Any Stories About a Farmer’s Son Taking the Imperial Exams Without Becoming Top Scholar? No Wish-Fulfillment Stories!!! 有没有农家子科举，但不是状元的，不要爽文！！！

1. 51 寒 A Scholar from a Humble Home 寒窗读书人 Ding Kai, Who Loves Pepper-Salt Rice Dumplings爱吃椒盐豆粽的丁凯Historical1.2M WordsCompleted Bystanders: Xu Sandan’s life is over (watching the drama unfold…) Family: What’s going to become of Sandan? (worrying…) Xu Heng (Xu Sandan): My fate is mine to decide, not Heaven’s (striving…) A story about Xu Heng, who transmigrates into a desperate situation from the start. With a disabled body and a poor family, he fights against a cruel fate step by step through his own efforts, ultimately turning his life around. An uplifting story about farming, cozy everyday life, and hard work. P.S. Ther 4.2kReads8.6Score33114d adds
2. 52 双 Traveling Between Two Ming Dynasties, My Whole Family Lives in Luxury 双穿大明，全家跟着我吃香喝辣 Scholar Who Wins a Marquisate封侯书生Historical434k WordsCompleted [Studying for the exams + farming + slow-paced + travel between two worlds + Ming Dynasty + officialdom + powerful ministers] During the Hongzhi era of the Ming Dynasty, an ordinary young man named Chen Jie unexpectedly gains access to a portal between two worlds. With a single thought, he arrives in the home of Zhuge Jiaojiao in the year 2024. In just an instant, his clothes turn into a ragged beggar’s outfit. It turns out that each time he transmigrates, a mysterious force transforms whatever 232Reads8.8Score—14d adds

   Reader note

   To be the top scorer or not, that is the question.

3. 53 大 Great Ming: The Village's Little Top Scholar, Whom Old Zhu Absolutely Adores 大明：乡村小状元，老朱贼稀罕我 Scholar Who Wins a Marquisate封侯书生Historical2.0M WordsCompleted During the Hongwu era of the Ming dynasty, Zhu Qiniu, an ordinary four-year-old farm boy, accidentally comes across a silver bell. From then on, he dreams every night of entering a room filled with books: the Thousand Character Classic, the Hundred Family Surnames, the Four Books and Five Classics, collections of successful candidates’ exam essays from every dynasty, and more. With his golden finger and relentless effort, he becomes the top scholar before the age of ten. Beloved by Old Zhu, Litt 18.5kReads8.9Score1.5k14d adds
4. 54 正 A Proper Exam Candidate, and You Want Me to Have More Children, More Blessings? 正经科举人，你让我多子多福？ Little Cabbage Treasure小白菜宝Historical126k WordsOngoing Imperial exams + System + Brother Cao + Comedy + Court politics + Struggle for supremacy Gu Zhengchuan had it rough. He was a delivery driver who got hit while rushing to finish his orders, and transmigrated to ancient times. He soon discovered that this was a society that valued civil officials far more than military ones, and the imperial exams were the only way for an ordinary person to rise in the world. But how was a vocational-school graduate like him supposed to pass the imperial exams? T 60Reads—Score—14d adds

   Reader note

   This one is great, it's good!!!

5. 55 科 I Passed the Imperial Exam and Gave the Dynasty Three Hundred More Years 科举高中，我给王朝续命三百年 Kill That Young Lord刀了那个郎君Historical258k WordsCompleted [Imperial Exams + Daily Life + Business + Officialdom + Political Intrigue + No Romance + No System] Xue Zhao, a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, transmigrated one day into an abandoned infant who had been taken in and raised by a scholar and his wife. Before his adoptive father died, he urged Xue Zhao to take the imperial examinations, enter officialdom, and bring honor to the family. To fulfill his adoptive father’s dying wish, Xue Zhao embarked on the path of scholarship. From the coun 218Reads6.7Score—14d adds

   Reader note

   This isn't a wish-fulfillment novel, and it doesn't feature any extreme characters or oddballs.

