The Crown Prince Is Actually My Late Husband!

Xu Yun came first in the imperial examinations and became a county lieutenant in Qingfeng. He was a low-ranking, ninth-grade official, beneath even the lowest official ranks. Every day, he was either chasing chickens for one household or finding dogs for another. He gave his meager salary to the poor people in his neighborhood, and his official robes were covered in patches. His life was poor but peaceful, and Xu Yun was quite content.

Then came an unexpected torrential rain that flooded more than a dozen nearby counties. While Xu Yun led people in clearing silt, building embankments, and coordinating flood defenses, he happened to find himself a handsome husband with striking brows and eyes. The man was truly beautiful. With his eyes closed, unconscious, he looked like an immortal banished from heaven. When he opened them, his big eyes and long lashes shone like a river of stars. Xu Yun fell for him at first sight.

No one knew which river the man had washed down from. He was covered in injuries and had lost his memory, so Xu Yun named him Xu Ziyu and kept him by his side. When the old hen laid an egg, Xu Yun made egg custard for Ziyu first. He saved the sweet fruit from the tree for Ziyu to eat, and whenever he got paid, he had clothes made for him. He was always fussing over Ziyu, giving him his whole heart without asking for anything in return.

Xu Ziyu's memories were blank. The first person he saw was the little fool Xu Yun, whose ardent heart took up all of Xu Ziyu's attention. He waited for Xu Yun to undress him, waited for Xu Yun to sneak into his room at night, waited for Xu Yun to present him with an embroidered sachet featuring mandarin ducks, blushing with embarrassment. But Xu Yun only undressed him to apply medicine, came to his room at night because he was worried about a fever, and gave him the mandarin-duck sachet to keep mosquitoes away.

Unable to wait any longer, Xu Ziyu pinned him in a corner. "Let's stop waiting. We'll consummate the marriage today and have the wedding ceremony tomorrow. Any objections?"

"I-I do!!!" Xu Yun stammered, his face bright red. "I can't take advantage of you. You still have amnesia!"

Kissing the lips he'd longed for, Xu Ziyu chuckled. "Then take advantage of me."

After they married, the couple chased chickens and dogs together, living a blissfully sweet life. They thought they'd be together forever, but while escorting tax grain, they were attacked by bandits. Xu Ziyu lost his footing and fell off a cliff. Xu Yun searched the valley for seven days and seven nights, but found no body. Everyone said Xu Ziyu was dead. Xu Yun was the only one who refused to believe it.

Three years later, on the recommendation of a fellow examination candidate, Xu Yun was transferred back to the capital to serve as a copyist in the Eastern Palace's Chongwen Academy. But when he saw the Crown Prince, he accidentally smashed the prince's favorite Huizhou inkstone.

Crown Prince Liang Haojin considered himself kind and considerate, but Xu Yun, the new copyist, seemed terrified of him. Whenever they met, Xu Yun dodged him several times, like a mouse seeing a cat. Liang Haojin was displeased. He admired Xu Yun's talent and most enjoyed talking with him. He couldn't stand seeing Xu Yun act so timid around him.

After much thought, he decided he simply hadn't shown Xu Yun enough favor. So the Eastern Palace often kept Xu Yun close, and sent gifts to his home in an endless stream.

But it had no effect at all. Xu Yun became even more afraid of him.

Liang Haojin was troubled. Xu Yun's catlike eyes seemed made to hold affection, and his slender waist always felt strangely familiar, as if Liang Haojin had held it before. Especially when Xu Yun raised his eyes, Liang Haojin felt he should be kissing him the very next moment. After spending his days and nights thinking about it and reading every erotic romance he could find, Liang Haojin finally decided he had fallen for Xu Yun. It might be a cliché, but it was definitely love at first sight.

To grow closer to Xu Yun and pursue him, Liang Haojin specially visited on the day before a holiday. But he found Xu Yun dressed in mourning clothes, burning paper offerings at home and murmuring, "Husband, I'm going back to Qingfeng to build you a grave and erect a tombstone. From now on, I'll make offerings every year during Qingming and Hanshi. If you lack clothes or food, you must appear in my dreams and tell me."

Outside the courtyard, Liang Haojin leaned against the wall, unable to catch his breath.

Xu Yun was going back to Qingfeng? Xu Yun had a husband?!

Luckily, Xu Yun's husband had been short-lived. Xu Yun could only be his!

Liang Haojin pressed forward at every turn. He held Xu Yun by the waist, kissed him, and tasted every tearful, lovesick expression.

Just when the satisfied Crown Prince thought he'd finally found happiness, Xu Yun broke down in tears. "Please let me go, Your Highness. My heart belongs only to my late husband. When Your Highness kisses me, I see him. When you comfort me, I see him, too. I can no longer tell which of you is Your Highness and which is my late husband."

Liang Haojin's heart turned bitter and cold. "What do you mean, your heart belongs only to him? What about me? You clearly..."

Xu Yun cut him off before he could finish. "Because Your Highness has the same face as my late husband!"

Xu Yun thought his longing for his late husband had made him delusional, but he never imagined that the Crown Prince was his supposedly dead husband!

Liang Haojin thought he was the short-lived man's replacement, never realizing that he himself was that short-lived man!

Blurb dated December 6, 2025

To be revised

Theme: Love life and pursue freedom.