Thin Spring Robes

Xie Yan, courtesy name Qingshi, was the most outstanding eldest legitimate grandson of the Xie family: a graceful young gentleman, as flawless as fine jade and as pristine as autumn frost. During the Wei Dynasty, he was the youngest top graduate in the palace examinations. Once he entered government service, his career soared; within four or five years, he had risen to Minister Secretary. After the change of dynasty, the new emperor went further still, appointing him Grand Secretary of the new dynasty against all precedent. Zheng Lingwan had transmigrated into a book and was a cousin who had come to stay at the Xie residence. She knew how the female lead, Xie Qingshi, had disguised herself as a man and lived as her elder brother; how she had studied tirelessly and placed among the top three in the examinations at a young age; how she had strived and schemed to climb the ranks in government, leading the declining Xie family back to its former heights and even making it the most prominent family of the era. There were five male leads in the book: the iron-fisted heir to the Prince of Yan, who would overthrow the dynasty; the female lead's fellow disciple from the same school; the loyal guard who stayed by her side; the foolish former emperor who betrayed the whole world but cherished the female lead above all; and Xie Qingshi's scheming, sickly half-brother. Zheng Lingwan had no idea what she ought to do after transmigrating into the book. She hadn't done anything at all, yet she gave herself away. Once Xie Qingshi found out, she didn't leave the Xie residence for ten years. P.S. The second female lead transmigrates into a book and becomes a tool character as soon as she meets the female lead. The female lead is no good person. She appears to be a refined gentleman, but is actually a scheming black lotus: immortal beauty on the outside, ruthless and merciless within. She bears the burden of an entire family, is very cold-hearted, decisive, and clever, and is someone who gets things done. The male lead is passionate and kind in the early part of the story, then becomes a deranged emperor later on. Theme: Aim for the clouds while you're young, and do what you truly want to do.