Golden Terrace (黄金台 Huángjīn Táinote ) is a danmei Web Serial Novel written by Cang Wu Bin Bai that was originally published online on JJWXC in 2018 before getting officially translated in English by E. Danglars and published by Peach Flower House in 2022.
Fu Shen, the Marquis of Jingning, and Yan Xiaohan, Imperial Investigator of the Feilong Guard, have always been notorious for being at each other's throats for the entirety of their political careers, albeit with a great deal of respect for one another. However, on one fateful day, Fu Shen's legs are horribly injured during an escort mission at the Northern Border, and shortly after his return to the capital, he learns that the emperor has arranged a marriage between him and his longtime rival. With the matter out of their hands, the two of them learn to acclimate living under the same roof as one another, however, their bond eventually grows stronger than either of them could have ever imagined.
Golden Terrace contains the following tropes:
- Anger Born of Worry:
- Yan Xiaohan confronts Fu Shen after realizing that the latter had been refusing to take the medicine meant to dispel his fever (which he had gotten from kneeling in front of the emperor's palace for two hours in the rain in protest of their Arranged Marriage), admonishing him for neglecting his health. This expression of how much he cares for him is what leads Fu Shen to start softening up to his soon-to-be husband.
- Yan Xiaohan ends up scolding Fu Shen again after the latter had tried to capture an assassin behind the former's back. Seeing as Emperor Yuantai barely avoided an attempt on his life at the Vast Longevity Festival not too long before, Yan Xiaohan's fury is certainly not unwarranted.
- Bodybag Trick: The real reason Yan Xiaohan went back to where Caiyue and the infant Jin son were hiding was to ensure that they were sedated rather than poisoned so that they could fake their deaths and have their unconscious bodies transported to safety.
- Bureaucratically Arranged Marriage: The marriage between Yan Xiaohan and Fu Shen was arranged by the emperor as a means of stripping the latter of his political power, as the emperor felt that Fu Shen was more loyal to the nation than the crown and could possibly turn on him at any moment. The only other choice that Yan Xiaohan had in the matter was to kill Fu Shen, so he begrudgingly accepted the emperor's initial decree. Though Yan Xiaohan and Fu Shen are initially introduced as political rivals, the marriage actually ends up working out quite well for them, as the two had been fond of each other for years despite their disagreements.
- Faking the Dead: Mu Boxiu faked his death by stealing a corpse, dressing it in his clothes (including his jade ring to ensure it would be identified as him), cutting off the head, and dropping the body in a well.
- Out with a Bang: This is the manner in which Yang Hexuan reportedly died, as he had often frequented brothels before his death, and the reported cause was due to “ an acute loss of Yang." As it turns out, he had overdosed on a mysterious, highly-addictive drug that mimics the physical symptoms of “dying in the saddle”.
- The Reveal: Mu Boxiu had been the one to fire the bolt that triggered the avalanche that resulted in Fu Shen's leg injury, and the one who had plotted his attempted assassination in the first place was Yi Siming.
- Secret Relationship: When speaking of how his second uncle Fu Tingxin was the study companion of Prince Su, Fu Shen makes a noticeable pause when he states how their relationship was "brotherly". Six chapters later, it's revealed via flashback that the two of them were in a romantic relationship, but since their positions meant they could not marry, they kept it secret.
- Wicked Stepmother: Fu Shen’s stepmother, Madame Qin had been the one to start the rumor of Fu Shen being a “cut-sleeve” in order to ensure that he would end up in a marriage that would not produce any heirs so that her son, Fu Ting, would be next in line for his title. This plan ends up backfiring on her in a major way: once Fu Shen and Yan Xiaohan are actually married, Yan Xiaohan confronts her at the wedding party for having made his new spouse's life hell since his mother died and has her dragged out in shame. This provokes Fu Ting into trying to attack Fu Shen with a broken teacup, which Yan Xiaohan intercepts and orders the Feilong Guard to give him a suitable punishment, which as Fu Shen notes, likely means having him beaten to death.
