Murong Xue was the trusted minister the late emperor left to protect the crown prince.
He was not only the most useful blade in the late emperor's hand, but also the only person the late emperor had ever loved.
It was only a shame that Murong Xue was born into a prominent family, held the highest rank in the court, and wielded power over the realm. Otherwise, the late emperor would have locked him away in the palace and made him his male empress long ago.
The late emperor closed his eyes for the last time and departed this world, never knowing that his supposedly "loyal, filial, fraternal, and dutiful" son was secretly overjoyed.
The crown prince, soon to ascend the throne, had already made every necessary preparation for his unfilial scheme. He could only hope his father would draw his last breath soon.
He would break the treasured blade his father had left behind, then sleep with the person his father had once doted on night and day.
In the third year of Tianjing, Nanzhao was plunged into internal conflict and struck by a severe drought. Its national strength was drained, leaving it unable to continue paying tribute and taxes to the Jing Dynasty as a vassal state.
The young new emperor had only recently ascended the throne and was eager to establish his authority in court and suppress the maternal relatives. He sent an elite army south, and after days of marching, razed the kingdom of Nanzhao to the ground.
The young son of the King of Nanzhao hid amid mountains of corpses and rivers of blood, witnessing the atrocities committed by the Tianjing army. He watched with his own eyes as his parents and siblings were burned alive.
After a night of slaughter, the seven-year-old prince clutched the charred, foul-smelling ashes of his family and fled a thousand miles to seek refuge with his mother's relatives.
Before long, the last surviving descendant of Nanzhao's royal house had changed his name and become Murong Xue, the young master of the Murong family.
Murong Xue entered the civil service with a heart full of hatred.
He endured humiliation and devoted himself to the emperor, pretending to be a virtuous, humble, respectful, and frugal loyal subject, all so he could kill his enemy with his own hands and restore his homeland.
But he never expected his pretty face to be so useful. Having just driven the debauched emperor who could have been his father wild with desire, he now had to serve the beastly crown prince who had just ascended the throne.
The unlucky minister bottom, who killed the father only to have to serve the son, vs. the shameless, scum father-and-son tops, who call for the Grand Tutor whenever they need something and get on top of the Grand Tutor whenever they don't.
[Reading Guide]
1. Neither top nor bottom is a virgin. One-on-one pairing at each stage. Happy ending.
2. Pseudo-coercive love, physical and emotional abuse, old-school melodrama.
3. The story begins during the reign of the late emperor. The crown prince has not yet grown up when the story opens.
[Important: The bottom is a 0.5. Besides the emperor, he has other partners.]
The title and blurb have both been screenshotted and archived. Saved on October 1, 2025.
Theme: Refuse to surrender to reality, and work hard to change your fate
The Duke of Dingguo, Favored Above All in the Six Palaces
Scammed Out of 80 Million in an Online Romance
Turns Out I Cultivate the Path of Ruthlessness
I Am the Cauldron Everyone Hates
Marrying My Wealthy Ex’s Father
So I Was a Beloved Male Concubine
Marrying My Wealthy Ex's Older Brother
My Dao Companion, Lucifer