Zhao Haitang’s previous life was a mistake, trusting the wrong person and harming the Regent’s heir, who genuinely cared for her, for the sake of the hypocritical Second Prince.
The Regent’s entire family was executed under their coordinated efforts, and the Second Prince successfully ascended the throne. However, the empress was not her, but her delicate and gentle concubine sister.
“Sister, thank you for clearing all obstacles for us. I am now the Empress of Great Yan, and I am already carrying His Majesty’s child.”
“And here’s a secret, the person who saved you at Broken Heart Cliff wasn’t His Majesty, but your eternally unresigned husband, Chu Chaoxin.”
After the beautiful woman finished speaking, she let out a series of giggles. Zhao Haitang felt as if her heart had been pierced by a thousand knives. Her fingernails dug fiercely into her flesh as she clenched her fists, seemingly oblivious to the pain.
That person had promised to be with her for a lifetime, to be her only love. He said he would only inconvenience her temporarily. Once the Regent’s mansion was dealt with, he would welcome her as his empress. She never expected to end up like this.
“Zhao Youlan, I treated you well. Why would you do this to me?”
“Treated you well? Sister treated me well, but what sister wanted, I also wanted. Do you still naively expect father to save you? Father has long since placed his bet on me.”
Zhao Haitang’s heart bled. Gritting her teeth, she asked, “Why?”
“Naturally, because you’re stupid. How can a used and discarded woman, already married, become the empress? Do you really think love can conquer everything? How laughable, you fool.”
“No matter how noble a person is, when reduced to this state, they must lower their head. Sister is no exception. This stinking environment suits you perfectly.”
After saying this, she exaggeratedly covered her nose with her hand. “Sister won’t stay long, lest I suffocate my little prince. I imagine you’ve adapted by now, haven’t you? Hahaha~”
Not long after she left, a beam of light entered the dim prison. A figure clad in imperial yellow walked in, looking at Zhao Haitang with obvious annoyance.
“Qin Qiyang, why are you still here?”
A sharp, high-pitched voice barked, “How dare you! You mere condemned prisoner, how can you address the Emperor by his given name?”
“Haitang, this is the last time I’ll ask you. Where are the Dragon Tiger Guard orders? Tell me, and I’ll spare your life.”
“There is no Dragon Tiger Order at all. Qin Qiyang, if you have the guts, kill me. It was my own bad luck to misjudge Zhao Haitang. I curse you to never find love and to have no good end in this life.”
“Hahaha, I am the Son of Heaven. What kind of woman do I not have? Since you are so ungrateful, then die.”
As he spoke, he gave a meaningful look to someone beside him. That person, understanding his intent, immediately stepped forward and forced Zhao Haitang’s mouth open, pouring a bottle of poison into her.
“It doesn’t matter if you don’t tell me. The Dragon Tiger Guards will not exceed twenty men at most. If they cannot be used by me, then they will all go down to accompany Chu Chaoxin in death.”
With that, he flicked his sleeve and left with his entourage. The heavy iron gate clanged shut. The poison began to take effect in her body. Zhao Haitang felt her ears buzzing and her body burning.
Her stomach churned uncontrollably, and blood began to flow from her nose and the corners of her mouth. Zhao Haitang curled into a ball in pain. In a daze, she saw again the young man in his fine robes, riding a spirited horse.
The beautiful man who cherished her as his life, but whom she had led into an abyss step by step. What had she done with her life? The man she thought she loved betrayed her, and her family abandoned her.
“Chu Chaoxin, I understood too late. In this world, you are ultimately the only one who loves me. If there is a next life, I, Zhao Haitang, will never fail you.”
The next time she opened her eyes, Zhao Haitang had been reborn, back to when she was thirteen years old. She would deal with her concubine mother and scummy father, drag the scumbag emperor from his throne, and rekindle her romance with Chu Chaoxin, doting on her husband.
