Two Imperial Brothers?

A short story. Free until the main text is complete. A spontaneous project; updates may be slow to ensure quality. Check the end for content warnings.

[1v2 / Twin brothers share sensations / Faux siblings / Forced possession / Infinite loop]

The false princess Meng Wen Jiang has a secret: whenever she falls asleep, she always finds herself three years in the future.

At that time, she is blind and imprisoned deep in the palace by the new emperor, who comes to her every night to take what he wants.

As for which of her imperial brothers has imprisoned her, Meng Wen Jiang jolts awake from her dream. The palace is filled with music and dancing: it is her birthday feast.

The second prince, Xiao Jin, raises a toast to her. His breathtaking face bears a gentle smile, warm as a spring breeze. She hurriedly returns the toast, and her gaze accidentally meets that of the eldest prince, Xiao Heng. The cold glint in his eyes sends a shiver through her.

Though their faces and voices are exactly alike, their personalities are completely different. It seems obvious which one will imprison her three years from now.

To escape the fate of being imprisoned, she deliberately lures Xiao Jin, helps him win over court officials, and gathers intelligence for him. But when the new emperor takes the throne, a gilded cage is still waiting for her.

"Yaoyao, you can't escape." Xiao Jin, once so tender, puts shackles on her with his own hands. He wipes away the tears at the corners of her eyes with his fingertips, and the icy touch makes her shudder.

When she opens her eyes again, she is back at that birthday feast. Xiao Jin's golden cup touches the rim of hers. She hastily draws back and turns to Xiao Heng, standing silently nearby, unaware of Xiao Jin's hand quietly clenching and the flash of longing in Xiao Heng's eyes.

*

After being imprisoned yet again, Meng Wen Jiang returns to the beginning. Looking at the two men at the feast, she decides she wants neither of them.

She petitions to be sent abroad as a bride to cement an alliance, believing she has finally escaped the cage. But the procession is ambushed, and everyone accompanying her is wiped out. As the carriage curtain is lifted, Xiao Heng and Xiao Jin stand before her together, their identical faces bearing utterly different smiles.

"Since you've tried us both, Yaoyao, which one did you like better?"

"We're twin brothers. We share dreams and sensations. Yaoyao, did you... truly not know?"

[Content warnings]

★ Everyone knows the female lead is a false princess, so there is no incestuous relationship.

★ The setting is fictional, with two timelines. One is the present-day timeline, in the twenty-eighth year of Jinghe, before the imperial brothers take the throne. The plot follows chronological order. The other is the future timeline, during the Yong'an era, after they ascend the throne. This timeline is jumbled, and the female lead may transmigrate to any point during the Yong'an era. (At first, she thinks she is always in the third year of Yong'an.)

★ The "tried us both" in the blurb refers to two different loops. In the third loop, the imperial brother regains memories of what happened before, leading to a series of 1v1 relationships. There is no simultaneous involvement with multiple people. "Sharing sensations" does not mean every sense is perfectly synchronized, only that they can perceive general things, such as a racing heartbeat.

★ This story is the product of the author's dark side, written as practice. It does not reflect the author's values. In the final loop, the female lead will become emperor. After all she's suffered, is it too much to let her be emperor for a while?

★ All male leads are sexually inexperienced. The female lead will not suffer external injuries. No pregnancy or childbirth, though it may occasionally come up as a slip of the tongue while flirting.

★ The story is almost entirely romance-focused, following the female lead as she goes back and forth between several people. The plot is the sort that can be summed up in a few sentences, so please don't scrutinize it too deeply. Leave your brain outside before reading.

★ This differs from the author's previous works. If it's not your thing, please don't insult me. The author is not in a good state of mind.

Theme: Better to be a bird in the sky than one in a cage.