But he simply lowered his head, restrainedly touched Zhao Xiheng's lips, and then picked her up in his arms.

Zhao Xiheng realized that he wanted more than just a kiss. She clung to Wei Li's sleeve, anxiously peeking out, "I haven't seen enough of the lotus flowers yet."

"We'll talk about it next time."

Does this mean I can come out again next time?

The two returned in less than an hour, and the atmosphere was still a bit off. The maids sensed something was amiss and quickly withdrew.

"Wait, wait!" Zhao Xiheng pushed away the person who was about to cover her, and brushed aside the messy hair that was covering her face. "Wait a minute!"

"What are you going to do now?" Wei Li asked impatiently.

She got out of bed, found a notebook and pen, and wrote down what Wei Li had just said.

On the 13th day of the sixth month of the first year of Anding: Wei Li said, "If I had a daughter, I would drag her out of bed before dawn to practice martial arts. She wouldn't be allowed to eat snacks or candy, and I would only make four sets of clothes for her every year. I wouldn't feel sorry for her even if she cried."

Wei Li hugged her from behind and bit her neck. "Are you done yet?"

Zhao Xiheng felt ticklish from his nibbling and said, "Okay, okay."

Wei Li tied the silk ribbon around her eyes, and Zhao Xiheng felt ashamed.

What's wrong with this guy? He always blindfolds her during the day. He'll never undress himself unless he's blindfolding her. It's incredibly perverse. Does he enjoy this kind of thrill? Or is there something about him that she can't see?

"No." She blushed and pulled the ribbon down, but Wei Li grabbed her hand and coaxed her, "Be good."

She's good at sweet-talking people in bed.

When she woke up again, it was already dark. After dinner, Wei Li brought over a stack of blank invitations and placed them in front of her.

Zhao Xiheng sat on one side of the daybed, with a thin blanket covering her legs, and Gou Dan'er slept on the blanket.

In the middle of the daybed was a small table with a lamp lit on it, casting a warm, orange-yellow glow. The pile of invitations was stacked on that small table. Wei Li took off his shoes and sat on the other side, separated from her by a table, holding a glass cup containing chilled cherries.

"Why is everything blank? Didn't you write anything?" she asked after flipping through the pages. Her throat was quite dry, so she took a sip of honey water to moisten it.

"I'm waiting for you to write it." Wei Li sat to the side and ate a cherry. He wasn't going to write it; so many names, it was too much trouble.

"These are the names of all the generals in Pingzhou. Write them down first," he said, pointing to the list on the table.

The cherries were quite sweet, each one as big as a pigeon egg, a deep red-purple color, glistening and plump, and juicy.

He picked out a large one, held the stem between his fingers, leaned over, and brought it to Zhao Xiheng's lips.

Zhao Xiheng's gaze was still fixed on the roster, and she didn't know what Wei Li had handed her, but she took a bite of it.

"Is it sweet?" he asked.

"Hmm." She frowned.

"Why are you frowning, Sweetie?"

"There are just too many people." If she really had to write them all, her hand would cramp up. "Don't you have anyone under you who writes beautiful handwriting and can help write invitations? If all else fails, the letter-writing gentleman from down the mountain would also do."

"Are you crazy? You can't just let an outsider write your wedding papers. You have no sincerity at all." He flicked Zhao Xiheng on the forehead.

Zhao Xiheng was extremely disgusted. When Zhao Mingjin married the Crown Princess, the invitations were written by the Ministry of Rites and the banquet was held in Chengming Hall. Why did she have to write her own invitations when she got married?

Alright, alright, considering Wei Li's humble background, she'll do as the locals do.

"One more, please." Wei Li handed over another cherry.

Zhao Xiheng couldn't find a handkerchief to spit out the cherry pit in her mouth, but Wei Li opened his palm and said, "Spit it out."

“This isn’t a good idea.” She pressed the tip of her tongue against the pit.

"You talk too much nonsense. I never thought you were dirty when we kissed."

Zhao Xiheng blushed, spat the pit into his palm, then took the cherry in her mouth, her cheeks puffing out slightly.

"If you think it's too much, just write the first part. The booklet is arranged according to rank, so you can just ask those with high rank in the military."

"Then why don't you write with me?" Zhao Xiheng suddenly realized and looked up at him.

How can he feel at ease leaving all the work to her after they've gotten married?

Wei Li blushed and coughed, "I'm busy right now."

If he were capable of writing, would he have copied it all down and given it to Zhao Xiheng?

"What are you busy with?" Zhao Xiheng looked him up and down. Busy slacking off?

Wei Li waved the cherries in his hand, "Busy eating cherries." As if burying his head in the sand, he said fiercely, "Just write what I tell you to write, stop with all the nonsense."

"If all else fails, I'll grind the ink for you, okay? What a hassle!" He muttered as he put the glass cup aside, snatched the ink from her hand, and shoved it into the inkstone, splashing ink everywhere. He was clearly a novice, the kind who didn't write often.

Alright, alright, let him keep grinding ink. I bet the whole table will be covered in ink, making a mess.

Zhao Xiheng quickly snatched the inkstone back from his hand, saying, "You don't need to grind the ink. You can just watch it."