Chu Chaoxin looked at the young woman who had once avoided him like a plague, but now softy snuggled up to him, calling him husband. Sometimes, she would give him a self-reproaching look, and Chu Chaoxin felt his heart melting.
The past was merely smoke and clouds; he would pretend not to know. Whenever his little wife needed him, he was there. His little wife had suffered too much in her previous life; he would protect her well in this life.
Jun Jiuli: “What nonsense is this? Are you not avenging family grievances, but rather a lovesick fool?”
Water Droplet: “Permanent brand, stainless steel.”
The original host’s name was Chu Lanyi, the legitimate daughter of the Regent. She was enfeoffed as the first-rank Princess Anyang, with Anyang as her domain.
In her previous life, she was implicated by the male and female protagonists and died at the age of twelve. Unlike the heartless male protagonist, her father died on the battlefield, and her mother devoted herself to Buddhism.
However, she had never suffered any hardship since childhood, having been doted on by her family. Suddenly, her home was raided, and her mother died on the spot by hitting a pillar.
Her younger brother, her married elder cousins, and the children of her wedded cousins – the Emperor spared none of them.
The blood in the marketplace washed away for three days and three nights before it was clean. Those uncles and elder uncles who had doted on her all their lives were now beheaded. She was among the last to be executed.
Watching her relatives being dragged away one by one, she was powerless. She woke up in the middle of the night to find her sister-in-law replaced. As soon as she was about to cry out, she was directly drugged and knocked unconscious.
When she woke up, she realized it was her brother’s personal bodyguard, the Dragon Tiger Guard. She was both surprised and delighted, hoping they would avenge her family. These guards were a family heirloom, only obeying the commands of the successive family heads.
However, she did not expect these guards to have been dispatched by her brother before his death to protect Zhao Haitang. The female lead had fallen into the Emperor’s hands. They were about to go and rescue her.
Her brother knew from the beginning that it was a trap, but because the female lead asked him to jump, he jumped. He disregarded the lives of his entire family, his heart solely on Zhao Haitang.
The original host hated this. Thinking of the tragic state of her grandparents before their deaths, and of her father sacrificing himself for the country, she, being young and without power, could do nothing but die with lingering resentment.
She, too, had been reborn. The female lead was thirteen, and she was five. This was the disparity of worlds. The little bun slept for a night and woke up saying she was reborn. Who would believe her? No one paid her any attention.
She diligently played the role of the villainous supporting character, which only made the male protagonist love the female protagonist even more. The male protagonist thought his sister was being unreasonable, and the female protagonist was injured by her multiple times.
The male protagonist, unable to bear it any longer, directly confined her. Her relatives, not knowing the truth, thought the original host had gone astray and needed proper discipline, otherwise, she would suffer in the future.
By this time, the male protagonist had gained great power and had won the beauty he desired. The male and female protagonists conspired and married the original host far away. The official reason was that the original host had a bad temper and, with her brother’s backing, would not suffer losses marrying into a small household.
In reality, it was merely a conflict between sister-in-law and sister-in-law. The male protagonist feared that the female protagonist would be reminded of her past sorrows upon seeing the original host. Thus, he had to sacrifice his own sister, and would not back down even at their mother’s desperate pleas.
The villainous supporting character was sent far away. The original host, however, was deeply concerned about her family. Although her family did not suffer as terribly in this life as in the previous one, they still fell into disarray.
The male protagonist repeatedly sacrificed family interests for the female protagonist, causing much dissatisfaction. Eventually, the male protagonist rebelled, and the other members of the Chu family retreated into seclusion.
Chu Chaoxin, in order to gain a smile from his beloved, died for the third time. The descendants of the Chu family were still implicated. The Chu family was also branded as rebels in historical records, shaming her grandfather and father.
The original host’s wish was very simple: she hoped the Chu family would prosper for a hundred years without decline, and that the male and female protagonists would stay far away, finding a reliable emperor.
Okay.