Beloved Beauty Bottom x Violent, Arrogant Top
He Qinger grew up tending fields at an estate. Because of his good looks, a passing painter took him home to serve the painter's son.
As the days went by, the painter's son treated him like a brother.
One day, the painter caught the two of them picking lotus pods in a pond. He suddenly forbade He Qinger from serving the young master, took him under his wing, and taught him painting.
The painter was exceptionally skilled, and gradually began taking He Qinger with him to the palace. He Qinger also discovered the painter's secret: the painter and the emperor's favorite consort were repeatedly crossing the line.
A young eunuch discovered their relationship, and the painter killed him to silence him.
To keep the secret from getting out, He Qinger was forced to remain in the palace, assume the young eunuch's identity, and serve the young prince born to the favorite consort.
The young prince had a carefree life of wealth and privilege, reminding He Qinger of the young master at the painter's home.
He used to envy the young master. Now he envied the young prince. Looking at the patched cloth clothes he wore, He Qinger swallowed his bitterness and wiped the corner of his eye.
A few years later, He Qinger grew even more beautiful, while the favorite consort's looks began to fade. To secure her position, she wanted to cater to the crown prince's tastes and offer He Qinger to him.
The young prince couldn't bear to part with He Qinger, so he told him what was going to happen. He hurried to beg the favorite consort not to send him to the crown prince.
Instead, he learned the truth about his birth: he was the son of the painter and the favorite consort.
People might share the same origins but have different fates. He Qinger had never enjoyed the good fortune of the young master or the prince. All he had ever known was endless hardship and endless grievances.
He Qinger ran through the rain. The vast palace seemed to have no end. When he had used up all his strength, his foot slipped and he plunged into the pond with a splash.
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On a rainy day, Song Xiucheng was harshly berated by the emperor. As he was leaving the palace, he saw ripples on the pond and jumped in to save whoever was there.
He recognized the person he'd rescued as the young eunuch he'd met a few times before. The young eunuch was burning with fever.
Since he'd already saved him, he might as well see it through. He found some clean old clothes to change the young eunuch into, only to discover that he was a fake eunuch.
Song Xiucheng took him out of the palace and settled him in a private residence, leaving a doctor to look after him before heading to the capital's outskirts on official business.
When Song Xiucheng returned to the capital, the doctor told him the young eunuch had run away. Song Xiucheng spent days asking around for him. Meanwhile, scandals from the palace spread through the common folk like the wind.
The favorite consort and the painter meeting in secret, the crown prince abusing palace servants, the virtuous prince being sinister and deceitful, the empress hiding a poisonous heart behind her pious words... Truth and lies alike became the talk of teahouses and taverns.
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Friend: Outrageous! Who would dare spread such rumors about you?
Song Xiucheng, surprised to find himself involved and rubbing his hands in curiosity: Oh? What did they say about me?
Friend: That you're impotent...
Song Xiucheng: ...
(The blurb is still being revised and polished!)
Theme: The truth speaks louder than words