Chapter 1

In her previous life, Qin Xiyi died a frustrating and undignified death. She had climbed a tower to gaze at a handsome man, lost her footing, fell, and perished. Unexpectedly, when she woke up in this life, she was back in that late spring, when peach blossoms bloomed.

Qin Xiyi felt that since the heavens were so kind as to grant her another life, she absolutely had to get her dignity back.

And so, on the pleasure boat, a romantic encounter unfolded.

Clothes lay scattered across the floor, the room reeked of indulgence, and the red candles had burned down to mere inches, reflecting just how wild and passionate the night had been.

Qin Xiyi lay on the soft couch, covered only by a thin, sheer gauze that revealed her skin. Her hair, tangled from the night’s passion, still lay black and lustrous across the pillow. She opened her eyes, turned on her side, and propped her head on an arm as white as mutton fat jade, gazing at the man on the floor beside the bed with a faint, unreadable smile.

The man had woken up long ago. After getting out of bed, he hadn’t left, but simply sat there with his back to the bed, unmoving, for a whole hour.

Yesterday was the Shangsi Festival. Princess Qin Xiyi, disguised, had waited by the lake since early morning for Cheng Mozhi, the top scholar (Zhuangyuan) from the imperial examinations, who arrived on a pleasure boat for a spring outing. She then played her usual trick of falling into the water and calling for help.

Afterward, she used a pot of strong liquor to get the upright and honorable scholar drunk.

She just hadn’t expected that Young Master Cheng, who was famously unswayed by temptation, would be like a wolf and a tiger in bed, making Qin Xiyi, a veteran of the romantic scene, almost unable to handle him.

But the more she couldn’t handle him, the more she liked to tease him. Simply because Cheng Mozhi possessed a captivatingly handsome face, yet he would blush at a touch and flush at a word.

“Young Master, last night, did this one serve you well?”

Her languid voice was like a sudden chill, making Cheng Mozhi shiver. He suddenly stood up and turned to look at the person on the bed, but then felt he shouldn’t be looking, and frantically turned his face away again.

After a long while, he managed to squeeze out an apologetic sentence.

“Miss, last night, I, Cheng, was drunk and acted presumptuously…”

Qin Xiyi had already gotten out of bed, still draped in that thin gauze. She moved in front of Cheng Mozhi, threw an arm over his shoulder, forced him to look at her, and chuckled playfully.

“The presumptuousness has already happened, Young Master. At this point, isn’t it a bit rude to suddenly avert your gaze now?”

She said that, but inwardly, Qin Xiyi scoffed. Sure enough, even the most handsome face couldn’t escape the hypocritical nature of men, no matter how outwardly proper.

What man wants to get entangled after a one-night stand? They just use “drunk and out of control” as an excuse to fob you off.

What’s more, this Cheng Mozhi was the newly appointed top scholar, a rising star in the capital. How many noble families and prominent young ladies wanted to marry into their family?

But Qin Xiyi didn’t care; she was only in it for a night of pleasure.

“Miss, I will formally propose with all the traditional rites and marry you.”

The hand around his neck stiffened.

Cheng Mozhi stared at her, exceptionally serious, without a hint of jest.

Qin Xiyi released him, covering her mouth with a laugh.

“Thank you for your favor, Young Master, but this one’s ambitions do not lie here. It was merely a fleeting romance to begin with; after today, we won’t meet again.”

“Miss, what do you mean…”

Qin Xiyi ignored his flustered state. She bent down, picked up Cheng Mozhi’s outer robe from the floor, and slipped it on. She tightened the silk sash, her eyes gleaming with allure.

“Young Master, your technique is truly excellent. But next time you get intimate with someone else, please remember not to tear their clothes.”

“This was a fine piece of Suzhou embroidery, worth a hundred taels of silver! What a pity, what a pity!”