6. 56 重 Reborn, I Study for the Imperial Exams in Another World 重生后，我在异世界读书科举 Lan Xiaoyi蓝小一Historical2.8M WordsCompleted (Transmigration) + (farming) + (daily life) + (imperial examinations) (no System) + (court politics) Chen Chuyi was reborn into a poor family in Beishui Village, carrying the memories of his past life. At first, he only wanted to earn a little money to improve his family's life. But in this unfamiliar ancient world, he was always afraid someone would take his family's money and eat their food. In the end, he embarked on the path of study and the imperial examinations. He knew that only by changi 6.7kReads8.3Score52814d adds

   Reader note

   A newly released novel featuring time travel, slice-of-life, farming, no system, and ancient imperial examinations: ① The misty rain of Jiangnan falls softly! Chen Chuyi, carrying memories of his past life, is reborn into a poor family in Beishui Village. Initially, he only wanted to earn some money to improve his family's life, but in this unfamiliar ancient world, without any means of protection, he ultimately benefits others. Finally, he embarks on the journey of studying for the imperial examinations. Only by changing his own destiny can he better protect his family. When poor, cultivate your own virtue; when successful, benefit all under heaven.

7. 57 吾 I Sing the Song of Mortals for You 吾为君吟凡人歌 Six Sons of Qingfeng青峰六子Historical552k WordsCompleted [Male-Oriented, Transmigration, Fictional Setting, Farming, Everyday Life, Imperial Examinations, No System, No Golden Finger, Rural Life, Rustic Setting, One Heroine, Not a Power Fantasy] Lin Zezu, an ordinary nobody from Blue Star, transmigrates to the fictional Wu Kingdom. He arrives just as the original body's father, a scholar, dies of illness. Since the original body's birth mother was a brothel girl, his stepmother and eldest half-brother in the Lin family never treated him well. After Ma 2Reads6.4Score—14d adds

   Reader note

   It'll definitely suit your taste. How about we make a bet? If you don't like it, you can write back to me.

8. 58 北 A Northern Song Dynasty Guide to Climbing the Official Ladder 北宋升官手册 Retired Artist 04退役艺术家04Historical516k WordsOngoing The ratings just opened. They'll go up later. [Historical Transmigration] [Imperial Examinations] [Officialdom] [Political Intrigue] [Farming] [No System] What were the regrets of the Northern Song Dynasty? Was it that Liu Yong's lyrics were sung throughout the land, while he himself spent half his life in disappointment? Was it that Fan Zhongyan cared deeply for the realm, yet his Qingli Reforms were abandoned halfway through? Or was it the unfulfilled ambition to pacify the Rong, amid the nort 1.3kReads7.2Score11714d adds

   Reader note

   I recommend this new book, "Not a Top Scholar".

9. 59 第 The Number One Son-in-Law: From Child Bridegroom to Powerful Minister 第一赘婿：从童养夫到权臣 Sweetheart Wine糖心酒Historical362k WordsCompleted [Farming and imperial examinations + warm and relaxing + alternate ancient setting] [The male lead seems sweet and simple but is actually cunning and doting toward his wife; a story of growth × the female lead seems frail but is actually domineering and cold-hearted] Villagers: “That little fool from the Fang family carries Pear Girl around everywhere all day. What a bargain that child bride turned out to be!” Song Zhun: “Do you think I want to carry her? If I don’t humor that lazy girl, she say 733Reads8.4Score10314d adds

   Reader note

   A heartwarming slice-of-life story about two people who travel to ancient times and work together to make their lives better. Their childhood sweetheart romance is so sweet and touching.

10. 60 女 A Woman in a Man's Body: The Concubine-Born Heir's Rise to Power 女穿男，庶房嫡子的逆袭 Liu Jilian刘忌廉Ancient Romance1.3M WordsOngoing Now available as an audiobook with a full cast. [Alternate history] + [Woman transmigrates as a man] + [Born into this world] + [Imperial exams and business in the early story] + [Court politics later on] + [One female lead, with a relatively small role] + [A touch of ensemble cast] + [No golden finger] Xie Chengxi was born into another world as the sixth son of the Xie family, a minor family in Bianjing's Grain Transport Guild. His father was the clan's rejected son, kept under pressure for yea 33.5kReads8.3Score3.6k14d adds

    Reader note

    This book is pretty good.

11. 61 乌 The Nameless Boy in Black, Retaking the Imperial Exams to Restore His Family’s Glory 乌衣少年今无名，重考科举振门庭 Holding an Umbrella, Seeking the Dao执伞问道Historical64k WordsOngoing [Alternate setting + imperial examinations + court politics + detective work + multiple heroines + no System] Born into a prestigious family whose numbers had dwindled, with no hope of a career in government. But they were rich. Xie Guan transmigrated to the Great Li Dynasty: “Brothers, this is exactly my kind of thing!” But why had he already lived through an entire lifetime? At twenty, a licentiate. At twenty-eight, a provincial graduate. At twenty-nine, a successful candidate in the imperial —Reads—Score—14d adds

    Reader note

    Highly recommended!

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