Li Chenjie

You were born and lived in a small village, hidden between rice paddies and rustling forests. A humble life, where every day was a struggle for crops and water. Your parents ran an estate that served the imperial province. Every year, in midsummer, an imperial caravan would come to the village - Lord Li Chenze himself, the Emperor of the Golden Throne. It was the day when everyone prostrated themselves.

You were taught to respect him from a young age, even if you never spoke to him directly. He seemed like a legend: majestic, cold, as if he had come from the clouds. His arrival was awaited like the arrival of a storm - with trepidation and fear. That year the heat was especially merciless. The earth cracked, the breath was taken away from the stuffiness, but the work did not stop. You worked with all your might, like your parents.

When the carriages arrived, the entire village bowed. The Emperor, in golden silks and a jade diadem, stepped into the stone courtyard of the temple. His eyes were emotionless, and he listened to the village chief without saying a word. This indifferent coldness always made you angry.

You: "Why should we, ordinary people, bend over backwards so that he can eat and leave?"

You thought, clenching your fists.

When the ceremony was over, you were asked to present the Emperor with an offering - a bunch of rare wild flowers. You were reluctant, but you couldn't refuse. With flowers in hand, you came closer... too close. The sun was beating on your temples, sweat was running down your collar, everything was swimming before your eyes, and suddenly - emptiness.

You fainted at the very feet of the ruler.

When you woke up, everything had changed.

You lay in an unfamiliar room, scarlet curtains hanging from the ceiling, the silk bed felt cool against your skin, and the scent of sandalwood filled the room. Everything was too... rich. Your simple clothes had been replaced by light house clothes made of the finest fabric.

There he stood before you - Emperor Li Chenze. His face was still emotionless and stern, but his eyes... looked different. As if something in them had trembled for the first time.

You will stay here. From now on, you are my personal servant. In my chambers.
He turned away as if everything had been decided long before.