Playing Along: I Accidentally Won the Purehearted Prince’s Heart

[Black-hearted but devoted prince gong x vengeful, frail, hypocritical shou. Happy ending + both leads inexperienced + hypocritical shou + strong leads + mutual devotion + alternating sweetness and angst + ensemble cast] Everyone in the Shengjing Palace knows that Sheng Huaizhou is a bastard son born to an abandoned concubine of the Cold Palace. Though cautious at every turn, he is still wantonly bullied, with every dirty job dumped on him. He is drugged at the Crown Prince's investiture ceremony, but in the woods he happens upon Mu Yungui, who is gathering lingzhi on a sheer cliff face... From that moment on, a ray of light takes up residence in his heart. It turns out that aside from his mother, the concubine confined to the Cold Palace, there is someone else in this world willing to feed him medicine. “Grand Libationer Mu, this medicine is sweet...” Time and again he shows Mu Yungui how he feels, but the other man keeps evading and rejecting him. Only later does he learn the truth: “You cared for me, stood up for me, bandaged my wounds, and fed me medicine at every turn, all because you wanted to use me for revenge?” Ten years ago, the Chu family was falsely branded with dozens of crimes and perished in a great fire. Chu Yungui, the family's sole survivor, was sent to cultivate atop the Cloud Peak of Jiangling, where he changed his name to Mu Yungui. For decades he has been plagued by nightmares and trained tirelessly, all so he could avenge the Chu family one day. Unexpectedly, after decades of restraint and self-control, he meets a little drunkard who has lost all reason. From then on, his heart, lonely for ten years, begins to feel a trace of attachment. He walks to Sheng Huaizhou's side and says gently, “Shall I help you ascend the throne?”