A Surgeon’s Guide to Surviving in the Prince’s Manor

The Audit Becomes Emperor has started updating. If you’re interested, check it out next door. After grinding away for seven or eight years, Ning Jiu had finally been promoted to head of surgery. Then one bottle of counterfeit Moutai later, he opened his eyes in another world, inhabiting Ning Jiu, the abandoned son of a marquis’s family, cursed to bring misfortune and death to his relatives and elders. On his very first day, an imperial edict arranged his marriage to Prince Yan, Yan Yunzhou. Yan Yunzhou was a living King of Hell, commander of the 120,000-strong Northern Border Army. He had guarded the northern frontier for fifteen years despite his frail health, yet everyone at court hoped he would die. The person in the palace was waiting for his death so he could reclaim military authority. The officials at court would not send provisions and pay to the northern frontier until he was dead. Even his younger brother, whom he had doted on since childhood, joined forces with the man in the palace to make an attempt on his life while he was gravely ill. It seemed the entire court wanted him dead. This imperial marriage edict was as transparent as Sima Zhao’s ambitions. They were counting on Ning Jiu to curse Yan Yunzhou to death as soon as he entered the household. Ning Jiu’s blood pressure shot straight to 180. He’d only just arrived, and already he’d been tossed into a life-or-death predicament: marry a walking calamity like him to a dying King of Hell? They might as well just take his life outright. All he could hope was that his years of study would keep that prince alive a little longer, giving him more time to cling to life. But on the very night he arrived, Yan Yunzhou was poisoned and attacked. The man on the bed stared at him with pitch-black eyes. “Master Ning, you certainly live up to your reputation.” Ning Jiu was sweating buckets. “Your Highness, you have to believe me. If there’s anyone in this world who wants you to live to a ripe old age and die peacefully, it’s me.” That night, the prince’s residence ran red with blood. Though the man on the bed was so frail that he coughed blood onto his fingertips, and illness had reduced him to his last breath, he still carried an unmistakable air of steely resolve. “Go stay next door. You can decide what to do after I’m dead.” Decide what to do? Was he expected to be buried with him? “Your Highness’s bed is big enough. How about giving me half?” He needed to see if there was still any hope of saving him. Yan Yunzhou found the marquis’s son who had married into his household to bring him bad luck rather amusing. Normally, Ning Jiu was cautious, afraid of dying, and obediently well-behaved. But once he got drunk, it was like he became someone else. “You poor thing. You can’t even show it when you’re sad.” “Come on, drink up. A good drunk washes away a thousand sorrows.” “Good boy, let me see your wound. I’ll make sure you live for decades more.” Ning Jiu pulled out every trick he knew to keep Yan Yunzhou alive. No antibiotics? He made allicin himself. No alcohol? He brought advanced distillation techniques with him. Don’t ask. It was all for the sake of staying alive... P.S. The novel explains how to make antibiotics, including allicin, sulfonamides, and aspirin, as well as oxygen and pure alcohol. You’ll learn everything you need to know. Bookmark it: if you ever transmigrate and happen to share a name with the protagonist, you’ll be set to reach the pinnacle of life. Bonus Scene 1 Yan Yunzhou: “If you’re staying, come over and help me get undressed.” Yan Yunzhou opened his arms slightly. Ning Jiu was completely dumbfounded. Were people in ancient times really this uninhibited? Did he want a hug? This man was a prince who killed without blinking, and the room outside had just been drenched in blood. If he didn’t hug him, would he be spilling blood next? Nothing mattered more than staying alive. After hesitating, Ning Jiu stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the man’s slender waist. Everyone in the room instantly fell silent with fear. Then a cold hand gripped the back of Ning Jiu’s neck. “I forgot that Master Ning is the legitimate son of a marquis. You don’t know how to help someone undress.” Ning Jiu sprang away from Yan Yunzhou. “Sorry, Your Highness. It’s a little hot in here, and I got a bit