The Prime Minister Becomes a Global Sensation After Transmigrating into a Pariah - Chapter 1

“Help—! Cough, cough, cough!”

Lou Yishu bolted upright from a porcelain vessel that resembled a bathing tub, coughing violently.

Hiss, where on earth is this?

His head throbbed as if split open by an axe. Struggling to open eyes blurred by water, Lou Yishu scanned his surroundings with utter bewilderment. Just moments ago, he had been accompanying the emperor on a secret inspection of Jiangnan. After an ambush by assassins, he had accidentally fallen into the river. How did he end up here?

Luminescent white orbs, a long vanity equipped with some sort of metal pipe no matter how he looked at it, this place bore no resemblance to his Great Yan Dynasty. Everything was profoundly alien.

Lou Yishu struggled to his feet. His long, dark hair floated like a shroud atop the water’s surface, and his intricate robes, now heavy and sodden, made every movement an arduous task. It was then that he realized with a jolt: someone was lying behind him!

Even more shocking was the fact that this person looked exactly like him.

“Eek!”

Goosebumps erupted across Lou Yishu’s arms. His mother had never mentioned he had a brother. Could it be.

He shook the thought away as soon as it surfaced. Impossible; his parents were deeply devoted to one another.

Seeing the man’s eyes tightly shut, Lou Yishu quickly hauled him out of the water and shook his shoulders vigorously.

“Brother? Are you alright? Good brother!”

Deathly silence. Faced with such an abrupt crisis, Lou Yishu grew frantic. He pressed his palm against the stranger’s chest and felt a strong, rhythmic heartbeat. The man’s breathing was steady and calm. His heart settled slightly, but for safety’s sake, he knew he had to find a physician at a medical hall.

Just then, the creak-creak of a door opening sent his heart leaping into his throat.

“Lou Qingtai!” a voice roared from the entrance, the tone dripping with absolute fury.

Lou Yishu looked at the unconscious man beside him, then at a bronze mirror on the side wall—one that was several times clearer than the one in his own bedchamber.

The mirror reflected a face with smooth, flawless skin, a high bridge to the nose, and slightly upturned eyes; he was the very picture of a beauty. Yet, these features weren’t the most striking part of his appearance. The essence of his face lay in his eyes bright as a constellation and crystal clear. Throughout his seven years as a government official, those eyes had remained untainted.

Because of this, Prime Minister Lou was known in court as the “Lotus Gentleman.” Rising from the mud, yet remaining unstained; washed by clear ripples, yet not seductive. [Note]

Lou Yishu stared at his reflection in contemplative silence for a moment, took a deep breath, and turned to walk out of the bathroom.

Standing at the entryway were two men. One wore a black mask that obscured his features, while the other was handsome and well-groomed.

“Are you sick in the head?” the masked man snapped. Seeing Lou Yishu dressed in ancient robes that looked like wilted pickled vegetables, his brow furrowed sharply, eyes full of disdain. “We had a deal. I give you this variety show resource, and we break up peacefully.”

He stepped forward and slammed a contract onto the living room table, tilting his chin at Lou Yishu.

Adhering to the principle that the more one speaks, the more mistakes one makes, Lou Yishu observed the two men silently.

Peaceful breakup? Does he mean a divorce? Is this man the spouse. No, the husband of the brother in the bathroom?

While pondering, Lou Yishu walked to the table and picked up the contract. It was only then that he realized the true gravity of the situation.

He couldn’t read the script! The characters on this high-quality white paper were far simpler and had fewer strokes than those of the Great Yan Dynasty; he could only recognize a few scattered words.

However, with four eyes fixed intently upon him, he had no choice but to bite the bullet and pretend to read.

“Rest assured, I’m not a petty person. All I want is a clean break and for you to stop pestering me. There are no predatory clauses in there,” the masked man said impatiently, seeing Lou Yishu’s prolonged scrutiny.

For some reason, he found the man before him unexpectedly pleasing to the eye today.

Hmph. I’ll never admit that Lou Qingtai is good-looking. No matter how fine the skin, the heart is a rotten mess!

“You’re not going to regret this, are you?” Seeing Lou Yishu’s silence and hesitation to sign, he quickly added, “Don’t worry, this show will definitely be a hit. I’ll be there too.”

Lou Yishu didn’t understand what he was saying, but seeing the masked man’s urgency, he decided to play along for now. After all, he was currently an impostor.

He nodded with an air of profound mystery and said, “I… I will not go back on my word. I simply need a moment to deliberate. I shall give you my answer later.”

With that, he turned to leave, not daring to linger.

At that moment, a powerful force clamped onto Lou Yishu’s arm, yanking him back. Startled, Lou Yishu looked up to see the masked man angrily rip off his mask. His voice became clearer, but his eyes were blazing with fire. “No! You’re signing now! Right here, while I watch!”

Lou Yishu’s eyes flickered. This masked man was actually quite handsome… even if his temper left much to be desired.

The man was insistent. He pulled a fountain pen from his breast pocket and thrust it at Lou Yishu, even helpfully pointing out where to sign, as if terrified “Lou Qingtai” would try to cheat him.

Seeing no way out, Lou Yishu took the pen and signed. Having used brushes for most of his life, he wasn’t accustomed to a hard-tipped pen. His writing was shaky and hesitant, making him look quite guilty.

