"Qing Fei"
Blurb:
The day General Chi returned to the capital in triumph, the whole Great Jin celebrated. The officials came out to welcome him, the troops were rewarded, and precious treasures poured into the general's manor in wave after wave. That night, however, General Chi excused himself from the banquet on account of illness and appeared in the quarters of Zhong Yu'an, the chief eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial who was universally loathed by the officials of Great Jin. He stood with his head bowed and softly called, "Young master."
Zhong Yu'an wore only his inner robes. At the sound of the voice, he turned around. His face, so often seen in the dreams of young women, was just as it had been back then. He smiled, his lips curling, still every inch the elegant young gentleman. "You're here. Take off your clothes."
Chi Cheng was not originally called Chi Cheng. There were ten children in his family, and he was the ninth, so they called him Xiao Jiu. As a child, he was dark and skinny, dull and slow-witted, and looked like a fool. Even when he was sold to a broker, no wealthy patron wanted him as a servant. As time went by, he was either beaten or starved. Just as he thought he was about to die, Zhong Yu'an descended from the heavens like a deity and bought him.
Back then, the Zhong family had not yet fallen, and Zhong Yu'an was still the eldest son of Censor Zhong. He was famous for his rakish charm, with confidantes all over the capital. Riding through Hong Xiuzhao, he could inspire crowds to toss fruit into his carriage. He gave Chi Jiu his name, wishing that he would gallop across the world, free from restraint.
Later, Censor Zhong fell from power, and the Zhong family was confiscated. The women were forced into prostitution, and the men made slaves. Chi Cheng watched over Zhong Yu'an for three days and nights, tending his wounds day and night. When Zhong Yu'an woke, he said only, "The Zhong family has fallen. Now that I'm alive, I might as well be dead."
Chi Cheng swallowed his sobs and said hoarsely, "As long as Young Master is still here, the Zhong family will never fall."
Zhong Yu'an was consumed by hatred and vengeance, and refused to let things end there. So he shattered his own spine and bent his back, crawling on his knees all the way to the position of Chief Eunuch of the Directorate of Ceremonial. With his own hands, he raised the little guard at his side to become the youngest general in Great Jin.
"I listened to the rain by the pond and drifted off to sleep. Only then did I realize that this moment was what it meant to be alive."
Simply put, this is a sweet romance where the eunuch is the gong and the armored warrior is the shou.
A rakish, carefree gong who is bold and spirited early on, then becomes ruthless and darkly brooding, paired with a quiet, honest, naturally slow-witted shou who later commands a powerful presence outside and is a bashful, pure-hearted wolf in sheep's clothing at home.
Please note:
1. One-on-one romance, happy ending. Neither the gong nor the shou is perfect.
2. The gong is a real eunuch, and there is no possibility of restoration later.
3. The gong has other partners early on. Once they get together, both are faithful in body and heart. Readers who require purity from the beginning, please do not read.
4. This is an alternate-history setting. Readers who insist on historical accuracy, please do not read.
5. I talk a lot and tend to ramble. I know what I'm writing, so there's no need to tell me if you drop the story.
6. Finally, I hope you enjoy reading!
Theme: The mountains welcome the clear breeze with open arms, and the rivers grow deep by embracing the streams.
