There was a young, strong monarch who was deeply in love with another young, charming man. Even though the emperor uses a concubine to carry his children, the male concubine remains mindful of this because producing successors is an obligation for a monarch. Nevertheless, regardless of the number of times the emperor attempts to get someone pregnant, not even a single of one of his concubines has become pregnant.
The nobles wonder why the emperor is still not having an heir. The nobles reach the conclusion that the emperor might be struggling to produce an heir. Once they have evidence about it, they have no choice but to find a new emperor to sit in the throne. In either case, the nobles opposed the emperor having a relationship with a man. It was the second prince, the second in line to the throne, whom the aristocracy was going to use, so it was like striking two birds with one stone.
Once the emperor learned of the nobles' scheme, he was incensed at their betrayal. The emperor looks into every option for restoring his fertility, but it appears to be impractical. When they discovered the Eves, a race that can carry someone's kid without being touched, the emperor was on the verge of giving up.
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#1 shortstorycollection (most impressive rank)
#1 platonic
#1 nobility
#1 aristocracy
(The photo used for the cover is not mine)