Mo Yuan’s Heart Belongs Only to Qing Ci

Everyone in Chang'an was talking about how Cui Qingci, the legitimate daughter of the second branch of the Qinghe Cui clan, had been rejected by the Li family.

Their reason was laughably absurd: they thought the second branch of the Cui family was “poor,” unable to provide a decent dowry and unworthy of their eldest son, a legitimate heir of the Longxi Li clan. But everyone in Chang'an knew the truth: Li Chongyan had clearly gained the support of the Wei family and wanted to marry their heiress, a young woman with a fortune at her disposal.

Cui Qingci neither cried nor made a scene. She even managed to comfort her furious brother, who was ready to kill someone. “When the old man lost his horse, who could have known it was a blessing in disguise?”

Three days later, her words came true.

Her grandmother “invited” her to the main courtyard. When Cui Qingci pushed open the door, she found none other than Qi Moyuan, heir to the Prince of Zhenbei, rumored to be ruthless and uninterested in women. The old princess dowager took her hand and smiled warmly. “Good girl, marry into our marquis’s household and show those fools what they missed.”

Cui Qingci lowered her eyes and replied, “I’ll leave it to you to decide, Grandmother.”

Everyone else thought her family had sold her off for a second time. Only Qi Moyuan knew the truth. Behind the screen that day, he had asked her, “Aren’t you afraid of escaping one fire pit only to fall into another?”

She looked up. There was no trace of meekness in her eyes. She was a cat with its claws tucked away. “Your Highness must be no fool if you’ve risen to your current position. Making a deal with a smart man is better than spending a lifetime with fools like the Li family.”

Qi Moyuan smiled.

He had only wanted a sensible wife to silence the gossip, but he had ended up finding a treasure.

On their wedding night, he lifted her veil. “Since this is a deal, let’s agree on three years. If you want to leave after that, I’ll personally see you out of the manor.”