Why Did My Favorite Minister Rebel?

Zhan Yu × Ling Cang|favored minister × crown prince|younger gong|pseudo-substitute

Zhan Yu, the third-place graduate of the imperial examinations in the tenth year of Taishi, is the toast of the capital.

He possesses a rare beauty, with charm in every glance and turn of his brow. Though he has neither integrity nor talent, his face bears such a striking resemblance to someone from the past that he has the emperor and empress wrapped around his little finger.

Everyone laughs that he's merely a substitute who serves others with his looks, living in the shadow of a dead man.

Zhan Yu takes it all in stride. As he peels lychees bestowed by the empress, he smiles and counts his banknotes. “Am I serving just one person? I'm serving the emperor, the empress, and the crown prince all at once. That's called mediating family disputes.”

*

Crown Prince Ling Cang is noble and upright, strict with himself, and the perfect heir to the throne in the eyes of the Hanlin scholars.

No one knows that he worships a “god” in his heart. That person sits upon a divine altar, a forbidden presence no one may touch.

Zhan Yu has a face remarkably like that person's, but he's worldly and slick, with the stench of money clinging to him.

Whenever they meet, they clash, their relationship as hostile as fire and water. Strangely, the model ruler who never loses his composure, even when Mount Tai crumbles before him, keeps letting his mask slip.

So rumors spread: the crown prince has fallen in love with Zhan Yu, but his love is unrequited, and it has turned into hatred. He's deeply attached to him.

When Zhan Yu hears this, he scoffs.

*

Zhan Yu thinks he's a lone demon fighting on his own. On the day of the palace coup, rebel forces surround the city.

The crown prince, whom he'd included in his schemes, leads the imperial guards through the encirclement and shields him.

Ling Cang wipes the blood from his face and calls him by his childhood nickname.

The world believes Zhan Yu is a substitute, but no one knows that beneath the mask lies the same clever, sensitive heart.

*

A new emperor ascends the throne, and the empress's seat remains vacant.

Officials submit memorials one after another, urging him to take a wife. The emperor chats and laughs with them, never addressing the matter.

Somehow, after passing through many hands, all the memorials end up with the powerful general who now commands the court and its troops.

Zhan Yu strides into the imperial study. “I rough it out on the frontier while Your Majesty enjoys the company of beauties in the palace. What a pleasant life you lead.”

Ling Cang laughs in exasperation. “Then stop being a general and come be my empress.”

Reader's guide:

1. Flamboyant, free-spirited beauty gong × a scheming, protective, handsome shou.

2. The story centers on the main characters. The gong hides his real abilities, and this is a 1v1 pairing with both characters' romantic pasts clear.

Theme: May the rivers run clear and the seas be calm, and may brothers share lasting affection.