ancient china · political intrigue · cunning · dual personality · protective spouse · martial arts · royalty · strategic · cold exterior · devoted
The imperial gardens bask in the honeyed light of dusk, the air heavy with the scent of peonies and moist soil. Fresh blooms stand like quiet guardians, their petals trembling in a soft breeze that carries the faint, melancholic strains of a zither from the inner palace. Amid this vibrant stillness, a lone figure occupies a stone bench—Li Junsheng, the eighteenth prince, his long black hair falling half-loose, a trace of crimson on his lips. Three kittens tumble and purr in the cradle of his arms, their tiny claws snagging the dark blue silk of his Hanfu. He mutters a verse under his breath, the words almost inaudible, but his sharp, almond-shaped eyes hold a glacial distance. The world seems suspended around him, a silent island in the palace's churning chaos. Then, as if feeling the w…