I Keep the Tyrant Alive

"Do good deeds in this life, and you'll be rewarded with blessings in the next."

Xue Yansui believed the "ghost" and went off to be reincarnated, full of confidence.

To her surprise, she transmigrated into a book, becoming the legitimate eldest daughter of a powerful regent and a consort famed for her beauty throughout the imperial harem.

Unfortunately, she was a cannon-fodder supporting character, while her half-sister was the heroine.

Their powerful father treasured the heroine like the apple of his eye, while Xue Yansui was no more than a weed.

The heroine stole her marriage to Prince Chang, the male lead, while their father sent her to the harem of a short-lived tyrant. In the end, she was buried with him.

With the tyrant's life already counting down, Xue Yansui was furious.

Those who had bullied the consort suddenly panicked. The consort had gone mad.

The concubines who framed her: beaten.

The heroine sister who used her as a shield: beaten.

The wicked stepmother: beaten.

The male lead who accused her of not loving her sister: beaten.

The powerful father who called her unfilial: beaten!

Xue Yansui took revenge on the very day she was wronged. She didn't care about living long, only about living well. Arrogant, domineering, and utterly without restraint.

In no time, she'd made countless enemies. The court and the harem joined forces to depose the consort.

The pale, handsome tyrant on the throne gave a bloodthirsty smile. "Who dares lay a hand on my life?"

Pre-release: "The Long-Suffering Virtuous Wife Gives Up"

Reborn as the only daughter of the salt merchant Lin family, Lin Youxun had just two goals for the first eighteen years of her life: protect the family business and find a live-in son-in-law to carry on the Lin family line.

To be a filial daughter, Lin Youxun rose before dawn and returned by moonlight, pouring her heart and soul into the family business.

Just as she was about to take over, her father gave her a "big surprise": an illegitimate son.

Her father was overjoyed.

"The family business will belong to your younger brother from now on, so you don't need to find a live-in son-in-law. I once saved an important man. I'll use that favor to get you a good marriage."

The prestigious Qi family produced scholars who passed the imperial examinations and entered officialdom, priding themselves on their propriety and family values. They despised merchants, believing that "for a family of scholars, dealing in goods is a disgrace."

Lin Youxun's father called in his favor and forced Qi Huan, the most outstanding young man of the Qi family, to marry her.

By marrying his daughter into the Qi family, Father Lin secured a prestigious and powerful connection for his youngest son.

Taking a merchant's daughter with a rich dowry into the family was seen as repaying a debt of gratitude, so the Qi family's reputation wasn't harmed. Instead, people praised them.

Both the Lin and Qi families got what they wanted.

She hadn't even married into the family yet, but her future mother-in-law already loathed her and her husband-to-be disliked her. No one cared what became of Lin Youxun.

Lin Youxun fell ill, and in a feverish dream learned that she was in a book: an utterly wronged, cannon-fodder heroine. At home, she was a filial daughter; in the Qi family, a virtuous wife. She died young, drained in body and spirit.

Her father's illegitimate son used her life to win the Qi family's protection and enjoy a lifetime of wealth.

After her death, Qi Huan married the heroine, whose family had nothing but the hollow reputation of being a scholarly household. The heroine lamented Lin Youxun's short life even as she happily accepted her lavish dowry.

When she woke, Lin Youxun was furious. To hell with being a filial daughter or virtuous wife. She was giving up.

"Your father is getting old. Your younger brother will have to rely on you from now on."

Her father was trying to brainwash her again. Lin Youxun smiled. "Give me that hundred-acre mulberry grove first."

"We're father and daughter, and you're actually bargaining with me?" Her father roared.

"Let's not talk about feelings. That'll cost us money."

"You..." Her father was at a loss for words.

She married into the Qi family.

Her mother-in-law did indeed loathe her.

"You're clumsy. You won't serve meals from now on," her mother-in-law snapped.

Lin Youxun hid her face behind a handkerchief and ran off with a pitiful sob. Everyone thought she was mortified, but she was happily rolling around on her bed. From then on, she wouldn't have to get up early.

It was just that she couldn't figure out what her husband, a former top-ranked youth in the provincial examination and a young third-place laureate in the palace examination, was thinking.

By day, Qi Huan seemed cool, composed, and free of desire. At night, he left her limp and boneless. He was a truly calculating man.

"Husband, I'm not a virtuous wife. You saw through me long ago." Lin Youxun knew she couldn't outmaneuver him. She steeled herself, laid everything bare, and asked him to divorce her.

"A divorce?" Qi Huan calmly gripped her hand, his dark eyes slowly burning red. "My lady, you can forget about that for the rest of your life."

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