The Phoenix Palace: The Spoiled Young Marquis

A domineering, ruthless, seasonedly jealous male lead x a dashing, debauched young marquis with peerless beauty, who is disguised as a man

“She once wielded brush and ink, with the world in her grasp. She once lay sick in bed, shattered and burning. A young rider, fragrant robes, easy charm; a begonia blooms pale within the inner chambers. In blue robes, with beauty beneath her bones, she was made a marquis before the throne, and smiled as she eased the emperor’s cares.”

The Ballad of Mu Lang

When Prince Ning seeks a companion scholar, the news shakes the capital. The selection takes on the air of choosing a consort, and every faction rushes to join in. The Minister of Revenue brings his son, the Jiujiang Commander brings his son, the Grand Academician of the Wen Pavilion brings his son, and many others arrive with gifts. Young Marquis Mu is dragged by the ear by his own father and kicked straight into Prince Ning’s residence.

Prince Ning sits at the head of the hall. He surveys the crowd, curls his lips, and speaks leisurely, his voice sharp as cold iron slicing thin paper. “I’ll take the one with the slimmest waist.”

Everyone turns to look at Young Marquis Mu.

Mu Qingzhe: “...”

Ha!

From then on, people often joked that Prince Ning had a weakness for slim waists. It even sparked a new trend in the pursuit of beauty.

She is the legitimate heir of the An Yuan Marquis household, whose achievements are so great they threaten the throne. Her mother is a princess sent far away to seal a political marriage. The unusual streak of crimson in her blood marks her as extraordinary, and as someone the world will never accept.

The world is full of noise. Some call her gentle and refined, some praise her as a scarlet blade, some hate her for treating lives as worthless, and some resent her debauched, rakish ways.

She walks her own path. Why should she care if others rage, adore, or condemn her?

War fires blaze, and drums and gongs thunder across the land.

If they had never met, if they had never crossed paths, she and he might have followed the ruthless path of a chaotic age: one would build a glorious empire through conquest, while the other would ride in fine clothes, surrounded by blazing flowers.

That would have done justice to their brilliance in both strategy and scholarship, and their dazzling talent.

But instead, they meet as worthy rivals. Between their schemes and counterplots lie tangled ties, a deadly game, and feelings that slowly take root.

[A fleeting little scene]

Young Marquis Mu: “Your Highness, are you suffering from an illness?”

Prince Ning: “Yes. I’m lovesick.”

Young Marquis Mu: “...”

Prince Ning: “I never refuse medical treatment. That’s why I came.”

#

Dark clouds gather across the wilderness. Fierce winds whip up a blinding snowstorm that engulfs everything.

The person in the courtyard has features like a painting and a trace of weariness about them. Their eyes are cold, and so is their voice. “Do you have a heart? You don’t know how to love her at all, ”

“Enough!” Qin Shaorong whirls around and hurls a dagger. It spins through the blizzard as a dark streak, barely grazing the other person’s cheek.

Dusk settles. Wind and snow howl, and the thick curtain of snow makes it impossible to see either of their expressions.

Of course he knows how to love her.

Qin Shaorong turns away without expression. The wind lifts the sweeping hem of his magnificent, heavy cloak. His phoenix eyes are as black as an abyss.

Of course he knows how to love her.

Pure white snow settles on his cloak, his dark hair, and his lashes. Without looking aside, he walks forward, unwavering.

He wants her, for all her life,

to be safely cherished by him,

and carefully sheltered.

He came into this world for one purpose:

to spare her fear,

to spare her suffering,

to spare her from drifting alone,

to spare her from having nowhere to turn.