The most dissolute couple in the capital

Just as things were calming down in the Wang family affair, news spread from the palace that the Emperor had ordered the Ministry of Rites to draft a new list of candidates for the Second Prince's consort.

This was not a big deal, but after some people inquired, they found that there was not a single woman on the list from the five prominent families and seven noble clans.

They were all daughters of minor officials of the sixth rank or below. The highest-ranking family was that of the legitimate daughter of a fifth-rank prefectural governor, who lived in the remote Lingnan region.

"What does Your Majesty mean by this?"

"Could it be... that you've developed a grudge against the Second Prince?"

"Heh, the incident at Huguo Temple caused quite a stir in the city recently. His Majesty hates it when people take charge of things for him. The Second Prince's methods of spreading rumors have probably stepped on His Majesty's sore spot."

The main courtyard of the Liang Prince's Mansion.

Cui Qingyi lay on the chaise longue, listening to Li Chengjing recount the news from outside in detail.

This is also one of the differences between him and Zheng Wenyuan. Zheng Wenyuan never talked to her about anything related to the court, only saying that women should not pry into such matters.

Li Chengjing would go out and ask around every day and then tell her what he found out.

Cui Qingyi replied calmly and without emotion: "The Book of Documents says, 'Pride invites loss, humility brings benefit.' Your Majesty is making a show of force. The Second Prince was too prominent recently, and the rumors about Huguo Temple were rampant. Your Majesty values ​​dignity above all else. How can you tolerate a prince disgracing the royal family like a storyteller just to win a marriage? This step he took was far too ugly."

Li Chengjing leaned closer to smell the incense on Cui Qingyi, discovering that he had mixed it himself. Satisfied, he leaned against her. "Anyway, he'll definitely be unhappy about the New Year's Day court assembly today. My second nephew seems like a gentle gentleman on the surface, but he's actually obsessed with saving face and suffers for it. Qingyi, let's stay away from him when we go to the palace today, so we don't get any bad luck. If my brother gets angry, he'll even scold me."

"Your Highness, rest assured," Cui Qingyi assured him with a smile.

-

The banquet for the New Year's Day court assembly was held in the Taiji Hall, while the women's quarters were held in the Linde Hall behind it.

After several rounds of drinks, the ladies of the palace, their hair adorned with fragrant perfumes, chatted amongst themselves. Cui Qingyi, annoyed by the noise, excused herself to change and slipped away to the secluded Qianqiu Pavilion.

The terrain here is slightly elevated, with a rockery made of Taihu stones and a pool of clear water below, making it an excellent haven.

She had just sat down and taken out a handful of pine nuts she had brought with her when she heard a soft sigh from beside her.

Turning his head, he saw Princess Li Zhao holding a cup of hot tea, blowing on the foam, and gazing intently at the corridor below.

"Your Majesty, you seem to be in high spirits." Li Zhao turned her head slightly. "The peonies in Linde Hall are in full bloom, yet you're hiding in Qianqiu Pavilion, enjoying the cold wind. Perhaps you find the fragrance of the flowers inside too overpowering?"

"Peony is beautiful, but looking at it for too long can be dazzling. This cool breeze is much more refreshing." Cui Qingyi pushed the pine nuts off her handkerchief, her expression natural. "They're a tribute from the south, thin-shelled and plump. Would the princess like to try some?"

Li Zhao didn't stand on ceremony, walking over and picking up a flower, playing with it between her fingers without eating it: "My aunt is insightful. But even if the flowers in this palace have faded, someone will always find a way to tie them back to the branches. Just now I saw Consort De leading a delicate flower from Fanyang, mysteriously heading towards the warm pavilion behind Feishuang Palace. You tell me, that place is secluded, how much sun could they possibly see?"

Behind the Feishuang Palace lies the only route that male members of the previous dynasty would take to change clothes before attending banquets.

