How To Survive as a Villain

Yan HeQing didn’t give Xiao YuAn a chance to explain himself, since he already had the intention to kill set in his mind!

Xiao YuAn tried to make Yan HeQing listen to him, but he was being choked so hard that he could hardly breathe, let alone speak. If this kept going, he really would be strangled to death by Yan HeQing!

Xiao YuAn’s body felt very cold as he relied on pure instinct to keep struggling. At the same time, his mind was filled with all the curses he couldn’t wait to shout at Yan HeQing, for trying to murder his own husband!

Seeing that Yan HeQing’s hands were like merciless iron chains, getting tighter and tighter, a person suddenly rushed in. As that person knelt down in front of Yan HeQing, they kept kowtowing and shouting: “Your Majesty! Your Majesty, please don’t be angry! Your Majesty, you can’t kill in this place! It’ll be stained by the blood! It’ll disturb its purity! Your Majesty! Please, have mercy!”

This person was none other than Tian Xiang.

Tian Xiang’s words slightly brought back Yan HeQing’s sanity, and when he realized what he was about to do, he looked back at the tomb, slowly letting go of Xiao YuAn’s neck.

Xiao YuAn then fell to the ground, prostrated himself awkwardly, and rubbed his neck, trying to breathe as he coughed and gasped incessantly. His neck was now filled with blue and purple bruises, where the darkest colors looked like rotten fruits and vegetables. He wanted to tell Yan HeQing that he was Xiao YuAn, tell him about their past together. But as soon as he opened his mouth, he found that he had lost his voice. His throat was extremely sore, and he could merely pronounce powerless mumbling sounds.

After Yan HeQing coldly ordered them to get out, he leaned over to pick up the jade flute.

Tian Xiang hurriedly picked up Xiao YuAn and struggled to take him away. As Xiao YuAn reluctantly turned back, he suddenly froze in place.

Yan HeQing, who was half-kneeling in front of the jade flute, was holding one of the remains of the jade flute that was still lying on the ground, with one hand. As if he was unable to pick it up, he silently closed his eyes, and shed a clear line of tears.

Xiao YuAn broke away from Tian Xiang, desperately wanting to run back to Yan HeQing, and shake his shoulders so that he would look at him. However, the sound of the Imperial Bodyguards patrolling the place where the Temple of Heaven used to be, was heard. As they entered the small house, they pressed Xiao YuAn on the ground, and then dragged him out.

Xiao YuAn struggled madly. Even though his throat was very dry and sore, he wasn’t afraid of losing his voice as he shouted with all his might. Until finally, the mumbling sounds formed a word: “Yan…. Yan….!”

‘Yan HeQing! Look at me! Please, you have to look at me!!!’

The forbidden area had always been peaceful. But this time, it wasn’t properly guarded, and it was considered a great crime to let those two people sneak in. Now this man, who was still yelling, was disturbing that peace. If the Emperor gets angry, the consequences will be unimaginable, and the Imperial Guards were really scared as they viciously covered Xiao YuAn’s mouth, dragging him away.

…

At the Western side of the Imperial Palace, Xiao YuAn was resting in his bedchamber with a white cloth covering his neck. As he held a brush, he dipped it in ink, and wrote a full page of things to take revenge on.

Once Xiao YuAn stopped writing, he looked at the paper in a daze.

Xiao YuAn had never seen Yan HeQing act like that, so ruthless, cruel and vicious.

It could be said that Yan HeQing has always been this ruthless and resolute, just like in the original book, but he had been hiding these sharp blades from him ever since the beginning, leaving only the tenderness behind.

After thinking about it, Xiao YuAn’s heart suddenly changed from bitterness to sweetness.

‘Why is the script completely different from what I imagined, before going to the forbidden area?!’

‘Wasn’t it supposed to go like; Yan HeQing, after sobbing at the tomb, ran towards me, hugged me with both arms, and heard me say: Don’t cry, look at me and let me recite a paragraph of the basic principles of Marxism for you?’

‘Instead, I was attacked, directly pushed against the wall, and almost choked to death! What’s going on?!’

Xiao YuAn was thinking, when Tian Xiang suddenly came in with a basin and medicine: “Xiao Jun Wang, is your throat still sore today? This maidservant will change the bandages for you.”

Xiao YuAn nodded and allowed Tian Xiang to remove the white cloth from his neck. After a few days, the terrible scratches on his neck began to disappear, and Xiao YuAn’s voice had returned to normal.

Tian Xiang took a deep breath, and said: “It seems to be fine, this maidservant has been worried these past few days, always feeling that His Majesty will punish you. Fortunately, by the blessing of Heaven, His Majesty didn’t come.”

“I wish he could come.” Xiao YuAn muttered.

“Xiao Jun Wang, don’t be silly, and please beg for His Majesty to be really busy these days, so that he won’t think of us.” Tian Xiang sighed shortly.

Xiao YuAn bent his fingers, gently tapping her on the head. Then, he smiled and said: “You’re too young to sigh all the time. Besides, I’m in love with His Majesty, so of course I will hope for him to come.”

Tian Xiang didn’t expect Xiao YuAn to be so blunt. As she covered her forehead, and gulped for half a second, she tried to persuade him: “But, His Majesty has someone else in his heart!”

Xiao YuAn kept smiling as he replied to Tian Xiang: “I already know that.”

“Xiao Jun Wang, His Majesty isn’t the only man in the world! There are still a lot of very good people out there! You’re also the Monarch of the Western Shu Kingdom, so who can’t you meet after you leave the Southern Yan Kingdom?”

