My name is Lin Xiaomo, and I look like a poor scholar from the south of the Yangtze River. My family is unable to uncover the truth, and my mother urges me to take the merit test every day. But these days, where is the way out for scholars? Zhang Juzheng had just taken charge of the cabinet, and a whip law was about to be implemented. The powerful resisted, the people did not believe it, and the officialdom was full of chaos. I know the direction of history, but no one believes me. Without a system or a golden finger, he only relied on one mouth and half of the incomplete "Ming Dynasty Chronicles" to make ends meet. I was trying to survive in the cracks of deceiving the county magistrate, rectifying taxes, controlling floods and preventing disasters. I want to mend this sinking ship, but there are people everywhere who want to kick me into the water.
