Forbidden Favorite

Emperor Xuanwu passed away, and Crown Prince Yuan Ze inherited the mess that was the Wei Dynasty. The court was treacherous, both within and beyond its walls, and the new emperor had no one to help him. He was in a terribly weak position.

That day, as he left the ancestral hall, Helan You stopped him in a secluded spot and seized his hand, behaving outrageously for quite some time. Unable to get away, Yuan Ze shut his eyes, turned his head, and gritted his teeth as he endured it.

"Your Majesty... With powerful barbarians beyond our borders and ministers with too much power at home, you must be having a hard time..."

"Your Majesty, why not give me a little something sweet? I'll lend you a hand. What do you say?"

Yuan Ze's lashes trembled like those of a dying butterfly. He knew what kind of sweetness Helan You wanted.

The mourning period for the late emperor had just ended. That night, Helan You came to him again and seized his hand. He bit the index fingers of both of them, pressed them together, and forced Yuan Ze to drink their mingled blood.

"Your Majesty, from this day on, we are blood-sworn allies. If either of us breaks our vow, may Heaven strike us down! For all my life, I will bow only to you."

Everyone believed Yuan Ze was weak and easy to bully, a doddering vine that could only cling to others. They didn't know that though he was weak, he could stand firm; though gentle, he could endure. He might be a vine, a tiny flower or blade of grass, but he was also a wind that roamed freely across heaven and earth.

Helan You was a sharpened sword forged through a hundred trials, while Yuan Ze was a brilliant flower twining around its blade.

As for who would win this battle, that remained to be seen.

Helan You (top) x Yuan Ze (bottom)

A semi-fictional Northern and Southern Dynasties setting. It's not entirely made up, but it won't hold up to microscopic historical scrutiny.

2024.6.27

Theme: Be sure to save yourself from danger, a thousand times over