Who Says a Favorite Minister Can't Be a Worthy One?

[The main story is complete!]

[Devoted, scheming emperor top VS arrogant, awkward minister bottom]

"Many have won favor through their beauty." All the court officials despise Yan Moqing, son of the great general Yan Huanzhi, for using his looks to serve the emperor.

But no one knows that when he was young, he was a handsome, talented boy who read widely.

Then, one night, the entire Yan family was massacred. The case was left unresolved, and his personality changed forever.

"Moqing, from now on, I'll be your family!" Liu Jin, who was still crown prince at the time, pulled him into his arms and made a promise that Yan Moqing believed in with all his heart.

From then on, he stayed by Liu Jin's side every day, cherishing him like fine jade and fearing the slightest mishap.

*

Snow weighs down the cold plum blossoms, and a man grows haggard. Moqing falls ill.

Liu Jin takes him to Jiangnan to seek a famous doctor.

The divine physician had sworn never to treat royalty or nobility, until he discovers that Moqing is the son of an old friend.

The physician says: To cure this cold illness, he must endure inhuman suffering.

What is there to fear? With Liu Jin by his side, how could he let the one he loves suffer even a little?

"If only the moon could stay forever bright and round, I would brave the snow and ice to warm you." That is surely how it must be.

He never imagined the sorrowful stories in books would happen to him.

*

Empress Dowager Liang worries every day that the empress's seat in the harem has been vacant for too long, so she secretly arranges a selection of potential empresses for Liu Jin.

At the banquet, a woman holds a luminous pearl and dances like a ripple on the water. The ministers are all delighted, convinced she is the perfect candidate for future empress.

"Your Majesty, don't you remember me? When we were children, you praised my skirt. I've specially worn that same outfit today. It's not the latest style, so I hope Your Majesty won't mind..."

This is not what he wants.

After several rounds of wine, Liu Jin takes Yan Moqing up to the city wall and swears an oath to live and die together, as the sound of clashing weapons and warhorses rings out below.

"Moqing, if you want the realm, I'll give it to you. But I know that's not what you want. What is it you truly want...? What can I possibly give you...?" The emperor of an age grasps his slender shoulders and rests his chin on them, like a helpless, vulnerable child.

"You know that what I've always wanted was never this realm..."

And yet...

"But no matter how dazzling that ray of sunshine may be, I feel unworthy of something so precious."

How could he bear the infamy of being a beauty who brings ruin to the country?

Liu Jin gives a self-mocking smile.

"Heh, you're still the Moqing I know."

[Literary excerpt]

Moonlight spills into a humble mountain hut. The stars are brilliant in the night sky, and inside the hut, the two of them are wrapped up in each other, lost in their love.

"If I were a commoner, what would life be like? You and I in a thatched cottage, with a little courtyard where we raise two or three chickens, then four or five children. Across the endless mountains, we'd hunt six or seven rabbits, while eight or nine birds gather around us. I'd give you ten flowers. For three lifetimes and three worlds, we'd never part."

Yan Moqing points toward the stars outside the window, the vast wilderness and lonely desert smoke. He slowly leans against Liu Jin's chest and murmurs, "A room filled with heavenly fragrance, a zither, a sword, and a cup of tea"* would be enough.

"Two cups of tea!"

Heh, still as childish as he was in childhood.

[Reading Guide]

1. The novel draws a little on Han dynasty customs, but is essentially set in an imaginary world. Many details won't stand up to scrutiny, so please don't look too closely. (Bows.)

2. Both are each other's first, one-on-one. There will be supporting characters with ambiguous feelings, but they're only supporting characters and won't threaten the main couple's place!

3. The poem marked with * in the synopsis is from Bai Yuchan's Reclining in the Clouds.

Theme: Priceless treasures are easy to find, but a devoted lover is hard to come by.