Tang Congxin, a soul from the modern era, transmigrated at the age of six into the body of Tang Ye, the nominal third son of Prince Ji of the Dayin Dynasty. In truth, however, he was a “discarded son,” swapped at birth with the son of a loyal servant so that the prince and princess consort could protect their true legitimate heir. This secret meant he was destined from birth to be a pawn they could cast aside at any moment. Not long after he transmigrated, Prince Ji was demoted to commoner for getting caught up in a court power struggle, and the whole family was imprisoned at Cicada Temple in the remote province of Fangzhou. Throughout more than a decade of bleak confinement, Tang Congxin never gave in to despair. He chanced upon Ashina Gudulu, a fierce general from the Western Regions who had also been exiled there, and learned from him a powerful method of advancing through physical cultivation, tempering his body and steadily building his strength. Meanwhile, drawing on an adult's judgment and a transmigrator's store of knowledge, he diligently studied the classics, histories, philosophy, military strategy, and statecraft at the temple, quietly weaving modern ideas about management and economics together with ancient wisdom as he laid plans for the future.
