The most dissolute couple in the capital

The wedding date was set for the ninth day of the ninth lunar month, three months from now.

Cui Qingyi was very satisfied with this. Although the time was a bit tight, it was enough for her to finish checking the dowry she needed to prepare.

Her "retirement countdown" has officially begun.

However, some people are not satisfied.

Very dissatisfied.

-

The Liang Prince's Mansion.

Li Chengjing lay slumped over his desk, his chin resting on his crossed arms, staring blankly at a blank sheet of paper in front of him.

Zhao Lu, who was serving the writing brush and ink, had already changed the tea three times. Finally, he couldn't help but cautiously speak up: "Your Highness, if you don't have anything you want to write, why don't you take a break?"

"Shut up." Li Chengjing sat up straight irritably, picked up his pen, dipped it in ink, and wrote the character "Cui" heavily on the paper.

Then it stopped moving again.

He stared at the character as if he could see a person emerge from its strokes.

"Three months!" He abruptly threw down his pen, the ink splattering onto the letter like tiny tears. "A full ninety days! Who made this rule? Have they no humanity left?"

Zhao Lu weakly replied, "It is... the Zhou rites..."

Li Chengjing was momentarily speechless, then said, "This is a special case for me, and it should be handled as a special matter. I'll go to the palace another day and talk to my elder brother, and have him issue an edict to change this rule for me."

Zhao Lu trembled with fright and almost knelt down: "Your Highness! You mustn't! This...this set of rites and laws is the foundation of the nation. How can it be changed so easily? If you really tell His Majesty this, and the Empress Dowager finds out, she will surely punish you by making you copy the Book of Rites!"

"Why did she punish me by making me copy the Book of Rites?" Li Chengjing raised an eyebrow.

"Make an example of him!" Zhao Lu thought quickly.

"..." Li Chengjing choked for a moment, seemingly finding some truth in Zhao Lu's words. He remained silent for a while, then waved his hand dismissively, "Alright, alright, if I don't want to change it, I don't want to change it. I was just saying."

He said "never mind" but his eyes darted around.

"Rules are rules, but people are flexible! The rules of etiquette say 'no meeting before marriage,' but they don't say 'chance encounters' are forbidden, do they?"

Zhao Lu opened his mouth, then hesitated and said, "Your Highness, this is probably against the rules..."

"I don't care if it's against the rules." Li Chengjing picked up a clean pen again, and enthusiastically spread out a new sheet of paper. "I'll write her a letter, inviting her to go to the White Horse Temple outside the city to offer incense in three days. I'll bring He Li and Wang Chengyuan along, and we'll say we're going on a spring outing and 'bumped into' each other. No one can say anything wrong about that. That's called a scheme, understand?"

Seeing the smug expression on his prince's face, Zhao Lu silently swallowed back the words that were on the tip of his tongue: "This isn't a chance encounter, this is blatant blatant harassment."

Never mind, as long as Your Highness is happy.

He was just a weak and helpless eunuch; what could he say?

Li Chengjing made up his mind, wrote furiously, and quickly completed the letter.

"Zhao Lu, send this to the Cui residence." Li Chengjing blew on the ink, folded the letter, and stuffed it into an envelope embroidered with gold thread.

Zhao Lu took the envelope, his face showing reluctance: "Your Highness, send it directly to the Cui residence... What if Lord Cui sees this..."

"Send it to the back door and have her maid, Suxin, receive it," Li Chengjing said matter-of-factly. "Don't let her father see it."

Zhao Lu took a deep breath and resigned himself to his fate.

-

Cui Mansion.

Su Xin stood in front of Cui Qingyi, holding a letter and looking at her strangely.

"Miss, it was delivered by someone from the Liang Prince's residence. They said it was written by His Highness himself."

Cui Qingyi was leaning against the chaise lounge by the window, flipping through a travelogue.

One of the biggest advantages of being reborn is that she finally has time to read leisurely books.

She took the letter, opened it, and glanced at it.

"I am overjoyed, at that time..." Cui Qingyi read it aloud, her tone flat.

Su Xin leaned closer: "His Highness has invited you to offer incense."

Cui Qingyi turned the letter over, looked at the back to make sure there was nothing else, then folded the letter and got up to walk to the desk.

Su Xin looked at her with anticipation.

Cui Qingyi placed the letter on the candlelight.

The flame licked the paper, and the letter instantly curled up, turning into a pile of ashes that drifted into the copper plate.

Su Xin: "..."

