I Kept the Short-Lived Tyrant Alive

Leng Yi transmigrates into a book as an assassin sent to kill a tyrant.

While scouting the place, he runs into a fellow assassin there to kill the tyrant. Before either of them can act, the other assassin faints and, of all places, falls right into Leng Yi's arms.

It looks suspiciously like a setup.

Leng Yi has no choice but to carry him back.

The next day, the tyrant vanishes. Rumor has it he's been kidnapped by bandits.

*

The one who fell into his arms is sickly and immediately latches onto Leng Yi.

This guy coughs when the wind blows, pants if he moves, and faints at the slightest mishap just to put on a show for Leng Yi.

He's expensive, too. Leng Yi can't earn money as fast as he spends it.

Leng Yi has had enough. There are only two options left: abandon him or kill him.

So Leng Yu chooses a third option: marry him.

Only because this guy may be weak and wasteful, but he's truly beautiful.

Once he's your wife, taking care of him feels worthwhile.

Leng Yi tends to his every need, attentive and meticulous, and nurses him back to health until he is vigorous and imposing, able to lift Leng Yi in one arm.

Maybe Leng Yi has taken his care a little too far.

*

With the tyrant missing, the assassination job has to be put on hold.

But the book says the tyrant is mad, and that later on he'll lose his appetite, be unable to sleep, and drive himself to death. He'll be only twenty-five when he dies, and the time is almost here.

On the tyrant's twenty-fifth birthday, Leng Yi prepares paper offerings and waits for the official mourning announcement, planning to see him off.

Instead, the next day he hears that the tyrant not only survived, but has made a full recovery and can eat five bowls of rice at a sitting.

Leng Yi is stunned. Who gave the tyrant an extra-life mode???

The assassination job is back on.

After learning that the tyrant likes men, Leng Yi decides to seduce him.

With a blood-sealing poison needle hidden in his hair, Leng Yi is sent to the tyrant's chambers, wrapped up in a quilt.

The quilt is lifted. Leng Yi sees the person standing beside the bed with his hands behind his back, and his pupils quake. Isn't that the delicate little flower at home who's so hard to care for?

The tyrant, whom he'd nursed into robust health, leans over and grips his chin. "The imperial physicians once said I wouldn't live past twenty-five. Now they say I can live to a hundred and five. You're the reason. Tell me, what reward do you want?"

Leng Yi: "?"

In his panic, Leng Yi sits down right on top of the poison needle...

That night, Leng Yi lies facedown on the imperial bed while someone urgently sucks the poison out of his blood...

Bonus scene:

With the emperor missing, the hidden guards search everywhere, only to spot him in the street, running a barbecue skewer stall.

The emperor is dressed in coarse linen and stands there with a blank expression.

The young, handsome stall owner barks at him, "What are you standing there for? Call out to the customers! Just waiting around for food?"

The hidden guards all draw their swords and charge forward to cut down this audacious kidnapper.

But their emperor, who suffers from severe mental illness and is violent and cold-blooded, steps in front of them and forces a stiff, ominous smile. "Would you like to order, honored guests? Please, have a seat."

The hidden guards' legs give out, and they sink into their chairs.

The emperor serves them a plate of skewers himself and charges them two taels of silver.

What a crook.

The emperor hands the two taels to the stall owner. The stall owner's expression changes in an instant. Smiling, he gives the emperor's terrifying cheek a hard pinch. "I'll reward you with a feast tonight."

The emperor gives a derisive snort. "You'd better."

The hidden guards: "?"

Your Majesty, what happened to you? Aren't you going to cut off his head?

Core theme: Life is a little boat, and ideals are the sails that carry it on a voyage