Before Lou Yishu could even react, the man snatched the contract away.

A moment later, a roar of fury echoed through the entire apartment.

“Lou Qingtai, are you mocking me?! What is this supposed to mean? Can you be any more disgusting? What did you sign?!”

The man slammed the contract against Lou Yishu’s chest, poking at his heart with a finger as he pressed forward, his brow furrowed with a hint of grievance.

“You said you wanted this resource, so I got it for you. I even dragged myself into it just to squeeze you in. We’ve come this far—why are you still clinging to me?”

Lou Yishu looked at the three spirited characters for “Lou Yishu” on the paper, and a wave of panic washed over him. Right—the man in the back looked like him, but their names were different. Since he didn’t know exactly which characters made up “Lou Qingtai,” he had no choice but to lie.

“I… that is my name. My real name.”

Aliases were common in the entertainment industry, and Lou Yishu had managed to stumble onto a plausible excuse.

The two men stared into Lou Yishu’s eyes, trying to find a flaw, but all they saw was clarity.

“You’d better not play tricks with me. If we go down together, you’ll be the one who suffers more,” the man threatened.

“Ye Qi, let’s go.”

With that, he didn’t spare Lou Yishu another glance and turned to leave. However, the second he stepped into the foyer, a voice like flowing water reached his ears.

“Yuxi.”

Lou Yishu had noticed the other name next to his signature earlier—a name he happened to recognize—and called out tentatively.

Qiao Yuxi’s footsteps faltered, but he didn’t respond. He raised his hand to put his mask back on and headed downstairs.

“Your voice makes me sick,” the well-dressed man named Ye Qi sneered, his eyes full of mockery. “You should have vanished from Brother Qiao’s sight long ago. How could someone like you ever be worthy of him?”

Lou Yishu felt nothing at these words. He had no right to judge another’s relationship without knowing the facts. To Ye Qi’s malice, he simply replied: “Mm.”

But Ye Qi clearly wasn’t finished. He reached out and grabbed Lou Yishu’s collar, seething, “People like you should stay at the bottom where you belong. A bunch of stupid ants constantly trying to crawl into the upper circles. A toad lusting after swan meat—even if you’re given a chance, you’re useless.”

As if a switch had been flipped, Lou Yishu snapped his head up, his sharp eyes boring into Ye Qi.

“People like us? What kind of people are we?”

Though Lou Yishu was the one being held by the collar, his aura completely overwhelmed Ye Qi’s.

Ye Qi’s eyes widened. Dazed by the eye contact, he felt a momentary lapse in focus. He had dealt with Lou Qingtai a few times before; the man was usually cowering, always hanging his head when spoken to. Ye Qi had once thought him neurotic, but Lou Qingtai had never looked him in the eye like this.

How does he dare? How does this trash dare to talk back to me? Ye Qi felt as though a prey animal that should have been groveling on the ground had suddenly looked up at him in defiance. He raised his hand, pulling his fingers together to deliver a sharp slap.

“Ugh…!”

The wind from the palm slightly stirred the dried hair on Lou Yishu’s forehead. The slap stopped just an inch from his cheek.

Veins bulged on Lou Yishu’s wrist. He was a man who could draw a seventy-kilogram bow; he wouldn’t be struck in the face by a mere slap. He gripped Ye Qi’s wrist tightly and asked again, “People like us? What kind of people are we?”

It was one thing to insult Lou Qingtai; Lou Yishu would bear that on his behalf. But Lou Yishu could not tolerate Ye Qi’s contempt for common people. In his eyes, Ye Qi was just like the hedonistic scions of the Great Yan Dynasty—men who would eventually enter the imperial court and decide the fates of the people. What a tragedy.

“Let go! It hurts!” Ye Qi’s face contorted as he used his other hand to claw at Lou Yishu’s arm, attempting to use violence to make him submit. Lou Yishu simply twisted his wrist, and Ye Qi went spinning to the ground, his arm wrenched at an awkward angle.

“I was wrong! I’m sorry, I’m sorry! Everything I said was nonsense! I’m sorry, it hurts—” Ye Qi gritted his teeth, tears streaming down his face.

Lou Yishu dislocated Ye Qi’s wrist joint and shoved him away. He glanced at the scratches on the back of his own hand, gave his hand a casual shake, and said coldly, “Furthermore, what happens between me and Qiao Yuxi is none of your concern. A lowly concubine should know their place and follow the rules.”

“What did you say?! Who are you calling a lowly concubine?!” Ye Qi clutched his right hand, his face flushed red with shame. Around Qiao Yuxi, everyone was polite enough to maintain the pretense. Being called a “mistress” to his face by the person he despised most was deeply humiliating.

Just as Ye Qi was about to lash out again, a ringtone sounded.

Ye Qi answered the phone, instantly putting on a sweet smile as if to assert his dominance. “Okay, Brother Qiao, I’m coming down now.”

He cast one last disdainful look at Lou Yishu before leaving.

But Lou Yishu’s attention was fixed on the “small brick” in Ye Qi’s hand. With his keen hearing, he heard Qiao Yuxi’s voice coming from the device.

“Are you coming or not? How long do you expect me to wait for you?”