Chapter 1: Awakening of Emperor Qingdou

  In a daze, Zhu Yinglong saw a thread of bright light, hazy and soft. Before he could see clearly where he was, a surprised voice suddenly rang in his ear: "The king has awakened, the king has awakened..."

  "What's with the king, filming TV...” Zhu Yinglong was startled by this high-decibel voice, his eyes gradually becoming blurry. How is this rooftop so high? It's all colorful and looks pretty good. What kind of place is this?

  No good, headache, hurt badly, he had to close his eyes again, and fell asleep once more.

  "Your Highness, Your Highness..." Zhu Yinglong felt his body being shaken nonstop and couldn't help but open his eyes. A delicate and beautiful face appeared before him, and he wondered when a woman had arrived at his home. Oh right, this was in the hospital, and she was a nurse. Zhu Yinglong closed his eyes again, but suddenly opened them once more. This time, he saw clearly that a young girl in a light green uniform was gazing at him with joy. Not far away, on a dark red wooden table, a bronze incense burner emitted a gentle stream of smoke, filling the air with the fragrance of sandalwood.

  The girl in the palace saw him open his eyes, and excitedly revealed a pair of white teeth, turning her head to shout outside: "Uncle Xu, Uncle Xu..."

  "Your Highness, sir..." Zhu Yinglong muttered to himself a few times, then looked down at his own body and was immediately stunned. What happened to his original body? It had clearly become much thinner, and his clothes had changed too - they were all made of snow-white palace silk undergarments. How did this happen? Where was he? Heaven wouldn't play such a huge joke on him, would it? He hadn't been careless or distracted while walking, nor had he bumped into an electric pole... how could things have turned out like this?

  He pinched his thigh hard, and the sharp pain told him that this was indeed his current body. This wasn't a dream; it was real. He had really come to an unknown world. Glasses, where were my glasses? Zhu Yinglong frantically searched for them on the bed, but they were nowhere to be found. Without his glasses, how could he see anything?!

  A young man dressed in eunuch attire and the palace maid who had just addressed Zhu Yinglong as "Wang Ye" looked at him with a mixture of confusion and surprise, unsure of what to say or do, standing frozen on the spot, thinking to themselves, what's going on? What's wrong with Wang Ye?

  Zhu Yinglong's current body was not his original one. After struggling for a short while, he started panting and stopped to look at the astonished palace-dressed girl and the eunuch-attired man. Hmm, this isn't right, my eyes were nearsighted by several hundred degrees, how can I see so clearly? Suddenly, he came to his senses and realized that he was no longer his former self, and his nearsightedness had disappeared along with the change in his body.

  Zhu Yinglong's thoughts were extremely chaotic, almost on the verge of collapse, with extreme despair and a desire to cry but no tears. He didn't know what had happened, how did he suddenly change bodies? Was it that he had traveled through time and space and attached himself to someone else's body? This was too absurd, wasn't it? He himself was one of those so-called "empty history" writers, what with all the nonsense about traveling through time and space, past and future. But reality seemed to be right in front of him. After calming down his emotions a bit, he didn't know what his current identity or location was, so he opened his mouth and asked in an unfamiliar voice: "Excuse me, where am I?"

  "Your Highness, this is your bedroom!" The eunuch surnamed Xu regained his composure and hastily stepped forward. Under his indication, the palace-dressed girl walked over to the bed and helped Zhu Yinglong down.

  "What palace?" Zhu Ying's dragon head suddenly enlarged, and he became the king? Did he really possess some kind of king's body? This is terrible! Ordinary people are fine, but royalty is a big trouble. Looking around, there are eunuchs and palace maids serving, could it be that he is in some imperial palace? Why is he so unlucky? Crossing through time and space is one thing, but possessing some kind of king's body is asking for trouble! It's all his own fault, writing nonsense about alternate history. Now look what happened, he can't even go back to his own body.

  "What is this place?" Zhu Yinglong asked vaguely, he had a faint idea that he might not be able to return. If such things could happen so easily, the universe would be in chaos. So first of all, he needed to figure out where he was and what identity his current body held. Since he came here, he couldn't just wait for death, he still needed to eat and sleep. His mother used to scold him saying "leaving home is not having a home", this time it really was leaving home with no way back. He couldn't help but feel melancholic in his heart! Why do good things never happen to himself, while misfortunes come one after another? Heaven, you are too unfair! Zhu Yinglong cursed silently in his heart.

