TFRLTOP Chapter 60 Part 1

Chapter 60: The Tyrant’s Beloved

The Lonely Emperor

Emperor Wanqian stormed out of Falling Snow Pavilion, striding into the cold night air. The chill wind cooled his fury—only halfway.

His temper had settled, but his anger had not.

He wasn’t even sure what exactly he was mad about. Wasn’t it his idea to single out those three in the first place, just to see what they were hiding?

Now that they had slipped up, it was the perfect excuse to wipe out their entire family.

Not only were they consorting with remnants of the old dynasty, but they had the gall to plot an assassination against him inside his own palace.

Wanqian let out a furious laugh. Such bold and cunning sisters. Jiang Wenyuan might not have had sons, but he had raised three daughters sharper than any man.

He nearly gave the order for their execution right then, but every time the words reached his lips, he swallowed them back.

He glanced down at the lines in his palm. As a boy, he had once sneaked out of the palace and asked an old blind fortune-teller for his fate. The old man told him he was born under the Star of Solitude—destined to live as a lonely man. At the time, he’d been pleased. The late emperor often told him, “To be emperor is to be alone. You will spend your life with no one at your side…” The boy had thought the fortune-teller must be gifted—after all, he had seen that he was meant to rule.

An emperor’s fate is to be lonely. Hadn’t he known that all along?

Then why hadn’t he just crushed her throat earlier?

It would have saved him the trouble.

Lost in thought, Wanqian paced the palace path for a long while, then abruptly turned back, trailed by a crowd of attendants.

Back inside the palace, Jiang Ruotian was seething. The operation had failed, she had exposed herself, and she had only her idiot “sister” Jiang Fuling to thank.

Now that they’d been discovered, the emperor’s wrath was inevitable. This place was no longer safe. She was already thinking of packing up and fleeing when Jiang Fuling came running, sobbing hysterically.

“Big sister—waahhh…”

Ruotian’s headache doubled instantly.

Fuling’s sudden appearance earlier had forced her to call off the plan. She hadn’t wanted to harm her, so she decided to delay. Her men had mistaken it for strategy, but the truth was simple: Jiang Fuling wasn’t her real sister at all. At most, she was just someone from the same hometown.

Ruotian hadn’t expected her to be so gullible, so reckless, and so easily manipulated by Jiang Zelan. If not for saving her, Ruotian wouldn’t have been exposed in the first place.

Now she was torn—should she take this burden with her when she escaped, or leave her behind to certain death?

She hadn’t decided when time ran out. The emperor’s decree came down: they were confined to the palace.

Perhaps she would have to break out by force. And yet… the emperor had not followed up with punishment. Could there still be room for maneuver?

Her thoughts turned, inevitably, to Jiang Zelan…

Fuling clutched her sleeve in panic when she heard of their confinement, weeping and sniffling miserably.

Ruotian soothed her absently, but she too found it strange. With the tyrant’s temperament, why had he spared them so easily? After some thought, she sent word to her allies: wait and watch.

Meanwhile, Mingming had just barely recovered from her fright. “Oh my God, he really is a genuine tyrant. I nearly died of terror…”

She cursed at her system. “What kind of analysis was that? This isn’t anything like what you promised. Now I’ve offended both sides. Don’t tell me this was your plan all along—to pretend to help me, but really just throw me into misery so I’d obediently suffer abuse?!”

She ranted on, “Figures—never trust an outsider. You bastard, you’ve ruined me. I’ll never believe you again!”

The system hadn’t expected this outcome either, but could only play dumb, whistling innocently.

“So what now? Is he about to order my death?” Mingming asked, face tragic. “Of course… life was too easy in my last world. Now I’m paying the price.”

The system thought privately that she was right about the punishment, but for the wrong reason.

“It’s fine. If he chops your head off, I’ll just block your pain receptors and we’ll jump to the next world,” it consoled.

“QAQ… So I really can’t be saved, huh?”

Clutching a bronze mirror, Mingming examined the red marks around her neck. “Look at this! In a while, it’s going to bruise. He was so cruel! I’m so pitiful. This abuse is way too much. See how badly I’ve suffered? Doesn’t that mean I should be allowed to clear this world already?”

“Stop looking. Bruise or not, that mark will vanish soon enough,” the system said.

“Bullshit! It’s just that this mirror’s blurry. If I had a modern HD mirror, my neck would look horrifying right now!”

