After Cutting Ties with My Family, I Passed the Imperial Exams and Became Chief Councilor

[Transmigration into an Alternate World + Imperial Examinations and Officialdom + Court Intrigue + Rise from Poverty + Political Machinations + Transmigration] “Today you cast me out of the family register. When I place first in the imperial examinations, don't come claiming to be my kin.” Sixteen-year-old Shen Zhao left those words behind, then turned and walked out of the Shen ancestral hall. Everyone thought he was mad. A poor, illegitimate son without the backing of his clan would have trouble even taking the preliminary exams, and he dared dream of placing first in the imperial examinations? But Shen Zhao had spent years studying history in his previous life. The imperial examinations, the bureaucracy, and the rise and fall of dynasties were what he knew best. He had no System that could summon wind and rain, nor any lucky break that could catapult him to the top overnight. He planned only to pass one exam at a time and win one essay at a time. Take first place in the county exam, win the title of provincial juren, claim the top spot in the metropolitan exam, then compete for the title of palace-exam champion. The imperial examinations could lift him out of poverty, but they were only the first step toward entering court. When the castoff of the past stands before the throne in crimson robes, how will those who once swore he would never amount to anything face him? And between champion and chief minister, how many walls must he tear down with his own hands?