The Hostage Prince's Scheme

This story will enter the paid chapters on March 17, with Chapter 31. Thank you for your support.

A simple story about two people who understand and cherish each other.

Zhou Zhixuan spent seventeen years as a pawn keeping two nations in check.

Danger surrounded him at every turn, yet he planned each step carefully.

The Jiang Clan wielded its power, with the relatives of the imperial family meddling in government.

He walked alone along a road of humiliation.

Qin Xing had spent seventeen years as the legitimate daughter of the Qin Family.

The Jiang Clan poisoned the realm, and everyone wanted them dead.

All because her mother was a member of the Jiang Clan,

her father had died unjustly,

and she was determined to clear his name.

When their paths crossed, Shanyang City fell, leaving a sea of blood and a forest of corpses as marauders ran rampant. Qin Xing was wounded and hid beneath a pile of bodies. Hooves thundered nearby, and a blue-and-white steed galloped toward her in the distance. Its rider wore a sword at his side and carved out a path to safety for her.

“This is the second time you've saved me.”

He held out a hand, his voice calm and gentle.

“Come with me now. There won't be a third time. I'll make sure you're safe.”

At that moment, Zhou Zhixuan's image filled Qin Xing's mind: the boy she had first met as a child, the man with a notorious reputation in Jindu, and the valiant figure in a dark robe with a sword at his side before her now. Their images overlapped. So this was the heir of Northern Zhou, Zhou Zhixuan.

Qin Xing clasped his hand tightly. The world was vast and the road ahead long; they might as well see it together.

When all the splendor had faded and he donned the imperial robes, Zhou Zhixuan sat in the highest seat of Liyang Palace, looking down on everything.

The young woman he had always treasured knelt in the hall. Slender in stature, she remained neither humble nor arrogant.

“Look back at what you've done. So many people have died, so many have died because of you. You took the throne and seized supreme power. Is this what you wanted?” Qin Xing asked calmly, her eyes full of scorn.

He fell into thought. Seventeen years of lying low and enduring humiliation had brought him to the pinnacle, to the dragon throne, with imperial power in his hands and lives at his mercy.

Is this what I wanted?

Zhou Zhixuan sneered, his gaze sinister. “It was mine to begin with.”

Qin Xing smiled bitterly. “Then take my life too. I only beg the Emperor to spare the lives of the 107 members of the Qin Family.”

He seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world.

“You'd better live. Otherwise, everyone will be buried with you.”

A beautiful, powerful, tragic young lord who hides his darkness x a bright and charming noblewoman

Core theme: Following your heart and choosing kindness are the will of Heaven