  "This is your bedroom, Your Highness!" Xu Gonggong repeated seriously, then looked at Zhu Yinglong with a puzzled expression, unable to understand why the king had changed so much after waking up, becoming stupid and silly, even not recognizing his own home.

  Forget it, this eunuch's clothes aren't great either, probably not high-quality, and naturally not very smart-looking. Asking further wouldn't yield an answer anyway. With the help of a palace-dressed girl, Zhu Yinglong finally managed to put on a complete set of ancient long-sleeved robes he had only seen in TV shows and movies. It seemed like it was a regular attire for a vassal king, but he didn't care about that anymore. The clothes were quite large, indicating that this new body was indeed somewhat weak. Well, no need to worry about losing weight now, Zhu Yinglong thought to himself with some self-mockery. However, his height was still decent, and his appearance could be considered handsome even by modern standards, which slightly calmed his inner frustration. He stood up and said, "I'm going out for a walk."

  "Your Highness, you haven't had any food from yesterday to now. I've already asked someone to cook a bowl of hundred-treasure lotus seed porridge for you, would you like some?"

  This Mr. Xu didn't mention it, but as soon as he did, Zhu Yinglong felt his new belly suddenly rumbling loudly, so he had to put aside the idea of understanding the environment first and nodded in agreement with Mr. Xu's suggestion to solve the Wuzang Temple first.

  The imperial cuisine was indeed extraordinary, Zhu Yinglong ate three bowls of hundred-treasure lotus seed porridge in one breath before stopping. A starving person can't eat too much at once, otherwise, he could have finished five bowls.

  Just as he had comfortably put down his bowl and chopsticks, a flurry of hurried footsteps was heard outside, followed by a loud, hoarse voice shouting: "The Emperor has arrived!"

  Zhu Yinglong was startled, and he himself had not yet figured out what his current surname and name were. How did the emperor come here? This king hadn't even understood what was going on, if the emperor saw through the cracks, what would happen? Should he pretend to be dizzy or pretend to have amnesia? If it's a minor illness, amnesia can't be believed. Pretend to be dizzy, just wake up and eat three bowls of Baobao lotus seed porridge, how could you suddenly faint? Zhu Yinglong was anxious in his heart, blaming the serving palace maid and eunuch for spreading the news too quickly, his mind was in a mess.

  "Little brother, you really scared me to death! Are you okay?" A young man in a golden yellow dragon robe with a pale face walked in and helped Zhu Yinglong up from his knees, asking with an unusually concerned tone.

  "My lord, my brother has worried the emperor." Zhu Ying's forehead was sweating profusely as he forced out this sentence, not daring to look at his opponent, so much so that he didn't even get a clear look at what this older brother looked like. He thought to himself, I'm already 25 years old, how can I still be calling someone who looks younger than me "older brother", it's really miserable!

  "Zhōng Xiàn, since you believe the king is safe, why don't you let those palace maids and eunuchs go?" The emperor's face lit up with joy, and he said to a middle-aged eunuch who had followed him in.

  "Yes, sir!" The middle-aged eunuch cast a slanted glance at Zhu Yinglong, who was kneeling on the ground and didn't dare to lift his head, before quickly turning around and retreating.

  "Zhōng Xiàn? Xìn Wáng?" Zhu Yinglong heard this title, his head buzzing with a loud noise, and he was instantly stunned. No way, could it be that he had possessed the body of Chongzhen, who killed his wife and cut off his own head in the Ming Dynasty? He was already terrified, but now he was even more dizzy and confused, not knowing where he was. Heaven, you don't have to play such a joke on me, do you? The protagonist he was supposed to replace was Chongzhen, so how did he become Chongzhen himself? Was this joke going too far?

  "Her Majesty the Queen has arrived!" Another loud voice echoed through.

