I Raise a Glass to You Beneath the Setting Sun [Mystery]

[A stiff, taciturn young general x a carefree, sickly beauty]

★Historical mystery danmei★

Romance:

Xie Rong was descended from a distinguished family of ministers. The emperor was incompetent and obstinate, and after listening to slander, he unjustly executed eighteen members of the Xie family. Only after the court officials risked their lives to remonstrate was Xie Rong's life spared.

Under such intense scrutiny, nobody dared take in the lonely little boy. Driven onto the streets, he fought with beggars over food stolen from stray dogs.

In that absurd, bitter winter, Xie Rong met Wen Zhenliu for the first time.

A thin, pale young man rode through the snow, carrying medicine in one hand and wine tucked against his chest. His features were handsome and cool, and his whole person seemed to say, “defying convention.”

Wen Zhenliu stopped his horse in front of him and said lazily:

“You're the younger one from the Xie family?”

“Come with me. I'll feed you.”

Thirteen-year-old Xie Rong struggled to his feet and clung fearfully to this slender lifeline.

Only later did Xie Rong learn that Wen Zhenliu had already placed first in both the provincial and metropolitan examinations. By saving him in front of a crowd, he had angered the emperor and lost any chance of entering officialdom.

*

After living with Wen Zhenliu for three years, Xie Rong realized he had developed feelings he shouldn't have, even dreaming of the two of them undressing one another and sharing a short spring night.

Unable to bear the delusions growing wilder by the day, he made up his mind, left a letter, and secretly ran off to join the army.

For three years in the army, he stayed ready for battle and risked his life. Xie Rong carved out a renowned reputation amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood, believing his heart had turned to stone.

At the victory banquet upon his return to the capital, he made sure to send an invitation to the Wen family.

The hall was full of guests, expected and unexpected alike. The only one missing was Wen Zhenliu.

Xie Rong panicked at once.

*

Plot:

Wen Zhenliu claimed to be ill and didn't attend Xie Rong's victory banquet. The next morning, when he opened the door, he saw the young marquis Xie standing in the courtyard.

Even his eyelashes were rimed with frost. He looked as if he had been standing there all night.

Before Wen Zhenliu could bring him inside, officers from the Court of Judicial Review surrounded the courtyard. After Xie Rong had disappeared during the victory banquet, his longtime enemy had been found dead in the rear hall.

Everyone in the capital knew Wen Zhenliu was a sickly good-for-nothing. But after he cleared one injustice after another and solved a string of strange cases, bringing a case spanning twenty years and involving countless secrets before the imperial court, people finally remembered:

In his teens, Wen Zhenliu had once been an exuberant young man, singing and drinking freely, sword in hand as he challenged the setting sun.

Note: The receiver has other reasons for being unable to enter officialdom. The attack is merely an excuse made up by the wretched emperor.

The romance is an old-fashioned “pick up a man” story!

Theme: Face setbacks with a smile and keep striving forward.