My Husband Is Frail and Sickly

[Updated daily. My next book will be My Humble Self Is Truly Apprehensive. Please read the reader's guide below the blurb before starting. Thank you, everyone!] Rong Tang once read a book. The villain in it, Su Huaijing, was a heaven-blessed prodigy, the archetypal beautiful, powerful, and tragic character: a brilliant villain on a revenge-and-leveling-up path. Sadly, his characterization fell apart, and he met a miserable end. Then, after transmigrating, Rong Tang became a sickly cannon-fodder character who shared his name and died early in the story. He was also bound to a System tasked with saving the male lead, and he was reborn three times in total. The first time, he devoted himself to staying by the male lead's side and helping him evade schemes by various cannon fodder characters and villains. In the end, he was poisoned and killed. Mission failed. The second time, he tried to handle both sides, assisting the male lead while also approaching the villain. The male lead stabbed him to death. Mission failed. Reborn for the third time, Rong Tang thought, To hell with the male lead. I'm done saving him. So, on the night the great villain Su Huaijing was drugged and tied up, Rong Tang, supporting his frail body and trying not to cough up a lung, barged into a room at a brothel, helped him through the effects of the drug, and earnestly asked, “Would you like to marry me?” Su Huaijing: “?” - Rong Tang was gravely ill and stayed by Su Huaijing's side all the way, reminding him every few days, “Don't worry. When I die, all my inheritance will be yours.” Then, with the outcome all but decided and Su Huaijing about to ascend the throne, the mission miraculously declared itself complete. Amid his delight, Rong Tang made a guilt-free escape, faking his death to protect the emperor's reputation. But before he could even leave the capital, the imperial guards surrounded him. Hunting falcons circled overhead, hunting dogs drooled, and the officials knelt in rows on either side. The little donkey Rong Tang had bought along the way kept sneezing in fright. The emperor, dressed in bright yellow imperial robes, approached from behind the crowd with a smile, taking one step after another, and asked him tenderly, “Husband, are you abandoning your wife and child after seducing me?” Rong Tang: “?” You can have children? No, wait! Is it appropriate for the one on top to identify with the wife's role like that!? The emperor came to stand before him, looked up, and held out a hand with a smile. “Come back with me. I'll share half the realm with you.” - A little bonus scene: One day, in some year and month, Rong Tang finished dinner and lay in the courtyard to enjoy the cool evening air, as usual discussing the future with Su Huaijing. “I probably only have two years left. When the time comes, remember to reclaim the estate in Longxi...” Su Huaijing expressionlessly poured a bowl of bitter medicine into his mouth. Then, on another day in some year and month, Rong Tang finished reading a storybook and nestled by the brazier to warm himself, earnestly bidding Su Huaijing farewell. “I probably won't last another two months. If you think the house in the west of the city is too small, I also bought you one in the south...” Su Huaijing gritted his teeth and fed him three fist-sized pills. And on yet another day in some year and month, the lotus blossoms were in full bloom in the imperial garden, and Rong Tang sat by the bridge eating lotus pastries. “I might die tomorrow. Remember to bury me...” Su Huaijing could take no more. He bent down and kissed him to shut him up. A moment later, the emperor, who never let his emotions show, slowly drew back and looked at his empress. “Have I never told you that I'm the best doctor in all of Great Yu?” “If you say that again, I'll take it as you making trouble at the clinic.” We shall share this realm, and lie together amid these mountains and rivers. Reader's guide: 1. Top and bottom are devoted to each other, one-on-one, happy ending. 2. At heart, this is a sweet romance. The setting is entirely fictional, and the author's logic is extremely, extremely dead. Please set your brain aside before reading. Much appreciated.jpg 3. Unless otherwise specified, anyone whose face can't be recognized in the story should be assumed to have had their face changed. 4. The cover uses an artist's character-design template and is authorized, but not exclusive. 