At that moment, Wanqian appeared at the doorway, watching as she tilted the mirror this way and that, muttering, “At least he only choked me. If he’d ruined my face, that would’ve been a disaster.”

Something in him shifted. So, this woman cherished her looks above all—forever preening in front of her mirror, fussing with clothes that she mismatched herself. Her taste was questionable, but her face… was indeed beautiful.

He’d even brought in court ladies to dress her properly, but she had refused—delighting instead in her own odd combinations.

And yet, after looking at her long enough, even that seemed… tolerable.

Mingming finally admitted to herself the marks were fading, set the mirror down in frustration, and was just about to find some snacks to comfort her wounded soul when she turned around—and nearly collapsed.

The emperor was standing in the doorway.

She dropped back into her seat, fidgeting, instinctively reaching for her throat.

So she was frightened.

Wanqian thought, watching her closely.

He strode in. Behind him, servants entered quickly to set something on the table before retreating and shutting the door.

Mingming barely noticed. Seeing the emperor approach, she grew more flustered, her lips moving soundlessly, forgetting even to bow.

“So, no more pretense? You’ve even forgotten palace etiquette?” Wanqian sat boldly at the table, his gaze cold.

Startled, Mingming hurried to kneel, but second-guessed herself—was she supposed to curtsey instead? Before she could decide, he seized her arm and pulled her down—straight onto his lap.

!!!

She yelped and tried to stand, but he locked an arm around her waist.

“Don’t move,” he commanded.

The pose was far too intimate. Mingming froze.

He tilted her chin, inspecting the marks on her neck. She lowered her gaze, letting him turn her this way and that. Finally, he released her, picked up something from the table—an ice pack.

“Ah!”

The cold pressed against her throat, making her shiver.

They stayed silent as he held it there. After a while, he wiped away the dampness with a cloth, then opened a small porcelain bottle and began applying ointment.

Mingming was stunned. Is this… guilt? Did he realize I’m innocent and come to apologize?

“Tsk. What a proud man—he can’t even say sorry like a normal person…”

Just as relief spread through her, Wanqian spoke again. “Such a timid girl… and yet bold enough to plot regicide.”

Wait—he still suspected her?!

Mingming thought bitterly: whether I deny it or not, I’m dead either way. Better to go down fighting than be wrongly condemned.

“I didn’t! Who told you that? Did you even check before pinning this on me?!”

Wanqian sneered. “How did Jiang Wenyuan train you? You enchant me, Jiang Fuling enrages me, while Jiang Ruotian hides in the shadows waiting to strike. You really think I can’t see through you?”

Yet his fingers kept gently smoothing ointment over her skin.

Mingming stared at him, speechless. There were too many holes in his logic to even argue.

“I didn’t! Why would I want to kill you? I was only upset because I thought you liked my sister. I was being poisoned every day back then—I could hardly eat! I thought I was just being targeted. But after you stayed with me, the poisoning stopped. I only wanted to repay you. Sure, maybe I messed it up, but that doesn’t mean I tried to kill you!” Her voice wavered, her lips trembling. “And another thing—”

She babbled on, but Wanqian wasn’t listening. He was staring at her lips, entranced. Her words faded to meaningless noise. With a low growl of “Nonsense,” he cupped her nape and silenced her with a kiss.

“Mm—!”

Her protest was swallowed. She pushed against him, but he only pulled her tighter, crushing her to him.

His tongue forced its way past her lips, hot and demanding, turning her weak resistance into something that looked too much like surrender. When he finally drew back, a string of silver connected their mouths. He lingered, biting her lower lip until it bled, then licked away every drop.

“Once more—are you telling the truth? You weren’t part of this?”

“Of course not!” she gasped.

Wanqian studied her in silence for a long time, his stare making her skin crawl.

Finally, he said, “Very well. I’ll believe you.”

If she wouldn’t confess, then he would take it as a denial. Let her lie—so long as the lie lasted.

Mingming looked at him suspiciously. He hardly seemed like a man who trusted her.

Before she could think further, he pulled her into another kiss.

Who said an emperor had to be alone?

That blind old fortune-teller was probably just a scam artist. If he really had such supernatural skills, why would he still be making a living telling fortunes on the street like some beggar?

Definitely unreliable.

At noon, Emperor Wanqian had lunch brought over again, filled with Mingming’s favorite dishes. This girl had the memory of a goldfish—she forgot everything the moment food was in front of her. Just as she was about to pick up her chopsticks, the emperor set a bowl of medicine in front of her with a sharp clack.