My Chancellor Father Cannot Die Even If He Wants To

Cen Li suffers from a heart condition. Young, yet already ruthless and battle-hardened, he is charged with stabilizing the imperial court.

The incompetent emperor ascends the throne and resents him, saying, “I shine like the moon, high in the heavens, yet you alone refuse to shine on me.” His tantrums plunge the land into chaos and put the realm in peril.

So Cen Li deposes the incompetent ruler and installs a new emperor. He becomes chancellor, is honored by the new emperor as “Imperial Father,” and commits many “misdeeds” to clear the way for him and win the court's support.

In just a few years, Cen Li's hair turns white at the temples and his face grows haggard. Knowing he has little time left, he makes secret arrangements.

A year later.

The new emperor, Shen Zhan, surrounds the chancellor's residence with his troops and demands tearfully, “Imperial Father, why did you collude with foreign powers and embezzle the treasury? Give me a reason, and I'll forgive you.”

Cen Li smiles as gently as a spring breeze. “A ruler must punish everyone equally, no matter how powerful, to command respect at court. Your heart is too soft, Your Majesty.”

He takes poison and dies by suicide, his white robes turning red.

But he closes his eyes, then opens them, and finds he hasn't died.

The young emperor's bloodshot eyes are right before him. The other man tears up all the documents in which Cen Li incriminated himself and throws his years of achievements back in his face, saying bitterly, “You are like the bright moon in the sky. Why won't you shine on me alone?!”

Cen Li: I gave you my life when I called you “Imperial Father”! Doesn't that count as shining on you?

Shen Zhan: Who wants your life? I want you!

Cen Li: ...?

[Notes]

※ A sickly, youthful father figure x a scheming young man with a fatherly air. 1v1, happy ending, but others also like the uke (one-sided feelings, no change of seme). This is not a rebirth story. He just tried and failed to die.

※ An entirely made-up alternate world. It won't be too short. The writing isn't great, and I love nitpicking over wording.

※ Mainly told from the uke's perspective, but that doesn't mean the seme has none. No preference for either side (including tops and bottoms, men and women), so readers with strong preferences should read with discretion.

Theme: Establish our hearts for Heaven and Earth, and our lives for the people.