Wang Yan, an only seedling from a farm family who was reborn with a modern soul, has been held in the palm of his family since he was born - his fourth sister protected him, his parents cared for him, and his grandparents regarded him as a treasure obtained by the smoke from the Wang family's ancestral grave. But being born in a barren countryside, even with countless favors, it cannot stop the reality of the jungle: the bullying of neighbors, the cold eyes of the squire, and the hunger and humiliation that go hand in hand.
He knew that this whole house of affection could protect him for a while, but not for a lifetime. The peasant boy wanted to straighten his back and stop looking at other people's faces, so there was only one way to go - the imperial examination.
So, from secretly counting the ridges in the fields when he was learning to speak, to kneeling outside a private school and eavesdropping when he was still young, to carrying dry food on his back and embarking on the long road to take the exam, Wang Yan took every step step by step. He has seen the filth in the examination room, and has also encountered interference in the officialdom; he has been plotted by his classmates, and he has also received advice from out-of-position officials.
When the neighbors are still laughing at the Wang family as a "waste who only knows how to read," and when those who once bullied them are still tyrannizing, this pampered only child is using his pen and ink as his blade and his talent and learning as his armor to forcibly find his way to the top of power in the turbulent official career.
But he didn't expect that at the end of this road, in addition to glory, there would also be more complex human hearts and more difficult choices...
