I Married the Weepy Tyrant

Xie LecI was the youngest daughter of the lord of Beimo, and had been doted on by everyone since childhood.

With her delicate, lovely looks and as the apple of the lord's eye, every man in Beimo wanted to marry her. Even chieftains from across the grasslands came in person to ask for her hand.

Xie LecI didn't want to obey her father's wishes or marry the Xiongnu heir. To escape the marriage, she left Beimo and decided to head for the Central Plains, where she could enjoy a more comfortable life.

On a rainy night, a young man stood in tattered, bloodstained clothes. He cautiously reached out, eyes glistening with tears, and said to Xie LecI, "I... want Big Sister to hold me."

And so, on her journey to escape the marriage, Xie LecI gained a young follower who called her Big Sister.

As Xie LecI traveled with Zhou Ce, making up lies to evade the marriage, she happened to overhear people discussing the tyrant of the Great Liang. She gradually realized that the sensitive, tearful young man by her side, who was gravely ill and depended on her for everything, seemed to be the very tyrant everyone hated.

So Xie LecI packed her things in the middle of the night, leaving Zhou Ce a note and some traveling money.

But Zhou Ce blocked her way.

His long, narrow phoenix eyes were filled with gloom as he stared at Xie LecI.

He gripped her chin, his voice full of pitiful entreaty. "Can you really bear to abandon me, Sister?"

Forced to look up at the young man, Xie LecI saw the cold depths of his gaze.

Perhaps having accepted that the young man had been pretending to be obedient all along, she said innocently, "But we're not siblings."

The young man chuckled and said what he had kept repressed for so long: "If we're not siblings, then we can marry."

"I won't force you, Sister. I'll wait, until you want me of your own free will."

"Until you willingly marry me, love me without a doubt, and... never want to be apart from me."

*

Zhou Ce, Emperor of the Great Liang, was suspicious by nature, violent and ruthless. In just three years on the throne, he had started dozens of wars, and never lost a single one.

Zhou Ce led his troops to attack the Xiongnu. The king was decisive and merciless on the battlefield, but just as he won his first battle, he was ambushed and poisoned with a curse, losing his mind and wandering beyond the frontier.

When he finally escaped the frontier and returned to the Great Liang after enduring countless hardships, the civil and military officials waited in fear in Jinling to welcome His Majesty back to the palace. They saw the usually violent king riding a warhorse in high spirits, a beauty in his arms.

They assumed the king's interest in her would be fleeting, but the officials never imagined she would become the rarest treasure of his life.

Coming soon in my author column: A Sky Full of Peach Blossoms for Brewing Wine. Please add it to your reading list!

Blurb:

He Yun, the legitimate son of the General's residence, and Yun Qi, the sixth young lady of the Earl's residence, had always been sworn enemies who couldn't stand each other.

Unfortunately, their families often socialized.

At five, Yun Qi could recite Tang poetry, while seven-year-old He Yun was getting his ear twisted as Old General He scolded him.

At ten, Yun Qi could play the zither, while He Yun was forced to study martial arts and fainted at the sight of blood.

At thirteen, Yun Qi started school and happened to sit next to He Yun.

The two were always playing pranks on each other. One day, Yun Qi styled He Yun's hair in a girl's bun.

The next, He Yun secretly complained to their teacher: "Yun Qi didn't do the assignment you gave us!"

The teacher turned a blind eye until he could take no more, then moved the two troublemakers to different seats.

The year Yun Qi came of age, Old General He sent He Yun to the military camp. Thinking they would never see each other again, Yun Qi gave He Yun a jar of honey and some pastries she had made herself.

He Yun couldn't bring himself to eat even one bite.

When He Yun returned to the capital with the title of Young General, he found Yun Qi surrounded by a bunch of vulgar admirers:

The young marquis took Yun Qi boating every day.

The second son of the Duke's residence sent Yun Qi beautiful dresses every three days.

The crown prince, who lived in the palace, invited Yun Qi to banquets from time to time.

He Yun suddenly felt that he would never regret spending time honing himself in the military camp.

He was going to nip all these peach blossoms in the bud :)

Theme: Sincerity is precious. Learn to treat others sincerely.