The Tyrant’s Migraine

*

As a failure at fighting for favor within the family, Wen Shu was abandoned by her clan and sent to the palace, where she became a candidate for the harem of a tyrant with blood on his hands and a foul temper, who was always barking, “Take them away and behead them!”

Wen Shu gritted her teeth and rallied herself in the mirror. Losing at family infighting was no big deal. The palace was a whole new arena for the struggle for favor. If she had a dream, she could make it happen.

Seeing the other candidates trembling beside her, she took a deep breath and pitched her voice high, determined to stand out from the crowd.

“Greetings, Your Majesty~”

The tyrant sneered. “So affected. The candidates are getting worse with every year. You’d barely make it as a palace maid. You think you’re fit to serve me?”

Wen Shu laughed in anger.

To hell with winning the palace intrigue! To hell with it being better to live badly than die well! She was going to smash that dog emperor’s head right now!

She grabbed a flowerpot and leaped up. “You dog emperor! Die!”

I’m going to kill the emperor! I’m going to be remembered throughout history! My name will live forever!

But the next moment, she was back in the carriage on her way to the palace.

Xie Jiuci ascended the throne as a child. He survived brothers turning against one another, a mother and son vying for power, and scheming ministers. He went from a puppet emperor who lived in constant fear to a true ruler with absolute power.

Then came that affected woman. One moment she was batting her eyes at him, the next she was smashing his head in.

The first time, it was a flowerpot. The second time, a stool. The third, fourth, fifth...

Every time he opened his eyes at the selection ceremony and saw that familiar face eyeing a new weapon, his temples throbbed.

On the sixth time, he watched the woman reach eagerly for a vase. The tyrant finally took a deep breath and covered his forehead.

“Stop! Stay in the palace. I’ll make you a Talented Lady.”

Wen Shu raised the half-human-height vase and said flatly, “Dog emperor, my father didn’t send me to the palace to become some low-ranking Talented Lady!”

The tyrant: “...”

Reader’s guide:

1. One true pairing, with a harem that exists in name only.

I’ll let you know!

Theme: Never give up, never abandon hope