What Should I Do After Accidentally Transmigrating Into the Real Person in a Wild History?

After transmigrating, Jiang Songnian found himself in the body of a fake empress dowager who was a man in disguise.

At the time, the Da Yu dynasty was beset by internal and external troubles, and the imperial capital had only just been reclaimed. The real Empress Dowager had died, and the original body was her cousin, who had assumed her identity.

His uncle, the Chancellor, patted Jiang Songnian on the shoulder and said earnestly, "The court's power has fallen into the Regent's hands. The future of Da Yu rests on you, my worthy nephew."

Jiang Songnian choked.

The Regent?

Was it Chi Shu, the Regent notorious in history for his brutality?

Hugging the little bundle in his arms, the future Restorer Emperor and idol of countless history buffs, Jiang Songnian wanted to cry.

Me, fight the Regent for power? For real? TvT

*

In the third year of Chengtian, enemy forces invaded the capital. The new Emperor had barely warmed his throne before he was beheaded, and his only child was lost among the common people.

The Regent, Chi Shu, turned the tide. After things stabilized, a beautiful woman came to the capital with a child, claiming to be the late Emperor's favorite consort, Lady Jiang, and the child to be his only son.

Jiang Songnian had memorized the Jiang family's prepared story for three days and nights, but forgot every bit of it when faced with Chi Shu.

Jiang Songnian: I... well... The journey was exhausting... I'm hungry.

Chi Shu lounged against the back of his chair, sizing Jiang Songnian up. "Lady Li, oh, no, Your Majesty the Empress Dowager. You've already had tea and snacks three times. Are you still hungry?"

*

Rumor had it that strange omens appeared in the sky when Chi Shu was born, and the Imperial Astronomical Bureau deemed him ill-fated.

His mother was mad and cursed him to die.

His father and brothers feared him and made things difficult for him at every turn.

Chi Shu grew up through one hardship after another. At thirteen, he was sent to the battlefield.

Everyone thought he would die in that terrible battle. But not only did he survive, he turned defeat into victory and made a name for himself.

A bad name.

Everyone knew the Regent was a vicious man who lost himself to bloodlust on the battlefield, killing even his own men.

Chi Shu couldn't care less.

He wanted everyone to fear him.

Until the day the young Emperor was attacked. Chi Shu took a knife wound, and Jiang Songnian anxiously bandaged it. His concern didn't look like an act.

Chi Shu had planned to eliminate the Jiang family and send the fake Empress Dowager to the underworld with them. But suddenly, he changed his mind.

She wasn't very smart anyway. He could let her stay a little longer.

*

The first entry in the unofficial histories said the Regent, Chi Shu, was cold-blooded and violent, and once had court officials with opposing views beaten to death for three days straight.

As Jiang Songnian listened to the wails from inside the hall, he covered his ears. This is true!

The second entry said the Regent had long coveted the throne and plotted a coup while the new Emperor was still young.

Jiang Songnian secretly sent the young Emperor out of the palace, only for the Imperial Guards to surround him that night.

Jiang Songnian: This is true too!

The third entry said the Regent had no regard for propriety and had an illicit affair with Lady Jiang, the Empress Dowager.

After the failed coup, Jiang Songnian faced Chi Shu, who looked ready to devour him alive, and pointed at the sword by his neck, smiling obsequiously. "Regent, let's talk this out."

Fake! Fake! Absolutely fake!

Jiang Songnian wasn't cut out for political scheming. All he could do was his best to protect the young Emperor and keep history from going off course.

The Regent put his trusted men in charge of the court. Jiang Songnian let him.

The Regent kept Jiang Songnian under soft confinement. Jiang Songnian endured it.

The Regent was injured protecting the Emperor. Jiang Songnian panicked.

As Jiang Songnian bandaged Chi Shu's wound, he silently prayed with all his heart: Let the guilty answer for their own crimes. Please don't take it out on the two of us!

The historical Lady Jiang had only been Empress Dowager for three years. Jiang Songnian resigned himself to fate.

But his expected death never came, and the third entry in the unofficial histories came true first.

One-on-one romance, both leads are sexually inexperienced, happy ending.

A sweet story about raising a child. The love interest knows from the start that the protagonist is a man in disguise as a woman.

A hodgepodge of dynasties and official titles, so don't scrutinize the details too closely (awkwardly fiddles with fingers).

Theme: Studying history makes one wise.