light-headed. Undress, right? Yes, undress. I’ll get right to it.” Bonus Scene 2 The inner door burst open, and a man in black rushed inside. Ning Jiu was horrified. Not another assassination attempt! He sprang onto the bed and hid behind Yan Yunzhou, moving so swiftly and smoothly he was every bit the equal of the palace guards. It was all a false alarm. Afterwards, he sheepishly climbed back down. “Your Highness, I really didn’t do it on purpose. It was just a reflex. I was afraid an assassin would attack you.” A pair of cold eyes stared at him. “Yes, you were afraid an assassin would attack me, so you hid behind me.” Ning Jiu... “I won’t do it again. Next time, I’ll throw myself in front of Your Highness.” Blurb for The Audit Becomes Emperor: Zhou Que, an audit director with both CPA and CTA certifications and seven years of corporate auditing experience, was celebrating his promotion to group vice president when a bottle of counterfeit liquor sent him straight to the throne of the Great Xia dynasty. Looking at the densely packed court officials below the imperial steps, all shouting “Long live the Emperor,” Zhou Que laughed. He’d gone from a senior employee to ruler of the world in one fell swoop? He had to admit, this dream felt incredibly real. He glanced down and noticed someone sitting among the officials. He was the emperor now, so he could do whatever he wanted in his own dream. “Hey, you. What are you doing sitting there? Get up!” The moment he spoke, the court fell silent. The man below, whose dark eyes seemed as deep as an abyss, fixed his gaze on Zhou Que. After a long pause, he actually stood. “His Majesty must still be sleeping off last night’s wine. Let’s end court for today.” A eunuch’s shrill voice rang out. “Court is dismissed.” Three days later, Zhou Que finally faced the truth. He’d followed the latest trend and transmigrated, becoming a seventeen-year-old emperor without any real power... And the man who had been sitting in court was Song Li, the director of the Eastern Depot, Great Xia’s foremost treacherous official, and the powerful Chancellor of the Inner Court. Great. On his very first day, he’d offended the most powerful man in the land. But Vice President Zhou had no intention of becoming a subordinate again just because he’d become an emperor in ancient times. He set clear KPIs for himself: Step one: Get rid of Song Li. Step two: Take up the reins of government. Step three: Bring peace and prosperity to the realm. He’d investigate every corrupt official until there wasn’t one left standing. But he never imagined his KPIs would get stuck at the first step. On the day of the palace coup, flames engulfed the sleeping quarters. The person who risked his life to save him at the door was none other than Song Li. Blood trickled from the corner of Song Li’s lips, and Zhou Que’s heart lurched. “What happened to you? Where are you hurt?” The man before him smiled bleakly. “Have you forgotten? You were the one who poisoned me, Your Majesty.” After that, his KPIs became: Take up the reins of government → investigate every corrupt official in the realm → kiss his beloved Director Song. Come see how an audit director investigates the Six Ministries. I won’t allow a single copper coin to go unexplained. Bonus Scene 1: The man in a black dragon robe flung the account book aside and glared at the Vice Minister of Revenue before him. “Do you need me to teach you how to cook the books?” They actually had the nerve to submit such shoddy, amateurish fraud. He could barely stand to look at it. Zhou Que got up and went into the inner room. The imperial physician had left. After six months of treatment, the poison was finally almost gone. The man on the bed was deathly pale, his body soaked in cold sweat. Zhou Que scooped him up and carried him to the hot spring in the rear courtyard. “My body is damaged. I fear it would sully Your Majesty’s eyes.” Zhou Que lowered his head and kissed the man’s cool lips fiercely. “You didn’t say that last night.” A scheming, black-bellied director who’s great at playing the game, paired with an emperor whose professional skills are off the charts. P.S. The director is a real eunuch. The director is the top, and the emperor is the bottom. Don’t ask how the director can top him. You know how. Proceed at your own risk. Theme: Master your profession, and you’ll never be afraid to travel the world.