After Rising to Power with a Ball the Sickly Beauty Gave Up

[Complete] The next book will be The Tyrant Became a Cat to a Foolish Emperor in Later Generations

[Synopsis]:

Ning Yichu is the fake young master of the Ning family. Everyone around him says he was born vile and shameless.

As a child, he already knew to pretend to be the Ning family's missing young master so he could insinuate himself into a wealthy family.

After the real young master came home, the fake one shamelessly kept clinging to the Nings.

As an adult, he even climbed into the bed of the He family's young master, who was about to get engaged to the real young master.

In the end, he got pregnant as a man, then made a huge public spectacle of it and used the baby to secure his position.

A shameless person like him died early in childbirth. What could be more satisfying?

Ning Yichu knows that everyone around him hates him, including He Shixia, who married him out of a sense of responsibility.

But he doesn't care. He just wants to seize every chance to climb higher.

Only at the brink of life and death does Ning Yichu learn that he's merely a cannon-fodder villain in a story about a fake and a real young master. The real young master of the Ning family is the protagonist.

And Ning Yichu? Born frail and sickly, abandoned, suspected, constantly compared to others, and despised, he gives everything he's got yet gains nothing. In the end, he dies while everyone else celebrates. That's his whole life.

Reborn, Ning Yichu doesn't want to repeat the same mistakes. But he comes back at an inopportune moment: when he opens his eyes, it's the day after he and He Shixia got their marriage certificate.

Looking at his three-months-pregnant belly, Ning Yichu says, "Let's get divorced. I'll have the baby aborted. You can just compensate me with money."

He Shixia is silent for a long time before answering, "All right. Come with me to the show, and then we'll get divorced."

The award-winning actor He Shixia announces his marriage at the height of his fame. Rumor has it that he married a one-night stand after getting them pregnant.

To put an end to the scandal about his promiscuity, He Shixia agrees to appear on a variety show and promises Ning Yichu that they'll go together.

In his previous life, Ning Yichu was cautious at every turn on the show and tried to keep everything under control, yet things always went wrong. In the end, nearly everyone wanted him gone.

This time, Ning Yichu gives up trying to please anyone. He doesn't care what anybody thinks, and just plans to collect his appearance fee, finish filming, and go home to get divorced.

When faced with a popular young star who seems friendly but really wants to humiliate him,

Ning Yichu goes straight for the jugular: "Do your fans know you have a girlfriend? Does your girlfriend know you're married and planning to have a third child? Do your teammates know you deliberately got one of them injured and stole his opportunities?"

When faced with someone who makes no secret of wanting to trample him into the dirt and is secretly in love with the real young master,

Ning Yichu makes a scorched-earth declaration: "I climbed into He Shixia's bed and ruined the chance of the two families arranging his engagement to Young Master Ning. Wasn't that to give you a chance to pursue Young Master Ning? So why haven't you gotten divorced and gone after the one you love?"

When his nominal husband, He Shixia, takes thoughtful care of him,

Ning Yichu refuses: "We'll divorce once the show's over. Stop pretending we're lovey-dovey. It's a hassle, and it's not as if I'm going to praise your skills in bed when I don't mean it."

Netizens: Huh? Are we really allowed to hear this?

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After filming ends, Ning Yichu takes out the divorce papers.

He Shixia discusses it with a perfectly straight face: "If we divorce now, you'll only get a small amount of money. But if you help me keep up the marriage for another three years, I'll increase your compensation tenfold."

Ning Yichu: "...You can't turn down money just to prove a point."

But three years later, He Shixia says, "If you help me keep up the marriage for another five years, I'll increase it twentyfold."

Ning Yichu: "..."

[Advance blurb written 20241109]

[Edited slightly 20250929]

※Advance title 1: The Tyrant Became a Cat to a Foolish Emperor in Later Generations

Synopsis: On the day the capital of the Great Yu dynasty fell, the last emperor, Yu Qiyuan, burned himself to death in the palace.

Later generations would say: "Emperor Ai of Yu, Qiyuan, was tyrannical and cruel throughout his life. Yet his final act of giving his life for his country showed the bearing of an emperor, and deserved to be remembered in the history books."

Hearing what people in the future said, Yu Qiyuan really wanted to explain: "You've got it all wrong. I wasn't giving my life for my country. I drank too much and didn't watch the charcoal fire."