She raised an eyebrow at Wei Li, whose ears were red and who was wiping his hands with a damp cloth, and quietly asked him, "My lord, is your handwriting terrible? Is that why you gave me all the invitations to write?"

"Shut up, or I'll cut your tongue out if you say another word." Wei Li glared at her fiercely, then threw the wet cloth onto the daybed and turned his head to look at the scenery outside the window.

The daybed is right next to the window, and you can see the courtyard from inside.

The area right next to the window was empty. There used to be a pear tree planted there, but Wei Li moved it because he thought there were too many mosquitoes.

The night sky is dotted with sparse stars and a bright full moon, with a small pavilion and a small pond in the distance.

The rest of the land was cultivated by Zhao Xiheng and planted with ginseng. The ginseng was covered with windproof cloth to create long, winding, low sheds, which were not at all refined.

When Zhao Xiheng saw him turn his face away fiercely, she knew she was right.

It was truly unexpected; Wei Li's handwriting was terrible, but she was still curious to see just how bad it could be.

She unfolded a gold-embossed invitation and signed her name on it.

After writing three pages in a row, Wei Li seemed unable to sit still by the window any longer. He shifted his body, then turned around, rested his hands on the small table, and watched Zhao Xiheng write.

“Like this, make this hook a little sharper.” He pointed at Zhao Xiheng, “And make this part a little bigger.”

Zhao Xiheng gripped the pen tightly in her delicate hand, wishing she could splash the ink on his face.

He didn't write anything to order her around, but now that she has, he's starting to criticize her.

Pooh!

She took a deep breath, then looked up and rubbed her wrist. "I didn't write well, why don't you write it, my lord?"

Wei Li fell silent, offering no further guidance. He propped himself up on his arms and shifted back slightly. "Zhao Xiheng, you think you're so great? You think you can threaten me? Tch..."

"Come on, I've never seen my lord write before." Zhao Xiheng handed over the brush. Isn't he amazing? Come and write!

She's amazing! If you disagree, just keep quiet!

Wei Li stepped back again, annoyed, and said, "Fine, fine, I won't say anything more. You can continue writing."

Zhao Xiheng secretly pouted, then put her pen back and continued writing names on the register.

Wei Li seemed really bored, but unwilling to go out and find something to do, so he could only feed Zhao Xiheng cherries one bite at a time to pass the time.

He offered her another one, but Zhao Xiheng turned her head away, saying, "No, I'm full."

Wei Li, “…”

"Why can't you eat?"

The way I just found to kill time is gone again.

He looked at the lamp on the table and asked, "Is the light dim?"

"Not bad." Zhao Xiheng said without looking up.

Wei Li automatically translated "还行" as "not bright enough".

He removed the lampshade, took a small pair of scissors, and began to trim the candle wick. The flame, which was originally the size of a broad bean, suddenly shot up to the height of a thumb under his manipulation. A gust of wind blew in from outside, and the flame trembled and swayed, making the surroundings flicker between light and shadow.

The flickering firelight hurt Zhao Xiheng's eyes. She gripped her pen tightly, and the words of curse were on the tip of her tongue, almost bursting out.

Are you a dog? You get restless the moment you're idle? You fiddle with candles when you have nothing to do, are you sick?

Wei Li realized that he hadn't really helped, so he quickly put the lampshade back and secretly looked at Zhao Xiheng's expression. She was very calm, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

He sat quietly for a while, and Zhao Xiheng thought he had finally behaved himself.

Wei Li suddenly asked her, "Zhao Xiheng, is there anyone you want to invite?"

"No, I don't think I have anyone to invite." Except for Xie Qingyu who lives next door.

"Your two older cousins, and your older cousin? Aren't you going to invite them?" Wei Li tapped the table to attract her attention.

"Why would we invite them? Not to mention we don't get along very well, they've come all this way, so they won't come anyway," Zhao Xiheng said, shaking her aching hand as she answered his question.

"Who said they have to come? It's better if they don't come; I'd rather they did. I'd find it unlucky if they did."

"Then what's the point of writing it?" She tilted her head in confusion, a little unable to follow Wei Li's train of thought.

“Since Zhao Mingjin wants to exchange you for someone else and then exchange troops, even if I kill his envoy to show my refusal, I still feel uncomfortable. Write a wedding invitation for him to attend our wedding, and then write another one for that so-and-so, Jiang something.”

“Jiang Su,” Zhao Xiheng reminded him.

"Hmm, Jiang Su, Jiang Su, if you're going to slap someone in the face, you have to slap them completely. Trying to steal my people, I'll make them furious." Wei Li's pupils were dark and bright, yet also gloomy and sinister.

Hearing this, Zhao Xiheng's eyes lit up, and she hugged him and kissed him. "My lord has quite a few insidious ideas. You're really amazing."

Jiang Su and Zhao Mingjin definitely wouldn't travel all that way to attend the wedding, and besides, there are only two months left. Once the invitations arrive, the wedding will be less than half a month away. Even if they had wings, they couldn't fly over. Sending the invitations would at least annoy them.

Didn't you want me to go back and get married to exchange for soldiers? No way, come to my wedding! I'll save you a seat. She didn't believe Zhao Mingjin wouldn't be angry.