Chapter One: Past Life

is this vast empire to you"Xue Wanting suddenly woke up in alarm, pointing at Xie Zhiwei with a trembling finger. "You, it's you! Isn't it you who caused His Majesty to be unable to have children!""No...In the twelfth year of Yongjia, winter, heavy snow swirled.

After Empress Dowager Xie knew that Wei Gu had colluded with the King of Yanbei, Xiao Xun, the imperial dynasty collapsed.

The palace gates are broken.

Emperor Xiao Chang was flustered and humiliated, clutching his sword as he rushed into the Cold Palace. His consort, Xue Wanqing, followed close behind, adorned with a crown of nine jewels and wearing her finest robes.

Bang!

Xiao Changxuan kicked open the heavy doors of the Cold Palace with one kick. Sitting cross-legged in the center of the hall, Xie Zhiwei, dressed in a pure white robe, raised his head and smiled when he saw the arrival. "Ten years," he said, "it's finally come."

"You wretch, did you collude with Xiao Xun and help him attack the capital" Xiao Chang pointed his sword menacingly at Xie Zhiwei.

"Yes." Xie Zhiwei stood up, ignoring the rage and killing intent in Xiao Changxuan's eyes, and walked towards him step by step. "Xiao Changxuan, when you exterminated my entire Xie family ten years ago, you should have thought there would be a day like today!"

He was saved by a physician, who carefully planned for him, exerted every effort to help him ascend the throne and secure this vast territory.

But what about Xiao Changxuan

Ten years ago today, the piercing wails and shouts echoed through the courtyard walls, reaching my ears. My upright and honest father, who had dedicated his life to serving the great Yong dynasty, treated his stepmother as his own mother, and his younger brother, who was not yet of age, and his nephew, who was still young and innocent...

The emperor, the husband of the one who was executed, issued an edict to have her beheaded at midday.

From then on, I was plagued by nightmares every night and couldn't close my eyes.

“Sister, when the entire Xie family was slaughtered, His Majesty granted you a special pardon. Not only did you fail to show gratitude, but you went so far as to commit such an outrageous act! Sister, you truly disappoint me.” Xue Wanqing raised her chin slightly, even with her impending death, she still looked at Xie Zhiwei with those lofty, compassionate eyes.

A flash of light crossed Xie Zhiwei's eyes. If there was anyone in this world who deserved to be hated more than Xiao Changxuan, it would be this ungrateful wretch right before him.

“Xue Wanqing, for six years you were raised in my Xie family. For over a decade, we nurtured and cared for you, treating you the same as my own sisters. We never mistreated you in any way. The Xie family never expected anything in return. It's fine that you slept with Xiao Changxuan, but why would you hate the Xie family so much”

Even infants are not spared!

Xue Wanting's face changed, and a circle of mist rose in her beautiful eyes, filled with anger. "Never treated unfairly Same as your sisters Who doesn't know that I am merely your Xie family's cousin by marriage Every day I have to rely on the faces of your sisters to get by, and the servants of the Xie family treat people differently based on their status. Whenever I give an order, they all prevaricate and refuse to comply. As the eldest daughter of the Xie family, you naturally wouldn't experience that kind of humiliation of being a nobody and having to rely on others for everything."

Xue Wanqing clenched her fists, her shoulders shaking with grievance, tears streaming down her face like pear blossoms in the rain. "Just because I refused to agree to the marriage that the Xie family arranged for me, because I wouldn't bring good fortune to the Xie family through this alliance, they slandered me and ruined my reputation. Xie Zhiwei, what qualifications do you have to accuse me"

"Qing'er, don't be sad, I'm here for you!" Xiao Changxuan felt heartbroken and reached out to embrace the beauty in his arms, saying, "The Xie family is dead, wiped out completely. They all deserve it, and from now on, no one will ever bully you again!"

"Xiao Changxuan, you are a wolf with ambitions, ungrateful and unfaithful. You two are truly a pair of scoundrels. Scoundrels like you deserve to be cut off from their offspring!" Xie Zhiwei smiled slyly, dripping with sarcasm. "Xiao Changxuan, in these twelve years, you haven't only had Xue Wanqing. Has anyone else ever cherished your bones Since not, what use is this vast empire to you"

Xue Wanting suddenly woke up in alarm, pointing at Xie Zhiwei with a trembling finger. "You, it's you! Isn't it you who caused His Majesty to be unable to have children!"

"Not bad!" Xie Zhiwei's lips curled into a faint smile. "All my family members are dead, and you are still alive. It is already against the natural order. What right do you have, Xiao Changxuan, to have descendants"

“Poisonous woman!” Xiao Chang roared with bloodshot eyes, “The only reason I agreed to marry you was because of your Xie family’s generations of prestige and influence. You were supposed to be a leader in society who would be at my beck and call. Who knew that your grandfather and father were so stubborn, refusing to help me gain power in any way. The Xie family wouldn't serve my purpose, so what use is keeping them around Xie Zhiwei, if I had known this day would come, I should have sent you and your entire Xie family to their grave!”

At this moment, Xiao Changxuan truly regretted his actions. He had once thought it was Qing'er's inability to bear children that forced him to take a concubine, hurting Qing'er's heart. Little did he know, it was all Xie Zhiwei, that despicable woman, who was behind it all. He should have suspected her long ago.

Xie Zhiwei moved slowly towards Xiao Changxuan, wanting to remember this man, for all eternity. To remember him, for a lifetime, the relatives, the friends, all of them had died at the hands of this man, none survived!

If there is an afterlife, I will repay him tenfold, a hundredfold, so that he will never be reborn.

This man, her husband, once swore in her ear again and again, saying that a talkative husband is like this, deeply ingrained in her heart, unforgettable for eternity.

Everything will finally be over. Ten years, a waste of a life, confined to the cold palace, enduring this cruel torment from that dog of a man. Day after day, I've borne the insatiable pain inflicted by my clan, a pain so intense it feels like death itself.

"It's a pity, Xiao Changxuan. You'll never have another chance." Xie Zhiwei's lips curled into a mocking sneer, her eyes devoid of the fiery hatred and killing intent that had once burned within them. Instead, there was a sense of ease and indifference. "Xiao Changxuan, I've already spoken to the new emperor. He has spared your life, allowing you to taste the bitterness of being a dethroned ruler. From now on, every day, every moment, you and Xue Wanqing will kneel before the ancestral tablet of my Xie family, repenting and atoning for your sins…"

From Xie Zhiwei's corner, a surge of emotion once again overflowed, flowing along the white stream, shocking and astounding his gaze.

His feet stumbled, but he quickly regained his balance, leaning against a pillar and refusing to fall.

I've waited for this day, a full ten years. Night and day I plotted, schemed, painstakingly dismantling the once glorious empire, draining every last ounce of my heart.

Now that revenge has been served, I have no regrets.

Everything before his eyes slowly dissipated, and finally, only a handsome young man in silver armor with a crimson cloak billowing in the wind, carrying a gun and striding forward remained...

Xiao Changxuan can't escape!

In the next life, may I meet you all in Huangquan. Grandfather, father, mother, and my younger brothers, can you please forgive me

Xie Zhiwei slowly closed her eyes, a serene smile gracing her lips, filled with anticipation...outs echoed through the courtyard walls, reaching my ears. My upright and honest father, who had dedicated his life to serving the great Yong dynasty, treated his stepmother as his own mother, and his...