After the Corrupt Official Was Coveted by the New Emperor

Part 1: The Villainous Subject

During the reign of the late Emperor, Ji Rong was the corrupt official on everyone’s lips. Rumor had it that he committed every imaginable evil. He took advantage of the late Emperor’s trust to act lawlessly and was the sharpest claw and fang under the monarch’s command. The late Emperor was a tyrant, and Ji Rong was his sycophant. Everyone said that Ji Rong was a loyal dog serving a despot.

Part 2: The Fall

The late Emperor has passed away, and a new Emperor has ascended the throne. The first thing the new Emperor did upon his succession was to strip Ji Rong of his position as Prime Minister. Now that the corrupt official has been removed, the people are celebrating with joy. If you were to ask about the official’s whereabouts, he was likely discarded in a mass grave.

Part 3: The Secret Consort

The new Emperor is intelligent, strategic, and benevolent. It is rumored that the inner palace recently gained a new master. This person is said to be a peerless beauty, capable of toppling kingdoms, and the new Emperor favors them every day. The veteran officials are very relieved by this news.

However, there has been no news regarding a pregnancy. This continued until one day, during the new Emperor’s birthday banquet, several ministers witnessed the new Emperor acting intimately with a man under the osmanthus trees. Their behavior was incredibly close. The crowd felt as if they had been struck by eighty-one bolts of divine lightning.

Upon closer inspection, that man looked exactly like the famous corrupt official, Ji Rong. The sky had seemingly fallen. The two groups stared at each other, and a heavy silence filled the surrounding area. Ji Rong let out a light chuckle, raised an eyebrow, and greeted them by saying, “I hope you all are doing well.”

The ministers offered forced smiles and replied, “We are doing well.” In that moment, it felt as if the earth had collapsed.

Part 4: The Imperial Secret

A piece of news is spreading rapidly through the circles of high-ranking officials. The deposed Prime Minister, who was supposedly a corpse in a mass grave, has returned to life. He has become the Emperor’s most favored and enchanting consort.

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One-Sentence Summary: A demon consort who could topple kingdoms and bring ruin to the nation? Now, that is interesting.

Core Theme: The heart is not made of wood or stone; how could it be devoid of feeling?