After Becoming an Illegitimate Son, I Rose from Poverty Through the Imperial Exams

"There are two roads to take in life: the road you have to take and the road you want to take. Only after walking the road you have to take well can you walk the road you want to take...", Anonymous

Gu Huaizhi had just finished walking the road she had to take and was about to start the life she wanted when an accident turned her into him: Gu Huaizhi from another world, an illegitimate son who was running away from the road he had to take!

She woke up to find that she had lost every bit of meat on her chest, while an extra bit had somehow appeared between her legs!

She sat bolt upright, her head buzzing as memories from two lifetimes came flooding in. She gave up and decided to lie flat!

Gu Huaizhi: an illegitimate son, with a domineering mother and a lecherous father, living in Pinghu Village, Pinghu County, Fuzhou. He usually likes looking at the sky and the ground, just not books.

His elder brother, Gu Yu: the legitimate eldest son, with a gentle mother and a loving clan, living in Fuzhou County. He is proper and courteous, devoted to his teachers and fellow students, and widely renowned as a modest gentleman.

He thought: "It's just being the supporting character, right? I can do that! I can be sweet, salty, or beautiful, weak, innocent, and pitiful!"

Much later...

Gu Huaizhi looks at the person in his arms, inwardly screaming, "What the objk U!"

How to enjoy this story:

1. A woman becomes a man, retaining memories of her past life.

2. Mostly domestic intrigue. The first half leans toward the imperial examinations; the second half features domestic and palace intrigue.

3. The male lead has a knack for attracting animals. Cats adore him, koi willingly take the bait when he fishes, and even the stray dogs by the roadside follow him around...

This is the story of a poor scholar's journey through the imperial examinations, escaping poverty, making a fortune, and constantly fighting to stay alive!

Full-book reverse VIP: Announcement: This story will become fully VIP on Tuesday, February 21. The chapters being locked are 23-130, so readers who have already read them, please don't buy them again. Thank you for all your support so far, and please continue supporting my new stories.

####&&&**-----Upcoming Story: After Becoming a Farmer's Son, I Escaped Poverty and Became Rich Through the Imperial Exams

Before transmigrating into a farmer's son in the wife-chasing novel The Beloved Wife, Lu Chen developed ALS at age three. At four, his hands stopped obeying him; at five, his feet "froze"; and at six, all his organs began to "go on strike." From then on, he lost control of his body.

Until he transmigrated into Lu Chen, the female lead's idealized first love in The Beloved Wife, a boy with four healthy limbs. From then on, he decided to start a brand-new life.

Little Scene 1:

At the Kou family school in Quxian County, the boys cast strange looks at the new student, Lu Chen, and teased her one after another. "They say young ladies are quick-witted. Today's topic is kites, so Miss Lu, please honor us with your insight!" "Exactly! Our Miss Lu is famous for her talent. We'll be waiting for your masterpiece." "We've long heard of Miss Lu's good name. Please don't be shy."

Facing the boys' and girls' taunts, Lu Chen chuckled and recited: "Green gates, stately carriages, spring draws near; each dawn and dusk, the world grows new. Sun warms the palace moat, breaking ice; snow melts from the road, leaving no dust. Dawn mist darkens willow buds to green; auspicious air floats over tiles like fish scales. Only kites are worth a laugh, flying through the sky, swimming through the air, their paths beyond their control."

The boys, barely in their teens: "..."

Little Scene 2:

While teaching the Four Books, the teacher held up dozens of millet seedlings and weed seedlings and asked the students, "Which are good plants? Which are weeds?"

The students, who never paid attention to anything outside their studies, looked at one another and fell silent. "We've heard Miss Lu is learned and well-read. Please enlighten us."

"Exactly. Miss Lu is beautiful and kind-hearted, so surely she knows the difference between weeds and grain seedlings." "Of course! She came from a village in Jiangnan, after all. She must know the taste of scraping by on bran and wild greens better than we do."

Lu Chen: "Anything you can eat is food. The weeds in the teacher's hands can be served cold, boiled, or eaten to fill your stomach. In my opinion, they're all good plants."

In times of famine, graygrass, tea leaves, soapberry shoots, and other plants could save lives!

The teacher stroked his beautiful beard and smiled in satisfaction.

Little Scene 3:

During the county exam, students returning from Shengjing to take the tests crowded together to mock the local students. "Tsk, tsk! You're not as good as others, yet you don't even hide away. Parading around like this is a disgrace to scholars!" "You even have the nerve to compare answers in public. I've never met anyone so shameless." "I hear there's some neither-man-nor-woman thing at the Kou family school taking the exam, too. I wonder if the examiners will even deign to read its work."

Lu Chen was furious: "Zhang Liang was once a commoner, and Xiao He was a county clerk. Yan Zi stood less than five feet tall, yet became prime minister of Qi; Kongming lived in a thatched hut, yet became a military advisor to Shu Han. Though mighty, the Chu conqueror died by his own hand at Wujiang; though weak, the Han king gained an empire stretching ten thousand li."

The original male lead: possessive and aloof; a delicate little white rabbit. Lu Chen and Yan Xin: beautiful, strong, and tragic; a gentle girl next door.

Reader's Guide:

1. A man becomes a man, with memories of his past life.

2. Includes the original male and female leads' wife-chasing plot.

3. The male lead is exceptionally beautiful.

Theme: Dreams aren't beyond reach; we simply lack a staircase to get us there. Those of us with dreams are remarkable, and those of us who sweat for them are even more remarkable.