Chapter 1

The King settled in his chair with a heavy sigh as another court official argued that the King needed to secure a marriage soon while he is still young, before another began their rebuttal and seemed to forget the King's very presence. Voices began to overlap as each presented that their daughter would be more suitable as the Empress. Feeling fed up, Yifan grabbed the small hammer on his table and struck the table three times - he had given up on shouting and wasting his energy on trying to clear up the loud shouting matches that would result between the officials. 

"Be quiet you lot," he grumbled, forgoing his dignified image over getting them all to shut up and stop causing his head to throb. "I already have a favoured consort that I treasure very much. If you all continue to insist that I marry, I'll marry her," he lied smoothly. He was going to have to find a suitable girl later after he had sorted out the pestering from the officials. I'll ask Yixing, he noted.

What he had said combined with his cold glare, effectively silenced them. Then they began to murmur between themselves, but Yifan already knew where their thoughts were going; since when has he had a consort, he didn't even hold an Imperial Concubine Selection Ceremony. He simply rolled his eyes, and heard his brother chuckle from beside him.

Luhan, though the elder of the two, was only the Crown Prince due to his mother's lower status as Imperial Consort, but he didn't mind since he preferred watching from the sidelines. "How are you going to fool them this time?" Luhan whispered behind his fan towards his brother. The younger simply shrugged and tilted his chin towards his advisor. "You better make a good coverup or it'll all blow up in your face," the older said gravely, before resuming his fanning.

"You're all dismissed," Yifan announced, eyeing each of the officials as they nervously got up and left one by one. Once the room had emptied, he stood along with his brother and his advisor. "You two are helping me find a girl for the job now," he muttered, making sure no-one else heard.

***

Sitting at his own desk, he shuffled through the piles of documents on his table, listening to Yixing lecturing him about making rash decisions and abusing his power and something along the lines of "Stop acting like a child". He could swear that Yixing was either possessed by an old man or simply too serious, but his nagging was beginning to get on Yifan's nerves.

"Alright, I got it! Just shut up already," he snapped. Luhan who sat in a wooden chair by the window, looked over hearing his brother shout and decided to point out his own suggestions to divert the tension.

"I think I know a suitable girl for the role," he said, catching Yifan's attention. Knowing his brother, anything that could help with his current situation was greatly appreciated, even if he didn't show it.

Not looking up from his work, Yifan's interest had been piqued, "Who?" he simply asked, straightening another set of documents.

"You know that scholar... Xiumin, I think he was called, that guy who 's the head of the Imperial Archives?" Luhan watched as Yifan gave a slight nod, "He has a younger sister. Very pretty and most likely intelligent too considering her brother's job. I think it'll be easy to ask her to accept the job compared to going to one of the officials, who'll most likely fight, and since she's getting paid, you can dismiss her later."

Nodding more firmly now, Yifan knew exactly what his older brother meant, however, Yixing stepped in with a warning, "If you are so sure that this plan will work, then you need to put in place rules like with any other job. Also, make 'Do not fall in love' a priority."

***

Xiumin was just about to put away another scroll when an eunuch opened the doors and announced the arrival of His Royal Highness, the Crown Prince. He quickly scrambled down from the step ladder he stood and bowed as the Prince entered, waiting for the signal to stand. "Xiumin!" greeted the Prince. He rolled his eyes and rose from his bow.

"You should know that if anyone heard you address me so casually, I'll get a beating from the higher ups or even worse, beheaded," Xiumin complained, shuddering at the thought.

He returned to the scrolls he had put down and resumed his task of putting them away. Luhan followed behind him silently, watching as he worked until the last scroll was put away. "What is it that you want? Following me around like a child," he said, turning around to see Luhan eyeing him th