--Written rather simply. I may revise it later.
Year Fourteen of the Yuanle era.
The Fifth Prince, His Highness Prince Jin, had recently gone out to enjoy himself. Returning to his residence drunk, he accidentally fell into a pond. When they pulled him out, he had a fever and was delirious. After remaining unconscious for ten days, he woke up and gained a divine artifact.
It was called the Narrator System.
From then on, His Highness Prince Jin's carefree dream was shattered. He had wanted nothing to do with the struggle for power and had only hoped to get a fiefdom as soon as possible, then go live it up. Now he had no choice but to get up at three in the morning every day to attend court.
Shi Xiejiu was so tired he wanted to die.
He'd finally transmigrated into a good position, but had no desire whatsoever to fight for the throne. He only wanted a peaceful life of good food, drink, and fun.
He had finally managed to annoy the emperor into agreeing to let him leave for his fiefdom in a month, never to be seen again. But then...
Narrator:
["He never expected to get stuck with this stupid Narrator System, which forced him to stay in this godforsaken place where he had to go to court before dawn every day. All his previous efforts to pester Father Emperor, crawl under the bed and pretend to be insane, babble nonsense, hang white silk in the room like a swing, and drink himself sick with poison had all been for nothing. Couldn't this damn narrator go bother someone else?!"
Prince Jin cursed the narrator in his mind once again.
The narrator hereby responds: Once bound, no returns or exchanges, dear.
"I can't believe this. That damn narrator exposed my inner thoughts again." Prince Jin was utterly miserable, and could only get used to it as he thought, "Luckily, the whole capital already knows I love causing trouble. Father Emperor won't punish me again over this."
"...This is ridiculous. Why expose me again?" Prince Jin was fed up. "There are so many people at court. Can't you expose someone else for a change?!"
"You've caused trouble to the point where the whole capital knows about it, and you still think you haven't been punished enough? I say you've gotten off too lightly!" Emperor Yuanle was so furious his face twisted. Then he realized the narrator had actually listened to Prince Jin and switched targets, and that the new target was him. He grew even angrier.]
Shi Xiejiu: "..." Great. I'm done for.
--
The court fell into an eerie silence.
Fortunately, Emperor Yuanle was the founding emperor, always robust, broad-minded, composed, and in complete control.
"Dock Prince Jin's pay for a month and make him copy a book five times. He can't leave until he's finished!"
Emperor Yuanle felt much better.
Shi Xiejiu did not.
Narrator:
["Seriously? Copying books again? Can't that old geezer think of a different punishment? Copying it ten times last time practically scrambled my brain. Luckily, I'd made Sister Lüping and the others learn to imitate my handwriting when we were kids, so they copied most of it for me. That's the only reason the old geezer didn't catch on."
Prince Jin thought this, then despairingly realized the narrator was targeting him again.
His heart went cold.
"No wonder it's the Fifth Prince. He knew from childhood to have the people around him learn to imitate his handwriting and copy books for him. Why didn't I think of that back then?"
The Fourth Prince was consumed with regret. He suddenly felt that all those books he'd copied by hand back then had been needless suffering. He should have realized that the Fifth Prince had been a little rascal from the start. The way he always looked so cheerful after finishing his copying had clearly been suspicious.]
The Fourth Prince: "..."
Shi Xiejiu thought gratefully: Brothers forever, in my heart.
The Fourth Prince: Don't thank me. I don't want it at all!
Theme: Strive to survive in a difficult environment.
