The Jester

Because ministers always bowed their heads when paying their respects and presenting memorials, Emperor Wu Chengping spent most of her days looking at the backs of officials' necks. She considered this part of them their absolute domain. It had never seemed particularly remarkable, until one day she saw something different: a minister from the defeated state, named Tan Xiu. Since their young emperor was still a child, he had come to surrender and present the imperial seal on his behalf. Before all the officials, he stood with a furrowed brow, his robes immaculate. Though he had a face as beautiful as an immortal's, his mouth was full of benevolence, righteousness, moral principles, and ethics. He had reached the pinnacle of being insufferable. Yet beneath that beautiful face was a lovely neck, half-concealed and alluring, stretching out from his collar like a red apricot branch reaching over a wall. It was breathtakingly beautiful. Especially when he knelt to present the imperial seal and bowed in submission. His vulnerable neck was fully exposed as he lowered his head. Even the most defiant, upright minister was docile and obedient at that moment, completely shrouded in the shadow of imperial authority. It had the taste of conquest. A ruler generally divides ministers into four types: loyal ministers, rebellious ministers, favored ministers, and powerful ministers. Loyal ministers devote themselves wholeheartedly to their ruler and country. Rebellious ministers bring ruin to the state, establish themselves, and defy their ruler and the moral order. Favored ministers flatter and fawn, seeking favor and indulgence. Powerful ministers wield unchecked influence and contend for power. Wu Chengping thought there might be one more type: a court jester who abandons his old ruler to serve the new one. And with that thought, from then on Tan Xiu's beautiful dream and nightmare became one and the same, and he faced the same person in both… [Reading Guide] ① The female lead is an emperor, so of course she has a harem. She already had one before meeting the male lead. The male lead is chaste in both body and heart. ② From the female lead's perspective, this is a coercive romance: love at first sight, with the ruler taking her minister's husband. (Although the male lead is married, he is chaste and has no emotional bond with his spouse.) ③ From Tan Xiu's perspective, this is a bittersweet rise to power. He is beautiful, serves the ruler with his body, and is unwilling at first. Later, he fights and claws his way to the top through his own abilities. ◆ Cover background illustration by the artist Mie Die Theme: Establish a heart for the world, secure a livelihood for the people, continue the lost teachings of the sages, and bring peace to all generations