Chapter 1

It was March, a warm and chilly day. Peach blossom branches trembled softly, their pink petals scattering across the ground. The palace attendants stationed outside the palace bowed their heads in silence, their hands unconsciously tucked into their wide sleeves, trying to retain a glimmer of warmth.

Tributes from other cities were displayed in the Purple Ceremony Hall, including pearls, jade, coral, and agate. However, beside the Coiled Dragon Pillar stood an exquisite golden cage, covered in brocade. The figure within the cage was hazy, the more indistinct it became, the more eager one sought to discover its contents. Two guards were stationed before the cage, a testament to the preciousness of this tribute.

When Ling Huanchen woke up, his vision was blurry and his body felt limp and weak, unable to even move a finger. After a brief period of memory loss, the scattered fragments in his mind finally pieced together a complete picture.

He remembered standing on the edge of a cliff, with the enemy city's pursuers behind him. Once a person's heart is free of worries, he has no desire to live a mediocre life, so he jumped without thinking.

Could it be that we have arrived in the underworld now?

Ling Huanchen glanced up and found himself trapped in a golden cage, draped only in a thin veil, his shark tail submerged in the shallow pool. He suddenly recalled the scene of his initial imprisonment in Youcheng.

The golden cage he was in was no ordinary one; it was a special cage used to hold tributes from the mermaid tribe. The upper half was a cage, and the lower half was a pool, holding a small amount of water to prevent the mermaids from suffering too much. To prevent any accidents along the way, he had been drugged before entering the Ghost City, rendering him unable to move.

Just as he was lost in thought, someone entered the palace. The guards outside the cage bowed in unison, "Greetings, Your Majesty!"

The visitor paused for a moment and asked in a cold voice, "Is this the tribute from the mermaid tribe?"

Ling Huanchen's heartbeat paused as the man's voice spoke, and for a moment, chaotic memories came flooding back like a tide.

The mermaids are naturally ferocious and gifted with supernatural powers. They have sharp teeth that can tear flesh and bones alive, and their tails can be used as weapons. They should be feared by mortals.

However, their good fortune was short-lived. The mermaids offended the heavens, condemning them to death and stripping them of all their divine powers. They retained only their flesh, which could prolong life and dispel poisons. Possessing extraordinary powers but unable to protect themselves, they were like a child with precious gold in a chaotic world. To seek protection, the mermaids would select a mermaid from the royal family and offer her to the lord of a powerful city.

At the age of eighteen, he too could not escape his fate of being offered as a tribute to the notorious King of Youcheng. Legend had it that this King of Youcheng was tyrannical and unpredictable, having ascended to the throne by trampling on the blood and flesh of his brothers.

Ling Huanchen had initially assumed that he, like his other brothers and sisters, would be treated as a mere object for admiration, becoming a medicinal dish on the king's table once he grew tired of him. But as time went on, he came to believe that the King of Youcheng wasn't as tyrannical as the rumors had suggested. While not a benevolent ruler, he was certainly a wise one.

He had been at the king's side for years, acting with caution and protecting himself, believing that serving the king was like living with a tiger, and paid no attention to anything else. Later, Mingcheng colluded with the Fengming clan and devised a plan to abduct the brother of the King of Youcheng, luring him to lead the army in person. Then, using sorcery, they set up a formation that ultimately led to the fall of Wang Yicheng.

When Ling Huanchen learned of the King of Youcheng's death, he had already been escorted out of the palace by his maid, who had said that the King had ordered him to leave the palace and grant him freedom if anything happened. The maid risked her life to escort him out of the city, but she was seriously injured and died. In her final days, the maid recounted some of the king's stories, and Ling Huanchen belatedly realized that he had been plotting against him.

Only after leaving the palace did he realize that, apart from the Youcheng Palace and that person's presence, there was no place in the world where he could find shelter. He must have harbored a shadow of that person in his heart, otherwise why would the King of Youcheng have arranged a way out for him, leaving him feeling empty inside? So much so that after the maid's death, he didn't want to live alone, so he exposed himself to the enemy's sight, ultimately falling off a cliff.

So, I have been reborn into the past?

"That's right, Your Majesty," the guard bowed his head and reported.

King Youcheng was skilled in martial arts, so even though Ling Huanchen's breathing was shallow, he could still sense that he had woken up.

Ling Huanchen saw through the brocade cloth that the king's figure was gradually approaching the golden cage, and suddenly stopped when it was only one step away.

"Do you have any wish?"

Hearing the same question as in his previous life, Ling Huanchen struggled to utter a complete sentence in his hoarse voice, "Your Majesty, I wish to always be by your side."

This answer was the same as in the previous life, except that Ling Huanchen had been somewhat patient and endured humiliation before, but this time he said it willingly.

Upon hearing this, the King of Youcheng scoffed, his expression unremarkable. He said calmly, "Then I will grant your wish. Come, carry it down and add it to the soup. I'll make it into a mermaid soup, and you can always be by my side."

Ling Huanchen: “…”

Why is it different from what I expected?

Until King Youcheng left Ziyi Palace and the golden cage was lifted up by the guards and taken to an unknown place, Ling Huanchen still couldn't figure it out.

