Chapter 1 – The Royal Dragon is Standing Proud
Reading the last page of The Boundless Great Jing in the taxi, Zhao Qi felt a mix of emotions.
It was a good book; he’d give it nine out of ten. He withheld one point, not out of fear of making the author arrogant, but because the cannon fodder emperor who died tragically shared his name.
Every time he saw “Zhao Qi” in the book courting death in various ways, he felt a pang in his knee, especially when the author described “Zhao Qi” as impotent. It always gave him a phantom ache.
The taxi driver, a cheerful and chatty lady, couldn’t resist sneaking a glance at the handsome young man through the rearview mirror while waiting at a red light. She noticed the book in Zhao Qi’s hand and got excited at finding a fellow fan. “Little brother, you’re reading The Boundless Great Jing too?”
Zhao Qi replied, “Yeah, it’s pretty good, but I feel the brotherly affection in it is a bit weird.”
The lady gave a subtle smile. “Are you reading the original version or the censored one?”
“I don’t know,” Zhao Qi flipped to the cover, “seems like it’s the censored version—there’s a difference?”
“Of course!” she exclaimed. “The original has more romance and my favorite scenes of having and raising children! You’re missing out big time if you haven’t read it!”
“Really?” Zhao Qi was surprised. “But I didn’t notice any romantic tension between the main characters and any girls.”
The lady gave a mysterious smile. “Who said it had to be girls?”
“How do you have children if there are no girls?”
The lady hinted crazily, “Think about it, think deeply.”
Zhao Qi was lost in thought, wanting to ask more, when a sudden blaring horn brought him back to reality. He looked up sharply to see a speeding truck coming straight at them.
The lady slammed on the brakes, but it was too late.
Bang—
In the ensuing chaos, Zhao Qi heard muffled voices. Slowly, the voices became clearer—it was a young boy’s voice: “The emperor forced me to do this.”
Zhao Qi opened his eyes to find himself lying on a bed, pinned down by a disheveled young boy. They were very close, the boy’s magnified face right in front of his.
The boy had a stunningly beautiful face, with long eyelashes and features as if drawn from a classical painting. Despite their noses almost touching, Zhao Qi couldn’t see a single flaw on his face.
Zhao Qi was baffled, “Where am I? Who are you?”
The boy, pale as paper with beads of sweat on his forehead, looked down at Zhao Qi. Suddenly, he smiled faintly at him.
Zhao Qi, unaccustomed to such beauty in real life, was captivated by the smile, losing his wits momentarily. The boy, pressing down on him, reached under the pillow to retrieve a green porcelain bottle, swallowing its contents.
Zhao Qi blinked and asked, “What did you just eat?”
The boy grabbed Zhao Qi’s chin, closed his eyes, and leaned in with his lips.
Seeing the red lips approaching, Zhao Qi was petrified. Only at the last moment did he remember he could resist.
He struggled to push the boy away, “Wait, let’s talk! I’ll scream!”
The boy, seemingly frail, didn’t budge under Zhao Qi’s “struggle.” Panting lightly, he whispered, “Didn’t the emperor always want Rong Tang?”
!!!
Zhao Qi grasped the crucial point.
Rong Tang, the one in The Boundless Great Jing, the top scholar imprisoned by the lustful emperor due to his striking beauty?
If this boy was Rong Tang, then who was he?!
Zhao Qi looked down in horror at the bright yellow dragon robe he was wearing. His vision blackened, and he almost suffocated.
He had transmigrated into the book, becoming the lustful yet impotent emperor Zhao Qi!
Zhao Qi felt like coughing up blood. No, this couldn’t be happening—he was still a virgin!
Unfortunately, now was not the time to despair. Zhao Qi quickly recalled the plot, roughly understanding his current predicament.
In the book, the dog emperor fell in love at first sight with the newly appointed top scholar during the imperial examination, forcibly bringing him into the palace against the ministers’ objections. Rong Tang, once the pride of his family, became a male concubine serving the emperor, unable to bear the humiliation.
Rong Tang wanted to die to preserve his integrity, but the emperor threatened the lives of Rong’s entire family. To save his family, Rong Tang had to endure.
One day, the emperor, overcome with lust, refused to let go of the tho-ny beauty and insisted on kissing him. Rong Tang, unable to escape, used the poison he had prepared, determined to take the emperor down with him. Both were poisoned, but the skilled palace physicians saved them both.
Normally, anyone who did such a thing to the emperor would have been executed a hundred times over. But Rong Tang, due to his exceptional beauty, was kept alive by the emperor who doted on him, creating a future calamity for himself.
“You, get off me first,” said Zhao Qi, sweating profusely after recalling the plot. “I promise not to touch you again.”
Rong Tang sneered, “The emperor is mistaken. Now, it’s I who will touch the emperor.”
