From the Start, I Was a Lowly Illegitimate Son, but the Imperial Exams Carried Me to Success
开局低贱庶子，我靠科举步步青云
- Status
- Ongoing
- Length
- 1.5M Words
- Genre
- Historical
- Subgenre
- Historical & Ancient
- Updated
- 14h ago
- English
- Request a translation
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In booklists 19
I'm Tired of Poor Scholar Stories. Any About Scions of Great Clans Taking the Imperial Exams?
Who Deserves to Be Called an Authority in Imperial Examination Stories?
Looking for books like You Were Supposed to Be the Young Master's Page, but You Passed the Imperial Exam for Him (The Poor Scholar Who Placed First). Any gender is fine, as long as it's satisfying and makes sense!
High-Quality Imperial Examination Novels
Looking for books similar to "From Passing the Imperial Exams with Top Scores to Running the Government". Wonderful fellow readers, can you recommend some high-quality imperial-exam novels? Something like "A Noble Son from a Poor Family" or "Running the Government" would be great.
Looking for Stories About Legitimate and Illegitimate Sons of Powerful Families Taking the Imperial Exams
I’m tired of stories about poor students taking the imperial exams. Please recommend some about scions of prominent families who rise to success through the exams. Ideally, the male lead brings glory to his family. The romance should be minimal or just in the background! Even better if there’s an audiobook narrated by a real person!
Looking for Ancient-era Imperial Exam Novels. No Effortless Top Scores in Every Exam, Please!
Looking for books like I, Sun Shan, and the Imperial Exams.
Imperial Examination Novels: No Poor Beginnings, Start a Little Higher Up, Please 🙏
Looking for books like The Marquis's Widower's Laid-Back Life.
Cultivation! Farming! Laying Low! A Brainy Protagonist!
Looking for books similar to "As an Insect Cultivator, It's Only Natural for My Spirit Insects to Be a Little Overpowered (Supreme Insect Immortal)".
Ancient-Era Imperial Exam Success Stories!!! Bring It On
Imperial exams for poor scholars + making money + everyday family life
Must-Read Masterpieces About the Imperial Exams
Looking for books similar to A Woman Disguised as a Man Becomes a Great Official in a Male-Oriented Imperial Exam Novel (Ascending to the Clouds, Imperial Exams).
Recommend Good Imperial Exam Fics With a Morally Upright Male Lead, Whether He Comes From a Poor or Aristocratic Family
I don't want one where they get married right at the beginning. I want it to start when they're children.
Any Good Imperial Exam Novels? The More, the Better
For imperial examination novels, don’t make the golden finger too powerful.
Can We Get Some Normal Imperial Examination Historical Novels?
High-Quality Ancient-Era Imperial Examination Novels Worth Rereading Again and Again
Looking for books like "Ding! A Legacy for the Ages: The Young Lady Starts Studying (Rising to the Clouds, Imperial Exams)". Historical setting, imperial exams, high quality.
Ancient-Era Imperial Exam Stories, No System
No System.
Imperial Exams, Rural Life, Children, Smart Characters, No Dumbing Down, and Real History
Ideally, something set in the Ming dynasty. That one about Zhu Qiniu was pretty good.
Any Ancient Imperial-Examination Novels with the Protagonist Reborn as a Baby?
Looking for books similar to A Guide to Survival for an Ancient-Era Concubine’s Son. It’s always farm boys taking the imperial exams. Are there any about a son from a prestigious family taking the exams, someone like a concubine’s son?
Your Number One Imperial Exam Novel
Looking for books similar to Calligrapher? Poet? Chief Minister? That's Right, I'm All of Them (The Poor Scholar's Top-Ranked Graduate). What's your number one imperial examination novel?
High-Quality Imperial Examination Novels
I'd like to read books similar to With the Famous Ministers System in Hand, I Disguise Myself as a Man in Ancient Times.
Any Stories About a Concubine’s Son Striving to Get Ahead?
I've read plenty of stories about low-born daughters. Are there any about low-born sons, or children who aren't favored, scheming to carve out a future for themselves? Completed stories are fine, with or without romance.
