Brooding man × little ray of sunshine, sweet romance with the hero pursuing his wife
[1]
Zhaozhao had a secret: she'd found a mute boy.
The little mute was often bullied. Zhaozhao couldn't stand it, so she asked the supervisor to let him eat and live with her.
She saved fabric and snacks to share with him. When the supervisor punished him, she pleaded for him, and the other girls teased her for picking up a little sidekick.
Not long after, rebels stormed the capital and set off a towering blaze. The little mute disappeared without a trace.
Among the ruined rubble, Zhaozhao found only a familiar scrap of clothing. Grieving for her old friend, she built a grave with his clothes.
[2]
The new emperor ascended the throne, and the Imperial Music Bureau was ordered to perform at the palace. After the show, Zhaozhao was kept behind alone.
The supervisor gently coaxed her, wanting to offer her to the new emperor. "All you have to do is pour the poison into his cup while he's distracted. If you succeed, you'll get a hundred taels of gold and be freed from your criminal status."
She'd heard that the new emperor was cruel, and Zhaozhao feared she would be lying dead in the wilderness within three days.
But the plan went surprisingly smoothly. The emperor made no objection and kept her by his side.
Everyone else said she was the emperor's most favored concubine. Only Zhaozhao knew how hard it was: the new emperor wouldn't let her get within a few steps of him. All she did every day was play music and sing until her throat was practically smoking!
On the other side of the beaded curtain separating them, the new emperor was also wondering how to tell her that the little mute was alive and well, without exposing his old secret of disguising himself as a woman.
[3]
Zhaozhao thought she wouldn't be able to complete her mission. Either she'd offend the emperor and be executed, or she'd learn too much and be silenced.
Zhaozhao went to the little mute's grave to pour out her troubles. She said she wished he were still alive, because she was so tired of facing everything alone.
A cool breeze swept past. Zhaozhao looked up.
The little mute, who had supposedly returned to the earth, stood not far away, watching her in silence.
After a scream, the emperor picked up the young woman who had fainted from fright, wondering where exactly he'd gone wrong.
* 1v1, HE, SC
A lighthearted, sweet story. The characters aren't perfect.
Set in an imaginary dynasty, with plenty of invented details and nonsensical logic.
2024.9
Theme: Never give up in the face of adversity and hardship.
