How Can I Repay You, Ying Qiongyao?

[Not very well written, planning to revise it, read with caution] [Advance notice: "How Did I Not Know?" blurb at the very bottom] A time of chaos. Warriors contend for supremacy, and the throne changes hands. The people suffer terribly. Everyone hopes that a wise ruler will emerge, blazing across the world like a golden sun, uniting the land and ending a century of war. Mei Xianyue is no different. The second young master of the Mei clan of Liangzhou, renowned for his good name, travels among the various factions in search of a wise ruler of his own. And then he gets kidnapped. - Xu Xingjing, Prince of Huai'an, rescued the emperor single-handedly at seventeen and quelled a region with an army of three thousand at twenty-three. He is the very picture of a young hero. Yet this young hero falls silent when faced with the frail young gentleman in his tent. The delicate gentleman is slender as a willow in the breeze. His eyes are covered with black cloth, his body bound with hemp rope, and his handsome face has flushed pink. He's rather pretty, too. Xu Xingjing steps forward and pulls off the blindfold. He pauses when he sees the bright, tear-filled eyes beneath it. Pretty, but not in an entirely proper way. - Still, a stranger appearing out of nowhere in his tent, and clearly not one of his soldiers, is no small matter. Xu Xingjing goes to find the soldiers who were guarding the entrance. "What's going on with that man?" "Boss!" The guards grin sheepishly. "Didn't you say you were short on strategists? We went and kidnapped one for you. We picked the prettiest one!" Xu Xingjing: "..." Xu Xingjing's eyes widen in shock. "Are you bandits?!" - # Mei Xianyue x Xu Xingjing # A very loosely constructed historical fantasy setting. Don't think too hard about whether it makes sense. # I don't understand politics or military strategy. This isn't serious historical fiction, just a wish-fulfillment novel. Please read without overthinking. # A power fantasy about a widely coveted brains trust and an undefeated young general joining forces to conquer the realm. Sky screen: So Li Huaijin must have slept his way to the throne by selling himself to all those powerful ministers! (Passionate and impassioned) Powerful ministers: ... Li Huaijin: How did I not know? - In the first year of the Tiantong era, the newly enthroned emperor of the Great Zhao, Li Huaijin, was offering sacrifices to his ancestors at the imperial temple when a strange phenomenon appeared in the sky. As everyone gazed at the enormous sky screen, which nearly blotted out the heavens, the new emperor stood solemnly, the ministers murmured among themselves, and the common people trembled with fear. As the incense burned, the Right Chancellor declared it an auspicious omen, and the new emperor led the ministers in bowing to the heavens three times. The sky screen flickered, then lit up, and a strange female voice came from it. ["Hello, everyone. Today, we're talking about Emperor Wen of Great Zhao, Li Huaijin."] ["But everyone already knows Emperor Wen's glorious rise: punching the Northern Di, kicking the Western Yi, reclaiming lost territory, and becoming the ruler of a golden age... You're probably tired of hearing all that. So today, we'll skip it and talk only about the unofficial history."] ["An unofficial history with room for everything under the sun."] Ignoring the suggestive voice, Li Huaijin kept his expression unchanged as the ministers congratulated him. But just as the court historian dipped his brush in ink, the voice from the sky screen suddenly grew impassioned and rousing: ["That's right! I know what you want to hear!"] ["Then let's start with how he sold himself to those famous powerful ministers to climb the ranks when he was young!"] Li Huaijin: "..." Those famous powerful ministers: "..." The court historian: "..." Li Huaijin slowly spoke. "Sold... himself?" - # Absurd, darkly comic story with no logic. Don't think too hard about it. # Historical livestream format, set in a completely fictional dynasty. # The author knows nothing about history, politics, or power struggles. This is pure wish fulfillment. # Multiple love interests, each with their own ending. # Not every love interest starts out completely devoted or obedient. Includes falling in love through hatred and growing to hate someone because of love. # No role reversal or mutual role reversal. The sky screen's claim that he sold himself is a joke, meaning he sold his body. Theme: Put an end to chaos and bring the realm under one rule