[A lazy, corrupt minister who just wants to slack off and retire × a ruthless, ambitious emperor]
Pei Shiqiu was a would-be corporate drone. On his way to a job interview, he was in a car accident and transmigrated to ancient times, where he became the notorious minister Pei Yan.
No System, no cheat abilities. It was hell difficulty from the start. His predecessor had thrown the court into chaos and built a faction for personal gain, leaving him with a disaster riddled with problems.
To keep his neck, he spent every day on tenterhooks, hoping only to live in peace until he could retire to his hometown. His life goal had fallen from reaching for the stars to simply staying alive.
Then the emperor dumped a stack of memorials on him, all full of nonsense and each requiring a written response. Pei Yan held himself back again and again, then threw down his brush and cursed, “I can’t believe this! I came to ancient times and still have to work 996 and hit assigned KPIs. Capitalists really have been the same since ancient times!!!”
That very night, the emperor’s personal guards “invited” him to the palace. Kneeling before the new emperor, a decisive and calculating man, Pei Yan was drenched in cold sweat. He had even planned his own epitaph and was ready to die bravely when the figure on the throne spoke in a cool voice:
“...A continuous function isn’t necessarily differentiable?”
Pei Yan: !!!
He jerked his head up and met a pair of phoenix eyes that seemed to smile without smiling. Almost on instinct, he replied in a trembling voice:
“A differentiable function is... is continuous.”
Their eyes met, and sparks flew.
Pei Yan burst into tears on the spot. He had finally found his people! Now he could cling to a powerful patron, and retirement was finally in sight!
Later, with the realm growing more peaceful by the day and his name as a corrupt minister finally on the verge of being cleared, Pei Yan packed his bags and prepared to submit his resignation and bow out at the peak of his career.
But the emperor cornered him in his bedchamber. His warm breath brushed Pei Yan’s ear, and his gaze was as dark as an abyss.
“Where do you think you’re going, beloved minister?”
“I... I am advanced in years. I beg Your Majesty to allow me to retire to my hometown.”
The emperor chuckled softly, tracing the shape of his lips with a fingertip as he asked unhurriedly, “Pei Shiqiu, back in your second year of high school, who was it that reported me to our homeroom teacher every day for reading novels in class?”
Pei Shiqiu: ...!!!
Oh my god, how is it you, my rival who was always grinding away at everything?!
Reader’s Guide:
An imaginary historical setting, with plenty of creative liberties. Please don’t nitpick the details.
Message: I crossed mountains and seas to love you.
