After taking a nap in his dorm and waking up, Wen Xishen transmigrated.
He transmigrated into the palace-intrigue novel he'd finished reading the night before, becoming an insignificant male consort in the villainous emperor's harem.
Fortunately, his family background was modest and his status extremely low. The villainous emperor, who had three thousand beauties in his harem, didn't even know he existed.
Unfortunately, because he was so forgettable, life in the palace was worse for him than it was for an ordinary palace guard.
After going hungry for three days, Wen Xishen finally couldn't take it anymore. He picked all the wild vegetables within five miles, then took advantage of his remote lodgings to disguise himself as a guard and land an easy job sweeping the abandoned palace.
From then on, Wen Xishen lived a nine-to-five life, with enough food for himself and no one else in the whole palace to worry about.
While diligently doing his job, he also happened to befriend a cold-faced but kindhearted young guard. The other man was a little rigid and stubborn, but he had a good heart and brought Wen Xishen fresh food every time his shift changed.
Eating a hot meal, Wen Xishen was moved to tears and swore that in this life, the two of them would be the best friends in the world.
As he immersed himself in sweeping, he also made sure to keep his ears perked up, listening in on all the gossip circulating around the harem.
What? A certain Noble Lady was framed by a Concubine and pushed into the water. Not only was her throat ruined, she went mad and now screamed at the top of her lungs around the palace every day?
What? A certain Talented Lady, who was spoiled by nature, had merely offended a certain Consort living in the same palace, and was bullied into depression, spending all day in tears?
That Consort went to pick on her every day, too. They say that late at night, the palace servants within a hundred meters could hear the Talented Lady's bloodcurdling screams?
Wen Xishen shook his head and sighed, cursing the emperor for being a bastard while lamenting the miserable fate of someone like him stuck in the harem.
Until one day, at a banquet for the entire palace, he was summoned to attend. While hiding in a corner and wolfing down food, he heard an eunuch's soft announcement from afar.
"Her Ladyship Consort Shu presents one painting, The Pleasant Goat Admiring Cherry Blossoms by the Spring River, "
Wen Xishen's chopsticks stopped midair as he reached for the roast lamb.
That night, after overcoming every obstacle, he sneaked into Consort Shu's palace. The moment he looked up, he found himself face-to-face with a Concubine, a Consort, and a Talented Lady playing mahjong around a table.
"..."
Wen Xishen: "Dazhu, Erzhuang, Sanmazi?"
The other three exchanged a glance, then immediately rushed over, wailing like ghosts.
The graceful Noble Lady Le wrapped her arms around Wen Xishen and wailed in a deep, croaky voice, "Fourth Bro! Do you know how long we've been looking for you? I've had enough of being one short for mahjong, sob..."
Jostled until he began questioning reality, Wen Xishen still couldn't understand why his three idiot roommates had transmigrated here with him.
At long last reunited, the four hit it off and decided to escape while the palace defenses were weak, then look for a way back to the modern world.
The opportunity was rare. Wen Xishen hurriedly packed his bags. His only regret was that he hadn't said goodbye to the young guard he'd shared so many hardships with in the abandoned palace.
But fifteen minutes later, all four of them were cornered at the palace gates.
The young guard he'd been chatting freely with in the abandoned palace just a few days earlier stood not far away, leading a squad of armed guards. He wore a golden imperial robe, and his stern face looked especially sinister in the night.
His eyes darkened, and he said expressionlessly, "My Selected Attendant Wen... where do you think you're going?"
The palace servants around them knelt in terror, calling out their greetings to His Majesty. Seeing this, Wen Xishen's brow twitched.
The next moment, with trembling hands, he pulled a brand-new broom out of his bundle, as if nobody else were there.
"I was transferred to sweep the palace gates... Would you believe me?"
Reading guide:
1. One-on-one, both leads are each other's only partners. No angst, face-slapping, lighthearted, goofy wish-fulfillment story.
2. The bottom's first impression of the top is that he's rigid and stubborn.
3. The author's prose is amateurish and the story has no logic, so please don't yell at me QAQ.
4. The dynasty in the story is fictional. Views on marriage are relatively open, and the harem has both men and women.
5. More to be added if I think of anything.
Theme: Survive tenaciously even in adversity.
