The Little Emperor’s Guide to Being Doted On [Ancient to Modern]

(1) Rongrong was an overlooked little prince. With enemy troops at the gates, the old emperor put him on the throne and ran away. The good news was that at the last possible moment, Rongrong and his few remaining officials transmigrated to the modern world. His officials included, among others, a top scholar who had placed first in all three imperial examinations at eighteen, and a great general who crushed the Xiongnu at twenty. Surely they could make a name for themselves in the modern world! The bad news was that those were their accomplishments when they were young. Now they were old officials with creaky joints. They were old men.* No matter. The little emperor believed he could make a name for himself on his own! But… there was another piece of bad news: the little emperor had just turned three QAQ (2) “Today, on Longteng Avenue in our city, a group of people in bizarre clothing disturbed the public order. Among them was a three-year-old child and several elderly people. The child has been taken to an orphanage…” At the orphanage, the little emperor clung to the railings, tears in his eyes. “Grandpa, get me out of here…” The old officials cut their palms and swore, “We will do everything in our power to rescue Your Majesty!” They had to prove they could raise and educate a child before they could take the little emperor out of the orphanage. And so The elderly civil official became a university professor, giving lectures and publishing countless books! The old general became a martial arts movie star, famous in every household! The pastry chef from the imperial kitchen became a food blogger with a million followers! (3) Rongrong had been neglected in ancient times and abandoned at a Taoist temple soon after he was born. Growing up alongside him was Xie Ci, a hostage prince from an enemy kingdom. Rongrong and Xie Ci often argued and made threats: “Fluffy/Prickly, if you were the only kid here, I'd have ditched you ages ago!” On Rongrong's first day at the modern orphanage, he sat on the steps holding a bottle of Wangzai milk. His friends pointed to a little boy hogging the sandbox in the distance and explained, “Rongrong, that's Xie Ci, the boss of the orphanage. His dad is a CEO and his mom is a movie star. He got lost when he was little and was only found a few days ago, but he refuses to go home and insists on staying here. Don't mess with him, Rongrong.” As his friends kept saying, “Don't go over there,” Rongrong walked up and crouched in front of Xie Ci. “Cici, are you waiting for me here? But there are lots of kids here. Are we going to stop being friends?” Xie Ci threw an arm around his shoulders. “Don't stop being friends! I've been waiting here for you for three days. I'm even the boss now!” *The grandpas are in their forties: grandpas by ancient standards, handsome older guys by modern ones. ·Primarily a child-rearing story, with a long early-childhood arc. Theme: After hardship comes happiness, and kindness will be rewarded.