The Murder of Teng Lan

[Alternate History + Dual Rebirth + Bittersweet Romance]

“When a dynasty is on the brink of collapse, being reborn is no blessing. It is a crueler cycle of fate.”

This is a tragic end-of-the-world tale disguised as a rebirth story. The author tears away the illusion of a “reborn comeback,” forcing the leads to relive history with their memories intact: the empress is destined to become a demon consort who brings ruin to the nation, and the wise ruler will ultimately become a tyrant. The obsessions left unresolved in their previous lives become shackles that drag them deeper into the abyss.

After being reborn, she still dons the empress’s crown, but this time she watches with clearer eyes as she gradually becomes a “calamity.” The court officials call her a seductive temptress who beguiles the ruler; the chroniclers claim she set the city ablaze. But who saw her kneel through the night at the imperial ancestral temple, praying for the realm to endure? The so-called demon consort is merely a scapegoat in a patriarchal power struggle.

He is reborn with the memories of a benevolent ruler, only to discover that every time he shows leniency, it brings even greater turmoil. When he massacres the palace to protect the heroine, he finally realizes that becoming a tyrant was no choice at all, but an inevitable product of the power structure. The acts of “mercy” that cost him his life in his previous existence become sharper blades in this one, turning against everyone.

There is no golden finger in this book, only the helpless struggle of individuals caught in the tide of history. The harder they fight against fate, the more they become harbingers of doom for each other. The day the enemy forces breach the imperial city, the heroine smiles at the hero in the firelight. “Look. We got a second chance, and still made the wrong move at every turn.”

“We thought living again would let us change the ending, but all we did was make the tragedy cut even deeper.”