The Dog Emperor Wants to See Her One More Time

Ji Yanran still remembered being hung from the city wall, while the rebels beside her cackled with vicious laughter:

"Grand Marshal Jiang, if you've got the nerve, shoot your wife!"

The rebel pointed at her heart.

Then Ji Yanran watched Jiang Ling draw his bow and grant the rebel's outrageous wish.

Ji Yanran had a heart condition. It had confined her to a tiny world and tormented her for a lifetime, but none of that hurt as much as the swift, clean arrow that pierced her heart in that moment.

After she died, Jiang Ling offered her blood as a sacrifice and led his army into the city. His forces swept all before them, and he claimed the Central Plains.

It was said that Emperor Taizong of Jin, Jiang Ling, had left a precious pearl behind among the common people. After ascending the throne, he longed for her day and night. Seeing his wishes, his ministers asked him to make Gu Mingzhu, his childhood sweetheart, empress.

Bound by the title of his deceased first empress, Emperor Taizong could only make Gu Mingzhu a Noble Consort. From then on, he left the empress's place empty and the six palaces unfilled, and their love endured for a lifetime, celebrated for ages.

"Tsk, that first empress is such a nuisance." At the academy, the carefree youth beside her tapped his knuckles against the desk.

Ji Yanran smiled. Her sharp ghostly claws sprang out, but she managed to suppress the urge to finish him with a single swipe.

Back then, Emperor Taizong Jiang Ling had been nothing more than an orphan on a fishing boat. If she hadn't fallen for his face, why would she have knelt in the pouring rain for three days and three nights, grinding her knees raw, just to persuade her elder brother, the military governor of Youzhou, to agree?

She had married him, bringing him the military power of an entire province.

After that, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry was wiped out, her brother died a horrible death, and the blood of the Ji family men paved the way for Jiang Ling's conquest of the world.

And what was the result? He shot an arrow through her heart and left her corpse in pieces atop the enemy's city wall, all to create an immortal tale of love between himself and his childhood sweetheart.

Ji Yanran glanced at the youth before her, whose face looked so much like Jiang Ling's. Her heart filled with venom.

She hadn't had the chance to kill Jiang Ling, but she could still take care of his reincarnation. She would humiliate him, ruin him, and make him suffer until he wished he were dead!

The teacher was droning on, while the youth sprawled across his seat, fast asleep.

Ji Yanran wondered, "System, weren't you supposed to make him fall into depravity, fall in love, and lose his chance to take the imperial examinations? Wouldn't that ruin him?

Why does he look so happy now?"

System: "Uh..."

In the palace, Emperor Taizong Jiang Ling slowly opened his eyes. "Imperial Preceptor, will this method truly let me see her again in my next life?"

The Imperial Preceptor fell to his knees and repeatedly struck his forehead against the ground. "Your Majesty, please think this through. What awaits in the next life is surely not worth trading thirty years of your life for."

Jiang Ling was only middle-aged, yet his hair had turned completely white. His brows and eyes had always seemed cold and unfeeling, but now his anguish was plain. "This is fine, too."

"Perhaps... I simply miss her too much..."

(The cover is authorized, but not exclusive.)

Theme: A hero is someone who perseveres.