[Transmigration + imperial exams + System + comedy + political scheming + two male leads]
Jiang Suiyun transmigrates into a good-for-nothing licentiate and gets bound to a contrarian System: annoy people, and he can exchange the points for modern knowledge.
He decides to turn the imperial examination hall into his own personal stand-up comedy stage.
For the academy’s monthly exam topic, “On Filial Piety,” everyone else writes, “While one’s parents are alive, one should not travel far.” He writes, “If your parents tell you to steal a chicken, do you do it or not?” The tutor is so furious his hands shake, but gives him a high score.
For the provincial exam topic, “On Governance,” he writes, “Governing is like practicing medicine: the illness lies among the people, but its roots are in the officials.” The examiner writes two words: “Passed.”
For the metropolitan exam topic, “A Plan for Controlling Floods,” he draws a diagram of a concrete formula and adds at the end of his paper, “My lord, don’t just build barriers. You need to drain the water, too. Consider this formula my technical investment. Remember to give me a share of the profits once the embankment is done.”
The chief examiner stares at the diagram for a long time. This licentiate has a mouth that gets him into trouble, but could he actually be a genius?
The whole court goes wild. How can this new top scholar silence senior officials every time he opens his mouth? How can his memorials be more entertaining than popular stories?
Then he gets on the wrong side of Xie Weilou.
The chief minister, a jade-faced King of Hell. They say he hates glib, arrogant fools most of all.
Later, every petition accusing Jiang Suiyun gets tossed into the brazier by Xie Weilou.
Jiang Suiyun: “Lord Xie, I passed! Can I get a different reward this time?”
Xie Weilou looks at him and curves his lips in a helpless smile.
“Granted.”
