Zhu Shou transmigrated as the eldest legitimate son of the Hongzhi Emperor of a parallel Ming Dynasty, a prince who had died young. To stay alive, he resolved to become a complete slacker.
He feigned illness to resign as Crown Prince, dodged court affairs, and spent his days idling around.
Who knew everyone around him would read so much into everything?
A casual complaint about the maritime ban led to "limited opening of the seas." Feigning illness to skip a banquet exposed corruption in the Imperial Medical Academy. A villa he built was mistaken for a secret research base.
The more he slacked off, the more everyone around him interpreted every excuse as evidence of his far-sighted plans.
Under his "inaction," the Ming Dynasty quietly rose to greatness: fleets sailed to and from the South Seas without a single loss, blast furnaces produced steel a century ahead of schedule, and the navy ruled the oceans.
His younger brother, Zhu Houzhao, regarded him as his lifelong idol. After ascending the throne, he declared, "Everything my imperial brother says is the truth."
When the Ming Dynasty became an empire on which the sun never set, a wave of petitions from court and country calling for "yielding the throne to Prince Shou" pushed the two brothers to the brink. Faced with a deadly situation in which his achievements threatened the emperor, Zhu Shou planned his ultimate escape.
After a secret meeting in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Prince Shou "died suddenly," plunging the whole nation into mourning.
No one knew that far out on the blue waves of the East China Sea, an unmarked merchant ship was sailing away.
A young man in white stood at its bow.
Zhu Shou gazed at the boundless sea and sky, then slowly curled his lips into a smile.
After half a lifetime of slacking off, he was still the emperor's elder brother.
Your Majesty, the burden of this empire on which the sun never sets is yours from now on.
(Note: This is set in a parallel-world Ming Dynasty, which differs from the historical Ming Dynasty. Please don't nitpick the historical details!)
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Emperor Hongzhi is offline, I can't help but feel a little sad
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