After Dreaming with the Cold Prince

Xie Jin wears two hats.

By day, she is the bright and dignified Seventh Miss of the Xie family, part of the Duke of Chong's household.

By night, she writes fanfiction for Pine Smoke Ink Studio, author of "The Overbearing Heir Loves Me Madly" and "The Emperor and the General's Disarmed Hearts."

Lately, however, she has hit a frustrating creative slump. Readers say her romantic scenes lack tension and aren't exciting enough.

Xie Jin has revised her work countless times, but with little to show for it.

Then, after falling into the water one day, she unexpectedly finds herself inside the Crown Prince's dream.

The Crown Prince is aloof and proper, a man who stands apart from the world. He is the moon atop a high terrace in the hearts of countless men and women in the capital, and the secret object of her affection.

Who would have thought that in the dream, she would be the one in control?

She can do whatever she wants to the Crown Prince.

Xie Jin suddenly gets very bold. If she wants to hug him, she does. If she wants to kiss him, she does. If she wants to sleep with him, she does. They make love until she loses all sense of heaven and earth.

These vivid, sensual dreams give Xie Jin an endless stream of inspiration. From then on, her writing grows ever more polished, the roads grow ever more well-traveled, and countless readers fall at her feet.

Crown Prince Xiao Chongyao is renowned throughout the court for his diligence and stern discipline, and for never going near women.

But lately, he has been having a series of unspeakable dreams.

A woman whose face he cannot see always appears in them. Her voice is soft and sweet, with a teasing lilt, and she is outrageously bold, doing whatever she wants to him.

In the first dream, she sits astride his waist, her slender fingers undoing his belt as she teases, "Broad shoulders and a narrow waist. You must be a fine field to plow."

In the second, she cups his face, kissing his brows, eyes, nose, and lips one by one. Resting her head in the crook of his neck, she pants, "I can't imagine how amazing it'll feel to sleep with you."

In the third, a sheen of sweat dampens her dark hair. She whispers seductively by his ear, "This feels so good, Brother Chongyao. One more time, please."

The imperial riverbank, the study, even the royal bed that symbolizes supreme power, all become places where she can do as she pleases.

In the dreams, Xiao Chongyao finds himself unable to resist. He even becomes immersed in them, leaving him restless in body and mind the next morning and unable to focus on his memorials.

Looking at the old ministers' faces, he can picture the woman's pale wrist from his dreams.

Suspecting that he has fallen under some sort of spell, he secretly sends his trusted men to investigate.

They soon discover that fanfiction about him is circulating throughout the capital. When he opens one of the books, he finds that the scenes are nearly identical to the ones in his dreams.

And the fanfiction's author is none other than the young lady of a prominent family, the usually gentle and reserved Seventh Miss Xie.

At last, during a palace banquet, Xiao Chongyao can take no more and corners Xie Jin in front of a rockery in the imperial garden.

Xie Jin says primly, "Your Highness, this is improper..."

Xiao Chongyao sneers, "Improper? Is there anything proper about what you do to me in your dreams every night?"

Later, Xiao Chongyao discovers that all those "disrespectful" acts from the dreams feel exactly the same in real life.

Theme: Love can heal anything