I Really Am Just a Hired Hand

On the first day Yu Rong transmigrates into the body of a little girl in ancient times, she faces a serious dilemma: get married or starve to death.

She decisively chooses an unconventional path: disguise herself as a man and pass the imperial examinations.

From Huizhou to the capital, from the county exams to the palace exam, she works her way into the Hanlin Academy and becomes the youngest second-place laureate in the Great Jin dynasty.

She thinks she can lie flat and live off the imperial stipend from then on. But the new emperor's first order after ascending the throne is to put everyone through a major assessment.

The whole court is on edge, but Chu Yurong's eyes light up. Here comes her chance to get promoted and ennobled!

Her assessment essays are dazzling, her policy arguments cut to the heart of the matter, and her practical answers are flawless.

She successfully catches the attention of the young emperor.

But isn't he paying a little too much attention?

Today His Majesty praises my policy essay. Tomorrow he summons me to answer questions before him. The day after that, he transfers me right to his side.

Chu Yurong: Your Majesty, I am merely a lowly seventh-rank compiler. Please don't do this. I am afraid.

Emperor Yong'an, Yan Shu, glancing at her coolly: What are you afraid of? I won't eat you.

Chu Yurong, thinking frantically: You are the Son of Heaven. You don't eat people, but do you know that I am a woman?!

A story about a cross-dressing, poor-born exam ace who makes her presence felt all over court, only to accidentally win the emperor's heart.

Reading guide:

1. The heroine is clever and sly, adaptable, and the standard office-worker type who “says what people want to hear, whether they're human or ghost.”

2. The hero is calculating and composed, never showing his hand, and skilled at pursuing someone with the “slowly-boiled frog” approach.

3. One-on-one romance, happy ending, light transmigration historical romance.

4. Cross-dressing trope. Her identity is bound to be exposed eventually. Both leads are sexually inexperienced, and the new emperor has no harem.

Theme: Positive energy