They Regretted It After I Died

In the early years of the Great Xuan dynasty, the founding emperor established the Hidden Edge Pavilion to keep watch over his officials. Hidden from public view, the pavilion handled all manner of dirty work that could never see the light of day. It was a sharp blade in the emperor's hand.

Thus, an unwritten rule took hold in Great Xuan: whoever possessed the Hidden Edge Pavilion would possess the realm.

Shen Wuyu is the twenty-first head of the Hidden Edge Pavilion. He has executed corrupt officials and personally slain members of the imperial family. He has carried out countless raids and exterminations, his sins too numerous to wash away. Countless people curse him, saying he will surely fall into the Avici Hell after death.

According to rumor, Pavilion Master Shen has a bewitchingly beautiful face and moves among several princes of Great Xuan, provoking them to turn against one another.

The licentious Third Prince is willing to remain chaste for him. The Fourth Prince, famed for his talent, writes him a thousand-character poem. The Eighth and Ninth Princes, just returned from the battlefield, come to blows over him...

People are always expressing their admiration for Shen Wuyu, but he keeps everyone at arm's length, neither refusing them nor accepting them.

He gradually amasses such power that he rises above the aging emperor, and ultimately forces his way into the palace to rebel.

The various factions rush to defend the emperor. In full view of everyone, Prince Chen, guardian of the northern frontier, cuts him down atop the city gate, ending his legendary life.

*

Shen Wuyu considers himself a conscientious worker and a diligent official, but none of his potential future rulers have their heads on straight. Not one of them is worth devoting the rest of his life to.

The haughty and proud Pavilion Master Shen has no interest in choosing a master from a crowd of fools, so he turns his attention elsewhere.

After weighing his options, he chooses Prince Chen, who has no desire for the throne, and plans to coax him into rebellion.

Unfortunately, Prince Chen is a loyal, kind-hearted man who refuses to seize his elder brother's realm and treats Shen Wuyu with great coldness.

After several failed attempts to lure him, Shen Wuyu gives up. When he learns of the fools' assassination plot, he uses it to his advantage and dies by Prince Chen's blade.

Seeing the shock on Prince Chen's usually impassive face, Shen Wuyu feels the malice churning inside him finally settle.

Shen Wuyu fakes his death and slips away, concealing his identity and leaving the court behind.

He thought that after his death, all those absurd romantic rumors would naturally fall apart. Instead, they spread even further, and one unexpected person was added to the mix.

Prince Chen subdues his imperial nephews, takes the throne, and becomes emperor. Rumor has it that Prince Chen is guarding Great Xuan's realm for Pavilion Master Shen.

Shen Wuyu: What kind of horror story is this?

*

Shen Wuyu is the most flamboyant head the Hidden Edge Pavilion has ever had, a blade with its edge fully exposed. Everyone who covets the throne wants to control him, yet no one can have him.

If they can't have him, they'll destroy him. Every one of them is an accomplice in plotting his death, convinced it's worth it for the supreme throne.

But once Shen Wuyu is dead, they realize just how important he was to them.

They summon his spirit, pray, and beseech the gods, but they can never see Shen Wuyu again.

Until Prince Chen subdues them and forces them to bow in submission. On the day of the new emperor's wedding, Shen Wuyu, dressed in wedding robes, steps down from the phoenix palanquin.

The princes glare in fury, but can only watch helplessly as Shen Wuyu is drawn into the new emperor's arms, forever beyond their reach.

Flirtatious beauty, young Pavilion Master x emotionally distant general

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