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A passionate, sincere, brave, forward-loving puppy VS a clever, restrained, slightly scheming, beautiful sickly kitten!!!
On the second day after his elder brother ascended the throne as the new emperor, Lu Gengli worked up the courage to confess his feelings, only to be gently rejected by Shen Qi'an, the unrequited love he'd cherished for years.
Lu Gengli: [Everything is settled, Shen Qi'an. My brother has taken the throne without a hitch. Why don't you retire with me and spend our days together?]
So how did the bright moon of his heart respond to Lu Gengli's brave confession?
Shen Qi'an: [Qi'an has devoted himself to studying the sages' teachings and hopes to serve the realm with all his might. I have no thoughts of starting a family.]
Ah~ His beloved only wanted to focus on his career, and Lu Gengli was rejected.
Lu Gengli wasn't ready to give up. [Being with me will only make it easier for you to pursue your career!]
Come on, who was he? The emperor's own younger brother. Being with him would only make it easier for Shen Qi'an to pursue his career!
And then... Lu Gengli was thoroughly heartbroken.
Heartbreak was hard to bear, so Lu Gengli volunteered to go to Mobei. He spent two whole years in that frigid wasteland, with yellow sand sweeping across the sky.
Two years later, he returned to Chang'an and saw Shen Qi'an covered in blood.
The story begins when Lu Gengli's long-lost beloved, now a powerful official after two years away, came knocking at the general's residence in the middle of the night, bleeding from every orifice.
Shen, the prime minister who had placed first in the imperial examinations at the age of eight and wielded immense power at court, had been poisoned. And Shen Qi'an was actually covering up for the very person who had tried to kill him.
Lu Gengli: ...
Fine. Seeing his beloved, who might not have long to live, as soon as he returned to Chang'an wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that he'd barely set foot in the city before rumors spread that his beloved had snuck into his bed in the middle of the night. It became the biggest news in all of Chang'an.
And the person who let this scandal slip was none other than my beloved himself.
“Your Majesty, Prime Minister Shen sent this servant to return this set of nightclothes. He said he was feeling unwell and is grateful...” The palace guard held up the nightclothes, gritted his teeth and trembled. In front of the assembled court officials, he relayed every last detail of the following intimate message: “He is grateful to General Lu for taking care of him all night, and is returning the nightclothes General Lu accidentally left behind last night.”
The eunuch knelt to make his report. His voice was soft, yet it struck the deathly silent court like a thunderbolt.
The court officials: We've stumbled on the emperor's family gossip! I want to start a group chat and dish about it. Hurry, hurry, hurry!
[Extra scenes]
[Many years later, Lu You still couldn't forget that afternoon. He'd gone to visit his injured younger brother, only to find that the person lying in his younger brother's bed was his own sworn brother. Oh, and his younger brother had been in love with that sworn brother for ages.
Three parts shock, four parts confusion, and two parts... relief flashed through Lu You's eyes. His lips moved, and he opened his mouth several times before finally managing to ask, “Have you come around? Are you ready to make a life with my brother?”]
[Many years later, Zhang Zhishu, a staffer on the Forbidden City's payroll, still couldn't forget that evening. General Lu had tossed his cloak over the exceptionally talented Prime Minister Shen inside the carriage. As a working stiff who'd long heard the rumors about the two of them, Zhang Zhishu tactfully slipped out of the carriage and braved the howling winter wind. He didn't dare go back in the whole way there.]
[Many years later, Zhang San, on duty at the residence, still couldn't forget that morning. He saw General Lu pin the selfless Prime Minister Shen, a man devoted to serving the country and its people, in the heated pavilion, clearly intent on doing something indecent. He hadn't seen it with his own eyes, but the noise coming from the pavilion was considerable. Things must have gotten pretty wild in there...]
This novel is also known as “Everyone Assumes the Main Couple Has, or Will Eventually Have, Something Going On, Except the Main Couple Themselves”
“What Should I Do When My Beloved and I Are Pure and Innocent, but Everyone Keeps Mistaking Us for a Couple and Spreading Rumors?”
“How Can I Quash the Rumors and Defend My Beloved's Good Name? The More I Explain, the Worse It Gets!”
Lu Gengli: I just realized that whenever people around me see Shen Qi'an come to find me, they automatically clear out. What's going on?
Lu Gengli: Somehow I've ended up alone with my beloved. What should I do?
Lu Gengli: How do I put an end to these scandalous rumors about me and my beloved?
(Shen Qi'an: They're not rumors.)
Synopsis written on 2026-06-15, screenshot saved
Theme: Love is love
