The Hound at Court, the Prince's Delight

Couple: A beautiful, vicious, ruthless bottom who pretends to be a sweet little thing every day x an unparalleled prince who is even more wicked inside than the bottom.

In the winter of the fourteenth year of Hongchang, heavy snow blanketed the capital, and Emperor Wen passed away.

Yu Yantang, then Superintendent of the Lower Directorate, arrived too late to save the emperor. Instead, he was framed by the Chief Eunuch and accused of regicide and treason. He was executed by the thousand cuts and cursed by the masses.

In that same year, month, and day, the Prince Gong's residence was massacred. A wandering soul seized a body, and he opened his eyes amid a mountain of corpses and a sea of flames, becoming the young son of the prince, who had miraculously survived the disaster.

Then came a horse's neigh, the whistle of an arrow, and someone treading through the snow, traveling beneath the stars and moon.

It was in that very scene that he met the seventh prince, Xie Yu, and fell for him at first sight.

Rumor had it that the young heir was unrivaled in beauty, more dazzling than any woman, but sadly, he was a sickly boy with an incurable illness.

So, while carrying out his revenge

Yu Yantang took off his bloodstained night clothes, bundled up in thick winter layers, and obediently pretended to be sick.

Yu Yantang wiped the blood from his blade and pretended to peel an apple, making sure to accidentally cut his finger.

Yu Yantang was starving, but his doctor's orders forbade alcohol and meat, so he could only have half a bowl of plain congee, then pretend he had no appetite after two bites.

One day, Superintendent Yu returned from an assassination and climbed over the wall into the residence, as usual.

In the bitter depths of winter, in the middle of the night, the prince's residence was lit with lanterns everywhere, as if it were a festival.

Xie Yu, drinking tea beneath the pavilion, beckoned to him. "Tang'er, you've worked hard. Come over and rest."

Yu Yantang: "..."

Oh, so you knew everything?

One-line summary: The court's attack dog by day, the prince's darling by night.

Or: Having power over the court and warming someone's bed are perfectly compatible :D

Content warnings and setting notes:

1. Bottom-focused, one-on-one, happy ending. Yu Yantang (bottom) x Xie Yu (top).

2. Fictional setting, entirely made up. The author's grasp of history is abysmal.

3. The bottom and the three characters in the supporting cast are known as the Four Great Assassins of Beichang. They seem bloodthirsty, but are actually a bunch of troublemaking friends.

4. The Lower Directorate is a secret service directly under the Emperor of Beichang; the Upper Directorate is an oversight agency independent of imperial authority.

5. Yu Yantang's original body was older than the top's, but after being reborn, his new body is younger. Does that count as a younger-man romance? I have no idea.

Weibo: @Jinjiang Pingya (Ping is pronounced with the first tone)

Theme: Stay positive