Xiao Jue, the tenth prince of Nanzhao, is a notorious playboy in Jingyao City, showered with affection and known for his arrogant, domineering ways. He spends his days cockfighting and chasing dogs, a “heaven-blessed prodigy” whom everyone thinks is beyond saving. Hidden beneath that arrogance is a show of bravado that no one else understands.
Passing the imperial examinations and earning a place on the honors list should have been Xiao Jue’s chance to prove he was “good for more than just having fun.” Instead, he blundered straight into a trap set by Shen Yanzhou. Born to a poor family, Shen Yanzhou is a refined, upright top scholar, as untouchable as the moon in the sky, someone Xiao Jue can only admire from afar. He knows his own reputation is too vile for Shen Yanzhou to want anything to do with him, yet in this carefully engineered encounter, he can’t help offering up his ardent, sincere heart.
At first, Shen Yanzhou truly despises Xiao Jue. To him, the prince is nothing but a miscreant who abuses his status to do as he pleases, and the trap is simply a necessary way to rid the court of a parasite. But as he spends day after day with Xiao Jue, he gradually sees the truth beneath that “playboy” facade: Xiao Jue’s arrogance is a way of protecting himself. The so-called affection showered on him is merely an illusion created by the royal family to keep rival factions in balance; he has never truly been cherished.
After the Qiongtai Banquet, under the cold moonlight, Shen Yanzhou holds Xiao Jue, battered and bruised, his defenses stripped away until nothing remains but vulnerability. For the first time, Shen’s eyes fill with tears. He clutches the man he once looked down on and schemed against, but now feels only guilt and heartache for, and weeps. The trap he set had ensnared not only Xiao Jue, but also his own heart, which had realized its feelings too late. Nestled in his arms, Xiao Jue breathes in the scent of ink on Shen Yanzhou and can no longer tell whether the feelings that bloomed in this “trap” were an accident or fate.
