The Imperial Tutor’s Instructions

In the eighth year of the Jiasheng era, the emperor died. Imperial tutor Shen Heng supported the young crown prince, Song Nanqing, to ascend the throne, becoming the regent prince to assist the young ruler. The emperor revered him as “Father-in-law,” and for a time, Shen Heng held unparalleled power in the court.

Song Nanqing’s childhood in the palace consisted of the beatings Shen Heng gave him when he made mistakes, the handwritten instructions he received, and the warmth of Shen Heng holding him in his arms during thunderstorms. The regent prince was like a teacher and a father to him, teaching him how to be an emperor and how to recognize and utilize talent. He also took care of his hair, dressed him in his imperial robes, and made him snacks, attending to everything without relying on others.

As he grew older, more and more ministers from the previous dynasty urged the emperor to assume personal rule, take concubines, and marry an empress. Rumors circulated that the regent was manipulating the court and corrupting the young emperor, his intentions deemed reprehensible.

Inside the palace, Song Nanqing lay on the regent’s lap, eating osmanthus cake fed to him by the prince. His gaze swept across portraits, his fingers tracing patterns on the prince’s knees, hooking his belt. He spoke to the rumored treacherous regent, Shen Heng, saying,

“Sir, I think none of these women would be as good as you as an empress.”

Shen Heng’s eyes darkened, and he grasped Song Nanqing’s fingers, saying, “I think you need a lesson.”

Outside the window, the crabapple blossoms swayed, their delicate pink petals carpeting the ground, dew wetting the clothes in the moonlight. To be a feared emperor, in order to save his life and seize power, he did not care whether he used the Strategies of the Warring States or the Ten Arts of Manipulating Men, as long as he could control people’s hearts.

The next day at court, Song Nanqing sat upright on the dragon throne, facing a land ravaged by floods and plagues, desperately needing a capable minister to guard it. He tilted his head and looked at Shen Heng.

“With your assistance, Father, I am sure you can quell the disaster and restore peace to the Great Sheng Dynasty.”

Shen Heng, dressed in a black robe, received the decree with clasped hands. In his farewell letter, every word was powerful and vigorous, the ink soaking the back of the paper: “Last night’s address was far more pleasing than today’s address to Father. How will Your Majesty repay me when I return?”

Song Nanqing threw the letter to the ground, angrily shouting at his departing figure, “We will talk about it when you get back!”

As emperor, Shen Heng was more capable than him, but when it came to love, the outcome was still uncertain.

Song Nanqing thought he had love in his grasp, but little did he know he would encounter Shen Heng. Snowflakes fluttered down, the flames burning inside the house reflected in his eyes. Song Nanqing felt a hot hand grip his neck, and when he looked up, he met a burning, obsessive gaze.

“What’s wrong? Didn’t you say you loved me the most? You wanted to run away after finding out I am your older brother? Which of your words, Qingqing, are true?”

The fire glowed red, yet Song Nanqing felt a chill run through him. “You knew all along, you knew all along and still”

Shen Heng’s lips curled into a chilling smile. “You dared to lie to me, so what are you afraid of, this mere blood connection?”

Notes Before Reading

1. Fictional setting, childish political intrigue.
2. The protagonist and the love interest are not related by blood, not at all.
3. No angst.

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Sugar Daddy / Gold Digger Novel

Older, financial tycoon daddy (top) x Green Tea, male escort / social butterfly brat (bottom).

In a top-tier art school already shrouded in prestige, Yu Qingnian is the center of attention, a high-achieving beauty. He is chauffeured in luxury cars, his head adorned with understated luxury goods. At just over twenty years old, he has already won numerous international awards and held world tours. Rich, handsome, and talented, he is a top-tier, rich second-generation heir, like the most dazzling diamond at the top of a pyramid. Of course, some people have accused him of being pretentious because even his cheap tissue box is a luxury item.

But one thing everyone agrees on: he definitely has a good father. Yes, that is right, he certainly does, except this father is a Sugar Daddy.

The school’s most popular heartthrob, a young and famous pianist, a noble god adored by countless girls, is a completely different person at home.

At night, in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows of the river-view apartment, Yu Qingnian collapsed weakly on the white cashmere carpet, his fingers still twitching slightly, unconsciously gripping the man’s suit trouser leg. He had not even finished swallowing his food when the wicked man used his flushed, beautiful face as a tissue to wipe it, leaving a few drops of liquid on his soft cheeks and his lips glistening with smear.

Yu Qingnian was picked up and sat on Lu Zhao’s lap for a while, swinging his legs as he said, “I have spent all my allowance this month, give me another 300,000.”

“It’s only the 5th today, what did you buy?” Lu Zhao raised an eyebrow and asked.

“Lu Zhao! I have been with you since I was eighteen, and now you interrogate me even for spending a little money on me. Where the money is, that is where my love is. Don’t you love me anymore!”

Of course, he was not really seeking love in this relationship; it was all just a means to make money. As a model playboy with assets worth millions in his early twenties, his guiding principle was “I do not flatter men or women, I only flatter money.”

Lu Zhao was indeed a very generous sugar daddy, raising him from a poor high school student who had just come of age into the socialite he was now, whose hair was more precious than gold. But his desire for control grew stronger and stronger over time. Yu Qingnian realized that if he did not escape soon, he might really be unable to get away.

A model gold digger should know when to quit while he is done making money; lingering will only slow him down. So he kept demanding more and more, each time more outrageous than the last. But strangely, Lu Zhao showed no sign of driving him away; on the contrary, he became even more eager.

After being caught reselling a bag Lu Zhao had bought for him on a secondhand platform, Yu Qingnian tugged at his tie, thinking, “I must escape this perverted control freak! Even if he buys me a hundred more bags, it won’t work.”

Anyone who cuts off his financial lifeline deserves to go to hell!

By chance, Yu Qingnian discovered that the culprit who bought his secondhand bags and led to Lu Zhao finding out was none other than Lu Zhao’s sickly, unattractive white moonlight.

Yu Qingnian is not in a hurry to break up.

Her white moonlight is back, huh? Her ex is showing up, huh? If she does not pretend to be a pitiful, innocent girl who loves you to death and rake in a hefty breakup fee, she is not Yu Qingnian!