When Yinzhen from Scarlet Heart Transmigrates into Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace

The moon of the thirteenth year of the Yongzheng reign had yet to fade when Yinzhen opened his eyes and found himself dressed in an emperor's robes, facing the dragon throne of his son, Hongli.

“…” His veins bulged as he gripped the memorial about river works. The handwriting was so ugly it made even Eighth Prince's secret letters look easy on the eyes! Worse still, when he tried to call for Su Peisheng to prepare his brush and ink, he blurted out, “Li Yu, get me some quick-acting heart medicine!”

The harem was a full-blown tribulation ground. Gao Xiyue wept and begged him to settle a dispute, claiming Ruyi had accused her of being “devoid of benevolence.” He looked at Consort Xian, her face flushed and her neck stiff with indignation, and felt a headache so fierce he wanted to bang his head against a pillar. Wasn't that exactly the face his Thirteenth Brother made whenever he got into a heated argument?

At the sacrificial rites, Ruyi once again “accidentally” took a place above her station. Gao Xiyue shrieked, “How dare you overstep your rank!” He roared, “The Ulanara clan has no respect for the rules,” then turned to see Ruyi's eyes as red as a rabbit's while she muttered, “I can't defend myself no matter what I say.” Great. Where had his imperial dignity gone? How had he turned into an old man trying to break up a fight?

And then there was Yehenara Yihuan. She played a tune on the zither, and he nearly blurted out, “Ruoxi.” One night, while reading memorials until late, he stared absentmindedly at the name “Prince Yi, Yinyang.” Li Yu caught him at it, and the boy looked as if he'd seen a ghost.

A day in the life of Fourth Master as Qianlong: he cracks down hard and confiscates the homes of corrupt officials, only to turn around and deal with the harem's nonsense about “whose pearl hairpin went missing”; he leaves the court trembling after a stern reprimand, then returns to the harem and gets so riled up by Ruyi he wants to flip the imperial dining table.

What a topsy-turvy life. He can rule the realm, but he can't soothe the petty grievances of these consorts. Yinzhen gazed up at the Forbidden City's ceiling and took a deep breath. If he caught Ruyi arguing with someone again, he would... he would burn every one of Hongli's poetry collections!