Cui Qingyi didn't even lift her eyelids: "Whether the sun shines or not doesn't matter. What's important is that we can take advantage of the location and get some rain. As the saying goes, 'Don't let the good stuff go to outsiders.'"

Li Zhao chuckled softly, but the smile didn't reach her eyes. She stared at Cui Qingyi's profile, casting a deeper probing question: "I'm afraid this water is too shallow to contain a proud dragon. Do you think the timely rain will fall, Aunt?"

"It's hard to say," Cui Qingyi said slowly. "If a dragon is extremely hungry, it can even eat a loach. But if this dragon is sulking because it has lost a wider sea area, then if someone tries to force something into its mouth, it will not only fail to fill its stomach, but it will also have a piece of its flesh bitten off."

Li Zhao's eyes narrowed slightly.

She had initially thought that this imperial aunt was merely a lucky and insightful person. She never imagined, however, that she possessed such a thorough understanding of the political situation in the previous dynasty.

Even the top-tier Wang clan of Taiyuan couldn't be fully controlled by the second brother, so how could he be willing to be bound tightly by his maternal clan, the Lu clan, who were already tied to him? Consort De tried to force the issue, thinking she was offering help in a time of need, but in reality, she was adding fuel to the fire.

A strange sense of resonance and regret suddenly arose in Li Zhao's heart.

How many insightful women in the world are confined to the small world of their inner quarters, their infallible scheming skills only used to deal with concubines and illegitimate children?

If this Princess Liang not only sees through the situation but also has lofty ambitions... could she become a sharp weapon in her hands to break the deadlock and be used by her?

At this moment, Cui Qingyi, who was concentrating on peeling pine nuts, suddenly felt a chill run down the back of her neck for no apparent reason.

She cautiously wrapped her fox fur cloak tighter around herself, feeling a chill run down her spine.

Why does it suddenly feel a bit cold at Qianqiu Pavilion?

Li Zhao raised his teacup and offered a toast from afar, saying, "Since someone insists on performing this play, let's just watch the show from here at Qianqiu Pavilion."

Cui Qingyi quickly suppressed the ominous premonition in her heart, and smiled sincerely:

"No problem. I brought a whole bunch of pine nuts; enough to last until the show ends."

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a loud "bang" came from the warm pavilion below, as the carved wooden door was kicked open from the inside.

The two of them peered over and saw the Second Prince, Li Han, stride out of the warm pavilion with a livid face. His usually meticulously styled hair ornament was now slightly askew, and his clothes were somewhat disheveled.

A woman dressed in a long dress of begonia red brocade with gold embroidery chased after him from inside the warm pavilion.

"Why must you be angry, cousin? Although my aunt's actions were somewhat hasty, they were all for His Highness's sake. I..."

As the eldest daughter of the Lu family of Fanyang, who had been carefully raised, she tried her best to maintain her composure even though the situation was out of control. Originally, she only wanted to quickly walk forward and pull on Li Han's sleeve to explain.

However, just as she stepped onto the smooth bluestone steps outside the threshold of the warm pavilion, her foot suddenly slipped!

This sudden change came completely unexpectedly.

The woman surnamed Lu let out a scream, instantly lost her balance, and fell forward uncontrollably, crashing straight into Li Han in front of her!

In the violent tug-of-war, Li Han's meticulously styled hair ornament was knocked askew, and his clothes were torn and disheveled. A terrifying crimson appeared in his eyes, as if he had encountered something nauseating and filthy, and his reason completely snapped.

Instead of helping her up, he suddenly grabbed Lu's shoulder and pushed her away!

"ah--"

The woman, surnamed Lu, fell backward uncontrollably, stumbled back several steps, and then lost her footing.

"Thump!"

Water splashed everywhere. The pool water under the Taihu stones in early spring was bone-chillingly cold, with floating ice that had not yet completely melted.

The once haughty noblewoman was now struggling desperately in the water, her exquisite makeup and begonia-red dress instantly in disarray.

