I'm Both the Substitute and the One He Never Forgot

[This is what I'm writing next!]

Naive, cruel beauty of a tyrant gong (Jiang Huo) x vengeful, fiercely protective, scheming beauty-loving shou (Xiao Jin)

-

Xiao Jin worked himself to death from overtime, then opened his eyes to find he'd transmigrated to ancient times.

The current emperor was choosing male consorts, and every eligible man had to take part. Everyone knew this was just an excuse to marry the person he loved, the eldest son of the Lin family.

But who could have guessed that the eldest Lin son had heard rumors of the tyrant's fearsome reputation and fled on the eve of the selection?

Because he looked similar, the Lin family seized Xiao Jin, passed him off as their second son, and forced him into the palace.

The emperor's carriage stood high above, surrounded by beautiful men of every build. All were carefully made up and dressed in their finest clothes.

Xiao Jin's hands were bound, he'd been forced to swallow a drug that took away his voice, and his knees had been kicked out from under him so he knelt on the ground.

A Lin family servant kowtowed, trembling.

"Your Majesty, forgive us. The eldest son has suddenly come down with a cold and could not attend. This is the second son of our household. He's frail and has long lived in a separate residence. We have brought him here to serve Your Majesty."

As soon as the words left his mouth, a sword rang out with a sharp clang.

Blood sprayed through the air, and the servant's head rolled to Xiao Jin's feet.

Xiao Jin: "..."

This emperor's not so bad. He even helped me get revenge.

He tucked away the poison hidden beneath his fingernail and slowly smiled.

Then he looked up and raised an eyebrow.

Well, well.

The little emperor was ruthless, but he sure had a pretty face.

-

Jiang Huo, emperor of Great Qi, ascended the throne at a young age. Decisive and merciless, he was a tyrant in every sense of the word.

He didn't love money, spending the entire treasury on dams. He didn't fear death, never fleeing when assassins came. And he wasn't lustful: for years after ascending the throne, his harem remained empty. Every day, he held nothing but a small portrait, said to depict the one person he could never have.

According to a eunuch who had been lucky enough to see it, the person in the portrait looked a little like the Lin family's young master.

Jiang Huo had a secret. Once, another person had lived inside his body.

Gentle and strong, capable of anything, and always indulging him, that person called himself a transmigrator.

He had stayed by Jiang Huo's side, from when he was a castoff with nothing to the day he became the supreme ruler of the realm. But on the night of his coronation, he vanished without a sound, leaving behind only a portrait.

For five whole years.

Until the selection was held as a mere formality.

He recognized the man at a glance and killed the servant who had mistreated him on the spot.

Then he summoned him to the palace with an imperial decree, hoping to keep his beauty locked away in a golden house.

As the wedding candles flickered, Jiang Huo's pupils trembled with excitement. He had just stepped forward when the other man pressed a hand against him.

"Eunuch Liang has already told me."

Xiao Jin smiled and spoke gently.

"Don't worry, Your Majesty. I'll act exactly like my older brother."

After all, no one could resist a face like this.

Jiang Huo slowly blinked.

Good news: My beloved has returned.

Bad news: He has forgotten me and thinks he's someone else's substitute.

Theme: Love can overcome any obstacle