The Sickly Male Concubine Is a Black Lotus

Prince Qi went south to provide disaster relief and brought back a "delicate flower."

He fainted after three steps and coughed up blood after five. Only by nourishing him every day with thousand-year-old ginseng and lingzhi did they manage to nurse his precious life back to some semblance of health.

So Prince Qi was convinced: his Rongrong was too frail to look after himself.

*

One day, the Minister of Revenue filed a complaint. Bai Rong had knocked out a whole row of his son's teeth.

Prince Qi, seated high above, glanced over coldly. "Rongrong is in poor health. Minister, are you trying to extort someone?"

The male concubine in his arms looked aggrieved, covering his mouth with a brocade handkerchief as he coughed up a mouthful of blood at just the right moment.

The Minister was so frightened that he immediately said he was blind and foolish, and had mistaken the man for someone else.

Another day, the Minister of Rites stopped them on the road, weeping that Bai Rong had ridden his horse so recklessly that his son had developed a fever that wouldn't break.

Prince Qi adjusted his sleeve and looked up. "Rongrong gets winded after walking a few steps. How could he gallop wildly on horseback? Minister, are you blind and foolish enough to mistake him for someone else?"

Bai Rong gradually became the capital's biggest bully. The imperial family and nobility gave him a wide berth, while scions of powerful families who bullied men and women were beaten black and blue and still didn't dare file a complaint.

*

Prince Qi was convinced: his male concubine was innocent, harmless, delicate, and timid.

Until one dark and stormy night.

His delicate flower picked up a two-meter broadsword and chopped off someone's head without changing expression.

Prince Qi: (‧_‧?)???

Delicate Flower: |ʘᗝʘ|!!!

*

The master of Misty Rain Tower had a face like a peach blossom and a heart like a viper's. Seriously wounded, he was picked up by Prince Qi and made into a male concubine.

The man treated him like an accessory, hanging him from his waist and kissing, cuddling, and lifting him up even when he went to court.

Those big hands, usually wielding a red-tasseled spear, knitted him woolen socks in a different color every day. He saw to his food and drink...

The master snuggled in the man's arms, grumbling that he was like a father, but secretly loved every minute of it.

Bored with life, he'd go out and beat people up, turning the capital upside down.

Yet Prince Qi was convinced that his Rongrong was a delicate little white flower.

The master's daily routine: cling to Prince Qi in the manor and whimper, then dominate the underworld and the legitimate world alike outside, causing chaos without knowing what day it was.

Until one dark and stormy night, he was caught in the act.

Master: ???

"Whimper."

Bonus Scene

Prince Qi had just finished eating a cloyingly sweet pastry handed to him by his darling. He put an arm around him and kissed him twice.

"Pei Yan, dirty."

Prince Qi was startled. Dirty?

His darling thought he was dirty?

This ungrateful male concubine ate his food, drank his drink, and wore his clothes, yet before they'd even become an old married couple, he thought Prince Qi was dirty? He held Bai Rong's face and planted two loud kisses on him.

Half a stick of incense later, Prince Qi had a bright red handprint on his right cheek and was wiping Bai Rong's face.

That reckless male concubine had actually slapped him!

Bai Rong felt guilty. Prince Qi was the current Emperor's favorite younger brother, and he'd used seventy percent of his strength in that slap. The mark would take a while to fade.

He wondered if Pei Yan had grown suspicious. How could a sickly invalid suddenly have enough strength to give him such a resounding slap?

"Pei Yan~" Bai Rong wrapped his arms around Pei Yan's neck and rubbed his cheek against the tip of Pei Yan's nose.

His voice was soft. "A ghost possessed me just now. Do you believe me?"

Pei Yan: I'll believe anything but that.

Theme: Discover the beauty in everyday life.