Forbidden love between men × the paradox of ruler and subject × a prison of identity
Style: Serious drama × intellectual romance × a sense of fated beauty
In the fictional dynasty of Dayin, the emperor shares power with aristocratic families. Secret organizations include the Shadow Guard Bureau and the Tianji Pavilion, a martial-world organization.
When a prince comes of age, he must choose a “study companion” (in truth, a hidden guard and sex slave).
The palace's secret drug, “Soul-Tether,” can control people's minds, but shortens their lives.
On the first day of every lunar month, they must take a “Clearheart Pill” to suppress their desires.
On the surface: a forbidden romance between a deposed crown prince and his shadow guard.
Beneath the surface: a struggle to restore the former dynasty between its last emperor's surviving heir and a powerful official of the current court.
Top (Xiao Jingyi): The deposed crown prince and surviving heir of the previous dynasty's last emperor. He has a cinnabar mole at the outer corner of his left eye and always wears a silver mask. Gentle and refined on the surface, he is ruthless underneath, both dependent on and exploitative of the bottom.
Bottom (Xie Wuya): Commander of the Shadow Guard Bureau and young master of the Tianji Pavilion. Three old whip scars mark his right hand, and he always carries a poisoned dagger. Though burdened by the blood feud that destroyed his family, he feels compassion for the top.
