The Top Scholar

When Shen Yu wakes up, she discovers that she has become a twelve-year-old girl who has lost both her father and her older brother. On the day of her brother's funeral, unscrupulous relatives show up to seize the family property.

Shen Yu comes up with a quick plan. She puts on her brother's clothes and tells everyone that it was her sister who died.

From then on, she can never take off her men's clothes, so Shen Yu decides to take the imperial examinations.

Before her official career can get started, rumors fly.

Onlooker One: "Society is going downhill. The young master of the Shen family is still in mourning, yet he's seen on the street, all over a woman."

Shen Yu: "Thanks for asking. I'm at the county yamen giving a statement. That woman was a thief, and I was taking her to the authorities."

Onlooker Two: "Look at that sickly young master Shen. He's taken so many days off. There's no way he's keeping up with his studies."

Shen Yu: "How embarrassing. The yamen posted the results, and I only got the top score in the county."

Onlooker Three: "..."

Everyone: "Stop gossiping! That young master Shen has passed the examinations with top honors at all three levels and become the top graduate!"

Shen Yu places first in the palace examination and rises from Hanlin Academy compiler to tutor to a prince, eventually entering the Grand Secretariat as its chief minister.

Her future is bright, and many daughters of distinguished families are taken with her. But how did a man get mixed in among them?

Shen Yu falls into deep thought: "I'm an officially certified top graduate, for goodness' sake. Did he find out I'm a woman? Or did I turn him gay?"

Short Scene

The Seventh Prince, Liu Li, is very proud. When he first meets Shen Yu, he sneers, "So girlish, without a shred of manly spirit."

Shen Yu: "An edgy teenager. I'll let it slide."

When Liu Li is framed, Shen Yu risks everything to save him. Liu Li says with feeling, "Attendant Shen, you're such a good person. Everyone else kicks a man when he's down, but you came to my aid when I was in need. I think I'm starting to like you."

Shen Yu: "Don't get the wrong idea. I only investigated the truth because I didn't want to get implicated."

The Nth time: As he looks at Chief Minister Shen, who has already established her career and is preparing to start a family, Liu Li suddenly realizes something is wrong. After all these years together, he seems to have fallen for a man.

In his heart: No, that person is a man! And a pillar of the court.

In reality: "I'm the emperor now, and that's my minister. That makes him mine. If it isn't allowed, it will be!"

After pursuing Shen Yu for years, Liu Li finally wins her heart.

Shen Yu changes into women's clothes and returns his feelings. Liu Li is deeply moved. "You were willing to dress as a man for the sake of my reputation. I'm so happy. But you look so beautiful in women's clothes!"

Shen Yu: "...What on earth did she see in this idiot?"

The early story focuses on studying and the examinations; later, the heroine enters government. The setting is fictional. Look up information about the imperial examinations on Baidu.

There is a male lead, but he doesn't appear until the middle or later part of the story.

A steady, intelligent heroine versus a male lead who seems like an edgy teenager but is actually crafty.

Content warning: 1. The interactions between the leads in the blurb are playful, but in the main story they love and fight each other.

Upcoming Story

Zhao Si reads an old-fashioned Mary Sue novel where the protagonist has an endless supply of plot armor and the supporting characters are forcibly made stupid. She's also slightly bothered that she shares a name with a background cannon-fodder female character in the book, so she promptly closes the page.

Then she wakes up and has transmigrated into a book!!!

Thinking that the later plot has nothing to do with her, and not wanting to meet a tragic end, Zhao Si promptly runs away. But along the way, she comes across a beautiful man in white who is injured.

Remembering that one shouldn't pick up men on the road, Zhao Si calmly pretends not to see him. But he grabs her ankle and won't let go.

"I came here because I'd heard of your reputation and wanted to study under a master. My name is Lin Xuzhi. You saved me today, Miss. I will repay you in the future."

Zhao Si sucks in a sharp breath. I don't believe a word of it. What do you mean, you came here to study under a master? You're the strongest person in this novel!

Lin Xuzhi is the righteous leader in the novel, always dressed in white and overflowing with a sense of justice. He leads the male and female protagonists in a campaign to crush the Demon Cult, and his standing among the righteous is nearly equal to the male lead's.

But he's actually severely split-minded. He has another identity as the Demon Cult leader, and not only does he fight against himself, he also leads the Demon Cult's disciples in making trouble for the protagonists.

Zhao Si doesn't want to die. So she crouches down and pries his fingers off one by one.

Zhao Si: You're a protagonist, so you won't die. I'm just blind and can't see you!

But then a mechanical voice sounds in her ear: "If you can stop this person from causing trouble for the protagonists and ensure the story reaches its ending smoothly, you can return to your original world..."

Zhao Si rubs her forehead. I can do the task and follow the plot, but I haven't finished reading the novel. What am I supposed to do if I don't know the story well?

Short Scene:

The mission isn't going smoothly. At last, Zhao Si can't take it anymore. She packs her things and tries to flee under cover of night. In the courtyard, Lin Xuzhi stands dressed in white, murder in his eyes.

"Where are you going, little beauty?"

Zhao Si knows that although this person is dressed in white, he has the personality of the Demon Cult leader.

She immediately puts on a tearful expression and tries the pity act. "I've admired you for a long time, young master. I knew you had no feelings for me, so I didn't want to bother you and decided to leave. I never expected to find you here, hehehe..."

The split-minded Lin raises an eyebrow. "Who said I had no feelings for you?"

With that, he hoists Zhao Si over his shoulder and tosses her into the room. He takes off his belt and ties her hands, then suddenly freezes.

Terrified, Zhao Si sees the split-minded Lin freeze. He furrows his brows, purses his lips, and scolds her coolly, "Miss, how could you be so lacking in self-respect as to show up in my room in the middle of the night?"

Zhao Si: "..."

At last, Lin Xuzhi looks at Zhao Si, bound up, and says with immediate embarrassment, "I seem to be the one at fault. But don't worry, I'll take responsibility."

Zhao Si: You jerk. Are you pretending to have a split personality?

Theme: Survive adversity and find a way out when all seems lost. Who says women are inferior to men?