Everyone Knows I’m Plotting a Rebellion

[Reader comments enabled] Blurb: Seventeen years into his reign, the emperor still hasn’t named a crown prince. The country is unstable, and the adult princes have long been locked in a bloody struggle where they would gladly kill one another. Fortunately, the current emperor is vigorous and virile, with a thriving brood. He has fifteen sons, and Xie Zhao is eleventh in line. Unless something unexpected happens, the succession has nothing to do with him. So he decides to lie flat and wait to become an idle prince, spending his days eating, drinking, and having fun. That should make up for dying of overwork in his previous life. He never expected that at an ordinary family banquet, a screen would turn into a display and begin playing a video detailing how he, Emperor Yanwu, would launch a coup, kill four of his elder brothers, place the rest under house arrest, and slaughter the imperial clan as well as his brothers’ maternal families and in-laws to seize the throne. “Pfft!” Xie Zhao, who had been concentrating on drinking sour plum soup, spat it out. He was furious inside. Which fellow from my old world is trying to ruin me? “Fratricide to seize the throne?” His ten older brothers exchanged glances, brimming with murderous intent. “Slaughtering the imperial clan?” His uncles stroked their beards and smiled with benevolent menace. “And killing the maternal families and in-laws of every prince?” The founding dukes and marquises, who had just married their families into the imperial house, stared at him like a pack of wolves closing in. Xie Zhao was about to explain when he heard a metallic clang from the head of the hall. His father, the founding emperor of Yan, drew his sword and strode down the steps, his face clearly saying, “I’m going to hack this unfilial descendant to death!” Xie Zhao jolted and dropped to his knees, shouting, “Father! I’m innocent!” “Bathe in orchid water and wash with sweet herbs; wear radiant garments like flowers. The spirit lingers, turning and returning; its splendor shines without end.” Coming soon: Who Put the Dragon Robe on Me? Several eunuchs held up the dragon robe and looked down at him. “Prince of Jiyin, it’s time for you to ascend the throne.” * For three generations, the emperors of Great Yue died young. They ascended the throne as children and passed away in the prime of life, making it the norm for the empress dowager to rule from behind the curtain. With a young ruler and an uncertain realm, the eunuchs and the maternal relatives of the imperial family fought over the imperial seal. Before Xiao Luan transmigrated, the child emperor had just died, leaving the throne vacant once again. To sideline Empress Dowager He, several eunuchs conspired to enthrone the late emperor’s uncle, Prince of Jiyin. * It should have been good news, if only they hadn’t said it in such a condescending, charitable tone. The current Prince of Jiyin, Xiao Luan, sighed. “But what if I don’t want to ascend the throne right now?” Theme: Do things openly and honestly, and live with integrity.