I transmigrate into the Ming dynasty as the son of its lowliest tenant farmer. My family has no food to spare, and everyone looks down on us.
At the county exam, my essay dazzles the examiners and I clearly outperform the top-ranked candidate,
yet because of my lowly birth, I am forced down to sixth place.
The examiners lament my fate, my classmates marvel in secret, and the world judges everyone by their family background.
No matter.
I may be stuck in sixth place today, but at the prefectural, provincial, and palace exams, I will take the top spot all the way.
From a poor tenant farmer’s home to the halls of power,
if the Ming is rotten to the core, then I will change the world!
The book is pretty good, you can read it