[Blurb saved on June 4, 2022]
In his previous life, Ji Yan was feared by his father, the King of Yan, who favored his concubine and neglected his wife. The dignified Crown Prince of Yan was humiliatingly married off to the rival state of Chu to become its queen consort.
To survive, Ji Yan struck a deal with the King of Chu: he would do everything in his power to assist the king, and the king would help him take revenge.
When the King of Yan fell gravely ill, his sons fought for the throne.
Ji Yan led his troops home to reclaim everything, only to be discarded once he had served his purpose. The King of Chu went back on his word, and Ji Yan was set up by a traitor and died in a sea of flames.
-
When the absurd dream ended, he was reborn on the very night he had first arrived in Chu as a bride.
That night, the wedding candles shone bright beneath an auspicious sky.
The brave and decisive Crown Prince of Chu, who would one day become the king, was still just a lowborn, unloved child abandoned in the cold palace. Fleeing the snowstorm, he had accidentally stumbled into Ji Yan's bridal chamber.
Knowing that the child would one day become the perfect weapon in the King of Chu's hands, Ji Yan's heart stirred. When he raised his eyes again, a trace of a smile had already touched them.
"Good boy," he said, reaching out to the young Rong Heng with warm affection. "Come here, hurry over to your adoptive father's side."
-
Everyone said Ji Yan was flawless as white jade, a true gentleman. No one knew how calculating he was, or how fiercely he repaid every slight.
His father had humiliated him deeply, so he killed him with his own hands.
The King of Chu had caused his gruesome death, so Ji Yan would make him love someone he could never have, then die at the hands of his own son.
And so,
Ji Yan's exquisite beauty, just-right shyness, late-night deliveries of pastries, and thoughtful gestures, carefully offered in moderation, began appearing frequently in the King of Chu's mind.
Even when a brown bear went on a rampage during a hunt, Ji Yan risked his life to protect him.
The palace servants whispered that the queen was deeply devoted to the king.
But after nightfall, Ji Yan, who had seemed so devoted all day, appeared in his stepson's tent.
"Tsk... What kind of logic is that, biting people?" Ji Yan cried out in pain and pushed him away. "You're so fierce, my prince."
Rong Heng stared down at the wound on Ji Yan's neck, left by the bear's claws, his eyes bloodshot. "Your Majesty's acting gets better by the day. Now you're even willing to risk your life. Are you trying to force me to kill my father?"
"Then let me kill you now."
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