After the Evil White Moonlight Awakened, She Boldly Became a Live-in Son-in-Law

After the exceptionally gifted top scholar Xie You somehow offended the new emperor and was thrown into the imperial prison, he came into possession of a book from heaven. The Emperor's Obsession. He coughed a few times, puzzled as he watched characters bearing the emperor's name get entangled with his friend. Xie You didn't quite understand, but he saw that in the story, the emperor grew jealous of a general's infatuation with “Xie You.” After inventing charges to have him thrown in prison, the emperor turned around and arranged his marriage to his disabled elder brother. The story's “Xie You” was confined to the inner quarters and mocked by everyone. He abused the prince, colluded with foreign enemies, and was eventually beheaded by Huo Yang and put on public display. ...What a vicious man. He wasn't sure whether he was talking about that Xie You or the emperor. As luck would have it, not only did they share a name, they were also framed with exactly the same charges. If he wasn't forced into marriage, he was doomed. The next day, when he was brought before the court and the marriage was announced, Xie You shut his eyes, knelt on the ground, and gritted his teeth. “Your subject may be unworthy, but he still wishes to serve the court. I ask Your Majesty to allow me to marry into the prince's household.” Seeing the emperor's displeased expression, he immediately swore an oath: “Your subject vows to take the prince as his only wife for the rest of his life, never to stray or choose another, and to remain by his side until old age.” Amid the whispers of the officials, the emperor seemed to think of something and actually agreed to his request. Marrying into the household wasn't much better than being given away as a bride. For the Xie family, a respected scholarly clan with a century-old reputation, it was a disgrace. One marriage contract ended Xie You's path to advancement and ruined Prince Huai's reputation and dignity. But being allowed to keep his official position was already a blessing. Compared with being confined to the inner quarters, he didn't mind being a live-in son-in-law. But it wasn't until he stepped through the prince's residence that he understood why the emperor had agreed so quickly. Was this irritable, gloomy cripple really Prince Huai? Now that the other man was the one confined to the inner quarters, he looked at Xie You as though he wanted to eat him alive. Xie You remembered how the version of himself in the heavenly book had mistreated this man. He sighed, sauntered over to sit in front of Prince Huai, poured wine into the prince's mouth with one hand, and drank from his own cup with the other. There was no helping it. One of them had to be the unlucky one. The Hanlin Academy scholar had become the prince's live-in son-in-law, but Xie You himself didn't care much for hollow titles and didn't feel ashamed. To be honest, regardless of who he married, he had been looking forward to getting married. If all went well, they could spend winter huddled around the stove, brewing tea and admiring the snow, and spend summer listening to the rain patter against the windows. The deeds and household accounts that came with being the Xie family's young mistress should, in theory, all belong to his spouse... “Xie Huaiyu, if you look at me like that again, sooner or later I'll gouge your eyes out and feed them to the dogs.” The man spoke in a sinister voice. He had been forced into the brightest clothes in the capital, but with his deeply scarred face, no finery could make him look anything but terrifying. Now he fixed Xie You with a cold, humorless smile. Well, so much for all going well. But no matter what, they were married for life now. And the emperor was happy to see them “in love.” Xie You was selfish after all. He wouldn't stoop to tormenting the other man, but he'd rather make Prince Huai a laughingstock throughout the capital than give up his place at court. But when a coup brought the new emperor to power, Xie You watched him smile from the court, his expression dark and brooding, and felt a chill crawl down his back. It's over. He's really going to gouge out my eyes and feed them to the dogs. Beautiful, scholarly-clan top scholar turned live-in son-in-law seme x sinister, scheming prince who usurps the throne, uke Content warning: The uke is a devious, rotten man and six years older than the seme. At first, they're a couple consumed by resentment. Neither is entirely a good person. They start as an embittered couple, settle into an uneasy arrangement in the middle, and try to divorce later on. Marriage first, no love afterward [emphasis] Theme: Supporting each other through hardship