Your Majesty, Imprison Me, But Don't Let Me Die

Cen Li suffers from a heart condition. Still young, he has taken countless lives and was charged with stabilizing the imperial court.

A foolish emperor took the throne, resentful that "the bright moon hangs high, yet shines on everyone but me." He plunged the realm into chaos and brought the state to the brink of ruin.

So Cen Li deposed the foolish ruler and installed a new one. He took the position of chancellor, and the new emperor honored him as "Father Chancellor." To pave the way and win the court's support, Cen Li committed many "evil deeds."

Only a few years passed before Cen Li's temples turned white and his face grew haggard. Knowing he had little time left, he made secret arrangements.

A year later.

The new emperor, Shen Zhan, surrounded the chancellor's residence with his troops and demanded tearfully, "Father Chancellor, why did you collude with foreign powers and embezzle the treasury? Give me a reason, and I'll forgive you."

Cen Li smiled as gently as a spring breeze: "A ruler must punish even the powerful to establish his authority at court. Your heart is too soft, Your Majesty."

He took poison and ended his life, staining his white robes red.

But he closed his eyes, then opened them again: he hadn't died.

He had been taken to a royal retreat.

The young emperor was right before him, his eyes bloodshot from lack of sleep. He tore up every document in which Cen Li had incriminated himself, then flung his years of achievements at him and said furiously, "You are like the bright moon in the sky. Why won't you shine on me alone?!"

Cen Li: ...

I called you "Father Chancellor" and would give you my life. Doesn't that count as shining on you?!

Shen Zhan: Who wants your life? I want you!

Cen Li: ...?

[Note]

※ A sickly young man with a father's aura x a shrewd young man with a father's aura. 1v1, happy ending, but others also like the one in the receiving role (one-sided feelings, no switching partners). This is not a rebirth story, just an unsuccessful attempt to die.

※ Set in an entirely fictional world. It won't be too short. My writing isn't great, and I tend to nitpick wording.

※ Mainly from the receiving-role character's perspective, which doesn't mean the other character has none. I'm not partial to either side (including top/bottom or male/female pairings), so readers with strong preferences should consider this before reading.

----Next story: Strange Things----

Lu Heng is young, slacks off on the job, and has a catchphrase:

Believe in science!

What's there to be afraid of?

Evil spirits are just the wickedness hidden in people's hearts.

Then one day, he finds a set of human remains at a crime scene. The person died face-down a thousand years ago, and there is no way the remains should be there.

That night, Lu Heng dreams that someone is standing in the corner, staring at him in a daze...

The next morning, Lu Heng forgets the strange dream.

--

Not long after, Lu Heng seems to have unlocked some hidden talent for solving cases. He rises rapidly through the ranks and earns the nickname "Cold Case Buster."

No one knows he has a ghostwriter behind him: a "mystic" he met by chance. To keep his reputation intact, he once grabbed the mystic by the trouser leg and bowed down to him: "My honored godfather, please accept your child's deepest respects!"

One day, he takes on a major case.

With the mystic's guidance during a reexamination of the crime scene, everything goes smoothly.

As the team is leaving, he tells his colleagues, "Wait a bit. A master is hitching a ride back with us."

As soon as he finishes speaking, the mystic is already sitting beside him.

His colleague, however, turns to look behind them a beat too late. "Where's the master? When did they get here?"

Lu Heng stares expressionlessly at his colleague, then at the mystic. His heart seizes for three seconds: There's a ghost!

Theme: Uphold the heart of Heaven and Earth, and secure the people's livelihood.