The Giant Whale's Head Is Taken

Lu Ci grew up in Hedong. Though he was adopted, he had everything he could ever want.

Then one day, his mother told him the story of the civet cat swapping places with the crown prince. As it turned out, he was the rightful heir, while the current crown prince, Li Huanyu, was the cat who had taken his place.

Determined to set his fate right, Lu Ci set off alone for Chang'an. On his very first day in the capital, he caused Li Huanyu, who had been doted on by everyone, to make a fool of himself in public.

Ten-year-old Li Huanyu lay awake all night, with a blade hanging over his head. He dared neither dream nor wake, keeping his eyes open through the long night to watch his fate unfold.

Seventeen-year-old Li Huanyu had given up trying to care. He galloped through Chang'an, a dashing young man whose beauty outshone everyone in the capital. What he thought about most was whether he should marry Ruan Jiao or Shen Helan as his crown princess.

With wolves circling the false cat, how will the true crown prince turn the tide? Swapping dragons for phoenixes, shedding the cicada's shell, and replacing one person with another, flowers will bloom at last amid a landscape of blood and beauty.

The Crown Prince Observation Diary, by Lu Ci.

Page One: Li Huanyu looks far too much like a girl. But Fourth Uncle told me not to make a fuss, in case those people from Chang'an laugh at us Hedong folk for being so ignorant.

Page Two: Li Huanyu has a pair of peach blossom eyes. Whoever he looks at, he seems to gaze at with tender affection.

Page Three: Li Huanyu gets himself filthy every day. I want to hold him down and wash his face. I think I want a cat.

Page Four: Remind myself ten times a day: Li Huanyu is a boy, a male, and my opponent.

Last Page: How could this happen?