The Deposed Crown Prince's Laid-Back Life

Just after completing his poverty-alleviation assignment, the promising young university student Shen Chenghui is transported into a Mary Sue novel and becomes its villainous, deposed crown prince.

In the original story, he chases power and profit and stops at nothing to get what he wants. In the end, he is disgraced and exiled to the savage lands of the southwest over embezzlement from disaster relief funds.

But that isn't the end of his story.

In the book, unable to accept his defeat at the male lead's hands, he keeps digging his own grave, gathers his former followers, and plots a rebellion. After his defeat, he is sentenced to death.

When Shen Chenghui arrives, his former followers have already assembled and are ready to join forces for their grand plan.

With death just around the corner, Shen Chenghui thinks: ...I'd better keep my head down and live like a lazy fish!

But when he sees his former followers loafing around all day and eating and drinking like there's no tomorrow, Shen Chenghui runs into a problem. The relief grain he can spare won't be enough to feed them!

So Shen Chenghui takes all these energetic grown men out to reclaim wasteland, farm, and do business. First, they've got to get their lives in order!

Three years later, Shen Chenghui has become the richest man in the southwest and is living the carefree life of a wealthy, idle fish.

But his former followers, with their burning ambition, grow more and more restless. They cautiously sound him out: "Your Highness, we aren't short of silver anymore. When shall we return to the capital and reclaim everything that belongs to you?"

Shen Chenghui: "..."

Looks like the family business still isn't big enough. These grown men have too much free time again!

Shen Chenghui has no choice but to have them build another hundred miles of road, reclaim another hundred hectares of wasteland, and construct another city...

Three years pass, then another three. The disgraced crown prince of old becomes a wise ruler in the eyes of the people.

Shen Chenghui returns to the capital and inherits the throne. He thinks: You won't believe me, but all I ever wanted was to be a lazy fish.

The Crown Prince's followers: As expected, Your Highness is brilliant. Without spending a single soldier, he reclaimed the throne and won fame throughout the land.

#I'm not staging a rebellion. I just want to be a lazy fish#

#Your Highness, it's time to inherit the empire#

#A wise new emperor is truly a blessing to us common folk#

Cover art by Sanye Cao-Zhu Zai

Theme: Our goal is to be a wealthy, carefree lazy fish