Overstepping

The bureaucratic system of Western Qin has rotted from within. Rong Ce, the Emperor's eldest grandson, has suffered greatly at the hands of the eunuch faction. He should be sworn enemies with the treacherous eunuch Song Yuheng, but as the latter once raised him, they have spent ten years performing the part of a loving father and devoted son.

In the thirty-first year of Qing'an, Prince Changling Rong Ce returned to the capital to report on his duties. At the time, an epidemic was ravaging Western Qin, and Song Yuheng had shut himself away in his residence.

Rumors ran wild through the capital. With an epidemic raging, the most reasonable explanation was somehow not that the infamous Lord Song was near death, but that he coveted Prince Changling's beauty and was abusing his power to keep him confined in his residence, spending every night in revelry with him.

The people of Western Qin obeyed the government's order to quarantine at home, and with nothing to do, the story grew more and more outrageous and detailed. After several days of spreading, it had become a thick stack of earth-shaking tales of love and hate, with a coherent logic and thrilling plot that all tied together neatly. Even the court officials had fallen under its spell.

Unable to bear the disturbance, Song Yuheng went along with the rumors, saying, "Flawless white jade is meant to be dirtied."

One day, Rong Ce raised Song Yuheng's chin with a hand wrapped in prayer beads and asked, "When are you going to stain me completely?"

Song Yuheng: ???

Reader's guide: Younger top, not a sweet romance.

Theme: The wise do not contend, the benevolent do not blame, and the good do not judge