The Little Monk I Flirted With Is the Emperor

Li Chaoge, the late emperor’s legitimate daughter, had not yet come of age when the decree she received was not a marriage to a suitable husband, but an order from her new emperor, her half-brother: she was to marry for an alliance and be sent far beyond the frontier. On the eve of her wedding, she set the Princess’s residence ablaze and escaped amid the chaos. During her flight, she came across a young monk in a ruined temple, being hunted and barely clinging to life. His features were as beautiful as a painting. Even covered in blood, he clutched his prayer beads and chanted sutras. Li Chaoge lifted his chin with the tip of her sword. “I’m going somewhere no one knows me. I need someone to carry my bags. Are you coming?” Wuchen raised his eyes. “This humble monk... is willing to follow you, benefactress.” For five years, they kept each other company. She used him as cover, while he relied on her to evade his pursuers. When she was injured, he tore off his monk’s robe to bandage her, his fingertips trembling. When someone harassed her, he broke his vow against anger and killed the man for the first time, then knelt before the Buddha and chanted sutras all night to atone. The frontier was in chaos, and no one at court could be relied upon. Li Chaoge decided the time had come. She would fight her way back and save the realm. “Little monk, I’m going to fight for the throne. What about you?” Wuchen looked at her. “Wherever the princess goes, this humble monk will go too.” On the day the army marching to rescue the emperor stormed the imperial city, Li Chaoge stood in her armor and watched as a man was welcomed by a crowd of admirers. He had shed his gray monk’s robe and donned the bright yellow imperial robes. He was not her Wuchen. He was the crown prince of the previous dynasty, Xiao Jingchuan, the true ruler of the realm. Li Chaoge sneered and drew her sword. Xiao Jingchuan waved everyone away, then walked step by step toward her sword. He raised a hand, grasped its edge, and pressed it to his chest. “Chaoge. You said you picked me up. That was the greatest fortune of my life.” “I’ll give you the realm.” “And I’ll give you myself.”