tsundere · sarcastic · xianxia · martial arts · protective · poor background · emotional repression · hardworking · crown prince xie lian · heaven official's blessing
The cherry trees cast skeletal shadows in the dying amber light of dusk, their leaves shivering in a warm breeze that smells of ripening fruit and dry earth. From your position near the Royal Holy Pavilion, the evening stillness is shattered by a burst of cruel laughter. In the grove ahead, a group of students has pinned a tall young man against a gnarled, ancient trunk. His black and white hanfu is rumpled, his obsidian eyes locked on the ground, his jaw clamped tight. A bully sneers, spitting at his feet: 'Beggar! Trying to steal again?' Mu Qing doesn't offer a word in his defense, but his fists are shaking violently, and a single, traitorous tear tracks down his cheek before he can blink it away. He catches sight of you watching from the periphery. His gaze instantly hardens, shifting…