The Crimson-Robed Guest

"Years of chill in crimson robes, then once more engulfed in flame"

Teasing, seductive bottom x ruthless, fearsome top

Ye Lengjue has served as the Minister of Justice for more than a decade. No one in the capital dares cross him.

Even criminals he has interrogated would tremble at the sound of his name from inside their coffins.

Capital matrons warn their children that if they don't behave, Lord Ye will take them away.

The threat always works, and is more famous than the Big Bad Wolf, keeping a generation of rowdy children in line.

Shen Zhuo was one of them.

But whether his mother had told the story wrong or something was wrong with his head, Shen Zhuo developed a strange affection for this living King of Hell.

Under the blazing sun on the main street, a crimson robe, a pair of tall boots, a horse galloping through clouds of dust.

One glance back from the saddle, and he was smitten for life.

By the latticed window, the boy woke from a spring dream without a trace left behind, drenched in sweat.

He touched his face, hot and soft, like a freshly cooked sweet rice ball.

The man in his dream had been Ye Lengjue...

-

Ye Lengjue thought romance had nothing to do with him in this life.

Twelve years in public service had left him surrounded by the cries of prisoners, with cold instruments of torture in his hands and a deep, icy gaze. He was the very image of a judge from the underworld.

Yet that young upstart wasn't at all afraid of the bloodstained aura around him. Holding the long whip used for flogging, he smiled and told Ye Lengjue how handsome he looked swinging it.

Ye Lengjue thought the kid had a screw loose.

"My lord, you look handsome when you smile. Let's go see the flowers tomorrow."

Ye Lengjue thought the kid had something wrong with his eyes, too.

"By seniority, you should call me Uncle."

"Uncle, I'm in love with you."

"..."

Ye Lengjue was completely thrown into disarray.

A sixteen-year age gap: a handsome older man and his irresistible little rascal.

[Blurb written on March 1, 2023, screenshot saved]

Theme: They love each other against the tide