[The flamboyant Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, famed as the most beautiful man in the Western Capital × Chang’an’s pampered beauty, skilled in hidden weapons and mechanical traps]
Rumor had it that the top-ranked candidate in the palace examinations, famed as the most beautiful man in the Western Capital, had observed ten years of mourning for his late wife, who died when they were young. Princess Linxiang loved nothing more than plucking aloof beauties, so she forcibly seized him in the street and had him carried into the princess’s residence in a bridal sedan.
People assumed that, as a Junior Minister of the Court of Judicial Review, he would surely impeach the princess and then uphold the law impartially, bringing her to justice.
But a month passed, and the princess and Lord He seemed to be getting along splendidly. The two could often be seen chatting happily at teahouses around the city. Rumors even said they regularly investigated cases together and were practically inseparable.
Three months passed. The princess’s first love, a young general, returned victorious from the front and began throwing his weight around, bullying Lord He. The princess saw reason in the face of beauty: she personally impeached her first love and gave him a sound beating for good measure.
Half a year passed. The princess revealed her identity in court and requested a joint hearing by the Three Judicial Offices to reopen the wrongful case surrounding the massacre of the Qingxiao Escort Agency. Lord He recused himself and resigned, becoming the princess’s legal counsel.
“Should you die before me, I will mourn you and remain chaste for the rest of my life, never marrying again. I swear I will not break this vow. If I do, then I, He Qizhou, will fail every imperial examination I take, remain without office even in my old age, and die a miserable death far from home in a cold, humble room.”
“You’re pretty eloquent. I could never come up with that many ways to curse myself.”
References: “On the Fatal Attraction of a Chivalrous Heroine to a Model Student: A Decade of Change in the Relationship Between a Chivalrous Heroine and a Model Student,” and “An Overview of the Top Scholar’s Courtship After His Late Wife from Their Youth Becomes the Princess of the Realm”.
