I Told You to Be a Stand-In Vassal King, So Why Did You Carve Out Your Own Territory?

Xiao Ce, a retired armed police officer, transmigrates to the Great Yong dynasty and becomes the double kept by Prince Jing, Xiao Jingyuan. The moment he opens his eyes, he is expected to take the blame for the useless prince killing an imperial envoy's nephew, becoming a disposable scapegoat.

In a desperate bid to survive, he kills the real Prince Jing and assumes his identity, taking control of Prince Jing's estate. As Imperial Envoy Zhang Shangde lays one trap after another and Qingzhou's powerful clans resort to every dirty trick, Xiao Ce uses modern criminal investigation techniques to expose forged evidence and seize the Gu family's hidden weapons and armor. He applies double-entry bookkeeping to streamline commercial taxes, improves the salt-drying method to bring prices down, trains private troops, repairs irrigation works, and cuts land rents. In just a few months, he wins over Princess Consort Su Qingyuan and turns rotten Qingzhou into an impregnable domain.

But the Second Prince's campaign to strip the fiefdoms of their power is already hanging over his head, and an imperial inspector arrives carrying an edict. The greater storm has only just begun.