The Phoenix Returns to Its Nest

Mu Chen was a madman, and when it came to Lin Qing, he had no reason left.

Once, in a bid to keep her by his side, he committed one deranged act after another. He imprisoned her in the imperial palace, slaughtered everyone she cared about, and forced her to drink his blood, all just so she would look at him.

But in the end, Lin Qing died in his arms.

He could keep her by his side, but not her heart, and certainly not her life.

Cradling Lin Qing's lifeless body and gazing at her pale, paper-white face, Mu Chen was overcome with grief and consumed by regret.

Lin Qing died at the end of autumn. Mu Chen fell apart at the start of winter.

The last scene that came to him before he died was their first meeting.

On a sweltering summer day, as he knelt in punishment on the palace road, an umbrella suddenly appeared above his head.

When he turned to look, the first thing he saw was Lin Qing's clear, bright eyes.

That single glance left him longing for her, unattainable, for the rest of his life.

If there is another life...

He told himself.

If there is another life, he won't force her anymore. He'll simply watch her from afar and wish her a life of peace and happiness.

·

Lin Qing had originally planned to spend just one year in the palace.

She came from the martial world and couldn't stand the rules of the inner palace. Even though the current emperor was her sworn brother and had made her a princess of the highest rank, granting her a title outside the imperial clan, she still planned to leave when her time was up.

But little by little, Lin Qing changed her mind.

Because she had saved a poor little thing.

The poor little thing had lost his mother at a young age and was raised under Consort Zhou's care. Though he was a prince, he was constantly mistreated and ignored.

At first, Lin Qing had simply been overcome by compassion. Later, she wanted to stay until the poor little thing had finished his training.

And then...

She realized she might not want to part with him after all.

·

After taking Mu Chen as her disciple, Lin Qing taught him everything she knew about martial arts.

Mu Chen had excellent potential, but his constitution was rather weak. When he first began training, he was always getting hurt, and every time, Lin Qing would personally care for him, staying by his side day and night.

After yet another injury brought on a high fever, Lin Qing had just wrung out a cloth when he suddenly grabbed her hand in a tight grip.

“Qingqing...” The young man, usually so respectful and polite that he didn't dare touch even a hair on her head, was delirious. His voice hoarse, he murmured, “Don't be so good to me...”

Lin Qing froze, then reached out and tapped his burning forehead.

“Call me Master!” He was getting far too familiar.

She didn't look any deeper into his words, so she never learned what Mu Chen had left unsaid.

Don't be so good to me.

Or I'm afraid I won't be able to control myself...

Reader's guide:

This is the story of the other royal sister and Emperor Shizong, a rebirth story.

The male lead is reborn, but the female lead knows nothing about what happened in her previous life.

The first paragraph of the blurb is the story of their previous life. If you're interested, you can read the royal sister's extra chapter.

It's fine if you don't; it won't affect your reading of this story.

Their story was so tragic that, two years later, Jiujiu wanted to give them a happy ending.

Unlike in their previous life, when his obsessive madness drove his beloved to her death, the male lead will learn to control himself this time.

He's still possessive and obsessive by nature, but the two of them will have a happy ending in this story.

Theme: Love means letting go and wishing the other person well