After her midterm exams, Shen Zhixu stays up all night reading a historical political-intrigue novel. When she opens her eyes, she has been born into its world as the only son of a respectable Liang dynasty family of civil officials.
After eighteen years of hard study, he passes the palace examination. But to avoid criticism from the court and the public, his father, a director in the Ministry of Personnel, lets him be assigned to the Ministry of Revenue's most grueling office, the Department of Expenditure.
Fortunately, the Shen family has been upright for generations and stays out of factional politics. Far removed from the succession struggles in the original novel, Shen Zhixu spends his days with ledgers and abacuses, finding ways to amuse himself despite the hardship.
The tiny Department of Expenditure is crowded with all kinds of officials. Waves from court politics seep down through every level, and each colleague has an agenda of their own. As a newcomer with no connections and no experience, he can only keep his head down and cautiously coast along, navigating favors, personal ties, and competing interests just to stay alive.
Some time later.
In his colleagues' eyes, he has more schemes than anyone. His immediate superior nods approvingly: No matter how difficult the assignment, he can be trusted to get it done. A little more experience, and he'll be the perfect successor.
Shen Zhixu, inwardly: No! Don't make promises you can't keep. I just want a quiet life, balancing accounts and getting by!
He had hoped to live a quiet, uneventful life, but an accident led to a night of passion with a colleague from his office.
The man started work the same day he did. He is usually taciturn, and everyone says his family is poor. Whenever the two of them are alone, the man gazes at him in silence, looking as if he has something painful to say, as if Shen Zhixu were some unforgivable heartbreaker.
To make up for it, Shen Zhixu takes care of him in every way he can.
When the man has no money for food, Shen Zhixu brings an extra portion from home. Worried about him walking to court every day, he swallows the sting of the expense, pays for a carriage out of his own pocket, and invites the man to ride with him.
When their superior gives him a hard time and leaves him working late into the night, Shen Zhixu brings him a late-night snack and keeps him company.
Then one day, by a twist of fate, Shen Zhixu discovers his colleague's true identity. The man is none other than the crown prince of the Liang dynasty, revered by everyone in court, cold-blooded and inscrutable in the original novel, and destined to become emperor.
He is the protagonist chosen by fate in the entire political-intrigue novel, the central figure who will shake the realm. All who stand in his way become stepping stones on his path to the throne, and meet miserable ends.
Realizing he somehow got tangled up with the crown prince, Shen Zhixu feels his scalp prickle. His first thought is: Resign. I have to resign right now! Get as far away as possible!
After a long period of secret planning, Shen Zhixu makes up his mind to feign illness and resign, then leave the capital for his grandmother's estate to recover and avoid trouble. But he has barely submitted his leave request and stepped out of his superior's office when he sees the man standing quietly beneath the corridor. The man has shed his plain clothes and now wears the crown prince's python robe, with guards standing at attention behind him. His presence is overwhelming.
His eyes are deep and dark, fixed firmly on Shen Zhixu.
"A Xu, where are you planning to go?"
A well-bred young nobleman who seems mild-mannered but loves to grumble, in the bottom role, x an aloof and restrained crown prince with a deep, calculating mind, in the top role.
Also known as: "The Second Young Master of the Chancellor's Family's Daily Grind at the Ministry of Revenue." The dynasty and its institutions are fictional, and everything serves the story. A light ensemble cast.
Blurb dated August 1, 2026
Theme: Stay positive and content, and you'll bloom in your own way
