A Poor Girl's Path to Success (Imperial Examinations)

Blurb: Liu Qingli was born into poverty, with brothers and sisters at home. As a child, she often went hungry and lacked warm clothes. At six, she began attending school because tuition was waived and lunch was provided. It was rare for girls to go to school in Xinghua Village. The village was remote, and no one there was wealthy. She was the first girl from Xinghua Village to attend school, and from then on she embarked on the path of study and the imperial examinations.

In the thirty-sixth year of the Jianyuan era, many women sat for the autumn provincial examination. Women had been allowed to take the imperial examinations for five years, but no one expected that the top scorer in this year's palace examination would be a woman: Liu Qingli, from a poor, remote village. In the six years since women were allowed to take the examinations, this was the first time a woman had earned the title of top scorer.

In the court, Liu Qingli entered officialdom and rose to the highest rank. Women, too, could earn titles and honors through their courage and ability, and have their names remembered for generations. Who could object?

You don't need to know where I come from. You don't need to know my ambitions. You don't need to know how I reached my position today or how hard it was. You only need to know that I'm stronger than you!

Theme: Women hold up half the sky