A Guide to Taming the Brooding, Two-Faced Emperor

The main story is complete. Bonus chapters may appear whenever inspiration strikes, and the main text will be polished all at once in the future. Thanks for supporting the official release >3<

*Please add my other novel to your collection: a cute, sweet entertainment-industry romance about an actor who travels from ancient times to the modern day, The Unfeeling Dao's Movie Star: A Love Story.

[Slow, puppy-like, sunny, peerless general bottom x scheming, gloomy, jealous, competing-for-love prince top]

After faking his death and disappearing for years, Xie Jianchen never imagined that his beloved would catch him in public and drag him back to the palace.

As the only son of the General Who Guards the Nation, he had been the most celebrated young man in the capital of the Great Huan Dynasty since childhood.

In fine clothes and on a fine horse, he was bright and carefree. When he galloped through the long streets, people would toss fruit into his carriage until it overflowed.

But no one knew that this darling of the capital had a secret he couldn't tell anyone...

When he was young, he once stumbled upon a "princess" bathing in a royal villa. Though he was only a child, he declared with great conviction, "When I come of age, I'll bring you home in a grand bridal sedan chair!"

But right after his confession, he discovered that the "princess" was a man!

The straight-as-he-thought-he-was Xie Jianchen was so frightened that he fled to the frontier overnight, carrying his spear on his shoulder.

-

Years passed in a blink. His family was destroyed after being framed by treacherous officials, and he was exiled alone thousands of miles away.

People said that in the wilderness, Xie Jianchen had married a gentle, considerate wife who was willing to share both hardship and joy with him.

But his "wife" acted meek and obedient to his face, then stabbed straight through a local bully who had designs on him. Blood made her dizzy by day, but at night she became a blood-soaked demon, cleaning house for him.

Later, his "wife" actually ascended the throne!!!

The new emperor lifted Xie Jianchen's chin and pinned him firmly to the bed. "The young general once said he would take responsibility for me for life. Are you going to break your promise now?"

Xie Jianchen: ...

Damn it, how can someone fall into the same trap twice!

*

Yan Li was born with a prophecy, and endured scorn and mistreatment from all sides. With no other choice, he kept a low profile and spent twenty years living in women's clothes.

He had turned himself into a resentful ghost trapped in the depths of the palace.

He could pierce a spy's heart without a speck of dust on his clothes, and cut his wrist without flinching to bleed into medicine for his younger brother.

But the day Xie Jianchen left was the one time his heart went astray.

Years later, when he heard that the Xie family had been falsely accused and convicted, he resolutely abandoned his disguise, broke through every obstacle, and left the capital to pull the young man trapped in a cage onto horseback.

Afterward, word spread through court and country that the princess had died unexpectedly.

Thanks to his peerless acting skills, after ascending the throne Yan Li finally won his beloved's heart and spent every day indulging in their private pleasures, living a life of bliss.

But Xie Jianchen, sore all over, watched the young emperor grow ever more audacious and gradually began to suspect something was wrong. Where was that gentle, considerate wife of mine? Σ(°Д°;

Just when everyone thought it was all settled, on the eve of the empress's coronation ceremony:

The soon-to-be empress, Xie Jianchen, ran away.

*

Several years later, in a teahouse, a storyteller spoke with great enthusiasm.

"Have you heard the old tale of the demon consort whom the whole court begged the emperor to dismiss?"

Caught up in his own tale, he slammed the block on the table.

"He abused his credit for helping the emperor seize the throne, monopolized the imperial bed every night, and left his mark everywhere, from the throne room desk to the dragon bed..."

In the astonished crowd, a masked swordsman jumped up and overturned a table. "How did the true story of the emperor's loyal minister turn into a scandalous tale of palace intrigue!?"

In a private room above, a man in black leaned against the red railing and chuckled. "You're awfully worked up, sir. Have you seen the dragon-carved bed in the throne room?"

"The throne room desk was piled high with memorials! Back then, the emperor's reforms angered the aristocratic families. Those stuffy memorials..."

"Oh?"

The beaded curtains in the upper room clattered. A burst of sword energy shattered the young swordsman's mask, and the man in black swept gracefully toward him. His mesmerizing eyes held back the madness of someone who had found what he'd lost.

He reached out, clasped Xie Jianchen's chin, and smiled as if amused.

"You've been away from the palace for two years, Empress. You've forgotten the way home, but your skills have certainly improved."

#TheLongestRoadInTheWorld

#IsTheEmperor'sScheme!

[Reading Guide: Please avoid if these tropes bother you]

1. A gloomy, scheming top lures and captures a puppy-like bottom with layer upon layer of tricks. They are each other's first love and mutually devoted.

2. The bottom flirts without realizing it and is slow to recognize his feelings. The top is a crazy, hopeless romantic.

3. The top wears women's clothes in the early story. He is not a weak top; he only plays weak in front of the bottom, indulging his passion for acting. No switching or reversing roles!

4. The political plot is weak and the logic is weak, so please go easy. Every plot point exists to serve these two boys falling in love.

The following is a preview of an upcoming story:

A seemingly aloof but truly airheaded actor who travels from ancient times to the modern day, bottom x a seemingly spoiled but truly sincere and proud mixed-race young master, top

A "friendship that turns into something more" sugar-baby romance

Mu Qianyu, a disciple of the Unfeeling Dao, failed his tribulation and suddenly traveled from ancient times to the modern day. Not only did he possess the body of a universally disliked, useless extra in the entertainment industry, but his terrible acting meant he was about to be fired by his company and left to starve on the streets.

To make matters worse, the mixed-race young man he accidentally slept with turned out to be Qin Yao, the young master of the company that owned his original body and a notorious, bad-tempered prince of the entertainment world.

Thinking about how he'd used the man like a donkey the night before, guilty Mu Qianyu pulled up his pants and ran, waiting to be banned from the entire internet.

As expected, the young master stormed over and accused him of being a shameless gold digger who had deliberately slept with him to climb the ladder.

Then, contradicting his own words, he handed Mu Qianyu a sugar-baby contract.

Mu Qianyu: ?

Well, all right, then.

A windfall like this would be foolish to turn down.

And so he began a life of lazing around on set by day, and getting tangled up with the young master in luxury cars and mansions by night, with the occasional ridiculous squabble and money in his pocket.

Then luck turned in his favor. A behind-the-scenes video of him wielding a sword on a high-altitude wire without a stunt double was edited into a clip that racked up millions of views, and he became a sensation.

Mu Qianyu had no choice but to reluctantly give up his lazy life and take on back-to-back variety shows and acting gigs.

He became a darling of the traffic, his value skyrocketing. He also ended up all over the trending searches for controversial reasons

#MuQianyuBornToStarInHistoricalRomance

#ActionScenesAreSoCoolButTheRomanceScenesAreAChaoticMess

He just couldn't get into character for a major romance scene, bringing filming to a halt.

...The side effect of the Unfeeling Dao -_-||

With no other choice, Mu Qianyu knocked on the door of the CEO's office to confess to his new boss, Qin Yao.

To his surprise, the usually arrogant young master showed none of his old pride. Instead, he backed Mu Qianyu into a corner:

"Then, Teacher Mu, would you like to... fall in love and find some inspiration?"

His brain short-circuited.

Huh? Fall in love? Me?

#MySugarDaddyIsThrowingATantrumAndWantsMeToTakeResponsibilityAndClearHisNameWhatDoIDo

#IHaveNoIdeaWeStartedDatingMySugarDaddyAndSomehowIEndedUpAStar

Theme: Never lose the courage to be sincere.