IDWBE – Chapter 1 A Visitor from Another World

In the hexagonal pavilion, Lin Yi looked up at the blazing sun in the sky. He shifted his backside slightly on the rattan chair, picked up a teacup, and gulped it down in big mouthfuls, draining it completely.

Then he lay back again, squinting his eyes.

A eunuch who had been standing opposite him hurriedly picked up the teapot on the table and refilled his cup.

“How is one supposed to live in weather like this? It’s unbearably hot!”

Lin Yi sighed repeatedly to his personal attendant, Hong Ying. Even though he had already been in this world for eighteen years, he still wasn’t used to life without air conditioning or electric fans.

Summer was truly hard to endure.

At the moment, risking being labeled “unorthodox” and damaging the dignified image of a prince, he was wearing homemade shorts and sitting bare-chested, yet he was still sweating nonstop.

Hong Ying forced a smile and said, “Your Highness, shall I get you some more ice?”

Lin Yi rolled his eyes at him. “Forget it. It doesn’t help much.”

Ice made from saltpeter could barely be used indoors at night. Once placed outside, it was basically useless—at most giving a bit of psychological comfort.

Hong Ying took a bowl of mung-bean soup from a maid nearby and handed it over. “Your Highness, this servant feels sorry for you. Please drink some mung-bean soup to cool off.”

“No thanks. My stomach is already full of tea. I can’t drink any more.”

Lin Yi waved his hand impatiently. He wasn’t used to this kind of excessive concern from servants.

Seeing Lin Yi close his eyes again, Hong Ying quickly said to the maid beside him, “What are you standing there for? Hurry and fan His Highness!”

Lin Yi said lightly, “Ah… when we have the time and the means in the future, we should go to the mountains to escape the summer heat.”

Feeling the gentle breeze from the palm fan, he found it rather enjoyable.

In his previous life, he had grown up in an orphanage, without parents.

After stumbling his way into an ordinary university, perhaps because he wasn’t clever enough, or perhaps because of personality flaws shaped by his environment, for various reasons he simply had no talent for making money.

If nothing unexpected had happened, he would probably have been like most ordinary people—unable to afford a house, unable to find a wife, muddling through life in a daze.

But fate is unpredictable. One day, while standing perfectly well by the roadside, a car still managed to hit him. From then on, a wheelchair replaced his legs.

Since he didn’t have the courage to end his life, he figured it was better to live poorly than to die.

Living meant eating, but he couldn’t find a job.

Fortunately, he still had the identity of an online writer. Although he had written four or five books and none had performed well, he always harbored the illusion that one day he would become famous!

After getting through his period of depression, he eagerly started writing a new novel while sitting in his wheelchair.

Super Dad—just the title alone sounded exciting!

He even blended in the styles of the “crooked-mouth war god” and the “live-in son-in-law” genres. It was a genius concept—how could it possibly fail to become popular?

His fingers never stopped tapping on the keyboard. When he reached particularly exciting parts, he felt like jumping out of his seat.

This writing was so good!

If he didn’t make a million a year, it would be a disgrace!

After uploading ten thousand words that night, he happily drank three bottles of beer, lay in bed hugging a pillow, and dreamed of becoming a literary god.

He never expected that when he woke up, he would arrive in this unfamiliar world.

As the ninth prince of the Liang Kingdom, he had been a winner from the moment he was born.

Here, no one could bully him at will. He didn’t have to worry about finding a job or struggle for a living. He was free from the torment of buying a house or getting married.

Most importantly, he could stand and run again under the sunlight—nothing could be better than that.

Hong Ying said with a flattering smile, “Your Highness, shall I make preparations? Tomorrow we could stay for a few days at De’en Summer Resort. I hear Prince Jin, Prince Nanling, Prince Xin, and the Eldest Princess are all there.”

Lin Yi shook his head. “I’m about to leave for my fief. A round trip to De’en would take half a month. There’s no need to bother.”

From the moment he was born, he had understood his situation.

His birth mother, Consort Yuan, was in the height of imperial favor, and she had just given birth to a prince. Who knew how many pairs of jealous, bloodshot eyes in the palace were watching mother and son, wishing to eliminate them as soon as possible.

He was innocent, yet being born into the imperial family was the greatest crime.

Therefore, he never competed for favor in front of the old emperor, lest he arouse resentment.

There were many bitter women in the deep palace, many schemes, many widowed sisters-in-law. Without some caution, it was difficult even to live to adulthood.

Historically, the mortality rate of princes had always been high.

On the day of his “grasping ceremony,” he had unhesitatingly grabbed the gold coin and held it tightly in his arms.

By the time he came of age, he had not disappointed his elder brothers or the imperial concubines: he appeared greedy for wealth, fond of pleasure, uneducated, and lacking ambition.

However, the old emperor had grown extremely disgusted with him and only allowed him to establish his own residence and leave the palace at sixteen.

By custom, nobles of the Liang Kingdom generally lived in the northern district of the capital, Ankang, but Lin Yi’s residence was arranged in the remote southern district.

It had originally been the mansion of Zhou Tao, a former Vice Minister of Personnel, who had been executed for treason and had his property confiscated.

Most of the surrounding residents were commoners.

Lin Yi didn’t mind. The Liang Kingdom had existed for over two hundred years, and there were countless princes and descendants; housing was not abundant. Being able to obtain a residence outside the palace was already quite good.

Moreover, after enduring all this time, he had finally received his own fief.

Naturally, he would not continue staying in the capital. Once he reached his fief, far from the emperor’s reach, he could do whatever he wanted—who could control him?

“Your Highness…” Hong Ying said anxiously, “Sanhe has a hot and humid climate, and there is miasma. Four or five out of ten people who go there die. You mustn’t go!”

Lin Yi scoffed. “Then should I just stay in the capital?”

His fief, Sanhe, was at the southernmost end of the Liang Kingdom, bordering the sea to the east and barbarian lands to the south. The environment was harsh and unsuitable for living; throughout history it had been a place of exile.

So ever since he had been named Prince of Sanhe five days ago, who knew how many people in the capital had been laughing at him behind his back.

But he didn’t care. After all, he was a well-educated modern youth!

How could he possibly believe in something like miasma?

So-called miasma was probably a combination of various diseases—malignant malaria, schistosomiasis, and other endemic illnesses. Originally unrelated, they were likely lumped together through rumor and collectively called “miasma.”

Hong Ying hesitated. “But Prince Xin and Prince Dai now…”

Lin Yi shook his head. “They are they. I am me. It’s different.”

The fifth prince, Prince Xin, and the sixth prince, Prince Dai, had already been granted fiefs three years ago—fiefs far better than Sanhe—but they had delayed leaving for them.

Once a prince went to his fief, unless there were special circumstances, he would never be able to return to the capital for the rest of his life.

Yet the emperor had shown no intention of urging them.

Hong Ying said softly, “This morning, Her Highness the Consort sent word that His Majesty has just recovered from illness. Your Highness should show some filial concern.”

Lin Yi said carelessly, “The old man doesn’t like me anyway, and I’m not favored. What’s the point of going? We’d better just go obediently to the fief.”

Competing for favor and fighting for the throne was the sort of foolish thing he would never do.

Even if he became emperor, so what?

There would still be no air conditioning, no Wi-Fi, no League of Legends!

In the south, he could be a local king, marry a few wives, and live a life of drunken pleasure—what could be better?

Besides, this was a historical dynasty he knew nothing about. Without the advantage of foresight, on what basis could he compete for the throne?