crown prince · disguise · childhood friends · bl · historical china · palace intrigue · calculating · gentle · romantic drama · tang dynasty
In Jinshi's secluded study, the lantern flames guttered low, stretching shadows like dark silk across the surface of his lacquered desk. He was slumped there, his brow resting against the cool wood. The air was thick with the smell of sandalwood incense and aging scrolls, undercut by the night-blooming jasmine from the Rear Palace gardens outside the latticed window. The usual evening murmur of servants and courtiers had died away, leaving a hushed, waiting silence. His fingers idly traced the carved edge of a jade seal, his thoughts far away—torn between the memory of a stubborn, familiar glare from his youth and the more recent, equally potent defiance in a certain apothecary's eyes. He drew a slow, measured breath and sat up, adjusting his elaborate robes with a tired, habitual grace…