Alpha's Rejected Mate Returns as Queen - Chapter 574 - : Troubles of Youth

He is Xi Liang’s legendary emperor: a decisive and ruthless king; a man of supreme wisdom; a cunning strategist.

According to legend, he once conferred the love meant for the three thousand concubines in his harem onto one woman, while the world watched in envy.

According to legend, he once executed a hundred people for her, turning the palace into a purgatory overnight.

According to legend, he ultimately sentenced that same woman to death by execution…

A conspiracy that swept through the country resulted in her tragic end. This lifetime seems to be a repeat of her past life. Can she escape the clutches of fate to attain true love in this life? In both lives, she was the Emperor’s wife, but is that ruthless man really her true love mandated by Heaven?

Did she really die, just like that?

In the end, beyond the veil of lies and mysteries, who exactly was she? Was she a woman that he truly loved, or was she merely a chess piece to be used in his political machinations?

The stories passed onto later generations remain fraught with conflicting opinions.

- Description from Novelupdates

Lao Chen was just an old, underpaid security guard in a rundown apartment complex, living a miserable life under a stingy, ungrateful boss.His wife left him, his daughter wanted nothing to do with him, and poverty was his only constant companion.In the end, death came in the form of a drunk driver, leaving him broken and forgotten on the cold pavement.But fate wasn’t done with him. In his final moments, he prayed—desperate, pleading to any deity who would listen.And someone did.The God of Wealth and Love took pity on his wasted life and granted him a second chance.Wake up again as Zhao Yiming, a 25-year-old gambler and alcoholic drowning in debt with nothing but a good face and a strong body to his name, he was given the Affinity Money Maker System—a mysterious power that let him gain wealth and influence by forming relationships, whether as lovers, friends, or even enemies.Before he knew it, he had stumbled his way into unimaginable riches.But things never go as planned. One moment of recklessness—one affair with the wrong woman—led to an unexpected murder.Now, the system has thrown him onto a new path: The Villain Route. With a negative perk that keeps the police off his trail but tightens the noose around his future, Zhao Yiming is faced with an impossible choice.Will he claw his way to the top and become the billionaire he was meant to be? Or will his second life end behind bars, just as tragic as his first?

The apocalypse descends, zombies and monsters appear, followed by System Leveling, which grants skills to all survivors.With the collapse of law and order, some become powerful while others remain weak, and so the dark ages begin.

Far in the eastern corner of the world lies a city covered in chaos, Aetherpolis. A city that is far more different than any other, a ruin where law and order are mere fantasies. This place isn’t governed by the government nor military powers. This city….. belongs to the gangs.And at the top of the food chain stand those with terrifying strength. The Awakened Users.These are individuals who have unlocked their Drive Core, a latent force within every human that responds not just to strength or talent, but to pain, trauma, and intense emotions. Only by facing these can the Drive Core bloom.Into this brutal world steps Ren Asakura, a quiet teenage swordsman with his Tempest Drive. On a quest to find his lost brother, he joins the well known gang ZEAL, determined to dismantle the corrupt and violent gangs that rule Aetherpolis.But every turf war brings him closer to a chilling realization, the true enemy has yet to reveal themselves, and the battle for the soul of the city is only just beginning.In a world where power is earned through suffering and only the ruthless survive…You either DRIVE forward or you BREAK.