Could it be that the way he was reborn was wrong?

The guards were unable to lift the cage steadily, and the cage wobbled, nearly knocking Ling Huanchen unconscious again. When the cage landed, the brocade cloth was suddenly drawn aside, and the sudden burst of light forced him to close his eyes again.

Ling Huanchen had his head hanging weakly, and others could not see his appearance clearly. In addition, the guards did not dare to look at the tribute presented to the king, so they simply poured him in like pouring a goldfish into a water tank the moment the cage was opened.

There was a splash, and water splashed everywhere. Ling Huanchen fell into the hot spring and sank to the bottom at a speed visible to the naked eye.

One of the guards hesitantly pulled the person next to him and asked, "Is this what the king means?"

The person next to him swore, "That's right. The king ordered us to find a place with water. The only place with water in Ziyi Palace is the hot spring." As he spoke, he suddenly lowered his voice and said, "You don't understand. This is called interest."

"That makes sense." The guard smiled knowingly and turned to shout into the pool, "Little Prince of the Mermaid Tribe, just soak in the hot spring peacefully and don't try to cause any trouble. If anything goes wrong, you'll be the one to suffer."

The guards' voices gradually faded away. After entering the water, Ling Huanchen regained some strength and slowly floated to the surface.

Fortunately, he was not really stewed, otherwise it would be a waste of rebirth.

Ling Huanchen swam to the edge of the hot spring, her arms barely resting on the bank as her beautiful eyes darted around. The surroundings were paved with white jade. From the warm water, mist curled up, soaking the smooth jade walls and reflecting a shimmering, pearlescent glow.

It was the hot spring pool of Ziyi Palace in his memory.

Mermaids are born and raised in water, and having their entire bodies immersed in water actually helped Ling Huanchen calm down.

Although he remembered everything, the Youcheng King Yu Xi in this life was not familiar with him yet, so he couldn't act rashly.

Warmth swept over his body, and coupled with the influence of the drugs, Ling Huanchen felt drowsy several times, and his thoughts gradually drifted away.

Looking back, his days in the Youcheng Palace were relatively leisurely. Thanks to Yu Xi, no one in the harem dared disrespect him. Later, knowing that he was unwilling to remain in the harem, Yu Xi helped him enter the court, secretly overcoming all opposition and paving the way for him, just to make him feel more relaxed and not depressed all day.

At the time, he resented the injustice of fate, closed his eyes and ears, and was completely unaware of the emperor's friendship. If he had noticed these clues and responded to Yu Xi, would the ending of the two people have been different?

Ling Huanchen had never thanked the heavens; it was the calamity that had left the mermaids vulnerable to slaughter. But this time, he was willing to let go of past resentment and start over, determined to rewrite the ending.

I just don't know if Yu Xi still has the same temperament as before. After the first encounter, it seems that something has changed from the beginning.

Ling Huanchen was in the hall, unaware of the time outside. Before he could even think about it, the sun had already set in the west.

Hearing footsteps approaching from afar, Ling Huanchen came back to his senses and stared at the door, holding his breath. When the footsteps were already approaching, he suddenly heard the guard outside the door calling out "Your Majesty".

Is Yu Xi going to take a bath? But he is still in the hot spring.

In their previous life, they met on the shore just fine, but they didn't expect that the next time they met, it would become so unexpected.

Since he was presented to Youcheng, he belonged to the King of Youcheng from head to toe. The matter of him sleeping with the King was also tacitly agreed. However, although Yu Xi raised him in the palace, she never made him do anything to receive favors. Therefore, the relationship between them was pure and innocent, and they did not cross the line.

Is it too exciting to be honest with each other right now?

After entering the room, King Yu Xi of Youcheng dismissed all the attendants. He did not like having anyone by his side while bathing, and even more so did not like having others close to him. He was not like other kings who needed help when they took off their clothes and put on their clothes.

The moment the door opened, Ling Huanchen had no choice but to dive into the water. The ripples on the water surface slowly calmed down, as if nothing had happened.

The mermaid has extremely strong vision in water. He hid at the bottom of the pool and clearly saw the man step into the hot spring and suddenly closed his eyes.

Do not look at anything indecent.

He thought he had hidden it well, but he didn't know that Yu Xi noticed something strange in the pool the moment he entered it. People who practice martial arts always have sharp ears and eyes, not to mention a master like Yu Xi, who can naturally notice any unusual movements around him.

Ling Huanchen closed his eyes tightly, so the sound became particularly clear to him. He listened to the sound of water slowly getting closer and closer.

Why did that person keep moving towards him? If he swam now, he would be exposed, but if he didn't move, he would probably be hit.

Caught in a dilemma, Ling Huanchen remained where he was. By the time the shadow covered him, it was too late to react.

Yu Xi pulled Ling Huanchen out of the water, and when their eyes met, they were both stunned.

The author has something to say:

My dear friends, I am back and I am starting to serialize~

We have pre-collected the modern novel "The Little Mermaid of the Rich and Evil Young Master [Rebirth]" and the ancient novel "The Emperor and the Empress are Sick Beauties". Welcome to support us!