Do you want to be emperor? / Wealth raining from the heavens! Impersonating Emperor Xian of Han!

But the young man was remarkably persistent and refused to give up.

"A refugee?"

A single glance at his clothes told Ju Shou what the young man was.

There were plenty of refugees like him outside the city. He was nothing unusual.

Yet, for some reason, Ju Shou kept feeling that the young man looked familiar, as though he had seen him somewhere before.

Just as Ju Shou was debating whether to approach for a closer look, the young man spearing fish raised his head and looked his way.

Their eyes met.

Ju Shou froze for a moment, then his eyes widened, and he stood rooted to the spot.

"Y-Your Majesty?!"

Chapter 2: Do you want to be emperor?

The instant he clearly saw the face of the young man standing in the river, shock surged through Ju Shou!

He had served as an assistant governor of Ji Province and twice as a county magistrate, so he had been fortunate enough to behold the emperor's august countenance. There was no way he could be mistaken.

The young man before him was none other than the emperor of the Great Han!

But how was that possible?

Leaving aside the fact that the emperor had long resided in the imperial capital and had been escorted to Xuchang by Cao Cao after Luoyang fell, his travels alone made this impossible. A man of his exalted station would be surrounded like the moon among a host of stars wherever he went. How could he appear here alone, without even an attendant?

And he was dressed in such rags, like a beggar.

This was utterly at odds with the dignity an emperor should possess!

No, I have to make sure.

Ju Shou thought to himself, settling on a course of action.

Although reason and instinct told him that the man before him could not possibly be the emperor, his face was indeed identical to the emperor's as Ju Shou remembered it.

He had to confirm the young man's identity.

With that thought, Ju Shou approached with his fish basket and said politely, "Your Ma... young man, could you do me a favor?"

Liu Xie, who was struggling to spear fish in the river, raised his head at those words. He looked around, then pointed at himself in confusion. "Are you talking to me?"

Even his voice is the same...

Ju Shou was startled again, then smiled and said, "Yes. I caught a few fish and wanted to roast them, but unfortunately, I'm no cook and don't know how to clean them."

"If you have a moment, could you help?"

Hearing that the man wanted help roasting fish, Liu Xie looked troubled. "But I still have to catch something to eat..."

"That's all right. We can share."

"Great! Deal!"

Liu Xie agreed at once, his answer firm and decisive.

That was exactly what he had been waiting to hear!

Afraid the man might change his mind, Liu Xie leaped onto the bank and snatched up the basket. He took out the fish, slit them open with his bamboo spear, and washed them clean, his movements exceptionally deft.

"Let me tell you, you picked the right person to roast your fish. When I was little, I was always catching fish in rivers and roasting them. My roast fish is second to none. Just wait and enjoy."

Liu Xie spoke proudly, threading the cleaned fish onto branches and sticking them into the ground.

Then he gathered branches and dry grass nearby, took a flint from inside his clothes, and started a fire.

Watching Liu Xie bustle about, Ju Shou finally became certain.

This man was not the emperor.

The reason was simple. The emperor was a man of supreme nobility, raised in fine silks and fed exquisite delicacies from childhood. How could he possibly know how to gut fish, build a fire, or roast them?

Such tasks belonged to lowly cooks and commoners.

Truly astonishing. To think there is someone in this world who looks exactly like the emperor...

Ju Shou silently marveled.

He had heard that some powerful men kept look-alikes as doubles to evade assassination, but he had never seen one himself.

And someone who looked exactly like the emperor was truly rare. The imitation could pass for the genuine article.

Wait... pass for the genuine article?

Something suddenly occurred to Ju Shou, and his eyes lit up.

He turned his gaze once more toward Liu Xie, who was enthusiastically roasting the fish, and an audacious, reckless idea rose unbidden in his mind.

If this man impersonates the emperor, and my lord announces to the world that the emperor is in Ji Province, then the emperor in Cao Cao's hands will become the impostor!

Then my lord can hold the emperor to command the other lords!

Ju Shou's heart began pounding uncontrollably.

