After Being Peeked at by the Emperor

Mu Qi is a shut-in transmigrator bound by a deceptive contract with a historical live-streaming platform. He was promised the role of a powerful prince in a prosperous dynasty but instead woke up as the heir to the Prince of Mu in the late stage of a declining empire. The emperor is obsessed with alchemy, the court is paralyzed by factional strife, and the civilization is destined for a catastrophic dark age. Mu Qi’s mission is to reverse this decline and secure his name in history, but after facing the brutal realities of political bureaucracy, he suffers a mental breakdown and decides to abandon all effort, choosing instead to slack off and vent his frustrations through sarcastic daily work logs submitted to the system.

Unbeknownst to Mu Qi, his daily logs are transmitted through a glitchy server and manifest as a mysterious "demonic book" that descends from the heavens during the Emperor’s meditation. The book contains Mu Qi’s cynical rants about the Emperor’s heavy metal poisoning, the absurdity of court rituals, and the corruption of officials. The Emperor, Feixuan Zhenjun, interprets these modern insults and technical errors as divine omens or demonic curses. Initially enraged by the mockery, he becomes increasingly paranoid, suspecting that someone in the court is attempting a Taoist "death transcendence" through the book. This misunderstanding drives him to intensify his surveillance and manipulate court politics to uncover the source of the "heavenly decree."

The core conflict escalates when the Emperor orders the grand ministers to taste his alchemical elixirs, which are essentially toxic mercury and lead pills. While the Emperor believes this test will reveal loyalty, the heavy metals cause severe gastrointestinal distress among the aging ministers. Yan Ge Lao, a senior minister desperate to surpass his rival Xia Yan, consumes the pills recklessly to demonstrate his devotion, suffering nosebleeds but surviving due to his resilience. Meanwhile, Mu Qi remains oblivious to the chaos he has caused, focusing only on his goal of copying the "Great Cannon" encyclopedia to preserve knowledge for the future. He discovers that the imperial guards are surveilling his mansion and misinterprets this as an opportunity to stage a dramatic martyrdom to secure his place in history, preparing to protest in the streets.

A key turning point occurs during a midnight court session where the Emperor reads the ministers' devotional texts, or "qingzi." The system’s logbook appears in the Emperor’s sleeve, whispering Mu Qi’s sarcastic commentary directly into his ear. The Emperor realizes the author is present in the hall but cannot identify him among the dozens of officials. The book mocks Yan Ge Lao’s plagiarism and scandalous personal life, causing the Emperor to dismiss the submissions in a rage. This incident deepens the Emperor’s obsession with the book’s origins while simultaneously exposing the fragility of the Yan faction. The Emperor also orders the covert investigation of Di Maoyan, a corrupt salt official whose downfall was predicted in Mu Qi’s logs, further destabilizing the political balance.

The story direction shifts as Mu Qi attempts to collaborate with his friend Liu Li, who transmigrated into a warring states parallel world as a weak emperor served by a brilliant prime minister. While Mu Qi wallows in self-pity over his friend’s success, he continues his passive resistance, submitting logs that inadvertently influence the Emperor’s decisions. The Emperor, misinterpreting the logs as divine warnings, begins to make pragmatic political moves, such as allocating seized corrupt funds to pay arrears to officials, believing it will strengthen his mandate. Mu Qi’s apathy contrasts sharply with the Emperor’s frantic attempts to decode the "heavenly book," creating a comedic tension where the protagonist’s laziness inadvertently drives the fate of the empire. The narrative sets the stage for further misunderstandings as the Emperor closes in on the truth, while Mu Qi remains unaware that his digital complaints are shaping the very history he seeks to escape.