A Cannon-Fodder Prince's Guide to Survival

After being reincarnated as Yongqi, the unlucky prince from history, Lin Qi felt like his whole world had collapsed.

Above him was his mother, Empress Nara, seemingly driven to the brink of collapse by palace life. Below him was his father, the Qianlong Emperor, a narcissistic, coldhearted all-rounder whom people called a political machine.

Though Yongqi was born of the empress, it seemed to count for little. Historically, he was quiet and mediocre, and Qianlong never thought much of him.

After Empress Nara cut off her hair, his situation grew even worse. Qianlong took his anger at her out on Yongqi, treating him with cold cruelty. In the end, he suffered the emperor's wrath and died before thirty, without a title, descendants, or love, and seemingly with nothing to look forward to.

Lin Qi didn't want to end up like that. At the very least, he couldn't just lose his life in his twenties without knowing why. Even if he couldn't become emperor, he wanted to live to a ripe old age.

To survive, he first saved the younger siblings who had died young in history and eased his mother's troubled heart, preventing the tragedy of Empress Nara cutting off her hair.

Then he devoted himself to his studies, worked hard to improve, and built a reputation for being intelligent and filial, earning praise across the court and country.

Finally, during the fire at the Old Summer Palace, he took the Fifth Prince's place and saved Qianlong, earning the emperor's esteem.

At last, Qianlong made him a prince, and Empress Nara was still alive and well. Thinking he'd escaped the anxiety of struggling to survive, Lin Qi decided to lie flat and slack off.

But to his surprise, even that was interpreted as a sign of his calm restraint and pure heart.

When he finally stood at the pinnacle of power, Lin Qi wondered: I really just wanted to slack off and stay alive. How did I become the one everyone wants to see on the throne?

Theme: No matter the circumstances, never give up on your life.