1.
Shen Luan, the crown prince of the current dynasty, was peerlessly beautiful, surrounded by a host of worthy men, and the undisputed heir to the throne, with only the day he would inherit the empire left to await.
But on the day he came of age, he learned that he was in a book, and that one day... he would die without a whole corpse.
The book said: The Ninth Prince was like a vicious wolf that had lain in wait for years, leaving a trail of bones on his path to the throne.
Shen Luan gave a mocking laugh and brought the Ninth Prince to his side, ready to see how he would die without a whole corpse.
Unfortunately, he spoiled the little wolf cub rotten, turning him into a useless little thing who only knew how to cling to him. He declared in court that the boy was unfit for great responsibilities, and cast the book's contents entirely from his mind.
Until one day, after being drugged in an ambush, he forced himself back to the palace, only to be devoured by the wolf cub, who had finally bared his fangs.
Only then did he learn that the seemingly obedient little good-for-nothing had been sneaking into his bedchamber every night.
[Image: narrowing eyes in alert suspicion]
2.
The look in the little good-for-nothing's eyes grew more and more heated and brazen, his wolfish ambition plain to see.
Shen Luan fretted, convinced that people coveted his position as crown prince day and night.
The worthy men around him, seeking to ease his worries, advised him to send the Ninth Prince on a distant military expedition to the borderlands, to a place where he would find no grave, and eliminate the problem once and for all.
3.
No one could have imagined that three years later, the Ninth Prince, abandoned on the frontier, would return victorious after fighting bloody battles and earning peerless military honors, ennobled as the Prince of Jin.
The court was thrown into turmoil. It split into two factions, the Crown Prince's party and the Jin faction, locked in confrontation day after day.
Only belatedly did Shen Luan realize that what the book said... seemed to be true after all.
The worthy men who had always stayed by his side were toppled one after another, never to rise again. He was probably next.
So, on the night the old emperor died of illness, he tried to flee. His snow-white robe was stained crimson by the corpses, but as he vaulted over a wall, he fell into a man's burning embrace.
The Prince of Jin, his face as cold as jade, stroked Shen Luan's bloodless, pale cheek and carried him step by step toward the golden throne:
"Your Majesty, the longer the night, the more can go wrong. Let me ease your worries..."
From then on, red waves rolled beneath the brocade covers, and there were no more dreams that night.
4.
Shen Luan still teased the wolf as if it were a dog, just as he always had.
Only this time, he was the one who depended on the other.
[Ambitious, honey-tongued and treacherous top x Gentle, refined and scholarly bottom]
[Both are devoted to each other; no angst. The sword in this tag isn't a cold, unfeeling sword.]
Theme: Leave some room for others, and you'll meet again someday.
