[Imperial exam wish fulfillment + face-slapping comeback + showy poetry + power struggles] Xie Yuan transmigrates and wakes up to a nightmare from the start:
A penniless scholar from a humble family, he’s publicly humiliated when his fiancée, Liu Ruyan, breaks off their engagement!
Worse still, the original owner was a coward who failed at taking someone else’s exam, offended the powerful, and now faces certain death!
Facing his desperate situation, Xie Yuan sneers. “Breaking off the engagement? Fine. Take this letter of repudiation!”
“Taking someone else’s exam? I’ll take it, but I’ll earn a title of my own!”
And so...
At the first-level imperial exam, his brilliant essay astonishes the examiners!
At a literary banquet, he casually recites a poem, and every talented scholar in the room is captivated!
At court, he debates the assembled scholars, passes all three top examinations, and becomes famous throughout the realm!
Liu Ruyan, who once looked down on him, regrets it bitterly. “My dear Xie, I was wrong...”
The powerful men who once oppressed him kneel and beg for mercy. “Lord Xie, spare us...”
Xie Yuan merely smiles faintly.
“I only wanted to earn a title to stay alive. How did I accidentally become a Sage of Letters?”
