[Draft in progress. Dear readers, please add it to your favorites for now (hint hint)]
Everyone knew that Beili's capital, Shengjing, had a precious gem. He wasn't a princess or a noble young lady, but Shang Yan, the young heir of the Bonan Marquis Household.
Everyone in the Bonan Marquis Household cherished Shang Yan like the apple of their eye. They gave him whatever he wanted and never let him suffer the slightest grievance.
If he didn't want to study, a professor from the Imperial Academy would come to teach him at home. If he didn't do well in his lessons, the accompanying prince would be punished and lectured. The old Grand Tutor would smack his ruler with a crack, but the moment Shang Yan pouted and shed a few tears, the old man would turn around and bring the ruler down on the Crown Prince beside him.
The Crown Prince was elegant and peerless, the object of every gentleman's admiration and the one Shang Yan held dear in his heart.
He had secretly loved his bright moon for years. Finally, he mustered up the courage to ask him to meet, and, emboldened by drink, revealed his vague feelings.
But the Crown Prince rejected him.
The young heir, who had grown up adored and pampered, had never suffered such a great grievance. He ran home to the marquis's residence and cried all night.
The next day, he opened his door with eyes swollen as big as peaches and declared with conviction that he was going to the palace.
.
Shang Yan got his wish and entered the palace. He went straight to the Eastern Palace, but the Crown Prince wasn't there.
Feeling vexed, he left his attendants behind and wandered to the lakeside pavilion. There, he saw an exceptionally handsome man drinking tea and playing chess alone. When Shang Yan approached, the man raised his eyes to look at him.
Shang Yan was startled by his gaze and stopped in his tracks. But the man quickly let the hostility fade and smiled, beckoning him over.
Still shaken, Shang Yan looked the man up and down, taking in his clothes and appearance. Convinced he wasn't anyone important, he lifted his chin arrogantly.
"Who are you? Do you know who I..."
But the man reached out, pulled him into his arms, and kissed him.
Shang Yan was stunned. He struggled free and hit the man across the face, then fled in a panic.
·
Not long after, Shang Yan met a very handsome musician in the palace.
Although there had been a little misunderstanding between them, Shang Yan was magnanimous and didn't hold it against him.
He'd just pretend a dog had bitten him.
Perhaps because the musician was so easy to talk to, Shang Yan accidentally let his secret slip.
He told him about the tyrant emperor in the inner palace, the one everyone avoided, and how maids were carried out of the palace after being beaten nearly to death, or how blood was spilled again in the imperial study.
He was simply too brutal!
Young Master Shang put one foot on a stool, turning all the fear that had kept him awake at night as a child into indignation. He spoke with heartfelt sincerity, his little face flushed red. The musician always watched him with a smile, then offered him a cup of tea when he was done.
Those peaceful days ended when a message arrived from the Eastern Palace: the Crown Prince had invited him to dine.
Shang Yan was overjoyed. He freshened up and hurried to the appointment.
Inside the Eastern Palace, he watched with his own eyes as the man who had discussed romance stories with him that very day sat in the place of honor, wearing an imperial robe. The man's gaze was calm and unreadable, as if they had never met.
The Crown Prince took Shang Yan's hand and led him forward.
"A Lan, hurry and pay your respects to His Majesty."
Only later did the young heir learn that the man was the god of slaughter who struck terror into the Rouran on the battlefield, the unpredictable tyrant of Beili.
And the Crown Prince's father.
Author's Note
1. There is a little bit of basic political intrigue. This is a story written to indulge my tastes, essentially a melodramatic tale about everyone loving him.
2. Other characters will have one-sided feelings for the bottom and act ambiguously toward him, including the Crown Prince.
3. The top is sexually pure, and the Crown Prince is not his biological son.
4. The tyrant is truly a tyrant, and the top has a family history of mental illness.
5. The dynasty is fictional, with a stitched-together worldbuilding setting. If you need historical accuracy, this isn't for you.
6. The bottom may dress as a woman. Men can take a special drug that allows them to bear children, but there will be no children. Whether that's a dealbreaker or a guilty pleasure is up to you.
[Blurb saved, 2024/5/12]
Theme: Live for yourself
