Posted in Recap

To Be or Not to Be C1-104

Chapters 1 – 104

[Rough Manga Summary]

Xiao Yu’an has been raised to be a tyrant CEO, but he fails the tyrant part. He transmigrates and becomes the Northern Emperor of a novel he was reading. As a villain role doomed to die under the hands of the protagonist, Yan He Qing, he decides to befriend the ML to avoid his fate. MC tells the ML his true identity right from the start, and that he is not the true Northern Emperor. He tries to protect the ML and returns his father’s sword to him. ML ends up falling in love with him.

People misunderstand the MC and ML’s relationship. Childe Qinyu tries to frame ML by using Xiao Feng Yue. MC and ML easily see through the scheme. MC finds out that Xiao Feng Yue and his guard, Yang Liuan, are in mutual love, so he “punishes” them by sending them out of the palace with money and a carriage.

MC forgets to ask who had threatened Xiao Feng Yue, but decides to solve that problem by disbanding the entire harem. He gives 200 gold to everyone and tells them to leave the palace, and that those who were previously officials could return to their post. After hearing this, Childe Qinyu stares at MC’s retreating back and then is the first to stand and leave.

Recap by Vanilla Muse. Please read this on vmnovels (dot) com

MC reveals to ML that he can’t sleep alone. He needs to hear someone breathing beside him. He tells ML about his past as Xiao Yu’an. His father had abandoned his mother and him. As a child he was sickly and always slept next to his mother, listening to her breathing. When he was six, he woke up to his mother who had died from overdosing. The next day, his father came to get him, because he had no heir. From there, MC was raised to be a tyrant CEO.

For some time, MC is really happy just being friends with the ML and being a good emperor, but he receives a slap to the face by “fate” or rather the plot of the story. Prince Wu Ning has wanted the throne for a while now, but when MC chooses Li Wu Ding to be the next general commander instead of Fan Tong, Prince Wu Ning’s trusted aide, this makes Prince Wu Ning anxious, so he hastens his plans to kill MC. He colludes with Xue Yan (ML’s uncle), and MC ends up finding the missive in ML’s clothes. This is what shocks MC, and makes him believe that they must be on opposite sides.

MC knocks ML out with a drug and has someone bring him back to the south. Xue Yan tells ML he was poisoned and that his people had to steal him out of the palace. [Until C104, this misunderstanding has yet to be addressed and resolved!] But ML doesn’t seem to care if MC did poison him. He is still willing to protect MC.

The north and south end up going to war. Li Wu Ding dies. Xie Chun Gui manages to hold off the southern army for 2 more months, but the north ultimately loses. MC decides to surrender himself to save the people.

Xue Yan purposely creates the misunderstanding that ML wants to castrate MC. 

Xiao Ping Yang (had fallen in love with Princess Yongning) and came to Northern Yan alone to save her. She happens upon Yang Liuan and Xiao Feng Yue, so the three of them help the MC and his sister escape from the palace. Xue Yan intercepts him and makes MC swear never to return upon pain of death before letting him go. They find Xie Chun Gui, who has gone crazy, along the way.

ML comes to see MC alone. Despite thinking the ML hates him, the MC still wants to give a proper farewell and wish him well. He asks ML to let go (of his hatred) in order to be happy. ML says he will never let go (of his love). MC tries to return the lotus hairpin to ML, but ML would rather shatter it than give it to someone else.

A year later finds the MC in Taoyuan Village studying medicine and helping every injured soldier he finds, regardless of their affiliation. [Xiao Ping Yang and Princess Yongning got married and are living in seclusion in the mountains. MC attended their wedding and met Xiao Ping Yang’s older brother who looks exactly like his pre-transmigrated self.] MC stumbles upon Ling Shen Ling, the 3rd FL, and saves her from prostitution. She works for him as a maid in thanks.

Recap by Vanilla Muse. Please read this on vmnovels (dot) com

MC finds the injured ML in the mountains. ML’s sight is temporarily gone due to injury, so MC pretends to be Ling Shen Ling (with the help of a special berry to change his voice) and nurses him. ML recovers his eyesight fairly quickly and finds out that it is MC taking care of him, so he takes advantage of the situation and starts to act a bit more shamelessly. He keeps reopening his wounds, so that he could prolong their time together.

MC eventually brings ML back to the village and they talk out their misunderstandings, so now MC knows that ML wasn’t the one who wanted to castrate him. MC believes the ML and returns to treating him like a friend. ML finds out that MC has repaired the lotus hair pin, and everyone in the village thinks they’re a couple. Ling Shen Ling and Zhang Bai Shu get married.

ML confesses his feelings in a way that cannot be misinterpreted. MC is flustered and starting to realize his feelings for the ML too.

Vice General Chen Ge comes to find the emperor, because the war is still ongoing. Zhang Zhang Song is recruited to be an army doctor. MC goes on his behalf to repay him for his tutelage. So the MC and ML end up going to war together. During this period, MC finally confirms his feelings for ML and wants to have sex, but the timing is not right.

ML gets injured during battle and goes MIA. MC is blamed for being a spy. Chen Ge frees him and they go to find ML. MC uses himself as a decoy to give Chen Ge the chance to run away with the unconscious ML. Bao Yin Xin, along with the other Eastern Wu soldiers that MC had saved before, work together to bring MC out and back to Taoyuan Village.

MC’s legs are crippled by his injuries, so he can’t go to the ML right away. ML thinks he’s dead and goes crazy. He tortures Yang Li Ye before hanging him out to dry. MC eventually gets a message to ML using the lotus hairpin as a token. ML rushes on horseback to come see him. They reunite and eventually do the deed. MC is willing to go back with ML and manage his harem (of one).

ML had moved the capital to the north in remembrance of the MC, so they’re going back to the Northern palace. They manage to be together for a spell (with all the officials being against their relationship). Xue Yan doesn’t trust MC.

Xie Chun Gui regains his memories and stabs ML. He dies fighting against the southern soldiers. MC is blamed for being the mastermind. In despair over the situation, MC kills himself. ML wakes up in time to witness the scene.

ML stayed with MC’s corpse for 3 days. Then he buried MC in wedding robes. He built an altar and courtyard (styled after the one in Taoyuan Village). He becomes a bit tyrannical.

MC wakes up a year later in Prince Xiao Jun’s body. (He is Xiao Ping Yang’s older brother. The one who shares the same name and face as Xiao Yu’an.) After some obstacles, MC finally manages to communicate his true identity to the ML and they reunite. They have plenty of sweet moments and sexy times, and the whole palace is stunned by the emperor’s display.

Huang Yue wants to revolt against the throne. He wants to throw Prince Xiao Jun under the bus, and imprisons him. This angers the ML who wants to kill him then and there, but MC doesn’t want people to think of ML as an unreasonable tyrant, so he wants to help the ML find more evidence first before convicting Huang Yue.

C104 ends with MC approaching Huang Yue as Prince Xiao Jun, and hinting at joining hands against the ML.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *