After I Was Captured by the Enemy Nation's Foolish Tyrant

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“Vermilion Mark on the Minister’s Heart” is now open for collection in 2026. Please add it to your library!

Synopsis:

Three months ago, the King of Chu sent elite soldiers to the Kingdom of Wei in the Northern Domain to seek an immortal herb that could cure his chronic illness. Unexpectedly, they were ambushed along the way.

The Chu army returned without the herb, but brought back a prisoner: the thief who had stolen it, Yuan Wojin, the fearsome great general of the Kingdom of Zheng.

To recruit this fine general, the King of Chu gave him lavish meals and generous honors. But the general refused to bend for any amount of wealth.

Chu Huaiyu was determined to break his iron will. At the New Year’s banquet, Yuan Wojin was forced to kneel at the emperor’s feet in a woman’s dress. In front of all the civil and military officials, Chu Huaiyu lifted his chin with a pair of jade chopsticks. His gloomy eyes glinted with amusement. “It would be a shame to waste such beauty. Why not... bring him into the harem?”

The officials were shocked. They looked at one another, but not a single one dared speak.

Yuan Wojin gritted his teeth and swore to himself: A man may be killed, but never humiliated. One day, he would repay this disgrace a hundredfold!

Later...

A secret guard from Zheng arrived and infiltrated the imperial harem.

Secret guard: “General, I’m late. Come with me, we’ll escape this hellish cage.”

Instead, he found his general slowly chewing a candied fruit, asking with complete seriousness, “Have you ever eaten honeyed fruit?”

Secret guard: “I have not.”

“Would you like to know what honeyed fruit tastes like?”

“...” This subordinate does not.

The secret guard said sternly, “Our Kingdom of Zheng has more delicacies than anyone could count. What’s so special about honeyed fruit? General, come with me.”

His general replied, “Who said I was leaving?”

Secret guard: ???

Wait, is this how you treat prisoners in the Kingdom of Chu?

Gloomy, short-tempered emperor shou, saved by honeyed fruit

Ruthless general gong, with the world in his heart (yeah, right, he just fell for his looks)

--Reading Guide--

>1v1, HE, equally matched, mutually doting, enemies to lovers + mutual salvation

>Neither lead is a good person. They’re imperfect characters who will grow.

>Fictional history, unconventional political intrigue. Please don’t overthink the details!

>The early story may have more scenes from the shou’s perspective; later it shifts to the gong’s perspective.

>>I love revising, so please refer to the official version on Jinjiang Literature City.

“Vermilion Mark on the Minister’s Heart”

The eunuch Jin Guanyun is the most powerful minister in the Kingdom of Yanyun, wielding influence over the whole court and looking down on everyone. Yet he willingly submits to the young emperor, bowing and scraping, loyal as a dog.

Emperor Yan Youqu of Yanyun rose from the least favored of the Ninth Princes to the throne, all thanks to that mad dog.

But only Yan Youqu knows how miserable it is to be emperor. Every day, he is fed aphrodisiacs and forced to serve that treacherous minister, while the name on the mad dog’s lips is that of his late half-brother, the Crown Prince.

When he was young, he schemed with a tiger to seize the throne, and his elder brother consequently suffered in an enemy kingdom.

He never imagined that his late brother was the vermilion mark in the mad dog’s heart.

To exact his revenge, Jin Guanyun forces him to wear his late brother’s clothes whenever he is made to pleasure him in bed. Apart from matters of state, Jin Guanyun never resists anything he does, coiling around him like a venomous snake that he can never shake off.

Yan Youqu hates and loathes him. He once grabbed him by the throat and warned him, “One day, I’ll ruin you and make sure you die a miserable death!”

Yet beneath his weak fingers, the madman’s face only grew more flushed, as he blissfully enjoyed everything Yan Youqu did to him.

Later, a coup erupted and the Kingdom of Yanyun fell. With rebels at the gates, the once-loyal dog personally pushed the king he had helped enthrone off the city wall. All their years of kindness and resentment vanished into dust in an instant.

When Yan Youqu woke again, he had returned to the days of his youth, before he ever ascended the throne.

At that time, he was still an unfavored prince, his elder brother was still alive, and Jin Guanyun had yet to become a powerful, treacherous minister.

The flowers were in bloom that day. Beneath the pagoda tree where he had first met Jin Guanyun, he turned and hid behind the trunk.

Jin Guanyun had been summoned to the palace. Ignoring the Crown Prince beside him, he caught sight of the Ninth Prince trying to sneak away behind the tree.

One day, Jin Guanyun cornered Yan Youqu, who always ran away at the sight of him, beneath the pagoda tree. He asked with great interest, “Why does Your Highness the Ninth Prince always avoid me?”

Yan Youqu averted his gaze and stammered, “N-no, I don’t.”

Jin Guanyun lifted a lock of hair from his chest and twirled it around his finger. “Does Your Highness the Ninth Prince not want to rely on me to ascend the throne?”

Remembering everything from his past life, Yan Youqu hurried to protest, “I-I don’t want to be emperor!”

“Oh?” Jin Guanyun studied the beautiful young prince before him. “Then what does Your Highness want?”

“Your... your heart.” To avoid falling into the wolf’s clutches again, Yan Youqu blurted out the words in a panic. “Yours.”

He regretted it as soon as he said it.

Jin Guanyun breathed in the scent of his dark hair. A hint of amusement slipped into his probing gaze. “Your Highness... do you mean it?”

Sickly, beautiful emperor gong x powerful, treacherous minister shou

(A panicked little ostrich who keeps running away vs. a great bird of prey who never gives up the chase)

Theme: Friendly relations between nations, peaceful exchanges, and building an ancient civilization