After Faking My Death, the New Emperor Went Mad

(I may draw original characters for this one myself. I might not necessarily write the story, but I will draw ancient-style OCs based on this setting. If enough people are interested, I'll consider writing it.)

Power Couple | The Shou Fakes His Death, the Gong Goes Mad | Two-Faced | Court Intrigue | Mildly Coercive

[Bright and flamboyant on the surface, a romantic womanizer, but in truth a cool and ruthless beauty, the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, the shou X The gong, who initially poses as a useless Crown Prince before becoming an unhinged emperor with overwhelming possessiveness]

Wen Hexue was merely an armed guard from a humble background. Blessed with a dazzling, flamboyant appearance, he greeted everyone with a three-part smile and drank wine amid the spring breeze. Everyone in the palace adored him.

But no one knew that whenever the night rain fell without end, this smiling guard would wash away the smell of wine, don a crimson flying-fish robe, and disappear into the darkness. He was the commander of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, feared throughout the land, treading through blood in the imperial prison. More than that, he was the fastest, coldest blade in the emperor's hand.

That changed in the year of the great snow, when he was ordered to watch over Li Chengjing, the disgraced Crown Prince, stripped of his position and reputation and confined to the Cold Palace.

*

The deposed Crown Prince lived in seclusion deep within the palace, plagued by illness and as cold and untouchable as a handful of lonely snow.

Wen Hexue brought warm wine and cheerfully brushed away the snow, thinking he had merely taken on a trivial assignment, a bit of playacting. Yet through the countless frigid nights they spent playing chess, he glimpsed the imperial fire beneath Li Chengjing's frost and snow, and the extraordinary talent of a statesman capable of commanding all under heaven.

For the first time in his life, that blood-soaked blade of a demon shifted its edge away from its target.

Later, the old emperor sensed the blade's defiance and sought to break it. To force Li Chengjing into the game and make him ascend the throne, Wen Hexue made himself the price, cutting off every path of retreat for them both.

That night, to protect the blade that had grown a will of its own, Li Chengjing finally shed the disguise of frailty he had worn for years. He led his troops in a palace coup and drenched the imperial city in blood. But when he had stormed the Golden Throne Hall and went searching for that man with red-rimmed eyes, all he found amid the ashes drifting through the sky was a charred commander's token and a pool of blood that could never be warmed again.

*

With the realm newly at peace, the new emperor left the throne beside him empty. He searched day and night, consumed by madness, for the whereabouts of a dead man. The entire court knew it was a forbidden subject.

Two years later, in the third month of spring in Jiangnan, grass grew lush and orioles flew.

Li Chengjing traveled south in disguise and lifted the beaded curtain at a waterside tavern. The man he had searched for and longed for over a thousand days was lounging on a beauty couch, his red robe half-open, listening to pingtan storytelling, as captivating and carefree as ever.

Wen Hexue looked back. His peach-blossom eyes glimmered, and he smiled as if he did not recognize him. "You look unfamiliar, sir. Have we met?"

Li Chengjing gazed at him for a long while, then smiled and stepped forward, his rough fingertips slowly stroking the man's reddened eye corners.

A cold golden shackle silently clasped around Wen Hexue's ankle. The new emperor bent over him, trapping him within arm's reach, his voice hoarse to the bone:

"No matter. Lord Wen may not recognize me, but I know every inch of your bones."

"The world is vast. How many times can you escape me, within the borders of my realm?"

[Reader's Guide]

1. As is customary, both are virgins, one-on-one, with the gong pursuing the shou. Before faking his death, the shou mostly used the gong, so this is not a second-chance romance. At first, only the gong is in love, and the romance develops very slowly.

The plot and romance are given equal weight.

2. Inspired by the history of the Ming Dynasty.

(Blurb: 2026.4.12)

Theme: None