The plan was outrageously bold and reckless. Having someone impersonate the emperor was an act of staggering treason. If it were exposed, they would surely be reviled by the entire world.

But... who could expose it?

My lord's family has held the highest offices for four generations. His lineage is illustrious, and his prestige is unrivaled. As long as he announces that the emperor is in Ji Province, no one will question him!

Especially when this man looks exactly like the emperor. It would be impossible to tell them apart!

The more Ju Shou considered it, the more feasible the plan seemed. There was some risk, but compared with the immense benefits of controlling the emperor, that risk was well worth taking!

With that thought, Ju Shou stopped hesitating and asked Liu Xie directly, "Young man, would you like wealth and glory to rain down on you from the heavens?"

"No."

Liu Xie kept his head lowered over the roasting fish, not even looking up.

"..."

Ju Shou's eyelid twitched. That answer had caught him completely off guard.

He had not even explained what this wealth and glory would entail!

And the young man had rejected him so decisively?

As though he had guessed what Ju Shou was thinking, Liu Xie turned the fish in his hand and said casually, "There's no such thing as a free lunch. Even a child knows that."

"I'm just an ordinary man. All I want is to stay alive."

After spending so long in this world since transmigrating, he had come to accept reality.

Royal power, grand conquests-he wanted none of it. He just wanted to live.

"Oh? In that case, why did you accept my invitation to share these fish? Isn't that a free meal too?"

Finding the young man rather interesting, Ju Shou asked with a smile.

Liu Xie bristled at that. "Hey, hey, hey! Be reasonable. You asked me to roast your fish. That's hiring me. The fish I eat is the payment I deserve. How is that a free meal?"

Ju Shou said, "Then what if I hired you to do something else? Would you agree?"

"No."

Liu Xie shook his head and answered without hesitation. "I know how to roast fish, and there's no real risk. But if you hire me to do something else, who knows?"

"A man should know his own limits. I don't want to become a pawn or cannon fodder for big shots like you. Even if this fortune you're offering is gold falling from the sky, I'd still have to consider whether it might crush me to death."

Although Liu Xie did not know who the man before him was, his clothing and manner of speech made it clear that he was no ordinary person.

At the very least, he was certainly far better off than a refugee like Liu Xie.

When someone of higher standing suddenly approached you offering wealth and glory, chances were he had no good intentions.

"Hahahaha! Well said!"

Ju Shou could not help laughing aloud. His eyes filled with appreciation, and his opinion of this young man who so closely resembled the emperor rose considerably.

An ordinary refugee would have been tempted immediately by such an offer. Yet this young man had remained levelheaded enough to refuse. His temperament was truly exceptional.

He was a clever fellow.

"One fish is enough for me. I'm leaving."

Liu Xie wanted no further entanglement with this inexplicable fellow. He only wanted to get far away from him, so he picked up a roasted fish and prepared to leave.

But the moment he stood, a hand pressed down on his shoulder.

"Young man, don't be so quick to leave."

Ju Shou looked at him with a smile. "What if I told you that this fortune raining from the heavens meant making you emperor?"

Chapter 3: Wealth raining from the heavens! Impersonating Emperor Xian of Han!

Liu Xie thought the fellow before him was truly a lunatic.

Either that, or he was sick in the head.

Make him emperor? Why not tell him to ascend to heaven while he was at it?

Come on. His name might be Liu Xie, but he was not actually Emperor Xian of Han. He could not pass himself off as the man just because of that.

"Sorry, not interested."

Liu Xie gave Ju Shou a strange look and tried to slip away with his roasted fish.

He wanted no part in this mess, which sounded like a guaranteed way to lose his head.

But Ju Shou's grip was surprisingly strong. A lowly commoner who had gone hungry for over five days had no chance of breaking free. Ju Shou held his shoulder firmly and refused to let him leave.

"Young man, I'm not joking. Hear me out first."

Ju Shou's expression grew serious as he said to Liu Xie, "Let me introduce myself first. My surname is Ju, and my given name is Shou. I serve as an adviser under Yuan Shao, the governor of Ji Province."

To demonstrate his sincerity, Ju Shou began by revealing his identity.