[Versatile older top / practical, ruthless wolf-cub top vs. aloof, frigid bottom]
[Older top and younger emperor / younger top and older master-disciple / father and son fighting over a lover]
[Older man and young wife & strict master and wicked disciple]
In the twenty-fourth year of the Jiande reign, the founding emperor died of illness. On his deathbed, he entrusted the young emperor to his trusted minister, Xie Wenyu.
Xie Wenyu could not stand the young emperor. Not only was he foolish and untalented, far beneath the late emperor, but he was also cruel and volatile. If he were allowed to rule, Great Zhou might not survive beyond its second generation.
After several failed attempts to join with the court officials to depose the young emperor, Xie Wenyu grew increasingly discontented and treated his student more and more harshly.
He not only forced the emperor to kneel outside the palace hall all night, but also beat him with thorny rods until his skin split and flesh tore. He even hurled insults at him: "How could a useless waste like you be the late emperor's son? You don't measure up to even one of your father's hairs. You'd be better off dying soon and passing the throne to someone wise."
Qin Shi endured eight whole years of his teacher's oppressive rule, and spent eight years as a puppet emperor. He hated him with all his heart, but feared Xie Wenyu's power too much to dare act recklessly.
After ten years of biding his time, Qin Shi finally wrested imperial power back from this domineering teacher. But the first thing he did was dress Xie Wenyu in a phoenix crown and bridal robes, tie him up, and throw him onto the dragon bed.
Behind the warm red curtains, they spent a night of passion.
Qin Shi worked hard, but refused to spare him with his words. "Teacher, am I really inferior to Father in every way? Every way?"
*
Qin Shi had always known that the late emperor and Xie Wenyu had an improper relationship. When he was still a child and didn't understand such things, he once accidentally witnessed the imperial tutor pleasuring his father beneath him.
The sight had disgusted him so badly that he came to loathe Xie Wenyu, the scheming courtier who had offered himself to win his position, as well.
But later, after Xie Wenyu had beaten him half to death again and again, humiliated him again and again, and trampled the dignity of the emperor into the dirt, the image that surfaced in his mind was always that of Xie Wenyu's cold, stern face losing control beneath him.
That forbidden desire swelled with every humiliation and lashing. So what if he was the imperial tutor? So what if he was Father's favorite? He was going to have him.
Qin Shi had never cared about the consequences.
He just never imagined the late emperor, who had been dead for ten years, would be reborn.
Theme: Respect your teacher
