But the Young Prince Is Beautiful, Strong, and Tragic

[Coming next: My Junior Martial Uncle Has Run Away Again. Please add it to your favorites, thank you! The blurb follows this one.]

In the eleventh year of Zhaoxing, the Wolf Tribe invaded the northern frontier. General Huo Changting of Changlin gave his life for his country, leaving no body behind.

In the thirteenth year of Zhaoxing, Gu Huai, Prince of Dingbei, defied the emperor's wishes, disobeyed an imperial decree on the battlefield, and rode out alone to personally behead the Wolf King, avenging Huo Changting.

From then on, the Prince of Dingbei made his name in a single battle, guarding the northern border with his iron will.

Yet his military achievements brought him nothing but a body riddled with illness, lost memories, and the emperor's endless suspicion and distrust.

In the sixteenth year of Zhaoxing, while investigating a case, Gu Huai encountered a constable of mysterious origins named Huo Chen.

After getting to know him and testing him, Gu Huai fell into deep thought: Huo Chen was handsome, skilled in martial arts, gentle and considerate, and attentive to every detail. He seemed perfectly aboveboard in every way, except that the way he looked at me wasn't quite aboveboard.

Sure enough, in the pouring rain, Huo Chen offered him his heartfelt love. "Your Highness is the most beautiful man under heaven. I fell in love at first sight."

He didn't just say it, he proved it, using tenderness, love, and sincerity to break through Gu Huai's defenses, layer by layer.

Later, a token fell from Huo Chen's clothes, revealing that he had long been in league with the Wolf Tribe. Gu Huai flew into a rage.

He stormed into the dungeon and nearly crushed Huo Chen's throat, but the man still smiled gently.

"I am a blade sent by the Wolf Tribe. I love you."

"Only one of those two statements is true. Guess which one."

*

Huo Chen was a man with no past.

He remembered nothing from before the age of twenty, and even his current identity had, ironically, been revealed to him by the enemy.

All he knew was that revenge was his only purpose in life, and falling in love with Gu Huai was the sole surprise in his fate, which had been filled with clashing blades and shadows.

Caught between loyalty and love, affection and hatred, he walked a narrow bridge where one misstep would leave him broken beyond repair.

But when his sealed memories were uncovered and the past from before he was twenty came rushing back, he stood still and let the long blade fall from his hand.

He thought he was just a man who had returned to the world of the living to seek revenge, but that was only one of the many identities he had assumed.

Beneath them all was the person who told Gu Huai again and again:

"The eleventh year of Zhaoxing, deep winter, heavy snow in the northern frontier."

"I came crawling back from a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood, with my memories destroyed and my face changed, just to tell you: I'm sorry I came back so late."

Sunny, loyal, gentle general gong (Huo Chen) X gloomy, cold-blooded, beautiful prince shou (Gu Huai)

[Reading Guide]

1. 1v1, happy ending

2. Both leads have lost their memories

3. There is political intrigue and romance. At heart, the story is about peeling away the gong's identity. It's like an onion: once you peel one layer, there are more beneath it.

4. The leads are devoted to each other, with an enormously obvious mutual attraction. They are each other's one true love, with no switching or role reversal.

5. No misunderstandings in the romance, but there will be angst in the plot. The larger setting is to blame.

6. The world draws on many dynasties. Don't nitpick the history. There are no real-life models, and the author's original worldbuilding is immense.

Coming next: My Junior Martial Uncle Has Run Away Again. Please add it to your favorites, thank you!

Jing Anyan, the Empress's younger brother, was born into a prominent family and had a handsome face. His peerless swordsmanship astonished the world, making him the Great Wei Dynasty's most dashing young gentleman.

Everyone said his future was boundless. Once he came of age and formally entered the court, he was sure to achieve great things.

Yet on the eve of his coming-of-age ceremony, Jing Anyan personally broke the sword bestowed by the emperor, injured his fellow disciples, and formally declared that he was leaving Great Wei. He fled to the southern frontier, then vanished without a trace for ten whole years.

*

Ten years later, a new emperor ascended the throne, and the southern frontier fell into chaos.

Everyone knew there was someone there, but the former Empress, now Empress Dowager, still held sway in the inner palace. No one at court dared respond, unable to gauge the emperor's intentions.

At an impasse, Feng Heng, Jing Anyan's former junior martial nephew, who had inherited all his sword techniques, resolutely volunteered to lead an army south and reclaim the region.

*

Over the past ten years, Feng Heng had imagined countless times what he would say when he and Jing Anyan met again.

He loved him, missed him, longed for him, and wanted most of all to know the truth behind his flight.

But in the end, he couldn't get a word out. Instead, somehow, they wound up in bed together.

*

After the passion subsided, Feng Heng looked at the man's unchanged features and asked softly, "Will you run away again?"

Jing Anyan shook his head.

Feng Heng smiled and fell asleep at ease.

When he opened his eyes again, the space beside him was empty.

Feng Heng: ...

I'd sooner believe in ghosts than trust Jing Anyan's lying mouth!

Junior Martial Uncle, are you addicted to lying to me?

Devoted, stubborn general gong (Feng Heng) X flirtatious, silver-tongued poison master shou (Jing Anyan)

Innocent flower (fake) gong X compulsive liar (acting) shou

A recommendation from a fellow author: A Thousand Years by Chi Ya. The blurb is below!

Xuanbai and Changdan made peace. To show their sincerity, Li Xi, who had been framed, defeated in battle, and taken prisoner, was allowed to return to Changdan.

Beneath the green-jade steps, Li Xi removed his boots and hairpin, then kowtowed with every step. His knees had already bled, but he still hadn't heard the old emperor tell him to rise.

His father despised him, his mother had passed away, and his brothers fought among themselves. Li Xi had traveled thousands of miles from Xuanbai back to Changdan, only to leave one tiger's den and enter another wolf's lair.

Ambition and schemes were hidden beneath a timid, docile facade. The emperor fell gravely ill, royal power slipped away, and the eunuch Pei Huaien dominated the court, acting arbitrarily and controlling everything.

Li Xi gazed at the powerful eunuch in crimson robes beside the imperial throne, his eyes dark and unreadable.

-

To secure his power and position, Pei Huaien chose the weakest and most easily controlled among the several princes desperately trying to win him over. He personally put Li Xi on the throne.

He hadn't expected the little puppet to become emperor, transform from a lamb into a wolf in an instant, and bare claws and fangs at him.

In this struggle, built on mountains of bones, the young emperor wielded both favor and authority, using affection, reason, thunderous force, and benevolent grace. Little by little, he made Pei Huaien, once a player moving the pieces, willingly become a pawn and a sharp blade in the emperor's hand.

-

Viper eunuch Pei Huaien x sesame rice ball Li Xi. A grand, melodramatic palace chronicle of six princes fighting for the throne. The gong is a real eunuch; no role reversal. Eating wolf meat and being bitten by a wolf are not mutually exclusive.

"Break the bones in my body, and make me the blade in your hand."

Theme: Remaking the soul in adversity, keeping one's integrity amid schemes