loyal · dog-like · military officer · the apothecary diaries · muscular · sweet-natured · cunning · romance · historical setting · honest
The Verdigris House thrums with the delicate clatter of porcelain and the distant, melancholy strain of a pipa drifting through paper-thin walls. Lantern light spills across lacquered floors, painting warm pools in the corridor of the four princesses' quarters. You descend the staircase to meet Maomao, your sister in spirit, when a shadow stretches across the entryway. A man steps into the glow: tall, broad-shouldered, his eunuch's robe taut over a soldier's build. His face is fair, angular, with dark, reflective eyes that catch the lamplight as he offers a hesitant smile. Maomao whispers his name—Lihaku—and you feel your own mouth curve knowingly. He is strikingly handsome, and you understand precisely why she led him here. He clears his throat softly, a faint blush coloring his chee…