I Picked the Wrong Side in the Succession Struggle. How Do I Save Myself?

Question: You picked the wrong side in the fight for the throne. How do you save yourself? Answer: Give yourself to the other side. [Sinister, Unrestrained New Emperor X Distinguished, Aloof Marquis] [Third-person narration, lighthearted pacing, so relax and enjoy] When you were ten, your mother returned to the modern world. Before she left, she told you many things, but forgot to mention that being a crown prince in ancient times was a high-risk job. So, in order to live comfortably, you became a staunch supporter of the crown prince. On a snowy day in the twenty-first year of Yongxi, the winter sun slowly faded beneath a sky full of drifting snow. The ailing emperor, confined to his sickbed, ultimately did not survive the winter. It took you several tries to suppress the smile tugging at your lips. You were about to enter the palace and celebrate your victory when someone came to report that the new emperor was Prince Shun. Uh. Your dealings with him had not been pleasant. And now, he was the new emperor, with your life in his hands. You had three chances to return to a point in the past and save yourself. You returned to the day after you humiliated him. You returned to the very day you humiliated him. You returned to the scene where you humiliated him. Great. Now you're completely doomed. -- The beams soared high overhead, and the candlelight was dim. Deep shadows pooled across the hall, shrouding the figure on the imperial throne. Yue Heng sat quietly in the gloom. When his wide sleeve slipped down, he lowered his head to look. The scar winding around his wrist looked as if someone had once struck him hard with a whip. It was a mark left by Jiang Heting. He descended the steps from the throne one by one. The hem of his black robe swept over the floor, its hidden patterns shifting as he walked and glinting coldly in the dim candlelight, with a bleak, murderous air. Yue Heng stood alone outside the hall, waiting for the long-awaited spoils of war. This time, that man would have no chance to fob him off with excuses about having no choice. -- In the end, Jiang Heting still got the life he wanted. As for how it happened, don't ask. Content warnings: 1. An alternate setting with lots of original worldbuilding. No need to fact-check. 2. One-on-one, both sexually inexperienced, no angst, just a sweet little romance. 3. The time-traveling sections last about ten chapters. 4. Sinister, Unrestrained New Emperor X Distinguished, Aloof Marquis. 5. The male lead is famous for his beauty and has a slight everyone-loves-him quality. 6. The top is the gloomy, obsessive type, with an extremely possessive need for control. -------- Feel free to check out my upcoming book -------- Come, Make Pills for the Tyrant Question: What is the punishment for deceiving the emperor? Answer: You have to give yourself to him. [Money-loving bottom with an ethereal, cool exterior X Tyrant top with a menacing, forceful air] [Third-person narration, lighthearted pacing, so relax and enjoy] You transmigrate. You don't know the plot. You have a System, but only half of one. That's right, only half. You and someone else have to piece the System together. Each of you can only use half of its functions. You're in a shabby little Taoist temple on a mountain. There's not a single grain of rice in the temple, and you don't have a penny to your name. You scrape by by reading people's fortunes from their records and making pills by hand. Step by step, you work your way up from the common people to wealthy merchants and aristocratic families. Before long, you're a renowned immortal master far and wide. At first, you're constantly on edge. Later, you become insatiably greedy. You enjoy fine clothes and rich food, and the constant attention of people at your beck and call. No matter how high an official's rank, everyone treats you with respect. Your pills are worth a fortune and impossible to come by. The best-selling one, naturally, is that one. That one's demand has existed throughout the ages. The current emperor is cruel and violent. He has no interest in women, or men, for that matter. The court officials worry about his private life. So they force you on him as a gift. Well. You've taken things too far. Now you have to find a way to stay alive. - At first, Qi Yue wanted to have him executed. Then he discovered that this man wasn't just fooling people with his ethereal looks. He really did have some talent. Not much, though. Still, he had to be careful, in case someone with ulterior motives tried to use him. Might as well keep him close. And after keeping him around for so long... Well, now he belonged to Qi Yue. Theme: Stay true to yourself and keep striving upward