Gu Jin transmigrates into a political intrigue novel he'd read, the kind popular on Qidian. The male lead, Qi Yiguang, wages war across the land, decisive and ruthless. In the end, he unites the realm, brings peace to all under heaven, and leaves his name in the history books.
Though he transmigrates into the body of a sickly man, Gu Jin isn't willing to spend his whole life cooped up in some poor mountain village. He decides to use his knowledge of the plot to join the male lead's forces as a strategist. Once the realm is united, he might rise to the highest ranks, perhaps even become prime minister.
The good news is that he successfully joins Qi Yiguang's forces and becomes his strategist, just as he'd hoped. The male lead greatly appreciates his suggestions and ideas, and often invites him to talk late into the night and sleep side by side.
Some plot points don't quite go as expected at first. For example, he's supposed to walk ten li to the place where the story begins to find the male lead, but instead he finds the injured male lead just after leaving home. Still, the result is good, but... don't they sleep side by side a little too often?
In the end, Gu Jin achieves his original goal and even manages to become the most favored person in the harem, among other accomplishments, though the harem only consists of him. Still, he can't figure out how two straight men ended up together.
*
Qi Yiguang is reborn, back before he met his teacher, back when Gu Jin was still alive.
In his previous life, it was only after Gu Jin slowly lost his warmth in Qi Yiguang's arms that Qi Yiguang, already seated on the throne, understood. The way he was always thinking about what his teacher was doing, and the pang of jealousy he felt when other women came near him, was called love. He loved this man.
In this life, he'll approach his teacher just as he did in the previous one and take good care of him, making sure he gets healthy. He'll never again let his teacher exhaust himself and pour his heart and soul into Qi Yiguang, until he reaches the point of complete depletion.
But Qi Yiguang has no intention of diminishing his teacher's achievements. He'll cherish Gu Jin and make sure that, in the end, Gu Jin stands beside him at the very top.
1v1, happy ending, stoic, straight-laced, sickly and gentle shou x reborn gong who turns his own heart and pursues his beloved wholeheartedly
Theme: Love can transcend time and space
