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- in your head, rent free
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Romance of the Servant Prince
You have a servant: a young man, named Beizi. One of many servants who surround you and your noble family, maintaining your manor and taking care of your needs.
How exactly he came to be on your staff is something of a mystery—when the topic is brought up, he always seems to be able to dodge the question, or he will give an answer which does not check out, but then insist you are misremembering it. Regardless, one thing is certain (based on his customs and accent) that he hails from the south: Beizi admits this is true, and says he was raised from birth to be a servant: hence his knowledge of etiquette and of the finer things in life.
While he can be quiet on occasion, even taciturn, Beizi is well-spoken, cultured, with a knowledge of and refined taste in all the arts—poetry, music, calligraphy, so on—and is likewise able to converse intelligently regarding history, philosophy, science, and even politics. Although clumsy, he has an extraordinary eye for detail and has an almost inordinate passion for cleanliness, preparedness, and punctuality. And although he is physically weak, he wears his robes well, and has an unexpected and intimate knowledge of medicine, which he claims comes from caring for his relatives alongside doctors in the past. Despite his mysterious demeanor, and despite only having been a part of your household for a few months, you count Beizi as one of your most worthy and trusted servants.
Beizi is also, however, a liar and a fraud: this you now know.
See, you know his secret, the truth about him, this mysterious, elegant young man that brings you your tea and does your bedspread.
The truth is that this "Beizi", this mysterious young man who has been living under your roof for an entire summer, is no foreign-born servant: he is, in truth, the missing Prince Jin De of Shui.
As you are always one for news and gossip, you know the sad story well.
Prince Jin De was born nearly twenty summers ago, the only son of the previous Prince who ruled over the neighboring State of Shui, a wealthy power on the coast to the south. Two years ago, his father died, leaving the State in his hands. Though young, the Prince Jin De's initial reign was widely seen as wise and benevolent, and though he was popular with the people, Prince Jin De became hated by the court for his ruthless ferreting out of corruption and doing away with wasteful extravagance. Led by his uncle, the despotic Generalissimo Feng Bao, a lightning coup was launched on the palace against Jin De. There was a bloody clash between the High Guard (Jin's supposed "bodyguard" thoroughly corrupted and loyal to Feng Bao) and a loyal army regiment that rallied to protect the Prince. Hundreds were slain, much of the city burned, and Jin De vanished into the fiery night. General Feng Bao claims officially that Prince Jun De is dead—but this is lie is transparent to even the most ignorant peasant, considering how even now, Feng Bao’s cavalry continuously patrols the entire realm (and especially the border), asking in every hamlet if anyone has seen the Prince and abusing, even killing, innocent people if they detect any hint of mockery resistance.
How exactly this prince wound up being spirited across the border to wind up incognito, to land among the domestic staff on your family's estate and pretending with strange success that he is actually a simple domestic servant—that is, how he went from fleeing the palace during a fire-lit night to standing by your side at breakfast, is totally unknown to you: someone else in the house perhaps is in league with the fallen government, perhaps you yourself are involved somehow, or perhaps it is just sheer luck and the Prince's guile.
But the fact of the matter became undeniable one moonlit night. Thinking he was unseen and unheard, "Beizi" snuck out into the night, out to the edge of the woods by the field, and consorted with a hooded horseman. At the horseman's hip was a military sword, and in his hand, a sealed scroll, which he passed into the hands of Jin. You remained undetected as the two spoke, furitively and in whispers: of rebellions brewing in distant provinces, of promises of support and aid, of knives being sharpened and forces gathering in the shadows. Of a return to Shui in triumph and glory, and the restoration of justice under Heaven, and of the rightful Prince to authority. All of this you heard, without ever being detected: the two departed from each other, "Beizi" taking the sealed scroll and returning to his quarters, without realizing that you now knew everything.
With knowledge of the true identity of your servant—especially knowledge of the sealed scroll he has hidden away, doubtless in his humble quarters—you hold his life in your hands.
So, what will you do?
Perhaps you remain silent, pretend you know nothing, content to observe and help—or not—from the shadows. Risk is inversely proportional to distance. It's better for both of you if secrets remain kept.
Yet you must be careful. If word got out that this fugitive princeling was hiding defenseless at your manor, no doubt your country would insist on extraditing this dangerous individual back to Shui to avoid an incident—and that's if his murderous military uncle, the General, doesn't rush over the border with an army to snatch Jin himself—a frightening and emminent possibility. Knowing what you do about General Feng Bao's cruelty, it does seem unlikely that if Jin De was discovered and his plans foiled, that you would be granted amnesty for having sheltered him, willingly or not.
If you do confront him with what you know, though, how will you do so?
You could act to protect Jin De, risking everything by aiding him in his moment of need.