“No matter how good other people are, it’s none of my business. I like His Majesty, even if there are plenty of fish at the sea¹, I still think that His Majesty is the best option.”

Tian Xiang stamped her foot anxiously: “Xiao Jun Wang, there was once someone who presented a beautiful man to His Majesty. Not only was His Majesty not happy, but he became so furious that he even dismissed that man from his Official position. If you go on like this, you’ll be looking for death!”

Xiao YuAn’s smile got even bigger. As he clenched his fist, he shouted majestically: “Drink the strongest wine, tame the wildest horse, sleep-…..²”

“Xiao Jun Wang!”

A loud shout coming from the door interrupted the conversation between Xiao YuAn and Tian Xiang. It turned out to be an Eunuch with an Imperial decree. The Eunuch first kindly inquire about Xiao YuAn’s injuries, and after receiving the good news that he was practically healed, the Eunuch unfolded the Imperial decree in his hands and said: “Xiao Jun Wang has come all the way from the Western Shu Kingdom to the Southern Yan Kingdom to become a Minister, and since he was indeed sincere, His Majesty has conferred on him the title of ‘Jun Wang’. But now, His Majesty feels that it’s inappropriate for Xiao Jun Wang to be a Minister, so His Majesty kindly asks for Xiao Jun Wang to leave today, and return to the Western Shu Kingdom.”

After having said that, the Eunuch put away the Imperial decree, and said to Xiao YuAn: “Xiao Jun Wang, the luggage and the carriage are ready for you, so please depart at once.”

Xiao YuAn couldn’t believe it: “Depart? Yan-…. His Majesty wants to drive me away?”

‘It turns out that he didn’t punish me before, because he was thinking of getting rid of me?!’

‘I know that the runaway wife of the Tyrannical President is a classic plot in that kind of novel, but at least in those cases, the wife actually wants to escape. Ah, I tried everything I could to make him throw himself onto my arms, and he’s kicking me out?! What the fuck?!!’

The Eunuch didn’t reply directly, but simply smiled and said: “Xiao Jun Wang, hurry up and start your journey.”

Then the Eunuch made a gesture of invitation; clearly acting very polite, but his attitude and tone of voice were in fact quite tough, leaving no room for negotiation.

Xiao YuAn understood that if he went back to the Western Shu kingdom at this moment, he would have to wait several months, or even years, to meet Yan HeQing again. Perhaps, he won’t be able to see him again in his life!

In History, before this could happen, Sima Zhao invited Liu Chan to a banquet³, where he was very happy and didn’t miss Shu⁴. Later on, Zhao Kuangyin, Emperor Taizu of the Song Dynasty, gave a residence in Bianliang to the last Emperor of the Southern Tang Dynasty⁵.

So, how come that when it’s Yan HeQing, he would simply drive people away?! As the Male Lead with a Protagonist Halo, he really can do whatever he wants, huh?!

How to understand better the title of this chapter?

How XYA thought it would go:

YHQ: Xiao YuAn? *throws himself at XYA’s arms*

XYA: My beloved wife!!

How it actually went:

YHQ: *almost committed murder* GET OUT!

XYA: Huh? It didn’t work? And now you’re kicking me out??!!! Wtf!?

Ah, xya what will you do now?

Footnotes

1. 天涯何处无芳草 tiān yá hé chù wú fāng cǎo; Chinese idiom. This phrase has two meanings: The first one is that there’s too many opportunities in the world, so you don’t have to focus on one thing, because then you won’t know how to adapt. The second meaning is that there’s no need to stick to a particular partner, because there are many people who can love and are worth loving out there. Usually, the second meaning is the most commonly used. From《蝶恋花·春景》
   (dié liàn huā·chūn jǐng), “The Butterfly Who Was In Love With Flowers: A Spring Scene”, by (苏轼 sū shì) Su Shi [1037-1101], a writer from the Song Dynasty [960-1279].
2. The original phrase is “Drink the strongest wine, play the sharpest knife, kill the most ruthless people”, and it’s from《萧十一郎》by (古龙 gǔ lóng) Gu Long [1938-1985]. This phrase became popular on the internet after someone added “the wildest dog of the day” after “drink the strongest wine”, and later, various and different versions of the phrase were adapted. It’s basically used to express that you have the courage to be extraordinary, do everything you want, and dare to challenge everything (or describe someone that’s like that).
3. It refers to an event that occurred during the Three Kingdoms period [220-280], where Liu Chan (刘禅 liú chán; [207-271], son of Liu Bei, reigned as Shu Han Emperor from 233 to 263), was willing to be a captive and didn’t think of restoring his country. 司马昭 sī mǎ zhāo; [211-265] was a Military General and statesman of Cao Wei [220-265].
4. 乐不思蜀 lè bù sī shǔ; Chinese idiom, which is used as an analogy for having fun in a new environment and no longer wanting to go back.
5. 李煜 lǐ yù; Li Yu [937-978] was captured by the Northern Song Dynasty [960-1127] after the fall of the Southern Tang Dynasty [937-975]. He later became one of the leading lyricists in Chinese history, and is known as the “Emperor of the Ancient Lyrics”, whose works have been known for thousands of years. 宋太祖 sòng tài zǔ; Emperor Taizu of Song, posthumous title of the founding Song Emperor, (赵匡胤 zhào kuāng yìn) Zhao Kuangyin [927-976].