Everyone in the court said that Crown Prince Pei Jiming and the Third Prince, Pei Zhiwei, were sworn enemies who couldn't coexist.
At court, over an old case from the imperial prison, the Crown Prince showed no mercy to his own side and pressed the matter at every turn. The Third Prince played the fool and answered with cutting sarcasm.
The old faction applauded, while the new faction treaded carefully.
But no one knew that in the locked Chonghua Palace at night, the heir who valued rules above all else was pinning the Third Prince, battered and bruised, to the bed.
As their lips and teeth met, madness burned in the Crown Prince's eyes. His voice was low and hoarse. "Why did you have to provoke him at court today?"
Pei Zhiwei smiled, his eyes reddening at the corners, and tugged open his robe. "Why don't you guess?"
The whole world thought they were fighting for power.
Only they knew they were waging war on each other's hearts.
Reader's guide:
1. Older top / equally matched strong leads.
2. The seemingly dignified but actually obsessive, unhinged Crown Prince as the pursuer (Pei Jiming) x the seemingly dissolute but actually venomous beauty of a hostage prince as the pursued (Pei Zhiwei).
3. They trade barbs and act their parts brilliantly in public, then engage in an intense push and pull under the covers at night.
4. Political scheming, mutual salvation, 1v1, happy ending.
Theme: The complexity of human nature
