Can a Cruel, Violent Prince Become Everyone's Darling?

[Ensemble Cast] [Concubine-Born Son Rises to Power] [Political Scheming] [Comeback] [Pure Madmen] [No CP] [Everyone's Darling]

Su Yanzhi is the prince no one in the imperial capital believes in.

Born under unusual circumstances, he has been regarded as an outsider since birth.

At three, he was thrown into a dark room in the Cold Palace. At seven, he was thrown into the imperial hunting grounds as prey.

At nine, his father took him out of the hunting grounds.

Shunned by everyone, he navigates the palace step by step.

Everyone thinks he's all alone, with a life as worthless as a blade of grass.

But no one knows:

The old eunuch who sweeps the Cold Palace secretly kept a lamp burning for him for seven years;

The lame old hunter in the hunting grounds dragged him out of a rain of arrows, risking half his life;

The rough-and-tumble generals on the northern frontier, men who live by the blade, curse him as their "mad master" but turn around and suppress rebellions for him.

The most reckless covert guard organization in the martial world recognizes only him as its master, killing and risking their lives for him.

Even the Fourth Prince, who never takes sides at court, secretly blocked countless assassination attempts for him.

This crowd dotes on him, protects him, and lifts him up, yet he was born with madness in his bones.

"Father, you see me as a monster, so I'll become one."

"My brothers, my lords, look carefully. Starting today, I'll repay a hundredfold every hardship you've made me endure."

From an abandoned pawn to the ruler of a vast realm, he advances through bloodshed, seizing power over four kingdoms.

He thought he had entered the game alone. Only when he looked back did he see a hall full of madmen standing behind him.

They cherish him as they would their own lives, and he slaughters the world for them.

(No CP. The affection is familial, friendly, or based on master-servant bonds, with an ensemble-cast focus. There are no romantic storylines.)