  A young beauty with a phoenix coronet and a cloud-like cloak walked in, her figure was slender and elegant, her skin was as white as jade, her lips were red and her teeth were white, the fragrance of flowers accompanied her as she walked, but there was a hint of worry between her eyebrows that couldn't be dispelled. When she saw Zhu Yinglong wake up, she smiled immediately, like a hundred flowers blooming at once, extremely moving, and said: "Yu Jian woke up, great! The stone in the palace's heart can finally fall to the ground."

  Zhu Yinglong finally confirmed his speculation, and he indeed possessed the body of Chongzhen Emperor Zhu Youjian who was hanged on Coal Mountain, but for now, his identity is still Xīn Wáng.

  "My younger brother thanks Your Majesty for your concern." Zhu Yinglong hastily made his obeisance and said.

  The beautiful and elegant Empress Zhang uttered a soft "hmm" of inquiry, casting a questioning glance at Zhu Yinglong, who was hanging his head in shame. However, her gaze immediately shifted to Wei Zhongxian as he entered the room, and she closed her lips just as she was about to ask a question. With a faint smile, she said, "Let the imperial physician take good care of himself within the palace walls. When he has time, he can come visit Kun Ning Palace. I have matters to attend to, so I'll be taking my leave." She then nodded at Emperor Zhu Youjian and departed with her entourage of eunuchs and palace maids.

  Wei Zhongxian whispered a few words in the emperor's ear, and Zhu Yinglong, now the emperor's brother Zhu Youjian, instructed him with a few words, and he also left with his men.

  "Your Highness, you used to call the Empress 'sister', why...". After all the outsiders left, the palace maid who had helped him dress earlier reminded him in a low voice.

  "What?" Zhu Yinglong was now surprised, he didn't expect that out of the two sentences he said, one of them already revealed his weakness. What to do now? Could he really pretend to have amnesia and muddle through? It's easy to say, but not so simple to do. Moreover, just now when facing the Emperor and Empress, he basically didn't hesitate at all and acknowledged them, if he pretends to have amnesia again, wouldn't that be like "this place has no silver three hundred taels"?

  After several days of probing and using his own eyes, Zhu Yinglong finally figured out some things. The time he is currently in is Tianqi 4th year, three years away from Zhu Youjian becoming the emperor. He still lives in the Xuankun Palace of the Forbidden City. The first palace maid who discovered him waking up was called Yan Hong. The eunuch Xu's name was Xu Yingyuan, his personal attendant and also the manager eunuch of Xuankun Palace. Together with more than 20 eunuchs and palace maids, they formed all the permanent residents of Xuankun Palace.

  Originally a mature 25-year-old man, Zhu Yinglong suddenly became a 15-year-old boy. He didn't know how twisted his mind was, and he had to be careful not to say too much in this unfamiliar environment. Especially in the most noble but also the dirtiest palace, it's crucial to control one's mouth. These days, Zhu Yinglong only used his eyes to look and his ears to listen, without saying a word more than necessary. Moreover, he didn't dare to casually run around outside of Kunning Palace. The Forbidden City was so big, and Zhu Youjian knew the way, but he didn't, and he had no idea how strong Wei Zhongxian's power was inside and outside the palace at this time. If he carelessly wandered around, he might get into trouble. Moreover, there must be people from Wei Zhongxian by his side, and if he wasn't careful, even Zhu Youjian didn't know where he had gone. History would not necessarily continue to unfold as it originally did, and now he was uncertain about what would happen next.

  "Your Highness, you've been standing here for over an hour, let's go back." The little palace maid Yan Hong couldn't take it anymore. Since the prince fell off the fake mountain and woke up from his coma, he had become a different person. He used to love talking, but now he hardly spoke three words in a day, often just standing outside like a fool. This time was over an hour, and originally, the imperial tutor had come to urge him to attend class, but after seeing his state, he immediately gave up on the idea and truthfully reported it to the emperor, who is currently the Emperor Tianqi Zhu Youjian.

