#Both reborn #Mutual pining #Childhood friends, ruler and minister
With one hundred thousand enemy cavalrymen from Hengtian massed at the city gates, Chancellor Jing Ting held the pass for three grueling months. In the end, he was outnumbered, with no hope of turning things around.
As death approached, Jing Ting took a moment to look back on his life.
His youth had been full of hardship, but he'd been fortunate enough to find a confidant who walked beside him, lantern in hand. As a young man, he'd risen to the highest ranks of court and wielded power over the realm. He'd enjoyed unimaginable wealth and seen the vast, magnificent landscape of the land.
At the very end, he had two regrets. First, though he'd held the realm together in its time of crisis, he hadn't managed to turn the tide.
Second, he hadn't had the chance to confess his feelings and tell his childhood friend, the emperor who had died young, how much he loved him.
It was a long road to the underworld. His emperor had gone on eight years before, and Jing Ting feared he could never catch up.
Jing Ting sighed and closed his eyes.
Little did he know that his emperor had never left him at all. A wisp of his soul was floating beside him, crying.
*
Reborn, Jing Ting once again stands before the tall vermilion gates of Qingya Academy. In its shabby courtyard, layered with brocade flowers, he will meet the Third Prince, soaked to the skin and as neglected and disobedient as an abandoned dog.
He will take him back to his own Moonlight Terrace, accept that absurd engagement, and do everything he can to prevent the tragedy from happening again.
And then...
Then maybe confess his feelings?
No way!
Why ask? He's a coward!
*
The Third Prince is eccentric, has trouble walking, and turns into a rabid dog when he falls ill. Everyone avoids him. The only person who has to keep visiting him because of an engagement contract is the adopted son of the Imperial Preceptor.
Who would have thought the two would get along so well?
Sometimes a little too well.
The old ministers stroke their beards: Hmm! This is utterly improper!
The future rising stars of the civil court rub their hands: This is kind of adorable.
The military commanders simply submit a petition: Please hurry up and get married, Your Highness. We're all waiting for the wedding feast!
Recently, though, even Jing Ting has been a little puzzled.
Your Highness, where did your rabid-dog persona go?
I haven't seen the vicious hound snapping at everyone. How did he turn into a dog who can't stop wagging his tail?
#Plot-driven, childhood friends and ruler-and-minister romance#
#Sweet romance is all that matters#
#Pouring Wine Beneath the Stars, Becoming a Candle#
[An emperor who seems composed and proper but is a Samoyed at heart as the pursuer x a chancellor who seems as gentle as jade but is secretly a scheming ragdoll cat as the pursued]
Reader's guide:
1. One-on-one romance, both leads reborn, mutual pining
2. Contains a touch of the supernatural
3. An idealized ancient setting: the emperor has no harem
4. I'm starving! I'm starving for ruler-and-minister romances!
Theme: No matter how many hardships you endure, keep hope in your heart and never give up
