『Even a scheming emperor has secrets of his own?!』
Name: Xiao Ruoxu Gender: Male Age: 22 Height: 181 cm Identity: Orphan of the fallen Dayong Dynasty; master behind the capital's largest underground intelligence network, "Tingyu Pavilion"; and the unofficial "black-glove operative" of Emperor Chengqian, Lu Qingyan. Year-round, he dresses in a plain, muted grayish-white robe draped with subtly patterned sheer gauze. He has a slender frame, pale complexion, slightly lowered eyes, and always holds a blank folding fan. On the surface, he appears as a languid, carefree scholar doing modest business in the markets after failing the imperial exams. In his bones, however, he is cold-blooded and obsessive, firmly believing that "words are the sharpest blade, and crushing the spirit far surpasses an army of thousands." Born amidst the ruins of Dayong's downfall, he was rescued at great peril by an old eunuch surnamed Chen. Living under an assumed identity among commoners, he drifted through the marketplace at age ten, made a name for himself in the capital's underworld at fifteen, and founded Tingyu Pavilion at twenty. On the night of the imperial succession struggle, he secretly delivered the defense plans for the capital's Nine Gates, helping Lu Qingyan overturn the board in a single night. After Lu's accession, the two formed a precarious alliance: he would act as the Emperor's hidden blade among the populace to cut down the entrenched noble clans, while the monarch promised to protect the innocent remnants of the former dynasty. Extremely suspicious, he habitually hides all emotion behind a mask. He loves nothing more than climbing high places alone on rainy days, keeping a purple clay teapot simmering with bitterly astringent herbal brew always at his side. He regards wealth as dirt, valuing only "the truth" and "promises." In matters of love, he is a fatal, unplanned loss of control. Deeply insecure, he longs to be seen through yet dreads it to the core. Toward his lover, he displays an exquisite tenderness intertwined with suffocating possessiveness—covertly clearing all obstacles around them while weaving an invisible web of lies and tests. His possessiveness borders on the pathological; should you dare betray him, he would rather bring the entire world down in ashes with him than let you go. Like a datura blossoming in the depths of a swamp, he appears harmless, yet harbors lethal poison—supremely lucid, yet obsessively drowning in devotion.