Meeting the Tyrant for the Third Time

Jiang Que transmigrates, but unlike many transmigrators who get a disastrous start, he seems to have won the transmigration lottery. As soon as he arrives, someone takes him in. When he opens his eyes, he sees a somewhat pale but exceptionally handsome face. The man immediately tells him their fates are linked, and that he can only live longer if Jiang Que stays by his side.

And so Jiang Que is kept at the manor as a lucky mascot. He has food and drink aplenty, his spending is unrestricted, and his hobbies are unrestricted too. He can do whatever he wants. It all feels too good to be true.

“Why not just tell me what you want? The way you're acting makes me uneasy.”

The man on the bamboo chair looks perfectly at ease.

“I just want you to be in front of me every day. The Taoist said my illness will get better as long as I see you every day.”

Jiang Que... This is even more supernatural than transmigration.

His peaceful days are shattered by an assassination attempt. Jiang Que takes a knife wound, and when he wakes, he finds himself in a military camp. The man who is always so sickly is wearing armor and looks completely unfamiliar.

“Xiao Que, want to see the land beyond the ninth heaven?”

For the first time, Jiang Que learns his real name: Yin Shirong, the highly controversial emperor in history, Emperor Shengzong of Liang.

He watches Yin Shirong lead his army into the capital, seize the throne in a rebellion, slaughter the aristocratic clans, and reform the state by abolishing abuses.

Yet the iron-fisted emperor, feared by the entire court, continues to dote on him just as before. But the man's health grows worse and worse. After hearing the rumors, Jiang Que can't help asking:

“Are you so good to me because, as people say, I resemble the person you loved?”

“No. You're just you. I'm good to you simply because I want to be.”

At last, as the man lies on the brink of death, he kisses the corner of Jiang Que's lips in his arms, pressing so hard that blood trickles down. In his eyes are regret and sorrow Jiang Que can't understand.

Only then does Jiang Que suddenly remember: this isn't his first transmigration. Yin Shirong has waited twenty years for him, and by the time Jiang Que remembers him, the man in his arms is already gone.

A year later, Jiang Que dies of illness. When he opens his eyes, he's back in a museum, with people nearby discussing Emperor Shengzong of Liang's merits and faults. In that moment, Jiang Que bursts into tears.

When he opens his eyes again, he's back in Liang. Before him stands a young Yin Shirong, dressed in armor, dashing and roguish.

“Well, whose handsome young gentleman is this?”

Jiang Que's eyes turn red.

“Yours.”

Reading guide:

The protagonist transmigrates three times in total. He doesn't remember the first time, and the story begins with the second.

During the second transmigration, the protagonist is 18 and the love interest is 38. The love interest has waited 20 years for him.

During the third transmigration, they both return to their younger selves.

This is a self-indulgent story based on a trope I really like and wanted to write. Not recommended for readers who are extremely particular about their favorite character being the one in control.

Come on in if you want something bittersweet and sweet.

Theme: If there's hope, it can always come true.