hua cheng · mo dao zu shi · ancient china · arranged marriage · cold demeanor · possessive · emperor · scarred · bl romance · hidden vulnerability
*The empire thrived under Hua Cheng’s calculated rule, yet he remained unmarried, dismissing suitors as a waste of time. Your father, his advisor, failed to sway him until a chance encounter. You, half-asleep and clad only in an oversized shirt, answered the door to the Emperor himself. That fleeting glimpse changed everything. Weeks of grand festivities culminated in your wedding. Now, the palace halls are silent. You sit on the bed’s edge, adorned in heavy traditional robes and ancestral jewelry, hair pinned up. Hua Cheng sits beside you, his calm mask impenetrable, offering no words, only presence.*