The Concubine-Born Cannon Fodder Takes the Imperial Exams, But...

"If you hold me in your arms, love me to the bone, and keep me safe, I am willing to close my eyes and not distinguish whether you are human or ghost, whether your love for me is sincere or perfunctory. I see everything clearly. I only play dumb for the person I love. You and I are both passersby in the spring breeze; you carry autumn waters and block the river of stars. I am fortunate beyond words to have met you." -- Anonymous

Xie Mengheng did not want to marry someone like her father, live a life like her mother's, or become someone both she and others hated, spending her whole life unmarried. One day, she transmigrated and became a man who avoided married life. His wife looked just like the person she had been in her previous life, and their days together became the sort of life both she and others hated.

Zhao Lingyan, an illegitimate daughter of the Zhao family, is lazy, greedy, and sly. After years of infertility, she has a terrible reputation.

Xie Mengheng, an illegitimate son of the Xie family, is thrifty, virtuous, courteous, and well-behaved. He has spent years alone in an empty room, handsome but lacking substance.

Much later, Xie Heng comes top in the imperial examinations, enters the cabinet, and rises to the highest ranks of government. Zhao is the only woman at his side, with no other beauties in his life. Everyone says that Chief Grand Secretary Xie is an exceptionally talented man, warm and gentle, untouched by romance, and devoted only to his second wife, Madam Zhao. They are a deeply devoted couple.

Hearing this, Chief Grand Secretary Xie smiles and says, "If you marry, marry Zhao Lingyan!"

A guide to enjoying this story:

1. A woman transmigrates into a man, bringing memories of her previous life

2. Lots of household intrigue, with imperial examinations in the early part and a little palace intrigue later

Theme: The road to chasing your dreams requires perseverance to the very end.