The Crown Prince Has Fallen
Tang Fei, Crown Prince of Great Zhou, was the most handsome and wealthy man in the kingdom. Unfortunately, fate had dealt him a cruel hand. He hadn’t been born with a healthy constitution, and from childhood onward he was either being force-fed medicine or soaking in medicinal baths.
The imperial physician had said he wouldn’t live past his first birthday.
Who could have guessed he’d somehow made it all the way to twenty-one?
After that, he treated the imperial physician’s words like so much hot air.
And now the physician was at it again, claiming right in front of the old emperor that he was dead.
“Your Majesty, the crown prince has passed away!”
The imperial physician’s cry made Tang Fei’s head ring.
“What do you mean, I’m dead? Can’t you see I’m alive and well? Keep spouting nonsense, and I’ll have every last one of you thrown out to the dogs!”
Tang Fei cursed silently, trying to open his eyes and sit up, but he couldn’t move.
If he could, he’d leap up right now and wipe out the whole family of these quack physicians.
Just then, the old emperor hurried to Tang Fei’s side, clutched him, and burst into tears, wailing:
“My child! How could you leave Father Emperor behind like this?”
“My child! How could you make me bury my own son? My child!”
Tang Fei was moved by the depth of his father’s love. If the drool running down his face weren’t so revolting, he might even have shed a few grateful tears. As it was, all he wanted to do was roll his eyes.
As his old father’s sobs grew louder, Tang Fei felt his body growing lighter and lighter, as if his soul had left it and floated up into the air.
He was stunned. Could he really be dead?
But just yesterday, the palace shaman had told Father Emperor to find him a woman with a compatible birth chart and bring him some good luck. What was this? He hadn’t even had a taste of earthly pleasure, and now he was about to kick the bucket?
Tang Fei was dumbfounded. He struggled frantically, tugging at his clothes. “No, no! This prince can’t die just like this! You there, you quack physician! Father Emperor, can’t you save me again? Save me one more time!”
A flock of crows flew by. Nobody heard him.
Tang Fei struggled with all his might, then kicked his legs and passed out.
At the same time, in an old residence outside the palace, a man in white was performing a spell in the courtyard.
He stood within a blue formation, letting the cold wind stir his white robes. Beneath the pale moonlight, his figure seemed ethereal, his long black hair flowing as if he had merged with the moon itself, insubstantial and dreamlike, like an immortal.
The man pressed his palms together and silently recited an incantation. Suddenly his brow furrowed and his eyelids trembled, as though he had seen something he shouldn’t have. His concentration shattered.
The blue formation broke into fragments, and Tang Fei’s soul rose into the air and flew toward him.
The man in white suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood and dropped to one knee. His soul slowly slipped free of his body, collided head-on with Tang Fei’s soul, and the two flew into each other’s bodies.
By the time Tang Fei woke again, it was the following night.
He slowly opened his eyes and found himself in a gloomy, chilly room.
The furnishings were all carved from pearwood, simple and plain, like those in an ordinary official’s residence. It didn’t look like the palace.
“Little Liu!” Tang Fei called toward the door. He flexed his hands and feet, realizing he was stronger than before and his body felt lighter.
After being sick for most of his life, he rarely felt so refreshed. Delighted, he swung his arms and sprang out of bed.
Just then, a red lantern lit up outside.
A woman’s alluring silhouette appeared on the curtain. She called softly, “Master, you’re awake? Are you feeling better?”
Tang Fei froze. What did she mean, “master”? Why was she calling this prince that?
Confused, he went to the door. Seeing the woman’s bewitching shadow through the window, he deliberately lowered his voice and answered cautiously, “Mm. I’m awake.”
A low, richly resonant voice suddenly came out of his mouth. Tang Fei froze and clapped a hand over his mouth in astonishment.
“Master.” Hearing the voice, the woman outside pushed the door open to come in.
Tang Fei had no time to think. He hurriedly jumped back onto the bed and pulled the quilt over his head.
The woman lit the lamp and said gently, “Your wedding to His Highness the Crown Prince is only a few days away. You should get plenty of rest and regain your strength.”
Tang Fei was utterly bewildered. What wedding to the crown prince? Could the woman’s “master” be Bai Qianzhi, the daughter of the richest man in Luzhou, who was supposed to marry him?
When he didn’t answer, the woman didn’t linger. She set down a bowl of soup and quietly left.
Sensing something was wrong, Tang Fei sprang up and strode to the mirror.
The person reflected there had long black hair, skin as fair as snow, slightly upturned phoenix eyes, and thin, crimson lips.
In the faint reddish light of the lamp, the face was breathtakingly beautiful.
Tang Fei gradually understood. Not only had he survived, he had taken over the body of his future wife.
He studied the face in the mirror and pinched its sharply defined chin. He hadn’t expected his future wife to be quite so handsome.
The contours of the face were a little too rugged, the eyebrows a little too dark, the nose a little too prominent.
But it was still perfectly normal. This must be what people meant by a heroic look!
As he thought this, he hurriedly looked down.
His chest was as flat as a board.
She was a beautiful bride, all right, but her chest was a little small!
He gently pressed it. It was rock-hard. Not only was it small, it was hard, too!
More and more certain something was wrong, Tang Fei hurriedly took off his top and stared at the muscular body before him.
He was stunned. This young lady wasn’t just flat-chested. She didn’t have breasts at all!
And those pectorals and abs were sharply defined, far more impressive than his own.
Tang Fei couldn’t resist running a hand over them, then took off his trousers as well.
…
My apologies, my apologies!
Tang Fei gave an awkward start and hurriedly pulled his trousers back up.
This wasn’t a beautiful bride at all. It was a strong, healthy man!
So his future crown princess consort was a man?!
Before he could come to terms with that, someone knocked at the door again. “Master, I have something to report.”
Tang Fei hurriedly got dressed, sat back down on the bed, and replied, “I’ve already gone to sleep.”
“Master, it’s urgent.”
“That still doesn’t mean you can…”
Before Tang Fei could finish, the person outside burst through the door.
A burly man, eight feet tall, hurried in. His thick beard made him look fearsome, but he had a pair of cat ears, a cat’s tail, and a nose that kept twitching.
Tang Fei stared, dumbstruck, unable to recover for a long while.
What in the world was that? Neither cat nor man.
The cat-eared strongman grinned. “Master, His Highness the Crown Prince has come back to life.”
Tang Fei swallowed. It was just a smelly cat, that was all. No need to panic.
He did his best to stay calm and replied as nonchalantly as he could, “Mm. The crown prince’s alive. Good.”
Just then, another figure burst through the door: a headless ghost carrying his own head. “Master, now you can rest easy. That spell you cast to save his life wasn’t wasted.”
The head in his hands had a pair of round, protruding eyes and a simple, cheerful smile.