Defying Heaven

1. Ning Jiyu, the young master of the Chancellor's residence, spent the first seventeen years of his life riding high. He topped the imperial examinations, and his fame filled the capital. The emperor admired him, the princess adored him, and the entire court was captivated by him. Yet Ning Jiyu was indifferent to everyone, clinging instead to the fourth prince, a mixed-blood with foreign ancestry, and insisting they should become lovers. The fourth prince, Chu Jingzhao, was trying to ruin the marriage the emperor had arranged for him. He reluctantly played along and staged a fake romance with Ning Jiyu. Then he was sent north to war, and they were apart for eight years. After a major case led to the slaughter of the entire Chancellor's household, Ning Jiyu was the sole survivor. The once-wealthy young master fell into the dust and sank into the treacherous world of officialdom. He survived by embellishing tales of his romantic past with the fourth prince, using the prince's name to intimidate others. After a great victory on the frontier, the young god of war, the fourth prince, returned to the capital with his troops. The capital's officials who had offended Ning Jiyu spent every day in fear, unable to sit still. Only Ning Jiyu remained calm, knowing that what happened between them back then had all been an act. He and the fourth prince had always been no more than strangers on distant roads. Until... the first thing the fourth prince did upon arriving in the capital was smash up the brothel Ning Jiyu frequented. Then this northern wolf of a barbarian killed corrupt officials, stormed the prison, and held the Imperial Seal of Succession before Ning Jiyu's knees. He wasn't allowed to drink, listen to music, or see the beauties who now avoided him. Ning Jiyu, who had spent a fortune trying to buy songs and laughter, was bound hand and foot by the fourth prince. Unable to bear it any longer, he said, "Your Highness, please behave with dignity." "When you sent letter after letter to the northern frontier, why didn't you think of behaving with dignity then?" Clutching the letter he'd received back then, Chu Jingzhao asked angrily, "You wrote it yourself. Don't you remember what you said?" Ning Jiyu closed his eyes. Of course he remembered. "Spring has come, and the city is in bloom. I will wait through another year of snow and wind." 2. Fog poured from the towers, sedan chairs seemed to have grown legs, and the capital shimmered in a haze of rosy clouds, like a blessed paradise. Iron shells raced everywhere, men with bull noses appeared at every turn, and the old emperor refined elixirs and took pills like an immortal. But those who refused to believe in the supernatural would rather become ghosts than seek immortality. One day, the laws of the world would collapse, demons and spirits would be destroyed, and the all-obscuring fog would lift. The boy of old would bathe his nameless sword in the moonlight of eternity. "If Heaven will not spare me, I will not spare Heaven." All the gods and Buddhas in the sky: if you dare come to this mortal world, can you withstand a single sword stroke? 3. "People become human and dream of becoming immortals; born on earth, they yearn for the heavens." - Lu Xun, Wild Grass A sinister, deranged general who takes on the world X a ruthless, smiling, murderous Imperial Preceptor P.S. ○ A serious story with an ensemble cast ○ Court intrigue, martial arts and jianghu, Chinese-style steampunk (steam + cyberpunk), all thrown into one pot. ○ Blurb 1 was written a long time ago, and differs somewhat from the actual story. ·This novel is also known as Flowers in Sleep, Yet Still Thinking of You and The Whole Capital Keeps Telling Me to Get with a Guy ↓↓↓↓ Preview of upcoming novel Love, Cut! ↓↓↓↓ 1. Yu Yuan went clubbing, got drunk, and accidentally slept with a male model. The model was gorgeous, long-legged, in great shape, enthusiastic and professional, and kept him company until dawn. The only downside was... he shouldn't have been on top!!! A top-tier star among gay men, a pure top, and a notorious miser, Yu Yuan accidentally lost his virginity in one night. Indignant, he didn't pay. The next day, they met again at a fashion gala, both dressed to the nines. Yu Yuan was a guest of honor at a Class A film festival and a gifted arthouse director. The male model he'd slept with without paying turned out to be a hugely popular Asia-Pacific star, and when he looked at Yu Yuan, he blushed shyly... Yu Yuan knew he'd slept with the wrong person, and swallowed his bitterness. "Bro, don't tell me you're a virgin?" Sheng Baiyang shot back without missing a beat, "What, are you going to take responsibility for me?" "That remains to be seen." Yu Yuan draped an arm over his shoulder, smiled with his thin lips, and leaned close to his ear. "It's the first time for both of us. You're not losing out." 2. To secure funding, Yu Yuan joined a survival-reality show set on a deserted island and had no choice but to play along with the show's plan to pair him with Sheng Baiyang. Yu Yuan did his best, fully committed: gentle, considerate, domineering, doting, and boyfriend material for anyone. Sheng Baiyang: stiff, distant, with "we barely know each other" written all over his face. After the show ended, they faced the press. Yu Yuan: "Thanks for your concern, everyone. We're just colleagues. We haven't been in touch since filming wrapped." Sheng Baiyang: "We were together." 3. -Director, do you need a leading man? -I don't cast celebrities in my films. -I wasn't asking about your film. I mean the rest of your life. A catlike artist bottom X a doglike second-generation rich heir top I want to write a classic sweet cat-and-dog romance. Both are tops. Theme: Reject feudal superstition and promote righteousness.