Wei Shu transmigrates into a book, becoming a sickly tyrant.
The tyrant takes a fancy to someone at first sight and forcibly summons Xie Zhan, the most sought-after gentleman in the land, to the palace.
Wei Shu knows that Xie Zhan may look gentle as jade, like an immortal, but in truth he is calculating and ruthless, a smiling tiger with a black heart.
At the end of the original book, the tyrant is poisoned to death with a cup of wine, while Xie Zhan installs a new emperor and takes control of the realm.
Wei Shu plans to send him away, but the moment he gives the order, he starts coughing up blood nonstop. If he doesn't follow the original plot, he'll die.
So he has no choice but to put on an act every day, forced to flirt with the protagonist's love interest.
At first, Xie Zhan refuses to yield.
In the original book, the tyrant forces him into a passionate kiss.
Wei Shu leans in, tears open Xie Zhan's collar, pins him to the bed, and bites down hard on his thin lips.
Tasting the faint tang of blood, he releases him, grips Xie Zhan by the throat, and grits out, "You are nothing but one of the people in my harem!"
Then he gets up and slams the door on his way out. Relieved, he thinks: Finally, I'm off the clock.
Xie Zhan watches him leave, his gaze deep and inscrutable.
After a long moment, he reaches out and gently touches the corner of his bitten lip.
"Your Majesty, if you want to pretend you have feelings for me, why not put a little more effort into it?"
*
At last, the day comes when Wei Shu can fake his death and escape.
He has already made all the arrangements in secret, replacing Xie Zhan's poisoned wine with a deathlike sleep potion. He also has someone set fire to the palace. By the time Xie Zhan arrives, all that remains is a pile of charred bones.
After escaping, Wei Shu hears that Xie Zhan went mad overnight, that the imperial gardens were searched down to the last inch, and that countless people were dragged into the turmoil.
Wei Shu: That was terrifying. Good thing I already got away.
Theme: The waves wash away the great figures of the ages
