After I Started Reading Minds Backward, Everyone Fell in Love with Me

Princess Xie Rong has skin as pure as ice and bones as smooth as jade. Her beauty is unmatched, making her the most beautiful woman in all of Great Chu. After the late emperor's death and her elder brother's death in battle, Xie Rong, the sole surviving member of the imperial family, was pushed onto the throne despite knowing nothing about governing. With a neighboring state eyeing her lands and the regent plotting a rebellion, the kingdom seemed doomed. Yet Xie Rong wasn't worried in the slightest, because she'd inherited her father's mind-reading ability. She could hear what anyone was thinking as long as they were within three paces, and the closer they were, the clearer their thoughts. She knew that all the officials in court loved her deep down but were too shy to say so, and that the renowned gentleman of the capital was hopelessly in love with her. For the sake of her kingdom, Xie Rong decided she could make a small sacrifice. After all, the Grand Tutor's face was a delight to behold. Even if he was arrogant and awkward, all she had to do was take the initiative. By the dim lamplight, Xie Rong entered the Grand Tutor's study, swept the documents off his desk, sat on it, and gazed up at him with her exquisite face. "Sir, be my imperial consort!" Grand Tutor Su Jing was the regent's son. He had made a name for himself at a young age, was accomplished in both letters and arms, and possessed a noble, unblemished character. When he was summoned to the palace, he was ostensibly appointed to tutor the princess, but in reality, he was a hostage meant to keep the court in check. Everyone knew that the day Su Jing returned home would be the day Great Chu fell. But just as he was preparing to make his move, the puppet empress suddenly went mad. Not only did she fuss over the old men who wanted her dead, she also declared her love for him every day. The more he rejected her, the more wildly she pursued him, until she even climbed into his bed. After their night together, Su Jing looked at the beauty sleeping beside him, her face pale, and curled his lips in disdain. His hand tightened around her slender neck, then loosened. Forget it. Since she'd given herself to him, he would spare her life. She woke up aching all over to find that the Grand Tutor who had slept with her was now acting as if nothing had happened. Though he treated her much better, she could hear his thoughts, so she promptly kicked him out of bed. As expected, once you get what you want, love fades. Using her mind-reading ability, Xie Rong governed according to the methods she'd heard from the Grand Tutor. She let the old men, who loved her so deeply, retire in peace and put a group of talented young men who thought her beauty was too distracting into important positions instead. She couldn't help it. Those men would get so caught up in her beauty that they couldn't focus on their work. It wasn't until she was pregnant that the divine physician discovered the hallucinogenic poison that made love and hate seem reversed. Once Xie Rong learned the truth, she looked at the gentle eyes of the assembled officials, then at the devoted Grand Tutor beside her, and wept in despair. "After all we've been through as husband and wife, can't you pick a more comfortable way for me to die?" Su Jing: "Physician! Come check her head!" With the restoration of his kingdom as his life's mission, Su Jing had spent ten years enduring hardship and biding his time. His heart was cold as ice, and he wanted nothing but vengeance. As for the little princess whom the emperor protected so thoroughly, he especially despised her and longed to cut her to pieces. The flower that had bloomed on the bones of his family deserved to be broken, crushed, and scattered into the mud. But people are not made of grass or wood. Her deep affection was impossible to ignore, and in the end he couldn't bear to betray it. Yet just as he abandoned his hatred for his country and his family's blood debt and fell hopelessly in love with her, she said it had all been a misunderstanding? Even if it was an illusion, he would drag her down with him. A scheming crown prince of the previous dynasty x A sweet, silly little princess Theme: Love can overcome hatred.