Imperial Exams, Power Fantasy, Alternate History
Shen Yantang, the only son of a wealthy family in Jiangnan, is a spoiled young master accustomed to a life of luxury. But after witnessing the glory of a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, he resolves to pursue that path himself. Despite his family’s opposition and the doubts of his neighbors, he becomes a student of Zhou Xiuyuan, a down-and-out Hanlin Academy scholar, and spends ten years studying by lamplight, passing the prefectural and provincial exams before facing the metropolitan examination.
