I Really Didn’t Mean to Flirt with Your Majesties

The next novel, The Emperor's Willow-Limbed Chancellor, is now available. Its blurb is at the end.

#From Mutual Use to Mutual Pining#

Sheng An took a poisoned arrow for Prince Wei, only to end up despised by everyone.

Having served the wrong master, Sheng An endured three years of humiliation. Then, under the guise of a beauty, he was offered by the State of Wei to the emperor of Great Zhao, Zhong Mingzheng.

Zhong Mingzheng kept him in the palace because his face resembled someone from the past. Sheng An used Great Zhao's power to get revenge, while keeping the emperor at arm's length. He acted sweet and obedient when it suited him, and couldn't even be bothered to put on an act when it didn't.

What Sheng An hadn't expected was that when he used honeyed words to frame a hostage in the palace, Zhong Mingzheng immediately threw the man out. And when Sheng An pretended to be foolish and casually suggested a military strategy, Zhong Mingzheng sent people to carry it out without hesitation. The emperor was acting every bit the fool.

Yet everything turned out well. The hostage in the palace had been plotting to assassinate the emperor, and the unusual strategy won them a victory. Sheng An came clean: "I was only using Your Majesty to deal with the people who humiliated me in the past."

The emperor didn't even blink. "An'an, you don't need to explain. I know you love me."

Sheng An: "?" Whatever. Believe what you want.

So later, when Zhong Mingzheng casually took him to the battlefield and the court, then raised him to the rank of prince, the ministers accused Sheng An of deceiving their ruler and manipulating power. Sheng An looked utterly innocent. "I really wasn't trying to seduce your emperor."

He was the one who'd talked himself into it.

--

What should an emperor do when he's too handsome?

Zhong Mingzheng: "Thanks for asking. Quite a few people who wanted to destroy my kingdom and abduct me to fill their harems have already had their kingdoms destroyed by me."

Confident in his own looks, Zhong Mingzheng sneered at all those so-called beauties. That was until an envoy from Wei arrived and he saw the young man standing in the hall. The emperor, who had never been interested in beauty, kept him in a side chamber of his bedchamber that very day.

The ministers were horrified, afraid the beauty would bring disaster. Who could have guessed that the young beauty would help the emperor conquer Wu and Wei and unify the realm, and that Zhong Mingzheng would make him a marquis and then a prince? Only then did they learn that the emperor had kept him in the palace because of an unexpected bond formed years ago, and that the so-called beauty was actually a young, renowned general from Wei.

Once the courtiers learned the truth, their opinion changed completely: As expected of our emperor, he can easily win over even the enemy kingdom's God of War.

The young emperor's stern, composed face could barely conceal his smile. "I treated him with sincerity, so naturally I won An'an's heart."

The ministers: "..." That's all well and good, but it doesn't justify following him around and insisting on staying the night at his residence every day!

[One-on-One, Mutual Devotion]

A calculating emperor who pampers his beloved whether his feelings are genuine or feigned x A seemingly scheming but actually simple-minded, carefree general focused on his career

[Reader's Guide]

1. Both leads are beautiful and tragic. Their pasts are heartbreaking, but their romance is sweet.

2. The main focus is romance. The political schemes aren't rigorous, so don't overthink them.

3. Please don't attribute the characters' actions to the author.

4. The writing is amateurish. If it's not for you, feel free to drop it. No need to tell me.

Next novel preview:

The Emperor's Willow-Limbed Chancellor

#A Sweet Story of Mutual Pining#

Shang Lang was as beautiful as the first light of spring and naturally brilliant. At just sixteen, the former emperor named him top candidate in the palace examination. He later helped the Seventh Prince ascend the throne, rising through the ranks to become a marquis and then chancellor. At only twenty-seven, he became the highest-ranking official in Great Huan and its youngest chancellor.

A brilliant mind can be a burden. Despite his talents, he was so frail he needed medicine with every meal.

Gu Qiao became emperor while still young and had long since learned to hide his emotions. He treated all his ministers equally, but made an exception for Shang Lang. He never made him stand during court sessions, and in winter he even brought him into the palace, afraid the underfloor heating at the chancellor's residence wouldn't be warm enough.

For a while, the ministers suspected that Chancellor Shang was using his looks to beguile the young emperor and make him unfit to rule, all so he could seize power.

Impeachment memorials flew into the imperial study like snowflakes. Gu Qiao gripped his vermilion brush and glanced at the chancellor sitting nearby, urging him to review the memorials, then sighed to himself: It was clearly I who had improper thoughts about Chancellor Shang.

Chancellor Shang was modest, disciplined, and virtuous, the very model of proper conduct between ruler and subject. He hardly seemed like someone who would use his looks to serve the emperor.

Gu Qiao thought he would be in love alone for the rest of his life. But on his birthday, Shang Lang got drunk and, in a moment of weakness, clung to his sleeve and confessed his feelings.

Gu Qiao's bright yellow sleeve was wrinkled in Shang Lang's pale, strong hands. Gu Qiao gripped his hand in return, his eyes reddening as he asked in a low voice, "Chancellor Shang, are you speaking nonsense, or is this the truth coming out because you're drunk?"

Shang Lang looked up at him and answered, word by word, "I would never deceive Your Majesty."

The liquor was strong. Shang Lang was sickly, but surprisingly strong, and by the time Gu Qiao realized something was wrong, it was too late to turn back.

Once the alcohol wore off, the young emperor glared through clenched teeth at the innocent-looking man before him. "Shang Lang!"

So much for never deceiving Your Majesty?!

[One-on-One, Mutual Devotion]

An ambitious, patient statesman who hides his intentions x A guileless emperor who falls into his own trap

Theme: Defy fate and persevere.