I, a Corporate Drone, Transmigrated to the Zhengde Era and Revitalized the Ming Dynasty

Modern office drone Zhu Xiaole stays up late revising a proposal, then opens his eyes to find he has transmigrated into the Ming dynasty as the Zhengde Emperor, Zhu Houzhao. Faced with a dragon bed that digs into his back, a court full of “old fogies,” and a harem drowning in rules, he brings his office-worker mindset straight into the palace: he wants to turn morning court into an “online meeting” and complains that memorials are “PowerPoints with no punctuation.” He gives the eunuchs nicknames like “Tony” and “Sister Milk Tea,” teaches the imperial consorts to start creative side businesses selling detachable hairpins, and gets mistaken for a “cosplay nut” when he goes incognito. When haggling, he pulls out the ridiculous line, “I hereby grant you the honor of saving face,” and even helps artisans stand up to exploitative bosses and defend their rights.

He uses a “court merit-point system” to make ministers compete for experience points, drives off Japanese pirates with a “popcorn rain,” and has foreign envoys listen to modern hit songs reworked as Kunqu opera. Though he’s clearly aiming to be a “checked-out emperor,” his antics accidentally fill the Ming with a cheerful spirit, and even spies sent by rebellious princes end up becoming his fans. This is a hilarious transmigration tale that folds an office drone’s grumbling into an ancient imperial court, with enough jokes to make you spit out your food. Watch as this absurd emperor turns the Zhengde reign into a “Ming Dynasty Carnival.”