  He came to a strange world, and his previous hobbies could no longer be realized. Reading books was out of the question, as the complex characters made his head spin, and the texts were abstruse and difficult to understand. The historical and philosophical classics were quickly discarded, and only folk tales were available, although some were also stored in the imperial palace, but they were inaccessible to him. The late Ming era was a chaotic and complex society, and three of the four great classical novels were written during this period. There were many types of books, but most of them were out of print due to lack of fame. Especially for lonely men like Zhu Yinglong who had no girlfriend, they liked to study ancient erotic classics, which mostly originated from the Ming dynasty. The most famous one was "Jin Ping Mei" by Lanling Xiaoxiao Sheng. He thought that there should be many such books in the palace, but unfortunately, since he fell off the fake mountain, Emperor Zhu Yujian restricted his activity height and prohibited him from going out freely. This kind of life was like being imprisoned in modern people's eyes, although it was a luxurious life with fine clothes and food. As a result, daydreaming became the most likely thing for Zhu Yinglong to do.

  Emperor Zhu Yujian came to see him several times, which made Zhu Yinglong remember the face of this cheap brother. Empress Zhang also came many times. Zhu Yinglong followed the doctrine that "the more you speak, the more likely you are to lose", trying to say as little as possible, even not saying anything at all, and just nodding in agreement. So every time they came, they left disappointed. However, Emperor Zhu Yujian's rewards for him were getting more and more generous, possibly because he looked pitiful now.

  Before long, the news that Xiang Wang had fallen off a rockery in the palace and injured his head, suddenly becoming stupid, really annoyed Emperor Zhu Youjian. He whipped several eunuchs and palace maids, and the palace was temporarily calm. However, they did not dare to say it openly, but instead secretly discussed it. This kind of imperial secret was most interesting to ordinary people, and soon the whole city knew about it. The law does not blame the masses, and Emperor Tianqi also had no way out, so he temporarily exempted Zhu Youjian from attending school in the palace, letting him rest and recover in the Huishan Palace. He also ordered Wei Zhongxian to invite famous doctors everywhere to treat Zhu Youjian's stupidity.

  Zhu Yinglong also found himself overdoing it, pretending to be amnesiac was not enough, but now he had become a fake fool, however, it had already become a fact. At present, pretending to be foolish was the only way to conceal his identity, who made him not consider it well from the beginning?

  But if things go on like this, it's hard to say whether I'll still have the life of an emperor or not. Zhu Yinglong thought to himself constantly, historically speaking, Zhu Yijun wasn't portrayed as a fool, who would choose a fool to be an emperor? Since he had already come here, his other self in another world was probably reduced to ashes by now, even if he went back, it's impossible for there to be another Zhu Yinglong again. Moreover, even if he could go back, who knows when that would be, once he returned, he'd likely lose touch with society again, and might not have the same good fortune as he does now, having a physical body to occupy, at that time, he's afraid he'll become a lonely ghost, making it even harder to survive. It's better to make the most of this lower-level space-time and live life to the fullest, who cares about affecting the course of history? To hell with it! Must I, Zhu Yinglong, hang myself on Coal Mountain just because? Rather than living a dull life in that space-time, I'd rather have a thrilling one in this space-time. After all, he's already died once anyway!

  At this time, Zhu Yinglong began to believe that space-time could shuttle back and forth, and also believed in the theory of ghosts and gods. At least he still knew his name was Zhu Yinglong in another space-time, and all the things he knew in that space-time were in his brain. As for why he possessed Zhu Youjian's body, whether there would be any discomfort, and where Zhu Youjian's soul went, these questions deeply puzzled him. However, he needed to eat to maintain survival, and sleep to maintain energy, which proved that he was no different from others now, and didn't feel out of control with his current body. In short, it was just like this body had always been his, only a bit weaker.

  Now that he had decided to make a big move, Zhu Yinglong began to think about his future. Although the information in his mind was not comprehensive, he still remembered a lot. 1624 was indeed a great year of upheaval.

  The emperor abolished his own imperial academy and restricted his own freedom, so the first step was to leave the palace. In history, Zhu Yujian only went out to build a mansion after his grand wedding, but he couldn't wait until 1626. How could he get out? Zhu Yujian was at a loss for a moment, trapped in a dilemma. Knowing more didn't help if there was no place to apply it. However, Zhu Yujian's inner self, Zhu Yinglong, was a very determined person in later life. Once he decided on something, he wouldn't give up until he achieved his goal. With this target in mind, he naturally didn't find this prison-like life dull anymore. He thought of one idea, denied it, then thought of another, and denied that too, never giving up!