During the Wanli period, the imperial examination was at its peak but also in decay. Shen Xishi, a poor scholar from Xiushui, Zhejiang Province, failed three attempts and was about to run out of money. In Yingtian Mansion, he met Chen Yulou, the "Ji Ren", and was introduced to Huang Xiaohan, the "divine master". Huang claimed to be a talented person who failed in the Jiajing Dynasty. He had a thorough understanding of the academic system and opened a "crash course for number one scholar" with a tuition fee of 299 taels. If he failed the exam, he would get half of the money back.
Shen Xishi paid off his land and borrowed debts to pay for the sky-high tuition fees, but found that the so-called "quick success" was just a business experience of trying to figure out the examiners and selling "consecration pens" and "question papers". He witnessed a white-haired old boy betting money on his son's life, witnessed fake imperial examinations, fake classrooms, and real scams. From suspicion to tracking, from book copying exposure to court confrontation, Shen Xishi used his pen as a knife and wrote "On the Disadvantages of Exaggeration in the Examination Hall" and scattered the copies throughout the city, setting off an anti-fraud storm that shocked Yingtian.
However, behind the scam is collusion between officials and a network of interests. From the government officials to the general magistrates, everyone collects money to do things. Shen Xishi was tortured with a stick, hunted, hid in a cellar, and trapped in a deadlock. Finally, with the help of upright officials, he tore apart the shady story, but he also saw through the stubborn world disease of "Huang Xiaohan fell, and Zhang Xiaohan still exists."
Three years later, Shen Xishi returned to the examination room and passed the examination with his true talent and practical learning. On the banks of the Qinhuai River, he saw Chen Yulou, a former liar who had become a beggar, and the river was still flowing. He finally understood: there is no shortcut to the imperial examination, and it is as clear and turbid as water. Those two hundred and ninety-nine taels are the price of the scam and the weight of conscience.
