(I checked my drafts and was surprised to find there was still a story in there. I'm posting it for everyone to read.)
Third-place palace exam top scorer shou and emperor gong
Blurb:
At the founding of the new dynasty, Wen Yuan was one of the first candidates chosen as a third-place palace exam top scorer. On the day of the palace exam, he nearly fainted from the incense burning on the emperor, Ning Sheng. He didn't know that, to cure the emperor's insomnia, the Imperial Medical Bureau had prescribed an extremely potent medicine. Anyone who reacted badly to it could be driven into a fit of delirium by the fumes. When Wen Yuan got home that day, he fell ill and became convinced that the emperor had taken an interest in him and meant to do something untoward.
Wen Yuan did everything he could to avoid Ning Sheng, but the more he avoided him, the closer they grew. They kept misunderstanding each other, and things grew more and more chaotic between them.
Until Wen Yuan finally denounced the emperor to his face, and the emperor took offense.
The heart of a wise ruler harbored a deep love for someone, so deeply hidden that no one knew.
When he finally awoke from his delusion, Wen Yuan cringed at all the things he'd imagined and done. But when he took another look at the young emperor, he realized he was actually quite adorable.
The past was revisited again and again, revealing a dense record of their story together.
Theme: You reap what you sow