"Miss!" Su Xin's eyes widened. "Why do you have a fever?"

"From the time of betrothal to the wedding, unmarried men and women should not meet in private." Cui Qingyi patted the dust off her fingers, lay back on the chaise lounge, and opened her travelogue. "If people find out, the censor will impeach them, and no one will feel good."

Su Xin opened her mouth, "But...but this is His Highness Prince Liang! Who dares to impeach him?"

"No one dares to impeach him," Cui Qingyi said without looking up. "They impeached my father."

She was impatient with all the red tape.

But there's no need to create trouble for yourself.

"Su Xin, brew a pot of tea."

"Oh..." Su Xin responded awkwardly. Before leaving the room, she couldn't help but look back at the ashes in the bronze plate, secretly shedding a tear of sympathy for that prince.

Your Highness, your letter is dead.

-

The Liang Prince's Mansion.

three days later.

Li Chengjing leaned against the window, gazing towards the gate of the mansion for the seventeenth time.

"Zhao Lu".

"exist."

"Has the letter been delivered?"

"It's been delivered."

"Are you sure it was delivered?"

"It has been delivered. Miss Suxin received it herself."

"Then why didn't she reply?" Li Chengjing rolled over, staring at the ceiling with a wronged expression. "Did her father intercept the letter?"

Zhao Lu thought to himself, given Miss Cui's personality, she probably wouldn't need Lord Cui to intercept her.

But he dared not say it.

"Perhaps... Miss Cui is still considering her words?" Zhao Lu managed to find an excuse.

"Three days to consider?" Li Chengjing sat up, his eyes lighting up. "Does she have other plans?"

Zhao Lu: "..."

Your Highness, do you remember that the agreed time was today?

You got stood up, you know? You were stood up!

Two more days passed, but there was still no response.

Li Chengjing couldn't sit still any longer, so he invited He Li and Wang Chengyuan to a restaurant in the east of the city.

He Li, munching on sunflower seeds beside him, added, "Has Your Highness considered the possibility that Miss Cui simply doesn't want to go?"

"Impossible." Li Chengjing shook his head decisively. "I secretly glanced at her on the day of the betrothal, and she looked out the window several times."

Wang Chengyuan and He Li exchanged a glance.

He Li whispered, "They're probably checking if the betrothal gifts are enough."

"What do you know?" Li Chengjing slammed his hand on the table. "She was definitely looking at me! The moon-white brocade robe I wore that day, paired with a jade crown, looked absolutely stunning. Zhao Lu even said I was the most eye-catching person on the whole street."

Wang Chengyuan's eyelids twitched, and he downed the drink in his glass in one gulp: "Fine, you're good-looking, you're the best-looking. So what? What are you planning to do?"

Li Chengjing leaned closer and lowered his voice: "I've come up with an idea."

"Your ideas are never reliable." He Li instinctively shrank back.

"This time it's reliable," Li Chengjing said seriously. "I'll climb over the wall."

"..."

He Li choked on a melon seed, patting his chest repeatedly.

Wang Chengyuan, however, remained expressionless. He put down his wine glass and asked a crucial question: "How high is the back wall of the Cui residence?"

"Six feet." Li Chengjing said confidently. "I had it measured a few days ago."

He Li was genuinely puzzled: "You had someone measure the walls of the Cui residence??"

"Yes, that's right." Li Chengjing said matter-of-factly, "I passed by during the betrothal ceremony and took a look. I've climbed over places higher than this."

Wang Chengyuan put down his chopsticks and looked at Li Chengjing seriously: "You, a prince, are climbing over someone's courtyard wall in broad daylight. What if the patrolling military officer sees you?"

"Why not just wear a servant's clothes?"

"What if Lord Cui finds out?"

"Lord Cui is on duty in the palace at this time."

Wang Chengyuan was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "You even know someone else's father's daily routine."

Li Chengjing nodded vigorously.

Life is about achieving your goals through your own efforts.

He Li covered his face.

Wang Chengyuan sighed, resigned to his fate. He had to help, whether he wanted to or not; otherwise, the chances of something going wrong would only be greater if his ancestor did it alone.

"Climbing over the wall is fine," Wang Chengyuan said, raising a finger. "But if you climb over alone and run into a servant of the Cui family, things could get complicated. You'll need a diversionary tactic."

Li Chengjing's eyes lit up: "What method?"

Wang Chengyuan curled his lips into a smirk, revealing a lavish smile: "Block the street in front of the Cui residence."