I’m Chen Qing, a condemned prisoner in the Ministry of Justice’s death row.
On the night before my execution, someone switched me with the crown prince and sent me to the execution ground. The real crown prince escaped, and I was the one who faced the blade.
Just as it was about to fall, the empress dowager struck her head against a pillar in protest, and I got to keep my life. From then on, I lived in the Eastern Palace under the crown prince’s identity.
The whole court thinks I’m useless. The Noble Consort plants spies in my quarters, the second prince tests my knowledge in front of everyone, the crown princess keeps finding ways to sound me out, and even the Ministry of Justice dares to show up in the middle of the night to check who I am.
They don’t know that the more they look down on me, the more confident I become.
Mock me, and I gain prestige. Underestimate me, and I gain power. For prestige, I can get anything from medicine and law to the classics and accounting.
So please, keep looking down on me. Every time you laugh at me, you’re topping up my account.
I’ll keep the crown prince alive, investigate corrupt officials for him, sit the imperial examinations for him, and take a blade for him.
When my prestige is finally maxed out, I’ll take the throne in his place.
