I'll Comfort Myself

The Crown Prince disappeared, throwing the court into panic. More than a hundred people were implicated and thrown in prison, including Pei Yan, the Prince of Pingyang, who held a noble title. Pei Yan appealed for a thorough investigation, claiming that the most suspicious person was his fiancee Liu Zhi, who had been the last to see the Crown Prince. He'd only been passing by; he hadn't even shown his face!

In the dungeon, Liu Zhi grabbed Pei Yan and begged for help. Pei Yan gave her a mocking smile, turned on his heel, and left, tossing out a single word: "Misfortune."

Liu Zhi went to prison in chains; Pei Yan escaped unscathed.

Pei Yan stayed in the pleasure quarter and got into fights with his drinking buddies, enjoying himself immensely. A few days later, he heard Liu Zhi was about to confess, so he went to the Golden Hall to listen in.

Liu Zhi knelt on the ground, weeping so prettily and plaintively that anyone would believe her. Everything she said came down to one thing: she and the Crown Prince were in love, and Pei Yan was infatuated with her, so he had gotten jealous and persecuted the heir to the throne.

Pei Yan was so angry he couldn't even manage a sneer. "It's quite a feat to make me sound so devoted. You must have had a hard time coming up with that."

The emperor glanced at Pei Yan and very seriously demanded an explanation.

This was utterly outrageous, completely unfair, and especially inhumane.

The emperor was above all else, so Pei Yan swallowed his anger and publicly pledged that he would give the emperor an answer within the month. Then he stormed into Liu Zhi's chambers, pressed a long blade to her neck, dragged her back to his residence, and forced her to reveal the Crown Prince's whereabouts.

He gave her no food or fine clothes, treated her coldly, mocked her with his words, and kept at it until she'd been utterly torn to shreds, never letting up.

To get some peace and quiet, Liu Zhi bit through Pei Yan's lower lip and silenced him with a kiss.

Pei Yan was nervous and flustered, cursing Liu's entire clan eight hundred times a day in his head. To the world, though, he kept an utterly unruffled face and never said another harsh word to Liu Zhi.

When a friend happened to ask about the wound at the corner of his mouth, Pei Yan gave a half-smile and kicked him into the lake, which had just been opened for the season.

What, was I supposed to announce to everyone that someone took advantage of me?

Coming soon: The Miserable Life of an Impostor Emperor

Fu Ye, Emperor Hui of Jinghua, was a heaven-sent genius. He ascended the throne at six, put the court in order, pacified the northwest, and became a ruler without equal. One day, he fell in love with a man, and the harem descended into chaos, packed with male concubines. He even abandoned his empire and throne for the one he loved, vanishing from the martial world.

With the regent holding absolute power in the court and the Prince of Dongliang eyeing the borderlands hungrily, the realm was beset by troubles at home and abroad. The empress dowager was frantic. After many twists and turns, she found Fu Tang, a man who looked remarkably like the emperor, and had him impersonate the ruler.

Either keep your head down, or die.

At Baiyun Jian, Fu Tang traded antiques and elegant paintings. In the business, people called him Shopkeeper Fu, and everyone knew the next richest person in the realm was a woman. But aside from having some spare cash, Fu Tang couldn't do a thing. Ordinary people couldn't win against officials, so he submitted to the imperial family's authority and dutifully kept his head down.

On his first day impersonating the emperor, Regent Chu Yingxian caught him out. "Your Majesty's bearing is unusually graceful today, almost like a woman's. Why is that?"

Fu Tang held himself together and stammered, "I, I, I never expected the regent to have coveted me for so long that he would mistake me for a woman. Why don't, why don't you stay and keep me company tonight?"

Chu Yingxian: ▽-▽

On the tenth day of impersonating the emperor, Chu Yingxian caught him out again. "Your Majesty promised not to indulge in beauty any longer. Why did you sleep in the South Wind Palace last night?"

Fu Tang had become adept at turning black into white. He raised his eyes. "Jealous? It's all right. I'll save you a spot in my bed."

Chu Yingxian: ▽_▽

On the thirtieth day of impersonating the emperor, Chu Yingxian once again pulled a face like he was about to curse. Before he could open his mouth, Fu Tang casually pointed to the imperial bed behind the curtains. "Here to tell me what to do again? Why not let me have a taste of the good stuff first?"

Chu Yingxian ▽-▽: taking off his clothes

Fu Tang was so startled that he smudged his lipstick. He wrapped Chu Yingxian up from head to toe and laughed awkwardly. "No, no, this won't do. If you gave in, wouldn't the Fu dynasty be doomed? I'm so worried."

Chu Yingxian ▽_▽: "Shopkeeper Fu, you tease me every day and seem to be in a fine mood. What is there to worry about?"

"What are you talking about?"

Before Fu Tang could even raise his brows in secret delight, his legs gave way with a thump. Resigned to his fate, he said, "Regent, what do you mean? I love you and will love you until death. How could I be teasing you?"

Once everything had settled down, Baiyun Jian sent out invitations far and wide to find a spouse for its fabulously wealthy shopkeeper, Fu. Shopkeeper Fu entertained elegant gentlemen and dashing heroes, and even handled Chu Yingxian with effortless ease when he came by demanding an explanation. "Who are you? Do we know each other? What do you want?"

Chu Yingxian: ▽-▽ stare

Theme: Acceptance, understanding, and consideration are essential to building a relationship.