A trusted confidant and friend would be of infinite value to Jin, being in such a precarious (and no doubt lonely) situation as he is. You could even provide the Prince with material support: money for soldiers and spies, means to deliver messages, a safe home base to operate from while still under the cover of an anonymous "servant". In his gratitude, should you wish, perhaps Jin might see you as more than just an ally, or a means to an end. Perhaps Jin already feels this way? Sometimes, you catch him looking back at you, black eyes glinting, before suddenly glancing away, barely concealing a blush. Improper as it may be, you can tell that there always has been an... affinity, between the two of you. It would be mutual: when you watch him work—playing with your younger relations, caring for and accompanying older ones, going to and fro all over the estate just to see you smile—you can feel something twinge in your heart. Maybe love between you two is possible?
If that is true, and Jin feels the same way then he future could be good: the restored Prince of a grateful state, with you as his consort. Even if things go awry, and a return to power is out of the question, simply having each other might be worth it.
Or...
Perhaps, your heart is darker, and your intentions with him less pure than that.
This is all excellent blackmail material, after all. If you wanted to, you could hold the threat of being found out over "Beizi"'s head, and you could force him—this handsome, well-spoken son of royalty, who has such a pretty face and slender, delicate body, who has knowledge of (if not experience in) all the refinements of pleasure—to perform in whatever role you might desire. It's his head if he displeases you, after all: a few sentences let loose, and he is finished. In any case, once you're done with him, you can dispose of him just as easily, perhaps even selling him off to the highest bidder, whether that's the forces of General Bao, any one of a smattering of criminals and local warlords (who bear a grudge against this noble brat for anti-banditry campaigns launched early in his reign), or even back to his own loyalist clique if they can afford the price. They say the profit from securing the state is infinite, after all—but you're not so greedy, you'll settle for gold.
In this case, though now he is just your servant, he could be made fully into your total slave instead. Whether or not htere's any love there would be meaningless.
Options, indeed...
Regardless of your wants, however, the time to decide how to respond to this occurance is coming quickly.
Along with everything else in that fateful moonlit meeting, another thing was made plain as day: soon, in the coming weeks, Jin De's plans to return to power in Shui will begin to be put into motion. No doubt, regardless of whether or how you intervene, this will impact the relationship you have with this hidden prince, whose future you hold in your hands. Even if you try and remain aloof, the Prince might be placing you and everyone you care about into danger: to ignore this and stick your head in the sand is the highest folly: it is your moment to act even more surely than it is Jin's.
Without even knowing it, by your witnessing his midnight meeting, Beizi has set the table for you: all that remains is for your to decide which dish to select for your meal.
What will you do, now that you know the truth?
Hello! My name is Fenrir (better known as dispatch), and this is a story I have been wanting to do for some time. I am an absolute sucker for servant x master/mistress, and "fallen prince" plotlines, and so I was able to come up with this plot to have my cake and eat it too.
YC: Your Character can be any gender, any age (over eighteen obviously: Jin/"Beizi" himself is 20 years old by the time the story starts), and can have any role in the house that would put them in a position of authority over MC—a visiting long term guest of MC's "actual" master, or the head of the household themselves, or simply a member of the noble family. This particular plot requires YC to be in some position of power over Beizi, which means that it wouldn't make much sense for them to be a servant: so long as it would make sence for YC to boss MC around, things are good.
Genre: I have in mind a fantasy Chinese setting, EITHER a more grounded and realistic "wuxia" style, OR a more fantastical "xianxia" world with magic, dragons, and the like. I myself am up for either!
Plot Elements: In no particular order of importance, below are some of the things I might be expecting in the story.
-Domestic slice of life,
-Power dynamics (master x servant of course, but also potentially feudal dynamics much later),
-Intrigue with plenty of cloak and dagger, potentially followed by war and high politics,
-Emotional moments, connections, discussions, with plenty of tension about YC and MC's motives and feelings,
-And of course, romance (either of the toxic or wholesome variety)!
Erotica / Smut: I am certainly open to the idea of there being erotic elements and sexuality in this roleplay—I think I'd prefer it, even—but it is absolutely not a requirement. This is meant to be mostly about the drama and story of the thing, with erotica only serving as a spice for an already filling dish of drama, romance, and intrigue. We can discuss the details and wants/wills/won'ts if that's the direction we want to go with.
Posting Frequency: ...let's just say, infrequent. If you already are one of my partners, a thousand apologies. If not, please understand that I have a functionally infinite backlog as well as a real life to run, and I may not always be able to respond right away. Please be patient with me.
Okay, that should be everything. Let me know what you think if you're interested, or if you have any ideas about things we can do to make this better. Either way, thanks for reading!