In the middle and late Kangxi period, the literary style in Jiangnan flourished, and the imperial examination was like a battlefield. Eight-part essays determined the life and death of countless scholars. Gu Chengan, a top modern game anchor, accidentally wore the body of a poor scholar from the Qing Dynasty and was bound to the "popular imperial examination system". As long as he completed exams, debates, breakthroughs, fame and other events, he could receive "applause points" just like live broadcasts, and exchange them for abilities such as memory enhancement, policy deduction, map recognition, debate simulation and other abilities.
The system does not give him invincible answers, but "just like playing a high-end game" with assistance in solving questions, controlling the situation, and reading people's mentality. Therefore, he can not only climb up the imperial examination field, but also get involved in the conflicts between the Qing Dynasty officialdom, scholars, banners and Han, and local interests.
The main conflict is that the protagonist must pass the imperial examination to change the fate of a poor family, but the more famous he is, the more he will be targeted; the more he relies on the system to win the situation, the more he has to face the realistic torture of "articles can win scholars, but can they govern the world."
Several female characters come from different walks of life, including boudoirs, merchants, bannermen, and officials. They have emotional pull with the protagonist, and are also involved in their families, interests, and contemporary circumstances, which promotes the entire novel to form a stronger historical imagination.
