The Legitimate Son of the Yongzheng Emperor: Hongshi's Road to Reversal

Li Ming, a modern graduate student in history, unexpectedly transmigrates into the third year of the Yongzheng reign and becomes Hongshi, the third imperial prince, who was historically put to death after losing the succession struggle. At this point, Yongzheng has already taken a dislike to him for his “unrestrained nature.” The Eighth Prince’s faction eyes him as a potential pawn, while his younger brother Hongli is already showing the makings of an heir, his brilliance impossible to hide. Armed with foreknowledge of the plot of the series “Yongzheng Dynasty,” Li Ming knows Hongshi’s destined end: becoming a casualty of the power struggle, dying in disgrace and leaving his name in ruins. To survive and change his fate, he conceals his abilities, pretending to be a useless, incorrigible wastrel of a prince. He treads carefully in front of the suspicious Yongzheng: seizing the chance to implement new policies to demonstrate his practical skills, secretly helping Yongzheng stabilize the court during the Eighth Prince’s faction’s attempted coup, quietly positioning himself to gain military power amid the northwestern campaigns, and engaging Hongli in a discreet contest for the throne. He navigates the whirlpool of imperial power, facing Yongzheng’s stern tests and Hongli’s relentless pressure, unraveling the Eighth Prince’s faction’s plots, and balancing the forces of the imperial harem and the court. From clearing spies out of his residence to infiltrating the Grand Council, from taking control of the capital’s military forces to influencing the secret edict naming the heir, this prince, once deemed “unfit for any important role,” uses political acumen far beyond his time to carve out a sliver of hope amid the palace’s deadly power struggles. In the end, he overturns history, ascends the throne, and opens a new chapter as the Yongxi Emperor.