My Father is the Nine Thousand Years

Xu Duofu is an eighteen-year-old modern college student whose life is defined by academic mediocrity and parental neglect following his parents' divorce. His existence is a cycle of gaming, novel reading, and unhealthy eating, leaving him emotionally detached and physically fragile. His perspective shifts irrevocably after he stays up all night reading a danmei novel titled The Tyrant Emperor's Eunuch Male Empress. The story, which he initially dismisses due to its genre, features a tragic ending where the two male leads and their adopted son perish, leaving him in a state of emotional turmoil. Upon falling asleep, Xu Duofu transmigrates into the body of a nine-year-old boy named Xu Duofu, who shares his name and resides in the Sheng Dynasty imperial palace. This new identity is that of the foster son of Xu Xiaoman, the powerful and ruthless Head Director of the Eastern Depot, a eunuch known as Nine Thousand Years who wields immense authority over the imperial court.

The setting is the Taiji Palace during the fourth year of the Ningwu era. Xu Xiaoman, despite being a eunuch, is deeply devoted to his adopted son, having rescued him as an infant during his time as the Prince of Wuzhou. The boy's other father figure is the Ningwu Emperor, Zhong Cheng, a ruler who ascended the throne through rebellion and is viewed by the civil official class as a tyrant. Xu Duofu quickly realizes he has entered the world of the novel he read, a story where his adoptive father and the Emperor are the central romantic couple. However, the narrative holds a dark secret: Xu Duofu is not merely an adopted child but the biological son of Xu Xiaoman and Zhong Cheng, a fact concealed from the public and even from most court officials. This lineage makes him the legitimate heir to the throne, a truth that the Emperor plans to reveal only after Xu Xiaoman's predicted death.

The core conflict arises from the political tension between the Emperor and the civil officials, who resent Xu Xiaoman's influence and view his son with disdain. Xu Duofu enters the Chongming Hall Palace School, where he is isolated and bullied by the children of high-ranking officials, particularly Tian Wenhe, the son of a corrupt minister. The tension escalates when Tian Wenhe and his clique verbally attack Xu Duofu, mocking his father's status and the Eastern Depot's actions. Remembering the novel's plot, Xu Duofu recognizes Tian Wenhe's father as a corrupt official who will later cause significant trouble. Instead of enduring the abuse passively as the original character did, Xu Duofu physically strikes Tian Wenhe, initiating a brawl that disrupts the school.

The incident triggers a chain of events that alters the trajectory of the story. The Emperor, informed by his chief eunuch Zhao Erxi, intervenes swiftly. Rather than punishing Xu Duofu for starting the fight, the Emperor expels Tian Wenhe from the Palace School, effectively neutralizing the immediate threat and signaling his protection of the boy. This decision shocks the court officials, who are forced to reconsider their stance on the Eastern Depot's influence. Meanwhile, Xu Duofu experiences a profound emotional shift. The genuine care shown by his father, who rushes back from work to comfort him, and the Emperor's subtle gestures of kindness, such as sending precious pearls to calm his nerves, awaken feelings of belonging and familial love that Xu Duofu lacked in his previous life. He resolves to change the tragic fate foretold in the novel, aiming to prevent his father's assassination and ensure the survival of his family, thereby rewriting the destiny of the Sheng Dynasty.