Irresistible, seemingly innocent but secretly dark, flirtatious bottom x outwardly restrained and patient, inwardly a ravenous wolf top
Everyone who lived through the Tongsheng Academy incident in the first year of the Dazhao era knows this.
Qin Jing, polished and refined, with the bearing of a gentleman, hid beneath that exterior a bloodthirsty demon from the underworld.
The only person this powerful court official, Lord Qin, ever showed a little tenderness toward was the Ninth Prince, who lived at Ganye Temple. He treated him like his own younger brother and taught him with great care.
Qin Jing had always thought Fang Jin was the most useful pawn in his hands. Obedient and eager to learn, shrewd but measured, ambitious yet able to read the situation. If his Ninth Prince would just listen to him, Qin Jing wouldn't mind having another little brother to protect and keep safe for life.
But he never expected his feelings to change without him noticing.
Later, Fang Jin stood before Qin Jing, slowly slipping off his clothes, his dark hair falling loose. Smiling, he said, "Jin's mother came from humble beginnings. She was merely a female official in the Imperial Wardrobe Bureau. At Ganye Temple, I was fortunate to receive my first lessons from you. Now, amid the struggle for imperial power, I am adrift like duckweed. Unfortunately, I have nothing to offer. If I wish to rely on you, I wonder what you think of me as I am?"
Qin Jing admitted that the strings in his heart had indeed been plucked without a sound.
The Ninth Prince, Fang Jin, had once been an unknown figure at Ganye Temple. With the chief minister's support, he fought his way through the struggle for the throne.
Qin Jing thought Fang Jin had said those words only to him.
But then he discovered that the Ninth Prince, Fang Jin, had also said them to the empire's great general, to a prince who stayed out of politics, and even to the crown prince, the bastard son born of an affair between a palace consort and a guard: "Jin has nothing to offer..."
Fang Jin knew from a young age that the palace was a place that devoured people. It devoured his mother and his wet nurse, and he had nearly been devoured himself.
It rained year after year at Ganye Temple. Fang Jin felt he was about to drown there, so he clung to Qin Jing like a branch and did whatever it took to climb upward. Anything could become a bargaining chip in his hands, including himself.
As long as he could reach the highest position, above all others.
Of course, Fang Jin succeeded.
This is a series of one-on-one relationships, okay?
Synopsis dated 2024.6.5
Theme: Reading more is always a good thing
