Chapter 1

When Cui Lanzhang pointed at me,

I was dozing off with my face cupped in my hands.

Then, all of a sudden, Madam Cui swooped into the seat before me.

Taking my hand, she asked with a beaming smile, “My dear girl, would you be willing to marry my son?”

My eyes flew open in fright. I hurriedly looked at Cui Lanzhang, the graceful young man before me who had already become deputy governor of the capital at such a tender age.

With a keen awareness of my own limitations, I asked, “Would Lord Cui truly consider someone like me?”

After all, my father had worked diligently for most of his life, yet his official rank was still lower than Cui Lanzhang’s.

Cui Lanzhang looked at me without saying a word.

Madam Cui turned and shot him an exasperated glare.

Then she turned back to me, smiling warmly. “My son may be reserved, but he has excellent judgment. Young Lady Meng must possess some extraordinary quality.”

I gave an awkward smile.

An extraordinary quality?

I really did not seem to have one.

Hurrying to reassure me, Madam Cui added, “The Meng family is a scholarly household. Young Lady Meng must be widely read.”

Feeling a little guilty, I glanced at her. “Widely read? If storybooks count, then I suppose I’ve read myself quite full.”

Madam Cui slapped her thigh.

“You really are a match made in heaven! My son adores reading too.”

My mouth twitched. That counted?

She then launched into an endless sales pitch for her son.

“Lanzhang has always conducted himself impeccably. He has never kept a bedchamber maid or a concubine.”

I nodded vigorously and laughed politely. “How wonderful!”

Madam Cui cleared her throat, leaned closer, and lowered her voice.

“I guarantee he’s still as pure as a maiden—spotless!”

I froze for a moment.

I never expected words like those to come out of a noblewoman’s mouth.

Truth be told, I had come to the Cui residence for the banquet

only to cadge a free meal.

Still,

Cui Lanzhang truly was an excellent prospect.

He was handsome, for one thing, but more importantly, he was young, accomplished, and from a wealthy, powerful family.

He was also gentle and courteous—the sort of man who would never strike his wife.

His mother was still young, so I would not have to manage the household anytime soon, and there were no sisters-in-law to make trouble.

The moment I married in, I could settle into a life of blissful idleness.

I could even read storybooks without sneaking around for fear my father would catch me. How marvelous was that?

I studied Cui Lanzhang more closely.

Broad shoulders, long legs, a prominent Adam’s apple, and a high nose bridge. The storybooks all said

a man built like that would be spectacular in bed.

So I would not have to worry about marital bliss, either.

Besides, as the daughter of a minor official, a marriage into a family like the Cuis

was an even wilder stroke of luck than stepping in dog shit.

So I slapped my thigh

and accepted on the spot.