Black Corporation: Joseon - Chapter 5

When Dirga signs a mysterious contract, his world is turned upside down. Shadows stretch, reality bends, and he’s thrown into a brutal game where power means survival — and the cost is everything.Guided by a devil with a smile too wide and a past too deep, Dirga must train body, mind, and soul in a realm where death is never far and every choice echoes beyond comprehension.Armed with evolving powers and a weapon tied to his very will, he steps into a world ruled by chaos, facing monsters, trials, and truths that were never meant to be uncovered.But in a game designed by devils, with rules no one fully understands — how far can conviction carry a man who fights not to conquer… but to protect?

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

Yan Hongyin saved a man.Although he was kind-hearted, he was frail and often coughed up blood.But Yan Hongyin didn’t mind.She lacked nothing – status, martial arts, or wealth.All she required of her husband was that he be good-looking, harmless, and not one of those martial artists that cause trouble on weekdays.He didn’t need to study hard for the imperial examinations or become a high-ranking official; she’d seen enough of those stuffy civil officials in the court.Ah Yu was perfect just as he was.****Sect Leader Yu was saved by a gentle and delicate pharmacist.His rescuer was a fascinating woman: beautiful, skilled in medicine, but without martial arts prowess. The renowned heroes admired by ordinary people were, in her eyes, nothing but troublemaking hypocrites and villains.Initially, he stayed only to recover from his injuries, but later he discovered that his wife seemed to have many unusual and numerous little secrets. For example, the hidden passages in their room, the poisonous carp in the pond, and the countless hidden weapons on her person…****Later.Two groups of men in black arrived outside the thatched hut in the suburbs of the capital.Commander Yan, observing the group trying to capture the Loucha Sect leader’s weakness, pondered for a moment, then put away her hidden blade.-Maintain a gentle and virtuous demeanor.Sect Leader Yu, watching the group attempting to seize the Jinyiwei commander’s weakness, fell silent for a moment, clutching his chest and coughing.-Appear frail and refined.

The story begins as our female lead wakes up in a strange room and an unfamiliar body. She realizes that she has travelled back in time and her twenty-two year old spirit is now trapped in the body of a six year old girl. This girl child is the third daughter of Ning Guo’s Prime Minister Li and his seventh wife. Her name is Li Qing Luo and because her mother was originally from an entertainment house, Prime Minister Li and his other six wives treated them badly.

Her first day in that world, the whole family gathers to test the talent of the three daughters. Qing Lei, the eldest, is talented at playing the zither while Qing Fei’s calligraphy is incomparable. Everyone anticipates A’Luo’s failure as she had not exhibited any talent before, but that six year old child recites a famous Tang poem. The entire family is surprised that Qing Luo is able to write such a profound poem and her mother later tells her that Prime Minister Li is so harsh on his daughters because he needs to rely on them marrying well to secure his future. Qing Luo begins to study qin, qi, shu, hua (zither, chess, calligraphy, and painting) but hides her skill because she does not want to be sold in marriage to some prince or court official.

Six years later, A’Luo is now twelve and leaves the estate for the first time to participate at a flower viewing banquet. This is a special banquet because the Five Most Eligible Bachlors of Feng Cheng will be in attendance (there’s actually a more elegant name for them). These young men are: Crown Prince Liu Jian, Fourth Prince Liu Fei, the young An Qing Wang Liu Jue, the son of Prime Minister Gu Gu Tian Xiang, and the top scorer of the Imperial Examinations Cheng Si Yue. A’Luo sneaks off and almost falls into a river, but is saved by a handsome young man. Because he glanced at her bare legs a moment too long, A’Luo calls him a pervert, tries to push him into the river and runs off. The young man only laughs and vows to find her again.

- Description from Novelupdates