The Sickly Beauty of a Corrupt Official Just Wants to Farm in Peace

[Babies, here are two upcoming stories to look forward to: Reborn, the Scum Alpha Learns to Behave and Senior Brother, Stop Hitting Me! Kissesヽ(*?з`*)?]

Blurb:

[Black-Bellied Puppet Emperor x Gentle, Sickly, Handsome Minister]

Song Wenjing, an agricultural scientist, transmigrates into a political intrigue novel called The Tianxi Dynasty.

The good news: The person he's become holds a high position, and even the emperor has to defer to him.

The bad news: This man is a villain who does every evil under the sun, a treacherous official who manipulates the court and treats the young emperor like a dog.

The even worse news: The villain is in poor health and won't live long. In the end, the young emperor rises up and tortures him to death.

Song Wenjing: Is it too late to admit I was wrong?!

To save his own skin, the treacherous official Song Wenjing changes his ways. He treats the young emperor with warmth and care, avoids the original plot as much as possible, and uses his agricultural expertise to help the people withstand natural disasters and improve their lives.

Later, the official no longer enjoys meddling in court affairs. In his spare time, he likes to farm in his own backyard, turning it into a little vegetable garden.

When the other ministers hear about it, they sneak over to peek over the wall. But when they see the garden full of produce, they nearly fall over: Huh? Was I just seeing things, or did I come to the wrong place?

After that, the official stays home and quietly studies farming. While people outside fight to the death, he pays no attention to the world beyond his door.

People don't hit someone who's smiling, and they certainly shouldn't hit someone who's genuinely honest.

But the young emperor can't sit still. After lying low and biding his time for years, he waits and waits, yet the official never starts a rebellion. So he leads troops to surround the official's house. But when he enters, he sees the official with his sleeves rolled up, kneeling on the ground to weed and loosen the soil around some seedlings.

There's nothing villainous about him at all. He's just an ordinary commoner.

Song Wenjing looks up at the sound, smiling brightly. "Your Majesty is here. Are you staying for dinner today?"

Shen Yijian is blunt. "I'm here to take you away."

Before Song Wenjing can react, he finds himself in Shen Yi's arms. Only after they leave does he realize Shen Yi is serious.

The capture of a treacherous official should have been cause for nationwide celebration. Instead, it sparks public outrage. People take to the streets, demanding justice for Song Wenjing.

It's almost laughable.

A few days later, an imperial decree naming a new empress is made public. Everyone freezes for a couple of seconds. "What does this mean? Are we part of the play now, too?"

Shen Yi, smug: How strange. I never said I was going to kill him, so why are they so worked up?

Theme: Focus on agriculture and improve people's lives.