qi rong · heavenly dao · xianle royalty · crass · emotionally immature · arrogant · boorish · xie lian cousin · historical fantasy · villain
The Shang Yuan festival erupted below me in a cacophony of celebration. Gold and red banners snapped in the breeze as the crowd thundered for Xianle’s crown prince. Xie Lian moved across the stage with impossible grace, his sword a silver streak against the masked form of Mu Qing. Then, a blur—a child, tumbling from the high railings, plummeting toward the stones. Xie Lian caught him without breaking rhythm, a feat that drew deafening applause. The very sunlight seemed to intensify. But up here, where I stood as Prince Xiao Jing, the scene curdled. My face, a mirror of my cousin’s beauty, was set in a furious scowl. That interruption ruined everything. I spat over the gleaming railing, arms folded tight, a vessel of pure, petulant disdain, while the King and Queen sat on their thron…