You’re not trying to touch me; you’re trying to kill me!
Zhao Qi took a deep breath and said as calmly as possible, “Are you defying the emperor’s orders?”
Rong Tang gave a mocking smile, “Haven’t I defied enough orders already?”
Zhao Qi had an idea. “It seems you don’t care about the lives of your family anymore?”
Rong Tang’s face changed slightly, his grip loosening significantly. Zhao Qi took the opportunity to push him off and got out of bed, maintaining a safe distance. He shouted, “Guards, protect the emperor!”
Several imperial guards burst in, swords drawn, surrounding Rong Tang, awaiting the emperor’s orders. Along with them came a plump, comical eunuch, “Your Majesty! Are you alright?”
Zhao Qi, still weak, said, “I’m fine.” If he guessed correctly, this eunuch should be the chief eunuch, Jiang Dehai.
Jiang Dehai was stunned by the scene before him. “Your Majesty, what is Young Master Rong doing…”
Rong Tang closed his eyes, resigned, “This is all my fault. I willingly accept death. Please do not punish my family.”
Zhao Qi, still shaken, declared, “I will punish them.”
Rong Tang looked at him, his expression complicated.
Zhao Qi tried to maintain his emperor’s demeanor, “You stay put and behave, or I’ll drag your entire family into this, including your father.”
Rong Tang remained silent, his fingers trembling inside his sleeves.
Zhao Qi snorted, “Return to the palace.”
Jiang Dehai followed him, “Your Majesty, is that all?”
“No, Rong Tang is probably poisoned. Find a doctor to check on him.”
Jiang Dehai hesitated, “Young Master Rong was so disrespectful to Your Majesty. Are you just letting him go?”
Zhao Qi stopped, “Doesn’t that sound like something I would do? Rong Tang is my favorite.”
From the original Zhao Qi’s perspective, Rong Tang deserved to die. But as a reader of The Boundless Great Jing, Zhao Qi had always liked Rong Tang, the beautiful and proud scholar. Killing him now felt wrong, and he didn’t know how his death would affect the story. For now, it seemed better to keep him alive and figure things out later.
Jiang Dehai, knowing Zhao Qi’s temperament well, knew arguing was pointless and sighed inwardly.
Back in the emperor’s palace, Yonghua Palace, Zhao Qi was greeted by palace maids ready to help him undress. Zhao Qi was startled, “What are you doing?”
The maid turned pale, fearing she had angered the emperor, and knelt, kowtowing repeatedly, “This servant deserves to die, deserves to die…”
The other maids lowered their heads, trembling with fear.
Zhao Qi roughly understood why they were so scared. According to the book, the original Zhao Qi was brutal and perverse, partially due to his unspeakable affliction. Unable to experience male pleasure, he resorted to other means, inventing various tools and collecting aphrodisiacs. Anyone who made a mistake became his target, suffering unbearable torment.
Zhao Qi felt a headache coming on. He waved them off, “Leave me. I need to be alone.”
The maids, feeling as if they had escaped death, quickly obeyed, “Yes.”
Jiang Dehai approached, “Is Your Majesty unwell? Should I call for a doctor?”
“No need,” Zhao Qi said, “You can go too.”
After Jiang Dehai left, Zhao Qi was alone in the bedchamber. He found a mirror and examined himself.
Delicate features, fair skin, large eyes—a pretty boy, but a bit short and looking rather sickly.
Ha, if this body had enough yang energy, it would be a miracle.
Zhao Qi changed his clothes and lay down on the dragon bed, contemplating his situation.
The original Zhao Qi ascended to the throne at eight years old, but by fourteen, his little brother still couldn’t stand up. His mother, Empress Dowager Wen, was extremely worried. The imperial physicians in the palace were helpless, so she secretly summoned famous doctors from all over the country to diagnose him.
The original Zhao Qi was surrounded by doctors daily and took a lot of medicine, but his condition did not improve. Because this matter concerned the dignity of the emperor, Empress Dowager Wen issued a strict gag order, and anyone who leaked the information would be executed. Despite this, the original Zhao Qi’s spirit was still damaged, and as he grew older, his psyche became increasingly twisted. He lost interest in state affairs, indulged in wine and pleasure, and attended court only once a year. State affairs were handled by Empress Dowager Wen and the regent ministers.
Empress Dowager Wen was a master of political maneuvering, but she was extremely indulgent toward the original Zhao Qi, turning a blind eye to his misdeeds. After Empress Dowager Wen passed away, the original Zhao Qi lost his protector. The righteous officials, who had long hated him to the core, united and rebelled, marching from the northern frontier all the way to the capital and capturing him alive.
