He only carried silver notes when he went out, which the hunters did not recognize.

After setting up the net, the three men scattered a line of food scraps in front of it to lure the flock of geese over.

Then came the long wait.

He Li squatted until his legs went numb, then leaned against the bundle of reeds and dozed off.

Wang Chengyuan took out a silk handkerchief and carefully wiped the mud-splattered surface of his boots, his expression unpleasant.

Only Li Chengjing, like a cat lurking in wait for its prey, stared intently at the water's surface.

"They're here," he suddenly said in a low voice.

He Li jolted awake: "Where?"

Sure enough, the "model couple" he had his eye on swam over again on the distant water.

The pair of geese leisurely pecked at the bits of dry food scattered on the shallow beach.

He took another peck.

Step by step, they strolled into the net's territory.

"Pull!" Lee Seung-kyung suddenly pulled up the net rope.

The hemp net closed from both sides, trapping the pair of geese inside with precision.

"Ha!" Li Chengjing sprang to his feet, rushed over, and slammed down on the net. Two geese flapped their wings and cried out in alarm inside. He held the net firmly, laughing like a victorious general. "Got them! Got two at once!"

The male goose angrily stretched its neck through the mesh of the net and pecked Li Chengjing's hand hard.

"Ouch!" Li Chengjing winced in pain, but his grip didn't loosen; instead, he pressed even tighter. "Pecking me won't help; you have to come with me today!"

He Li ran over to help hold down the other end of the net, but the mother goose pecked his ear through the mesh, making him roll on the ground in pain: "My God—how come this thing's beak is like an iron clamp! It's a double attack from both husband and wife!"

Wang Chengyuan stood far away, motionless.

I might be the only one of the three who brought reason with me when I went out.

After a chaotic commotion, Li Chengjing finally managed to pull the two geese out of the net. He held one in each hand, tightly in his arms.

At this moment, there wasn't a clean spot on his body. His hands were pecked and bleeding, his hair was half disheveled, and his golden crown was askew on the side of his head, but the smile on his face was as bright as fireworks in the first month of the lunar year.

"A perfect match, good things come in pairs!" He held up the two struggling geese high. "Let's go! Back to the city! To deliver the betrothal gifts!"

He Li slumped to the ground, looked up at the sky and sighed, "I'm never going out with you again."

Wang Chengyuan walked over, looked down at Li Chengjing, and suddenly reached out to straighten his crooked golden crown.

"Go back and change your clothes before you go." Wang Chengyuan frowned. "If you come to propose marriage looking like this, carrying two birds, the Cui family will think we kidnapped you and your pets."

Li Chengjing looked down at himself—mud, seaweed, broken feathers, bloodstains—he was indeed not very presentable.

"That makes sense." He nodded. "Let's go back to the manor and change our clothes first."