[Only a man of extraordinary talent can be called a Young Master of Taiyuan.]
Before I met you, I had nothing. After I met you, I had a sword to help me claim the world.
But once I had conquered it, I, a shameless scoundrel, broke that sword with my own hands.
A fallen young master x the son of a rebel general
The first emperor of the Central Plains x the foreign king of the golden blade
A beautiful emperor as the pursuer, a cool guy as the pursued. Title may change.
Full synopsis:
Jun Qing spoke with a hint of mockery, his voice as cold as the snowy weather. "Such delicate bones."
Wang Yanxue smiled. "My mother was a delicate beauty."
Jun Qing looked up at the young master and said nothing more. In silence, he carried Wang Yanxue on his back and continued trudging through the snowstorm.
Wang Yanxue seemed completely oblivious to his displeasure and chattered on. "It's not as if I can't ride a horse or wield a spear. I had a silver spear with a white tassel and a tempered steel tip, but Father gave it to Third Brother."
"What number are you in your family?" Jun Qing asked.
"What number?" Wang Yanxue leaned against his shoulder and laughed for a while. "A delicate beauty's offspring aren't fit to be ranked... What about you, young hero? Haven't you been home in a long time?"
Wang Yanxue was like a fine actor performing a one-man show. Drinking in the wind and swallowing snow did nothing to stop his words from tumbling out like beans.
Suddenly, Jun Qing let go. The talkative young master fell to the ground, his red cloak spread around him like a crumpled peony blooming in the snow.
Wang Yanxue didn't get angry. He sat leisurely in the snow, gazing at Jun Qing with long eyes that held a hint of seduction. His pale, thin lips were pursed, yet their corners curled upward.
"Young Master Wang, is the snow cold?" Jun Qing asked.
"Of course it's cold."
"Are you clear-headed now?" Jun Qing asked again.
"I've been clear-headed all along. I hold my liquor extremely well. Plenty of brawny men couldn't outdrink me."
"A clear-headed person doesn't talk like a drunk, and knows not to meddle in other people's business." Jun Qing brushed the snow off himself and looked down at Wang Yanxue. "Once we reach Taiyuan, you can be a young master, and I'll go my own way. We'll have nothing more to do with each other."
That was their first meeting. Many years later, Jun Qing and Bing Shu ascended the city tower together with the Taiyuan authorities, looking out over the vast land. Bing Shu reminded him:
"Everyone in future generations will remember the Great Yan's first emperor, Wang Jie. Who will know that you were once the King of the Golden Blade on the thousand-mile wasteland?"
"I've long forgotten that name."
"Jun Qing, sooner or later, he will forget you too. He's the emperor, the snowstorm. You're just one of his subjects, just a snowflake."
"Bing Shu, if that happens, I'll be free."
"Free to become one with all things in the world. I'll be a snowflake, the emperor's snowflake. Even if he can't command me, I still belong to him, and the whole world belongs to him."
"It should belong to him. It's Heaven's compensation for the hardship of his life," Jun Qing said with a smile.
It was a long time before Jun Qing remembered that few others might know, but Wang Jie's courtesy name was Yanxue.
And so, much later, when Wang Jie sat on the imperial throne, surrounded by countless faces, there was no longer any place for him, a stranger with a complicated identity.
"Wang Yanxue, I'll never set foot in the Central Plains again." With blood in his mouth, he smiled at Wang Jie.
Theme: If you work hard, nothing is impossible.
