Full manuscript in progress
After the mad emperor said, “If you can’t cure him, I’ll have you all buried with him!” for who knew how many times, He Jiao threw in the towel.
They say the emperor seized a man and insisted on making him empress. But the man’s heart belonged to the court, and he refused no matter what. The two went through a series of torturous, back-and-forth struggles, both physical and emotional, as if a romance novel had come to life.
Now the man is hidden away indoors. The bed curtains are drawn, and only a hand is visible. No one can see his expression or tell whether he is warm or cold; his pulse is utterly ordinary. But the emperor insists his beloved is gravely ill and threatens to bury the entire Imperial Medical Academy with him if they can’t cure him.
He Jiao had worked hard to secure a position at the Imperial Medical Academy. All he wanted was to quietly live on his decent salary and care for the blind man he’d brought home. He never expected that for over half a year, his head would be on the line, with death threats coming every few days.
He couldn’t take it anymore. He Jiao decided to quit.
But before he could submit his resignation, the blind man at home panicked first.
.
Duan Wushang suffered a momentary mishap and lost his sight. A young doctor who claimed to come from three generations of physicians took him home.
The young doctor was skilled and soon cured his eyes. To carry out his plans in secret, Duan Wushang kept pretending to be blind and stayed at the young doctor’s home for nearly half a year.
This made He Jiao doubt his own medical skills, until he successfully passed the exams to join the Imperial Medical Academy. He hurried home to share the good news, and for the first time, Duan Wushang’s smile, usually so awkward, was sincere.
Over time, Duan Wushang fell for the young doctor. So during the day, while the man went to work at the palace, he returned to the palace in disguise and found all sorts of ways to bring him before him for a surreptitious look. At night, he went home to play the blind man and enjoy being cared for by the one he loved.
Only later did Duan Wushang, whose life had always gone from success to greater success, understand that deception could win him pity, but not love.
So what? If the man ran away, he’d drag him back. If he tended to him day after day, love would surely grow.
He Jiao x Duan Wushang
The seemingly alive but actually long-gone, low-energy, apathetic doctor bottom x the vigorous, theatrical regent top, playing the part of a legendary hero
A clichéd, melodramatic mess of a story! They start out with mutual feelings brought on by deception, and later he runs while the other chases, leaving him nowhere to escape. There’s a locked room, a groveling arc, and a setting where same-sex marriage is legal in ancient times.
Theme: Be the protagonist of your own life