5. The side couple's pairing is Ke as the top and Mu as the bottom! Ke as the top and Mu as the bottom!! No switching or splitting them up!!! 6. Writing is hard. Please don't mention other works in the comments here, or this work in the comments on other books. Thank you, thank you. 7. Wishing everyone a happy life and riches soon! Coming soon: My Humble Self Is Truly Apprehensive [A sweet little story about a couple falling in love all over again after one spouse loses his memory] In the seventh year of the emperor and chancellor's secret marriage, torrential rains struck the south, the river burst its banks, and the people suffered terribly. The powerful chancellor, Li Xiu, volunteered to head south and oversee flood control. After three months, he had finished inspecting the villages along the river and repairing a thousand dikes. On the carriage ride back to the capital, Li Xiu looked at the hundreds of letters in a wooden box and felt a headache coming on. Oh no. I got so caught up in flood control that I forgot to read my darling husband's love letters... Li Xiu estimated how far they had to travel, then read the letters the emperor had sent by urgent courier, day and night, writing a reply to each one. At last, the letters were all answered, and the convoy returned to the capital. The chancellor looked up, dark circles under his eyes, and promptly fainted. The emperor, who had been alone in his bed for three months, hadn't even had a chance to get a good look at his wife before seeing him collapse into a guard's arms. His teeth ground with rage. Very well. He hadn't replied to my letters, hadn't looked after himself, and now he dared let another man carry him right in front of me. Does he even have the slightest respect for me as emperor? The emperor stepped down from his palanquin and snatched the chancellor from the guard in front of all the officials, carrying him back to his bedchamber himself. The court was shaken. The next day, the overworked chancellor slowly woke to a sea of bright yellow. Someone was staring at him with a dark expression. He jolted in fright, clutching the quilt as he rolled to the corner of the bed. “...Who are you?” The emperor: “?” This is outrageous! I haven't even settled the score, and my wife already doesn't want me anymore!? He was gone for just three months, and his heart had already changed? Who in this realm could possibly be a better man than him!? The emperor glared furiously at his chancellor for a long while, then abruptly flung his sleeves and stormed out. “Investigate! Find out everyone the chancellor met on this trip and everything he said. Don't spare even a single male rabbit!” He wanted to see who dared try to steal his man! - Li Xiu had been feeling a little troubled lately. He had transmigrated from being an immature college student into ancient times, becoming a brilliant, powerful chancellor who had to stay up late cramming knowledge and working himself to the bone just to keep his character consistent. That was bad enough. But the emperor of this country seemed to have something wrong with his head. The emperor stared at him throughout court, then after court Li Xiu had to go to the Hall of Diligent Governance to discuss affairs. By the time the day was finally over, and he could at last return home, the emperor would gaze at him pitifully like an abandoned puppy. Every time Li Xiu left the palace, he had to pat the emperor on the head twice, all the while worrying that one day the emperor might kill him. He was practically in a state of constant apprehension. Then, after the court officials once again submitted a memorial asking the emperor to choose consorts, the emperor flew into a rage, stepped down from the throne, dismissed all the officials and guards, and stood before Li Xiu. His voice was hoarse and aggrieved. “You want me to choose consorts?” Terrified by the emperor's imposing presence, Li Xiu said, “Your Majesty should consider the heirs to the throne.” The emperor was furious. “But you can't give birth!” Li Xiu: “?” The emperor: “You're my wife. If we need an heir, you can give birth yourself!” Li Xiu was silent for what felt like a century, then shook his head. “I don't believe you.” The emperor: “It's true!” Li Xiu: “Where's the proof?” The emperor brought out two locks of hair tied with red string, a wine jug, two cups, three large chests of perfectly preserved letters, and the daily records compiled by the court diarist... The emperor recited them like a treasured collection. “This is the lock of hair we tied when we got married. This is the jug and these are the cups we used for our wedding wine. These are the daily records. Take a look for yourself. Apart from the nights you sent me to the Imperial Academy, when have we ever spent a night apart?” The emperor's voice was full of resentment as he protested, “And you still want me to choose consorts? You have no heart.” Li Xiu: “...” Oh no. It seemed to be true. Those really were his own words! Theme: Cherish life, cherish your spouse.