How To Survive as a Villain

The Male Lead, Yan HeQing, doesn’t know how to play the guqin. So this must be the Female Lead, Princess Yongning?

Could it be that Yan HeQing, who’s injured and might be unable to fall asleep due to the pain, felt too lonely so he came out for a walk, and accidentally met Princess Yongning while she was playing the guqin at night? And when their eyes meet each other, they decide to spend the rest of their lives together?

No, in the original book, the way these two meet doesn’t happen like this.

Xiao YuAn was extremely curious, but when he saw that the Pavilion was close by, he accidentally stepped on a wooden branch, making a slight noise.

The sound of the guqin suddenly stopped, and Xiao YuAn, with an “oops” inside his mind, took a few steps over. Just then a man hurriedly came over, inevitably colluding with Xiao YuAn.

The man first shouted out a “who”, and after seeing Xiao YuAn’s face, he suddenly knelt down: “Your Majesty! Why are you here?”

Xiao YuAn took a closer look at him, and then he immersed himself deep in thought once again.

This person was neither Yan HeQing nor Princess Yongning. However, Xiao YuAn recognized him.

He was the reliable Imperial Bodyguard who has been guarding Xiao YuAn earlier today, and he was also the one that spread clean straw for him in the cell.

“Were you the one playing the guqin?” Xiao YuAn asked.

“It wasn’t me.” The Imperial Bodyguard panicked: “I also heard the sound of the guqin and came looking for the source, but I couldn’t see any suspicious figure.”

The Imperial Bodyguard’s voice trembled, his hands were clenched into fists, and his eyes were looking around.

Xiao YuAn knew that the Imperial Bodyguard was lying, however, he was too lazy to delve deeper into it. Compared to the mysterious sound of a guqin, Xiao YuAn was more curious about what character the Imperial Bodyguard was: “What’s your name?”

Judging by the name, he will know if he’s good or bad. After all, Xiao YuAn already knows the plot!

“My name? Your Majesty, didn’t you know…” The Imperial Bodyguard looked confused and suspicious, but he stopped his words in time. He cleared his throat, and said: “Answering to His Majesty, this servant’s surname is Yang, name LiuAn.”

Xiao YuAn whispered: “Yang LiuAn……”

It was like a round pearl rolled down Xiao YuAn’s throat, until finally, it reached his heart and pressed down hard on it. This sudden reaction made Xiao YuAn shiver.

Xiao YuAn could only remember a few of the cannon fodder characters from the original book, however, Yang LiuAn was a special one.

Because in the original book the Young Emperor was an homosexual, it wasn’t rare that there were some girls with all kind of dirty fantansies¹ about him; therefore, all sorts of ships were flying around the BL-zone. Xiao YuAn never navigated the BL-section, filled with these kinds of fans. However, later on, a fire related to Yang LiuAn burned at the bottom of the comment section.

Because Yang LiuAn died.

The Imperial Bodyguard was an upright and resolute man. He was one of the Young Emperor’s few followers that couldn’t be regarded as a villain by the readers. However, when the Young Emperor’s tyranny aroused the common people’s anger, he suffered from an assasination attempt one day he went out of the Imperial Palace to play. Yang LiuAn tried to protect his Ruler, but in the end, he miserably died under the sharp blade; his body was cut into pieces.

Although Xiao YuAn didn’t know whether the original plot would change because of himself or not, there was no doubt that Yang LiuAn’s loyalty to the Young Emperor was beyond doubt.

Xiao YuAn looked at Yang LiuAn with a complicated mood, as he reached out to help him get up: “Don’t kneel.”

Yang LiuAn thanked his Monarch for his kindness, and as he stood up, he said: “Your Majesty, where were you going? Weichen will accompany you.”

“I wasn’t going anywhere, it’s too cold already, let’s go back.” Xiao YuAn said.

Yang LiuAn was about to take off his coat without a second thought.

Xiao YuAn quickly stopped him: “It’s just a short walk, I’ll get warm after walking for a while.”

Yang LiuAn was very hesitant, but he didn’t insist. After a while, they arrived at the back of the Imperial bedchamber. Xiao YuAn suddenly remembered something, he facepalmed and then said to Yang LiuAn: “By the way, tomorrow, could you take me to where the Prince of the Southern Yan Kingdom is being treated?”

“I’ll obey His Majesty’s command.” Yang LiuAn cupped his fists².

Xiao YuAn nodded his head and then walked towards the window of the bedchamber. The two Imperial Bodyguards from before were still frozen in place, guarding. When they saw that Xiao YuAn came back, they were relieved.

“Comrades, you worked hard. Go get some rest.” Xiao YuAn waved his sleeve and climbed into the window in front of the shocked Imperial Bodyguards.

Footnotes

1. YY = 歪歪 (wāi wāi), is a pinyin acronym for 意淫 (yì yín). It has many meanings such as: when someone fantasizes about something / When someone has a sexual fantasy / To have an unrealistic expectation / When someone interprets something in a narcissistic way. 歪 wāi on its own means crooked, slanted and evil.
2. 抱拳 bào quán; To cup one’s fist in the other hand, as a sign of respect.