I Was a Loyal Minister, Forced to Rebel

In the final years of the previous dynasty, the land fell into chaos. A merchant seized the opportunity to rise, and a few years later, he pacified the realm and founded the An dynasty.

In the tenth year of Great An, the realm had only just been brought to peace, yet the Son of Heaven was already worrying about his successor.

The eldest prince was suspicious and paranoid. If he took the throne, he would surely purge anyone who opposed him. Neither the meritorious officials who had helped him win the realm nor his other brothers would likely meet a good end.

The second prince was sly and treacherous. The only reason he hadn't gone too far yet was that he still had to make a living under the emperor. Once he took the throne, with no one to keep him in check, he would surely unleash his worst instincts and treat the court and the realm as his playthings.

The third prince was bright, quick-witted, kind, and virtuous. He had been the perfect candidate for the throne, but then he met a woman and something went wrong with his brain. Now he spent all day chasing after her, saying, "Woman, where do you think you're running off to?" and "Woman, don't even dream of leaving my sight in this life." The Son of Heaven hurriedly locked the two of them together and never wanted to see either one again.

That left one problem: all three of his sons had been crossed off the list. So who would be crown prince?

The Son of Heaven was fretting over this when he heard a report that a stone stele had appeared, bearing the words, "The Ji clan has lost the deer; the Chu shall take its place." It had been presented as evidence that Chu Fengnian, a prince of a different surname, intended to rebel.

The Son of Heaven: ???

The Son of Heaven: What a stroke of luck!

*

Chu Fengnian led his troops to quell a rebellion and returned a few months later, only to find that everything had changed after he arrived in the capital.

Accused of treason and thrown into prison, Chu Fengnian hadn't even had the chance to defend himself and clear his name when a demon forcibly possessed him.

The demon called itself the System and claimed it had come to help him become a wise ruler.

Chu Fengnian, who had just been falsely accused of rebellion: ...?

Just as he was starting to question his loyalty to his sovereign, he saw the tasks the System had assigned him.

[Hold Qi Yanshan's hand (600 seconds)]

[Hug Qi Yanshan (2 hours)]

[Stay within 1 meter of Qi Yanshan (30 days)]

Qi Yanshan: formerly a merchant, now the founding emperor and the Son of Heaven.

Chu Fengnian: ...

Chu Fengnian: ???

#An emperor who wants to be overthrown every day and a general who doesn't want to rebel but is forced to rebel (x), defy the throne (x), and seduce him (yes)#

#A general who doesn't want to be emperor isn't a good empress#

#I thought of you as my son, but you want to be my wife#

#We were father and son, until a helpful wingman came along#

A dashing young general as the shou and a scheming emperor as the gong

※ Shou's POV, 1v1, both are virgins. The gong is 32 and the shou is 17 from the start. The gong has no harem, and his sons aren't biological (there's a reason in the story).

※ The shou lost both parents a few years ago and has been raised and taught by the gong ever since. They share a bond like teacher and student, and are as close as father and son (the author just loves this sort of thing).

※ Aside from the shou, nobody in this story is quite normal, including the gong. The shou is a proper court official, but is forced to get involved in romance.

※ The shou will ascend the throne later on.

※ The System is a little good-for-nothing.

(A love story about everyday life, with the occasional outing to mess with idiots. Not much political intrigue.)

Theme: I will start anew, restore our lost lands, and return to the palace