After Resigning from Office, I Took Up Fortune-Telling

As one of the most notorious young wastrels in the capital, Xie Tangru, heir to the Duke of Wei, is no good at either literature or martial arts. His greatest talents are cockfighting and dog racing. The most remarkable thing he has done in his twenty years is be named the court's third-place scholar by the late emperor, all because he had a handsome face. Just as he has learned from his mistakes, decided to turn over a new leaf, and is preparing to make a name for himself at court, the old emperor suddenly drops dead, and a new emperor takes the throne. Only then does Xie Tangru accidentally discover that he is the vile cannon fodder in a political intrigue novel. His only purpose is to serve as a selfish, narrow-minded fool, making the impoverished protagonist's astonishing talent and concern for the world shine all the brighter. In the end, unable to accept his fate, he joins the deposed crown prince's rebellion and dies a miserable death. Xie Tangru has an epiphany. On the day the new emperor ascends the throne, he resigns and heads home. Having seen through the ways of the world, he devotes himself to seeking immortality, and takes up fortune-telling and character readings in the streets and alleys as his favorite pastime. Until one day, a customer comes to see him. He reads the man's fortune: "Your fate is marked by misfortune. You will have no children, and your blessings will be brief, your life short." The man's attendant is so furious he draws his sword and tries to cut him down. Xie Tangru says indignantly, "Do you only want to hear nice things, and can't handle the truth? What did I do wrong?" Not long after, the new emperor has him confined in Qinglu Terrace, guarded on all sides by the imperial troops. Looking at the emperor's familiar face, Xie Tangru repents sincerely: "I was wrong! Don't come any closer! Aaaah!" *A story that is probably about how everyone else ascends to become an immortal, but the protagonist ascends to become an empress. *I really can't write blurbs anymore. This will have to do. *Happy ending, with plenty of melodrama. Upcoming novel: "After the Heavenly Dao Awakens" Lou Qing, the Heavenly Dao, wakes up one day to find his world riddled with outsiders who have transmigrated into it. Today, the Third Young Master of the Chen family declares, "Don't look down on a poor young man!" Tomorrow, the Eldest Daughter of the Feng family proclaims, "My fate is mine to decide, not Heaven's!" More importantly, Xiang Zheyue, the child of destiny whom he chose after careful consideration, has not smoothly entered the world's greatest sect and achieved fame. Instead, he has been left alone in a ruined temple, gravely injured and on the brink of death. The transmigrator into a book steals his place as the Immortal Venerable's disciple and strips away his natural gifts. The reborn one takes his opportunities and secret treasures, then maliciously leads him down the demonic path. The mission-taker takes over his fiancee's identity, breaks off the engagement without hesitation, then pursues him for thousands of miles, trying to force him into slavery. Everyone bullies and humiliates him, seeking to kill him. Lou Qing: "...Heh." * In the ruined temple, Xiang Zheyue has grown weary of the world and lost all interest in life. He waits for the last group of cultivators to come and kill him. But the person who arrives is not one of those despicable cultivators, eager to drink his blood and devour his flesh. Instead, it is a beautiful young man who steps through the moonlight, as if divine. The young man pulls him back from the brink of death, finds an immortal master to teach and guide him, and gives him divine weapons and hidden treasures that others can only dream of. The young man tells him that he was supposed to receive the Heavenly Dao's sole favor, and become an exceptionally gifted figure followed by countless people. But the young man does not know that the person he pulled from the mire is not the gentle, kind-hearted victim he imagines, but an out-and-out demon. Had he arrived just a moment later, he would have found a scene of corpses and blood. But it doesn't matter. As long as Lou Qing likes him, he can crawl back from Hell to the mortal world, wear a human skin, and forever pretend to be the kindhearted child of destiny Lou Qing wants him to be. As long as Lou Qing never leaves his side. * "I want you to favor only me among all the people in the world, and I want you to love no one but me, forever." Theme: Even after enduring great hardship, hold fast to your convictions.