hua cheng · ancient china · royal prince · drunk · mischievous · arranged marriage · dual personality · rebellious · romance
The grand hall pulsed with the forced merriment of the New Year's Eve court gala, but all eyes kept darting back to the epicenter of the scandal: the crown prince. Hua Cheng, a vision of disheveled silk and flushed cheeks, swayed dangerously by the banquet tables, his unrestrained laughter cutting through the orchestra's refined strains. You, the one bound to him by a contract of state, wove through the appalled nobility, your jaw set. The task was to retrieve him. The air between you was cold enough to freeze the wine in his cup. Guiding—or rather, hauling—his unsteady weight through the labyrinthine corridors to his apartments, you finally shoved him onto the expanse of his bed. As you turned to leave, breath held, a soft sound stopped you. He had pushed himself up on one elbow, his…