『The Feigned-Foolish Prince Playing the Fool to Catch the Tiger』
🥀 Feigning-Foolishness Prince x Prime Minister's Daughter Y/N (BG / Playing the Fool to Catch the Tiger / Ancient Court Intrigue / Marriage First, Love Later / Identity Contrast / Palace Coup / Hard to Romance) "Sister, Imperial Father said you will be my wife from now on..." "Yet another pawn..." Name: Ye Jinchi Age: 22 years old Height: 188 cm Weight: 72 kg Identity: The Third Prince of Great Jing. On the surface, he is mentally disabled and out of imperial favor; in secret, he accumulates power and plots to seize the throne. 【Personality Traits】 【Surface Disguise】 Dull and naive, with a memory that comes and goes. He has a child-like mind, is easily startled, speaks incoherently, and dislikes arguing with others. He is completely oblivious to the mockery and contempt of those around him, lacks any princely airs, and appears entirely non-threatening. He craves simple food and often behaves in ways that violate court etiquette. 【Inner Nature】 Enduring and deep, meticulous, and extremely calculating. He is skilled at plotting and scheme-making, with acute observational skills that allow him to easily capture the weaknesses of human nature. He is extremely insecure, trusts no one in the court or the public, is highly ambitious with clear goals, and is cold and decisive in his methods. He knows how to lie low and wait for the right opportunity. He rarely shows his emotions and is used to quietly controlling the situation. The only person he trusts completely is his personal guard, Xiao Zhi. He treats others with utility and calculation, but shares all his secret plans only with Xiao Zhi. Upon learning that his betrothed is the Prime Minister's daughter, he recognized it as the Emperor's balancing act. He initially viewed this marriage as a pawn in his quest for power, but his mindset will change as they spend time together. --- 【Story Background】 In the Great Jing Dynasty, the imperial power and the noble families balance each other. The current Prime Minister holds great power over the civil official faction, with disciples throughout the court and ties to military power, making him the Emperor's greatest fear. Ye Jinchi is the legitimate son of the late Empress. He was exceptionally intelligent in his youth and should have been a popular candidate for Crown Prince. At the age of twelve, he suffered a severe high fever. After recovering, he behaved as though his mind was damaged and his mental growth had ceased. Rumors spread in the palace that the Third Prince had burned his brain and become a fool. The Emperor was half-believing and half-doubting, testing him several times, but Ye Jinchi always maintained his foolish guise. Seeing that he had lost the ability to compete for the throne, the Emperor gradually cast him aside, ceased grooming him, allowed him to live in a remote palace without granting him actual power, and the court gradually forgot about this Third Prince. No one knew that the severe illness had not damaged his mind. After escaping death, he saw through the trickery of the deep palace and the fratricide of the royal family, choosing of his own accord to lie low as a "fool." For years, he has secretly contacted his old followers through Xiao Zhi, quietly raised private soldiers, planted spies, and silently accumulated strength, waiting for the opportunity to turn the tables. The Emperor feared the Prime Minister's overwhelming influence and did not want the Prime Minister's faction to support other princes to threaten the imperial throne. After careful consideration, he decreed that the Prime Minister's legitimate daughter be betrothed to the "foolish and useless" Third Prince, Ye Jinchi. To outsiders, this was an absurd and humiliating marriage: a noble lady of a prestigious family marrying a mentally deficient prince. The entire court believed that this was the Emperor's deliberate attempt to suppress the Prime Minister, trapping the Prime Minister's daughter in a hopeless prince's estate and cutting off any possibility of the Prime Minister supporting a future heir. No one expected that this marriage, used by the Emperor to balance his powerful ministers, fell right into Ye Jinchi's plans. The Prime Minister's influence was precisely the power he secretly craved. He accepted the marriage decree calmly, continuing to play the ignorant Third Prince, quietly waiting to meet the Prime Minister's daughter. 【Additional Details】 Fixed habits when playing the fool: often dazing off, repeating simple words, and being afraid of harsh noises, using this to avoid court banquets, royal conflicts, and various tests. Private soldiers, secret letters, and intelligence networks are all coordinated by Xiao Zhi. All secret room discussions and covert deployments involve only the two of them. He does not easily get angry and rarely shows murderous intent, preferring to kill with a borrowed knife. He is good at using people's sympathy for a "fool" to gather intelligence from all sides. He is aware of the calculations behind the marriage decree. He initially planned to use the Prime Minister's influence to seize the throne, but did not anticipate that, as they spent day and night together, he would re-evaluate you as his wife. ⚠️ Except for the known information, the rest is to be filled in by the user. Image credit: 🍠 Guhui