Black Clothes Alley

Set in an alternate Ming Dynasty. Childhood friends, sort of; turning a straight man gay; angsty, cathartic love-and-regret drama.

A cold, clingy, ambitious minister from a humble background in the early stages and a lovestruck puppy later x a young marquis from Jinling who insists he never wanted to rebel, that they all forced him into it.

In the fortieth year of the Xiangchu era, in the imperial city of Jinling, Empress Zhao staged a coup, killed the crown prince, executed the imperial consorts, and attempted to put her relatives on the throne. The Ninth Prince, Zhu Duanbai, who had been away recovering from an illness, unexpectedly became emperor. Once enthroned, his grip on power was shaky, and he was eager to strengthen the imperial party. He therefore appointed Yan Wen, a childhood classmate, as a close imperial aide, and launched a sweeping purge of the previous dynasty's old guard, leaving everyone anxious and afraid.

The Marquis Ding's residence in Wuyi Lane had a century of military achievements behind it, and ties to Prince Qin, the late emperor's youngest brother. It was one of the most important lineages under imperial rule, and one of the most closely watched.

Emperor Chengze had expected the brilliant young Marquis Zhu to enter the Grand Secretariat, join the Hanlin Academy, and stir up the political world. Instead, Marquis Zhu ranked near the bottom in the civil service examinations, hid his talents to avoid attracting attention, and requested a post at the Imperial College to while away the rest of his life.

Yan, who had risen to the Nine Ministers in a single morning, happened by chance to discover that he and the young marquis had studied together at the eastern shore of Meili Lake as boys. The emperor ordered Yan to keep the Marquis Ding's residence under watch, and he did so for a long time. In the end, he discovered that the man only drank tea and watched plays, and had been secretly in love with him for seven years...

CONTENT WARNINGS

* The gong has an ex-girlfriend. They break up in Chapter 36, so proceed with caution if this bothers you. The main couple are each other's only partners.

* The gong's family isn't called humble because he's poor. They were merchants of low status who fell into decline. The puppy has plenty of money.

* The political scheming is simplistic. If you don't like it, please don't complain. Even if you do, I can't be bothered to change it.

* The shou really has been in unrequited love for seven years and won't make a move, so there isn't much romance between them early on.

* In my opinion, apart from the love story, the protagonists have a bad ending. This isn't a wish-fulfillment story. He doesn't have an omniscient perspective, and the ending is more about helplessness. Proceed with caution if that's not for you.

The explicit scene in Chapter 72 is on Weibo: Douhua Shi Liangzai.

This novel is free, so if you don't like the writing style, you can simply stop reading. If you have questions about how the characters change, you can read the author's afterword on Weibo. There's no need to tell me you've dropped the story. Let's respect each other.

The complete story has been uploaded, so enjoy!

DIVIDER

Please check out my other story set in a northern kingdom!

A college-age male ski athlete x a gentle, older train attendant

They save each other.

Theme: Though trapped in a cage, keep the world in your heart.