The screams shattered the tranquility of the Imperial Garden, instantly attracting the patrolling Imperial Guards and the ladies attending the banquet.

"Someone has fallen into the water! Help!"

Cui Qingyi was stunned by what she saw from above.

Having witnessed countless intrigues and power struggles within wealthy and influential families, she knew that even in open conflict, some would leave no bloodshed. This Second Prince, however, was different. Even if he resented Consort De's forceful buying and selling, surely he wouldn't go so far as to publicly drag his own cousin into the mess to distance himself from the affair?

A short while later, Consort De arrived in a fit of rage, surrounded by a group of palace servants. Seeing her niece, who had been pulled from the water like a drowned rat, and then looking at Li Han, who was filled with disgust and even frantically wiping his fingers with a handkerchief, Consort De trembled with anger.

"You unfilial son! What have you done?! This is your own cousin! How could you be so vicious?!"

"If Mother Consort is lacking a daughter, she can simply adopt one herself. Don't try to force such a lowly thing into my room!" Seeing the growing crowd, Li Han's gaze towards Consort De was devoid of any maternal affection. "Only Mother Consort could come up with such despicable methods!"

"You! You're going to drive me crazy!" Consort De raised her hand, but Li Han slapped it away.

Cui Qingyi, impatient to watch the mother and son arguing any longer, was about to pull Li Zhao away when she inadvertently caught a glimpse of the other side of the artificial hill.

The eldest daughter of the Wang family of Taiyuan stood quietly behind a clump of holly, watching the farce unfolding by the pond with an expressionless face.

Cui Qingyi narrowed her eyes and shifted her gaze to the left.

On the steps and threshold, there was a faint, inconspicuous layer of white frost, which shimmered in the sunlight.

"Talc powder?" Cui Qingyi murmured softly.

This substance is ground to an extremely fine fineness, making it not only a good material for women in the inner quarters to use as face powder and makeup, but also capable of causing someone to fall flat on their face without warning if sprinkled on a smooth stone slab.

Li Zhao followed her gaze and said, "How could the prestigious Wang family of Taiyuan allow such rumors to spread? Even a clay figure has some integrity. It seems that Miss Wang is much smarter than we thought."

Li Han plotted against Lady Wang, and Consort De plotted against Li Han, but Lady Wang noticed the scheme early on and turned the tables on him.

I don't know what method she used, but she sprinkled talcum powder on the threshold of the warm pavilion or on the only way to get there.

Lu slipped and lunged at Li Han. Perhaps due to the accumulation of recent setbacks, or perhaps due to the pressure of things about to get out of control, Li Han pushed her directly into the water.

But if we think about it more deeply, why did the rumors about the Wang and Lu families and the Second Prince spread throughout Chang'an overnight, like oil being poured on a fire and becoming uncontrollable?

How did Li Han's list of concubines, which should have been kept tightly under wraps, become such a sensation and known to everyone?

There's probably an even more terrifying hand stirring things up in the shadows, deliberately putting these groups on the spot and forcing them to act desperately!

The murky waters of the struggle for succession have always been deadly.

Cui Qingyi decisively abandoned her desire to investigate and smiled gently: "Your Highness, although the location of Qianqiu Pavilion is good, the wind is still a bit too strong. Before we left, the Prince instructed us to be careful of the wind and rain while we were out. If we catch a chill today, given the Prince's temperament, he will probably make quite a fuss when we get back."

She bowed and said, "In order not to cause trouble for His Majesty and Your Highness, please continue your enjoyment. I will take my leave now."

Li Zhao didn't expose him, and readily put down her teacup. "Very well, if the Imperial Uncle makes a scene, I dare not provoke him."

She stood up, glanced at the chaotic scene in the warm pavilion below, and chuckled, "Let's go. With such a commotion, Father is probably already on his way, ready to draw his sword and kill someone. We really should lay low for a while."