Everyone says General Fu has won the new emperor's favor. Yun Qingyue, who has always been cold and ruthless, trusts no one but him.
He commands the army, puts down rebellions, and acts with arrogant abandon. All the ministers are on edge, afraid his achievements might overshadow the emperor.
Yet the new emperor not only shows no wariness, he makes no effort to hide his favoritism. He often invites Fu to talk all night, calls him by name with warm familiarity, and gazes at him with tender affection.
"Yuanshan is the treasure I cherish most."
"As long as Yuanshan is there, I feel completely at ease, no matter what happens."
"I truly don't know how to pamper and cherish you, so I can only bestow the finest things upon you."
He is the very image of a wise ruler who values talent.
Until one day, news suddenly arrives from the front.
General Fu has mysteriously died beyond the frontier.
-
Everyone says emperors are heartless, but Fu Yuanshan refuses to believe it.
The son of a military family, Fu Yuanshan has fought on the battlefield since the age of sixteen, winning countless honors. Everything he did was to make the lofty Crown Prince spare him a moment more of his attention.
He succeeded.
He became Yun Qingyue's right-hand man, helping him ascend the throne. Yun Qingyue could no longer take his eyes off him, lavishing all his favor on Fu.
Fu believed they were mutually in love and that his dream had come true. To prove his loyalty, he willingly placed his military command in Yun Qingyue's hands.
He never expected that half a month later, Yun Qingyue would personally run him through with a sword, his blood splashing across the emperor's face, beautiful as a vengeful ghost's.
"Yuanshan, if you don't die, I... won't be able to sleep at night."
A gentle blade, every cut fatal.
Only then did Fu Yuanshan learn that "favoritism" was just one of the emperor's ways of controlling his subordinates.
Yun Qingyue cultivated anyone who could benefit him in the same way. Even the handwritten letter Fu Yuanshan treasured, believing it to be the only one, had been written seven times over!
The bad news: Fu Yuanshan didn't die.
The worse news: He went from a loyal house dog to a rabid stray.
The kind that only bites Yun Qingyue.
[Reading Guide]
1. A smiling, venomous beauty and sly fox of a bottom x an arrogant, loyal dog of a top who turns into a rabid stray.
2. They love and destroy each other.
Theme: Be sincere. Don't deceive or exploit other people's feelings.