But he can't speak now... or rather, he can't speak human words.

Yu Qiyuan was reborn a hundred years later, as a cat.

After the Great Yu dynasty fell, the new Zhuang dynasty was founded.

A hundred years have passed, and now the Zhuang dynasty is also on the brink of collapse.

As luck would have it, the current emperor, Zhuang Yiwei, "remains calm in the face of danger." Since ascending the throne, he has neglected state affairs and spent his days in idleness and self-indulgence, acting every bit the foolish emperor.

The tyrant Yu Qiyuan just so happens to become a cat in the Zhuang imperial palace, and the foolish emperor Zhuang Yiwei takes him in and keeps him close.

Though both are emperors hated by the people, Yu Qiyuan really can't stand Zhuang Yiwei.

The foolish emperor mutters to himself all day, like a spider, "I want to get online."

Yu Qiyuan gets sick of listening and tries to run away, but Zhuang Yiwei pins him down and gives him a good rub.

Reborn as a cat, with none of his imperial dignity left, Yu Qiyuan angrily kicks Zhuang Yiwei a few times.

To his surprise, the foolish emperor is delighted. "What a strong little darling!"

Yu Qiyuan: "..."

The foolish emperor is useless and incompetent, and doesn't even have a temper. When ministers point at his nose and scold him, he just grins.

The tyrant Yu Qiyuan has never put up with such treatment in his life. At once, he slaps... or rather, swats the minister across the face.

The minister wants to catch the wicked cat and skin it alive, but Zhuang Yiwei only covers Yu Qiyuan's ears. "Don't listen, darling. They're just haters."

Yu Qiyuan thinks the man is a complete coward and, furious that he won't stand up for himself, swats Zhuang Yiwei too.

The foolish emperor doesn't get angry. He just mutters to himself again: "Do cats get rabies these days? Do house cats that roam freely need vaccinations?"

Yu Qiyuan: "..."

The foolish emperor is also afraid of ghosts and doesn't dare sleep alone. He insists on cuddling Yu Qiyuan's cat body in bed.

Furiously held against his will, Yu Qiyuan punches and kicks Zhuang Yiwei.

The emperor hisses in pain as he coaxes him. "Don't hit my face, darling. If the country falls, I'll have to make a living off my looks to support you."

With no way to escape, Yu Qiyuan gives up on everything and uses Zhuang Yiwei as a pillow.

One night, Zhuang Yiwei suddenly feels that the cat on top of him has gotten much heavier.

Half asleep, he reaches over to feel the cat. "Darling, have you gotten fat... Ow?!"

Instead of soft fur, Zhuang Yiwei feels smooth, bare skin.

He jolts awake, only to find an enchanting, breathtakingly beautiful... man sprawled on top of him.

Yu Qiyuan wakes at his startled cry and realizes he's turned back into a human.

"I know you." Zhuang Yiwei pokes Yu Qiyuan's face, staring blankly. "You're that narcissist Emperor Ai of Yu who painted self-portraits of himself his whole life!"

Emperor Ai of Yu, Yu Qiyuan: "..."

Zhuang Yiwei looks troubled. "Whether you're human or a ghost, where's my cat? Give me my cat back first."

Yu Qiyuan thinks for a moment, then smiles wickedly. "I need a sacrifice to return to life. Your cat's already been eaten. Now it's your turn."

Looking at Yu Qiyuan, whose long hair is his only covering, Zhuang Yiwei stammers, "...Even if you're handsome, you should still mind your table manners. Why don't you put some clothes on first?"

Yu Qiyuan: "..."

-

Word gets out from the palace that His Majesty is becoming ever more addicted to pleasure. He used to be obsessed with keeping cats, but now he's keeping a person too! A man of unknown origins, no less!

They say the man has the bearing of an immortal and is greatly favored by His Majesty. They eat and sleep together, never apart.

The palace servants also say that the man shows His Majesty no respect. He is either being insolent or telling him to get lost, and even dares to call himself "I, the emperor"! Yet His Majesty still can't bear to part with him!

The officials are outraged by this disgraceful state of affairs. The censors threaten to remonstrate to the death, hoping to make His Majesty see the error of his ways and execute the male consort who is ruining the country.

