The Little Mermaid’s Thoughts were Overheard by the Tyrant

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Synopsis:

Rong Yin died saving someone and, by the will of Heaven, transmigrated into the body of a merfolk, giving him the one year of life he had originally been meant to have.

The merfolk was breathtakingly beautiful, and his tears turned into pearls. He was captured and presented to the ruler.

Only when Rong Yin saw the emperor, whose face was dark with gloom, did he realize he had transmigrated into a novel he had read before.

In the original story, the emperor was just a background character. He ended the chaos and became the founding emperor, but suffered from severe insomnia, which made him cruel and bloodthirsty.

During his five years on the throne, countless officials died at his hands. Everyone in the court lived in fear, secretly cursing him as a tyrant.

Deprived of sleep and in poor health, and working far too hard, the tyrant Zong Zheng Xiao died in the prime of his life.

After Zong Zheng Xiao's death, his nephew, the original novel's male lead, succeeded him. He and the female lead, a princess of the former dynasty, then embarked on a torturous romance that lasted a million words.

*

Rong Yin thought that falling into the hands of the tyrant Zong Zheng Xiao meant his remaining year would be miserable. To his surprise, Zong Zheng Xiao treated him extraordinarily well.

The pool was too cramped for him to swim in, so Zong Zheng Xiao had a huge one built. When he was injured, Zong Zheng Xiao personally applied medicine. When he was hungry, Zong Zheng Xiao fed him delicacies...

The only thing Rong Yin disliked was Zong Zheng Xiao's habit of pinching his cheeks.

Rong Yin grumbled quietly to himself: What a lecher.

That only made Zong Zheng Xiao pinch him even more.

One day, the original novel's male lead appeared. As Rong Yin lay sunbathing on Zong Zheng Xiao's lap, he thought: Is this the nephew who, after ascending the throne, made the former dynasty's princess his empress, letting the remnants of the old dynasty wreak havoc in court and nearly destroy the country?

Not long afterward, palace servants cleaning the pool gossiped that Zong Zheng Xiao's nephew had secretly allied with the remnants of the former dynasty. A few days earlier, he and his wife, the former dynasty's princess, had both been beheaded, and the rest of the conspirators had been wiped out as well.

Only then did Rong Yin realize Zong Zheng Xiao could hear his thoughts.

Remembering all the times he'd cursed Zong Zheng Xiao in his head, Rong Yin was so frightened that he shrank under the water. Zong Zheng Xiao still scooped him right out.

Rong Yin trembled. Zong Zheng Xiao smiled at him. “A Yin, could you tell me in detail about those things you mentioned before, like papermaking, gunpowder, and coal?”

Rong Yin: “If I tell you, will you let me go?”

Zong Zheng Xiao: “No. I also want you to be my empress.”

Rong Yin: QAQ

Rong Yin: “You want it all, you shameless lecher!”

Zong Zheng Xiao smiled. “Yes, I am.”

Rong Yin: “...”

Theme: Bring prosperity to the people and strength to the nation