In same booklists
I Use Modern Knowledge to Dominate the Imperial Exams
Born into the Marquis's Household: The Illegitimate Son Just Wants to Lie Flat
A Butcher by Trade, an Imperial Exam Scholar by Hobby, I Rise to Grand Secretary
I’m the Illegitimate Son of a Marquis’s Household, Yet the Princes Keep Seeking Me Out to Play
The Imperial Exams: Top Scholar at Fourteen, and My Whole Family Is Stunned
My Veterinarian Husband Was Taken Away for Questioning on the Day He Retired, Then the Discipline Commission Personally Apologized Three Days Later
The Day My Ex-Wife Emptied the House, I Revealed Three Years of Bank Transfer Records
Born into the Prince's Household: The Second Son's Journey Through the Imperial Exams
Gone Mad on the Road to the Imperial Exams? Watch Me Make a Fortune!
The Imperial Exams: The Best in the Land Is a Woman!
Saving My Family Through the Imperial Exams: I Win Top Honors with My Talent
Born to Humble Beginnings, I Defy Heaven Itself
The Imperial Exam: A Transmigrator's Road to Reversal
The Scholar's Robe Rises from the Dust
A Literature Professor Taking the Imperial Exams? Let’s Crush the Competition!
After Awakening My Memories, I Tear Through the Imperial Exams
I Rule the Literary World: Poetry, Calligraphy, Painting, Biology, Math, Physics, and Chemistry
Aren’t You an Idiot? How Did You Become the Top Graduate?
A Cunning Official in Great Qian: Making My Way as Chief Minister
The Imperial Exam Grind King: I Paved a Road to Success Through Hard Work
Reader comments 53
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Lin Zhao is truly an exceptional older brother! It wasn't an act arranged by his stepmother; he genuinely protects Lin Yan as if he were his own younger brother. The scene where he kneels before their parents to plead for his brother, saying, "Fourth brother was just telling the truth," brought tears to my eyes. Their relationship isn't superficial; they are true brothers who can shoulder any burden.
The beginning was quite good, but I'm not sure if the female lead is a typical "Su" type. Anyway, this woman is engaged, yet she's in contact with another man, exchanging gifts and engaging in illicit relations. I think in ancient times, if the male lead's political enemies discovered this, it would greatly affect his chances of passing the imperial examinations.
The writing style is so comfortable; there's no excessive use of flowery language, making it feel like listening to an elder chatting casually. The description of the imperial examinations is detailed yet engaging—the stuffy cells, the hard-to-swallow rations, the myriad aspects of the candidates' lives—it's all so real and relatable. Reading a chapter before bed makes me feel incredibly at ease. 👍👍👍
The male protagonist transmigrates into the body of a concubine's son in the third wife's household of a wealthy family. He is skilled in medicine, capable of passing the imperial examinations, intelligent, studious, resourceful, and shrewd. A story of domestic intrigue and academia, currently updated to chapter 318, where the protagonist becomes the top scholar in the imperial examinations.
Finally found a non-anxious imperial examination novel! The protagonist isn't a good-for-nothing who rises to prominence, nor is he a born prodigy with cheat codes; he simply studies diligently and climbs the ranks step by step. From being punished by kneeling in the West Corner Courtyard to ranking first in the county examination, then to the prefectural and provincial examinations, every step…
It would be even better if the male protagonist left this family. They're all scum; they're kind to you when there's something to gain, but when there's nothing to gain, they'd rather they just disappear.
Overall, it's quite well-written, but I hope the story pace can be faster. I really want to see the male protagonist and his birth mother no longer suffer from oppression and mistreatment.
Ancient mansions had many rules and strict hierarchical distinctions between legitimate and illegitimate children. Seven-year-old Shen Yan, the fourth master, was replaced by an elite person who had traveled from the modern world. Watch how he uses his extensive knowledge and superb medical skills from his previous life to grow into a wise and capable person in this deep mansion without showing off. Five-star rating.
Delicate and vivid, with a natural and fluent writing style, it's so captivating that you can't help but read it again and again! A wonderful article!!
It's really good-looking, why is the rating so low? I need to improve it! 👍👍👍👍👍