[Reborn Empress vs. Stoic Court Official]
The Xian family was framed for treason and executed to the last member. Only Xian Zhiyuan narrowly escaped.
She had originally planned to clear her family's name, but after learning the cruel truth, she chose to endure the humiliation. Then, one day, she raised an army, seized the throne, and proclaimed herself emperor.
The first thing she did after becoming emperor was slaughter every one of her enemies, sparing only Luo Qingwu, the man she had once loved.
She hated herself for being so blind.
Using his mother's life to threaten him, she confined him within the Golden Throne Hall and went to great lengths to humiliate him.
Wasn't he always so proud of his noble, upright scholar's bearing? Then she would strip him of every shred of dignity and make him a laughingstock throughout the land!
But he died before she did.
Looking at his battered, broken body, she said nothing. She turned around and slaughtered five cities, finally provoking public outrage.
Empress Qingzhao was abandoned by all, and in the end, she was stabbed to death.
Fate toyed with her, giving her a second life at the age of seventeen.
Looking back on her life, she had avenged her family, but walked alone, suffering terribly. In this new life, she would stop everything from happening and change the fate of her family, who had died so tragically!
When she met Luo Qingwu again, she used him and then kept her distance, with no time to get entangled with him again. Who could have guessed that the usually restrained man would start pressing closer at every turn, refusing to let her go?
*
Luo Qingwu loved Xian Zhiyuan, but unfortunately, she seemed not to know it.
Watching the Xian family fall into danger, he racked his brains and was willing to jeopardize his own future, all to help her out of trouble.
But she suddenly turned cold and avoided him as if he were a plague. The closer he came, the farther she fled.
He had always thought that family troubles weighed on her and left her no room for love, until he saw her laughing and chatting with another man. He could no longer hold back. Cornering her against a wall, eyes red, he demanded, "Why did you abandon me? I'm still useful. I can do so many things."
*
He could accept her using him and deceiving him, but he could not accept her not loving him.
If she couldn't stand seeing the weak be humiliated, then he could just keep playing the weak one.
Content warnings:
1. An imaginary setting with creative liberties. Please don't overthink the details.
2. The heroine and several male characters are reborn; the hero is not. In her previous life, the heroine misunderstood the hero, and only gradually learns the truth later.
3. The heroine does not become emperor in the ending. If that's not your thing, feel free to turn back now.
4. The plot comes first, with romance as a secondary focus. For the heroine, this is a plot-driven story; for the hero, it's romance-driven...
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Theme: Once upon a time, someone loved you for a long time
