The Tyrant Raised by On-Screen Comments

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Six-year-old Xiao Shiyan, the seventh prince, is a forgotten, useless prince in the imperial palace.

Born prematurely and frail, with his mother having died young, he lives on a steady stream of medicine. Even passing palace servants feel free to kick him around. It looks like he won't survive this winter.

As he lies at death's door, a brightly colored sky screen suddenly appears before his eyes.

[This tyrant-raising game is pretty interesting. Xiao Shiyan looks like such a little sourpuss right now, nothing like a tyrant.]

[His personal eunuch is about to betray him and poison him!]

[He's been falsely accused of stealing again, and they're going to cut off his hand. Poor thing.]

[Xiao Shiyan is so hated that even dogs can't stand him. Not a single friend or loved one will help him. In the end, he's outwitted by Pei Ji, that wicked minister, and dies without even a body left behind.]

*

To stay alive, Xiao Shiyan follows the sky screen's tyrant-raising guide to the letter, diligently learning how to be a tyrant.

The comments teach him to recruit people on death's door and form factions to throw the court into chaos.

He obediently does as instructed, recruiting everyone: the top scholar who bends the law for personal gain, the eunuch who colludes with merchants for profit, and the wicked ministers who gang up on him. Whatever kind of scoundrel they are, he takes them all!

“Your Majesty, you mustn't! These criminals will destroy the foundations of Great Xia!” The elderly minister Xu cries out in anguish.

Xiao Shiyan replies nonchalantly, “Drag him off and behead him.”

“You can't! Elder Xu is a meritorious servant of our country!” Everyone falls to their knees in a flurry.

A faint smile appears on Xiao Shiyan's pale face. “Drag them all off and behead them. Does anyone else have an objection?”

The comments teach him to squander the treasury and launch massive construction projects.

He wastes money and builds, builds like there's no tomorrow. The Grand Canal, the Great Wall to Protect the Nation, whatever costs the people money, he builds!

The ministers weep and threaten to bash their heads against the pillars. “Your Majesty, you mustn't! These projects are draining the people and the people of our country can't take any more!”

Xiao Shiyan's eyes, reddened by coughing, narrow with laughter. He calls over a young eunuch. “Come here. Elder Xu wants to bash his head against a pillar, but he isn't strong enough. Give him a hand.”

“Give him a real good hand!”

With all his heart, he wants only to become a tyrant who throws the realm into chaos and is remembered with infamy for all time.

And things go smoothly: the protagonist calls for an uprising and starts a rebellion, determined to overthrow his tyrannical rule.

But before the protagonist can make a move, a general who was once branded a criminal hauls him into court.

The mild-mannered top scholar says he'll take him apart piece by piece. The young eunuch who was once nearly frozen to death says they can't let him die so easily. The smiling wicked minister says they should maximize their gains and let the rebel army see what happens to them.

Even Elder Xu, who has tried to bash his head against a pillar time and again, snarls, “His Majesty has gone to such lengths for the good of the people! The Grand Canal has prevented floods, the housing projects have given refugees shelter, and even the Great Wall to Protect the Nation keeps the southern barbarians at bay. These insolent people still want to harm His Majesty!”

“They deserve to die!”

Xiao Shiyan: ...Would you believe me if I said I'm actually a tyrant?

*

To preserve his image as a tyrant, Xiao Shiyan carefully edits the historical records. “Building irrigation projects”? Delete it! “Repelling foreign invaders”? Delete it! Delete it all!

Later generations describe Xiao Shiyan as a ruler who treated human lives as worthless and imposed crushing taxes!

The comments: [Exactly, exactly! That's how it was!]

But years later, after Elder Xu's autobiography is unearthed, researchers realize they may have misunderstood Xiao Shiyan, the tyrant who ruled a thousand years ago.

Xiao Shiyan's early life was so harsh that he was left with a weak constitution. After seizing power, he could only suppress the aristocratic clans who filled the court by force. The history books smeared him, recording only his tyranny and never explaining why he ruled that way or how it changed the lives of ordinary people.

In no time, the story of Xiao Shiyan, the little sourpuss, goes viral online, and the internet fills with sympathy for him.

The viewers in the comments:

[Oh no! We really were supposed to raise a tyrant!]

Theme: Everyone deserves a chance to be loved.