Just then, Yu Qiyuan walks out from behind the screen. "Male consort? You mean me?"

The officials: "..."

His Majesty has taken in a man who looks like the last emperor of the previous dynasty, given him the name of that last emperor, and even had him imitate the former emperor's violent temperament and call himself "I, the emperor"...

The officials: So His Majesty isn't just lost in beauty. He's become so obsessed with Emperor Ai of Yu that he's gone mad?

...That's even more shocking! The Zhuang dynasty is doomed!

※Advance title 2: Don't Pick Up Rabbits from the Abyss

Synopsis: The monsters of the abyss find a newborn white rabbit and name him Bai Mang. They think he's a soft, sweet little darling, and all fight over who gets to raise him. But it turns out the little rabbit is a calamity incarnate...

A dragon hoards countless glittering treasures in its cave. One day, while doing its regular inventory, it discovers that every treasure is riddled with little holes.

The dragon roars, "Which bastard messed with my treasure?!"

Bai Mang clutches a gemstone, munching away. "Huh? I'm not allowed to chew on it?"

The dragon sobs. "Oh no... The baby's teething. Fine, chew away. Want to go teethe on the Black Goat's stuff too?"

The Black Goat despises the dragon's stinginess and points to its own stone cave, telling Bai Mang to chew whatever he likes.

Bai Mang hops onto the tender wild grass the Black Goat went to so much trouble to find and gobbles it all up.

The Black Goat holds back its grief. "...Is Mang Mang full?"

Bai Mang hops into a corner of the cave and starts digging, shouting that he's hungry as he digs.

The Black Goat goes out to find food. Suddenly, it hears an earth-shaking crash. It turns toward the sound and sees its cave collapsing, collapsing, collapsing...

Bai Mang jumps out of the pile of fallen rocks, staring innocently at the Black Goat with red eyes.

The heartbroken Black Goat sends Bai Mang to live with a mutant capybara, who is calm and kind.

The capybara lives in the water and isn't afraid of Bai Mang tearing things apart. But Bai Mang dislikes the water, so he keeps stomping on the capybara's back.

The capybara worries so much that it finishes chewing through a patch of water grass, then, despite its body being broken from all the stomping, carries Bai Mang off to the next monster's home.

At last, amid the abyss monsters' sorrowful, anxious waiting, Bai Mang grows up and learns to transform into a human.

The monsters hurry to pack his things. They wrap up a pile of rocks and grass in banana leaves and send him away from the abyss.

Clutching the banana leaves and chewing on the antlers the reindeer just shed this year, Bai Mang says reluctantly, "I don't want to leave home..."

The monsters all encourage him at once. "Mang Mang's all grown up. It's time to go out and broaden your horizons. Off you go, off you go."

If this little troublemaker doesn't leave, he'll demolish the entire abyss!

-

After leaving the abyss, Bai Mang accidentally finds the entrance to an underground city where humans live.

During the inspection, he opens the banana leaves and explains to the guard, "These are my toys and food."

Hearing his innocent words and seeing the rocks and wild grass in his hands, everyone nearby looks at him with sympathy.

After entering the underground city, Bai Mang is curious about his new surroundings and excitedly hops around, running laps through the room.

The dormitory building, meant to be his temporary home, is poorly built and collapses under his feet.

A house collapsing is nothing new to Bai Mang. He climbs out of the rubble, thinking it's no big deal.

...But this time, it seems like a pretty big deal.

Bai Mang is brought to the interrogation room in handcuffs. Sitting opposite him is Fu Huo, an expert specially invited by the underground city.

Fu Huo senses Bai Mang's true identity. "You're a mutant rabbit."

The monsters of the abyss warned Bai Mang not to reveal that he isn't human, so he silently pulls out a blade of grass and offers it to Fu Huo. "Want some? This grass is really tender."

Fu Huo: "...Are you trying to bribe me?"

Then one day...

Bai Mang gets upset, so Fu Huo goes to the abyss and picks him a handful of grass. He brings it back and tries to cheer the little rabbit up. "Want some? It tastes like home."

A bystander who doesn't know the story but happens to overhear: ...I'd heard that Expert Bai came from a poor family, but I never knew he really grew up eating grass back in his hometown. How pitiful!

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Theme: Cherish life and live with optimism