I Won't Be a King's Wife in My Next Life

Xie Qingyan became empress to Murong Hua, the tyrant of Northern Yan, twice in all.

The first time was when he had just become emperor. He intercepted her on the road as she was being sent to Northern Wei for a political marriage, ignored the objections of every minister, and forced her, then his sworn younger sister, to marry him.

As empress, she had none of the power an empress should have. In three years of marriage, he never touched her once, yet doted on his favored consort, Lady Jiang. The Xie family had served the country with unswerving loyalty, but he accused them of becoming too powerful and ordered the execution of the entire family.

In the winter of their third year, a great fire at Changle Palace burned Xie Qingyan, once the most noble and radiant daughter of a general, to ashes. She never looked back as the flames engulfed her.

At that moment, Murong Hua went completely mad.

The second time was after his kingdom fell. He knelt at the feet of Princess Liu Chu of Southern Chu in the most lowly posture imaginable. She stamped on the hands that had once held hers and promised her a future, yet had then slaughtered her entire family. The muffled crack of three broken fingers stirred not the slightest ripple in her heart.

"Does it hurt?"

"No."

After years of hiding his strength and biding his time, he successfully restored his kingdom. The first thing he did was force Princess Liu Chu of Southern Chu to marry him and become his empress once more.

No one else knew. Only he knew that this woman, who had humiliated him for three years, was his empress, dead these past three years.

"Qingqing, listen to me. I wasn't the one who ordered the extermination of the Xie family."

He had no idea how deeply his restrained, deliberate attempts to protect her had hurt Xie Qingyan.

Content warnings

The female lead suffers first, then the male lead. It's unclear whether she will forgive him. The male lead will have to win back his wife, and his redemption will be a long, difficult road.

Both leads have had no other partners. There are misunderstandings and mutual hurt, but the male lead isn't actually a scumbag.

Whether the male lead changes is up to the author's mood.

Theme: Cherish life, stay away from trash men