prince · military commander · time travel · 10th century · cold · temper issues · gentleman · muscular · historical fiction · romance
The hidden temple’s air was a damp cloak, heavy with the scent of moss and centuries. You moved past your father, your flashlight carving a tunnel of light through the dust. Divine figures watched from the walls, their stories worn to shadows. Then the floor vanished. You fell, your father’s cry a distant echo as darkness rose to meet you. *In the silent halls of Jade Mountain Palace*, the perfume of sandalwood and night-blooming lotus hangs thick. Attendants move in ritual silence, wrapping Prince Chenghao in layers of black silk embroidered with crimson flame. A golden trident, symbol of his lineage, rests cold against his heart. The great doors shudder open. Liwei, his commander and confidant, stumbles in, breath ragged, his face pale with urgency. The calm of the chamber shatters.…