A slow-witted, honest man x a ruthless fake holy man
Jiang Zhi heard one good piece of news and one bad piece of news.
The good news: Her biological older brother, Jiang Lin, had topped the imperial examinations. The Jiang family was about to rise to prominence.
The bad news: Her brother had eloped with a woman of unknown origins.
For Jiang Zhi, both were bad news.
Because her entire family was urging her to impersonate her brother and serve as an official. She and her brother were fraternal twins, and aside from their sex, they looked almost identical.
Grandfather: The top scorer! Do you know how hard that is? Just take his place and make a name for yourself. Don't worry, I have connections to protect you!
Mother: Your grandfather is right. Go out and see the world. Marriage isn't necessarily a good path, especially since it's hard to find another man like your father.
Father: Your mother is right!
Watching the pocket money in her piggy bank dwindle, Jiang Zhi hesitantly agreed.
Being a low-ranking official at the Hanlin Academy shouldn't be too hard.
But on her first day at court, Prince An, Xiao Yichen, who had been practicing as a lay Buddhist at a monastery, staged a coup and became the regent.
To Jiang Zhi, Xiao Yichen was imposing and cold, ready to have people executed at a word. He didn't seem like someone who had ever fasted or prayed to Buddha.
With her work in a complete mess, Jiang Zhi had no choice but to settle for currying favor with Xiao Yichen.
To put it plainly: becoming Xiao Yichen's lackey.
In practice:
When Xiao Yichen fell ill, she personally cared for him day and night.
When he was attacked, she caught a blade with her bare hands.
When he was in a bad mood, she went to the palace in the middle of the night to cheer him up.
When he was bitten by a snake while bathing outdoors, she sucked out the venom herself. (It was a harmless water snake.)
Hard work paid off, and Xiao Yichen treated her better and better. But there was something a little off about the way he looked at her. Like a hungry dog eyeing a tasty bun, it made her feel rather embarrassed.
The male lead's perspective:
Xiao Yichen felt that his zodiac year was going especially badly.
He had been attracted to Jiang Zhi, Jiang Lin's younger sister, at the Jiang residence, but after spending just a few days with her, Jiang Zhi had died of illness.
After several days of misery, he discovered that his body had betrayed his thoughts and transferred its affections to Jiang Lin, a frail and scrawny man. He couldn't believe it, and he was mortified.
Most importantly, before he even had a chance to be disgusted, Jiang Lin ran away. How dare he run!
*
When Jiang Zhi realized that Xiao Yichen was interested in her, she immediately went to her grandfather.
Jiang Zhi: Hurry, use your connections to get me out of government! I can't keep doing this job!
Grandfather: I don't have any connections anymore. They all went off to eat dirt. They were gone by your first day at court.
Jiang Zhi: ...
Heaven wants her dead!
