Crown Prince Gu Lian was born brilliant—admired by all, his path seemingly carved in stone: ascend the throne and protect the realm. With a loyal general, A Lie; a peerless strategist, Ai Miao; and a fiancée hailed as the capital’s most beautiful woman, he was the perfect heir in the eyes of the world.

At age ten, the arrival of Murong Che, a hostage prince from a neighboring kingdom, disrupted the calm like a stone cast into still waters. Gu Lian quickly noticed that Ai Miao, his deep-thinking advisor, paid this heterochromatic youth an unusual amount of attention. To Ai Miao, Murong Che was a flawless “creation”—a vessel to mold, a key piece in a bloodless conquest.

But when Gu Lian realized his dreams were haunted not by his fiancée, but by Ai Miao, his life veered off course. On a stormy night at fifteen, stripped of pride, he begged: “I need your love, Ai Miao! I want your mind—so full of empire and ambition—to hold space for me, Gu Lian!”

The Emperor and Empress, alarmed by the prince’s dependence and forbidden affection, issued a secret decree. Under the guise of “greater ambition,” Ai Miao was exiled to a foreign land, leaving behind a cruel misunderstanding: a silent departure that shattered Gu Lian’s heart.

Five years later, Ai Miao returned triumphant. The prince he had mentored now sat as a puppet monarch; the neighboring kingdom was all but dissolved. But what awaited him was Gu Lian’s frozen hatred, the imperial couple’s silent threats, a scandalous trap of seduction—and a chasm between them that seemed impossible to cross.

Misunderstandings, schemes, jealousy, and the weight of duty loomed large. Gu Lian was forged into a blade by pain; Ai Miao clung to his original vow in silence.

Until an unexpected aphrodisiac incident ignited everything—burning away their masks. In the collision of desire and truth, they confirmed with their bodies the loyalty and longing that had never faded.

“I’ll be your bedmate,” the once-proud prince whispered, stripped of all dignity, eyes burning with obsession. “Just don’t touch anyone else—man or woman. Ever.”

And Ai Miao, the master tactician, finally lowered every defense. In the overwhelming tide of pleasure, he saw his heart clearly: All the flawless plans, all the legendary victories—none compared to holding this man.

From wary tests to life-and-death trust, from heartbreak to reunion—they must face courtly daggers, imperial pressure, and the tangled mystery surrounding a diplomatic princess. Together, they will purge the rot within and beyond the palace.

This is an epic of growth and guardianship. Witness a cold strategist who plots each step for love, with devotion that cuts to the bone; a young crown prince who clings to emotion and carves out a golden age.

Two mighty souls, bound to each other alone. Watch them break every chain and write a royal legend unlike any before—at the very peak of power, side by side.