I Became the Swapped Son of a Convicted Official

[The new story next door is now updating daily...]

Ling Yi had barely rolled around in the lap of luxury long enough to enjoy it when his father and older brothers bundled him up and turned him into the young grandson of the Crown Prince's tutor, a family sentenced to exile.

The Crown Prince plotted rebellion, and his tutor was executed. After the officials knelt for hours at the Meridian Gate, only the old, young, women, and children of the family were spared. Every grown man was beheaded. Dragged out of a life of luxury, Ling Yi was wrapped in mourning cloth and became the young concubine-born grandson of the Grand Tutor's household.

A three-year-old child shouldn't remember anything, but Ling Yi was an adult who had transmigrated here. He'd spent over ten years undercover near the border, and just as he was helping his side close in and capture the enemy, a stray bullet hit him. When he opened his eyes, he had become the legitimate youngest son of the eldest branch of the powerful Marquis of Zhuguo's family in the Great Zheng dynasty.

The carefree life he'd imagined was no longer an option. People died every day in the place of exile. To survive, he had to pick up the skills from his previous life and put them to use: organizing refugees to build infrastructure, recruiting bandits to fight foreign enemies, and managing both people's livelihoods and national defense. He became the lord of a border city.

Once life got better, troublemakers showed up. An imperial edict arrived from the palace of Great Zheng, and the man who had taken Ling Yi's place in the lap of luxury came with the emperor's boundless favor to claim the fruits of his labor.

Ling Yi spread his hands with a laugh. "You want to take the fruit? Fine. Go ahead, if you have what it takes."

The people of the border city were a tough lot. They didn't care about your titles or your commands. No matter whose edict it was, nothing mattered more than eating well, sleeping well, and living well. The lord of the border city wasn't just a title.

The princes turned on one another, and fires broke out across the Great Zheng dynasty. As the world plunged toward chaos, Ling Yi held the border city, only to be ordered to lead troops and put down the rebellion.

Ling Yi: ...

If military power had been handed to him on a platter, would he really turn it down?

A few reading tips:

1. Raising a child in the early part, infrastructure-building later.

2. The male lead is young, but of a senior generation. He acts like a child among adults, then lets loose later on.

3. He's somewhat brutal and not kindhearted. There are no saintly do-gooders here.

4. The style is old-fashioned. There's everything except romance.

Coming soon: "The Old Master Is Dashing and Impressive." Please add it to your reading list!

Ever since Cui Lu realized that life was a play, he cast off all his worries and lived as willfully as a man with no one left to answer to.

They'd have his household seized and his family punished in the end anyway. So he might as well eat, drink, and spend now. Why amass a family fortune or hoard private goods? It would all just end up enriching someone else. Better to make sure his own people benefited first.

So the daughters who had married out stared in bewilderment at the dowries he sent them, the grown sons looked at the banknotes in their hands, and the wives managing the household found themselves with far more private savings. Even the children who weren't grown yet received property of their own.

Cui Lu stroked his beard and nodded, then waved a hand grandly. "Take it and spend it. If you run short, I've got more here. Spend! Spend as much as you like!"

Yet the money always seemed scarce when he was hiding it away. Once he started handing it out for his descendants to spend, though, it never seemed to run out. Cui Lu was vexed.

Was all this ultimately going to benefit outsiders?

No, absolutely not. If one family couldn't spend it all, then ten families could spend it together. Bring in the in-laws and the neighbors, too. Every last bit had to go.

Ten years later, Cui Lu sat in the lofty Hall of the Bright Mirror. Below him knelt his children, grandchildren, relatives, and old friends. Even an imperial envoy was there. Everyone looked up at him with tears in their eyes, wishing him a long life and endless blessings.

Cui Lu: This isn't right! Today was supposed to be the day they came to seize my household. Did the imperial envoy get the wrong edict?

Oh dear, what am I supposed to do now?

Theme: Embrace the rising sun, face life with optimism and openness, and strive for what your heart desires!