The First Chancellor

[There are probably only a few chapters left before the ending, after which I’ll update bonus chapters about their later lives, body swaps, and so on. My health really can’t handle intensive writing right now. Sorry. (bows)] Pei Qi was born not very bright, with a mind that could only follow one track. Aside from his handsome face and an inexplicable, seemingly endless supply of strength, the people of the Pei household thought he had almost nothing going for him. Later, his father died, and his younger brother, who had passed the palace examinations and placed third, inherited the title. Since his younger brother got the title, the family thought they couldn’t very well let Pei Qi starve to death. So the Pei family went to great lengths to pull strings and get him appointed as a guard in the Embroidered Uniform Guard. In his flying-fish uniform, with rosy lips, pearly white teeth, broad shoulders, and a slim waist, Pei Qi really did look the part. He went out to confiscate property by day and came home for dinner at night. All in all, he lived a pretty carefree life. But the good times didn’t last. His younger brother made a mistake, lost his title, and was transferred out of the capital to serve as a county magistrate in the south. The whole family went with him, leaving Pei Qi alone in the capital. Before leaving, his mother gave him a worried reminder: “Xiao Qi, remember, you work for the emperor. Don’t listen to what anyone else says. Only listen to the emperor.” Pei Qi nodded and carefully committed her words to memory. And over the following years, that was exactly what he did. He listened only to the emperor and would brave fire and water for him. No matter how many colleagues defected or chose sides around him, he never went with the flow. At last, the previous emperor died and the new emperor ascended the throne. He began appointing talented people again, and only then did the Pei family finally get transferred back to the capital from the provinces. When they returned, they stared in amazement at the lavishly renovated Pei residence and Pei Qi in the python robe bestowed on him by the emperor. Pei Qi was now the commander of the Northern Garrison Command of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, a favorite of the new emperor. Just a few days ago, he had also been made Duke Who Protects the Nation. His younger brother stammered, “B-Brother, what have you been doing?” Pei Qi thought for a moment, recalling how the people in the imperial prison had called him the emperor’s lackey, his running dog, and all sorts of things like that. So, with a perfectly serious expression, Pei Qi said: “I’ve been the emperor’s dog.” His younger brother: ? The new emperor, whose reputation had just taken a hit: ? [Things are a little better now, and I’m updating regularly while working on the illustrations. There are so many typos; all the changes to earlier chapters are just typo corrections…] Theme: Don’t hide who you are from the person you love