Silver-tongued, duplicitous court lady x puppet emperor
*
In Xue Yi's eyes, Lan Wu is a shameless and despicable villain.
She conspired with the Empress Dowager to kill the late emperor, who had loved her with all his heart.
The late emperor was his elder brother. With the main imperial line left without an heir, he was adopted by the Empress Dowager, but died suddenly less than a year later.
Xue Yi was hastily forced onto the throne, becoming yet another puppet in the Empress Dowager's hands.
Lan Wu was sent to serve him, ostensibly as a court lady, but really to keep watch over him.
**
Xue Yi refused to grant an official title to a relative of the Empress Dowager and was confined to the Western Garden to "recuperate."
All his attendants were dismissed. He curled up alone in his cold bedchamber, having gone three days without food or water, and thought he would starve to death. But on the fourth night, he saw Lan Wu carrying a food box.
She had snuck out without an umbrella and was soaked through. She was the most respectable young woman at the Empress Dowager's side, yet at that moment, for his sake, she looked as bedraggled as a homeless... little fox.
He knew she was vicious, but his heart softened all the same. He took off his outer robe and wrapped it around her, drawing her into his arms.
From that night on, beneath the palace walls, he and Lan Wu depended on each other to survive.
In public, he was the puppet emperor and she was the Empress Dowager's spy, each distrustful of the other.
At night, when no one was around, they talked by candlelight, like a pair of confidants.
After being released from the Western Garden, Xue Yi endured years of restraint, finally putting the Empress Dowager's suspicions to rest.
Lan Wu knew exactly what was happening, but quietly watched without informing the Empress Dowager.
Xue Yi despised Lan Wu for betraying her former master. Several times, he wanted to kill her to avenge his brother, but he couldn't forget the quiet nights when she thought he was asleep and planted a light kiss on him.
The two-faced Lan Wu was clumsy and awkward when she stole those kisses.
With his power grab imminent, he thought to himself that Lan Wu had helped and cared for him, which was a great contribution. If she were willing to cut ties with the Empress Dowager, he would let bygones be bygones and even save her a place in his harem.
But who could have guessed that Lan Wu would first ask the Empress Dowager to arrange a marriage for her, and would soon leave the palace to wed?
He pinned her to the bed and demanded angrily, "Do you even have a heart?"
Lan Wu smiled faintly and pressed her index finger to his lips. "Your lips look most like the late emperor's."
#After falling for her, he discovers the person she mistook for a substitute was actually himself?!
Reader's Guide:
1. SC, HE
2. More accurately, the leads' early relationship is that of [allies who distrust each other]. Trust can form quickly, and collapse at any moment.
Theme: Hardship reveals true feelings, and time reveals the heart.