Rong Tang was a key figure among the righteous officials. The new emperor rewarded the original Zhao Qi to Rong Tang as a prize, and he became Rong Tang’s prisoner. Rong Tang repaid the humiliation he suffered tenfold, imprisoning and torturing the original Zhao Qi, but kept him alive, making his life a living hell.
The more Zhao Qi thought about it, the more hopeless he felt. He beat his chest in despair on the dragon bed.
Traveling into a book, fine, but did anyone ask for his opinion? Traveling into the body of such a scumbag, he would rather be dead!
When it was time for dinner, Jiang Dehai came to invite Zhao Qi to eat. Zhao Qi got up slowly, thinking that food was his only solace now. Even a scumbag emperor still ate the best food in the entire Southern Jing.
Sitting at the table, Jiang Dehai handed him a pair of silver chopsticks. “Every dish has been tested by the servants. The emperor can eat with confidence.”
Eight dishes and a soup, plus a dessert, all for just one person. Zhao Qi’s depression eased a bit. He tasted some braised meat, finding the flavor and texture quite good. “What meat is this?” he asked.
“Emperor, this is braised bull pen-s,” Jiang Dehai replied.
“Pfft!” Zhao Qi spat out the braised meat he hadn’t swallowed yet. “Water, water— I need to rinse my mouth!”
A maid hurriedly handed him tea. Jiang Dehai, puzzled, asked, “Emperor, does this dish not suit your taste?” The emperor used to love this dish.
After rinsing his mouth, Zhao Qi looked at the table full of delicacies and felt an ominous premonition. “What are these dishes? List them for me.”
“Bliss soup, red dates stewed with ram pen-s, clear stewed kidney…”
“Enough, enough,” Zhao Qi said, holding his forehead. “I get it.” They were all aphrodisiacs. If he kept eating like this, he would die of overindulgence sooner or later.
“Do you have porridge?” Zhao Qi asked.
“Yes, yes,” Jiang Dehai replied. “Would the emperor prefer deer antler gelatin porridge or sea cucumber porridge?”
Zhao Qi’s eyebrow twitched. “Plain porridge, with nothing in it.”
Zhao Qi ate two bowls of porridge with a few dishes he could stomach, then wandered around until it was time to sleep. Jiang Dehai asked which beauty should attend to him tonight. Zhao Qi asked, “Where are the tokens1In ancient China, emperors would be presented a tray of ‘tokens’ with the names of some of his concubines of his harem. He would then turn over the ‘token’ with the name of the lady he wished to spend the night with on the tray. That ‘lucky’ lady would then have the chance to serve him for the night. Most concubines never get the chance to see their captors tho.?”
“Tokens, Emperor?” Jiang Dehai was puzzled.
Zhao Qi gestured. “The tokens with the beauties’ names on them. Shouldn’t there be some formality for such an important matter?”
Jiang Dehai was surprised. “The emperor is not yet married, and there are no consorts in the harem, so there’s no use for green-head tokens.”
Zhao Qi remembered. The original text mentioned that although the scumbag emperor had many men and women in the harem, he didn’t establish a queen and therefore couldn’t give titles to the beauties. The original Zhao Qi didn’t care either. Except for Rong Tang, the others were just disposable objects to him.
“Then never mind, I’ll sleep alone.”
Whether it was the new environment or the stimulating food, Zhao Qi tossed and turned on the dragon bed, unable to sleep. He felt hot all over, his mouth dry and parched.
Finally, he fell asleep, only to be awakened by a scream in a half-awake state. “Emperor, Emperor! Your Majesty!”
Zhao Qi sat up abruptly. “What’s happening? Are there assassins? Protect me, someone come protect me!”
Jiang Dehai, with tears streaming down his face, pointed to Zhao Qi’s trousers and trembled, “Your royal dragon2Yes… he is referring to his peepee … it’s standing up!”
T/N: Yay! A new novel?! If you’re wondering if it’s a good idea to take on 4 novels at the same time; my answer – “Probably not…”
But after reading a few chapters of this, I just HAD to snatch this project up. I haven’t done transmigration with a true-doomed villain start so I want to try this one! ANYWAY, there is plenty more where that came from, so stay tuned! And stay healthy! Straighten your posture, so some stretches and drink some water before continuing hehe~
If you like my translations, feel free to donate to my ko-fi!
I really, really appreciate all the support from my readers <3 It goes a long way and motivates me lots!
Also, check out the other series we have on HoH!
If you like cats, check out Revenge of the Garfield
If you like dragons, check out I’m Pregnant with the Hope of the Entire Planet and The Dragon and the ‘Princess’
How about some mystery or showbiz? Check out Morbid Addiction & Perfection
What about the perfect, most non-toxic male lead ever? Laws of Love
How about MC nursing ML back to health? Forced into the Deep
Thank you for all your support <3 Leave a comment if you like 🙂 I love reading them!
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