The Brat I Raised Became Emperor

No romance, adored by all, father-and-son bond! When I crawled out of a mass grave, I was covered in wounds and didn't have a penny to my name.

Beside me was an abandoned baby, wrapped in brocade and wearing a solid-gold longevity lock engraved with the imperial surname, “Ji Yun.”

I picked him up and named him Shen Zhao, with the nickname Goudan.

“From today on, you can call me Dad.”

To earn money for his formula, I started out selling vegetables. Three months later, I landed a military supply contract with the Qingzhou garrison.

I have a few brothers: Zhao Tieshan, a northern frontier veteran with a crippled leg who never says much but would take a blade for me; Qian Sihai, a chubby merchant who complains about being broke but never hesitates to spend; Zhou Laohu, a local tough guy I beat into submission, who became my follower for life once he accepted me as his boss; and Heifeng, bandit chief of Black Wind Ridge, whom I talked into surrendering in just three sentences. Since then, he's kept the roads safe for me.

The eldest son of the Gu family in Qingzhou wants to go into business with me. Prefect Qin Muzhi helped get my son registered, and there's a mysterious person waiting for me over in Youzhou.

I'm nobody important. I'm a discarded son driven out of the marquis's estate, a criminal accused by my stepmother of treason and colluding with the enemy.

But my son calls me Dad.

So I'll make sure he can live with his head held high.

Years later, he really did become emperor. The court was full of kneeling officials, all calling him “Your Majesty.”

He looked at no one but me.

“Dad,” he said, “as long as you're happy.”

I said, “Sit up straight. Your dragon robe is crooked.”

That's my son.