The Top Scholar's Repayment

In the depths of winter, the impoverished scholar Shen Yanqiu fell ill outside Linzhou while traveling to the capital to take the imperial examinations. As he hovered near death, Su Muyao, whose family had fallen into decline, gave him everything she had. She not only provided him with travel money and medicine, but also gave him hope with the words, “You were born for greatness. Do not betray your ambition to reach the highest heights.” Shen Yanqiu swore that if he ever earned a title, he would spend the rest of his life repaying her kindness.

Three years later, he passed the highest imperial exam and returned home in his red robes, only to learn that Su’s family had been ruined by a local tyrant’s false accusations and Su Muyao had been forced into a life of prostitution. His promise from long ago weighed heavily on his heart. Facing political persecution and vicious rumors, he had to proceed with caution: he needed to secure his place in a treacherous court, find his benefactor, protect her, and clear her name. From a poor scholar to the dynasty’s top-ranked candidate, from a chance encounter to a bond sealed by life and death, this journey of repaying a kindness across class barriers and hardship would, amid storm and turmoil, give rise to an unexpected love.