My Whole Family Became Big Shots (Imperial Examinations)

My next book will be "I Became Empress by Throwing Money Around". Blurb below. Please add it to your collection.

A sentimental, self-sufficient male lead who talks himself into love and is content to lie flat VS a calculating, cold-hearted, ambitious female lead who makes money

I, Song Yuntang, transmigrated into a novel about a beloved adopted daughter and a real heiress. I became the fiance whom the real heiress dumped after she was reborn.

By now, she had successfully returned to the marquis's household. When the original body's owner rushed home after hearing the bad news, he fell into a river, caught a chill, and missed the provincial exam entirely.

Meanwhile, I married the fake heiress to bring good luck.

Following the usual plot, since I was born into a farming family and was caught up in the contrast between the real and fake heiresses, I should have studied hard, passed the imperial exams, made a fortune, and then pulled off a face-slapping comeback against the real heiress, leaving her weeping and regretting that she had ever dumped me.

But I chose to lie flat.

The real heiress is adored by the marquis's whole family, as well as princes, heirs, and noble young masters... How could I compete with a protagonist who's loved unconditionally?

Still, there were a few things I had to do before lying flat. Since I had taken someone else's place, I needed to take responsibility. So I advised my grandfather on improving farm tools, designed novel embroidery patterns for my grandmother, and taught my father how to farm and grow better seeds until he became famous throughout the land. I sent my mother off to become an expert in animal husbandry. First, I helped the villagers get rich on a small scale; later, I raised warhorses for the imperial court, advancing from a township noblewoman to a county princess.

I also taught my second aunt how to make pickles and fermented sauces, and helped my second uncle sell his wares across the country, sending him straight to second place on the Great Ning dynasty's rich list.

They say my third aunt is a foodie, so I helped her hone her cooking skills until she opened restaurants all the way in the capital. Even the big shots in the imperial court sent people to line up for a taste. My third uncle can just help out in the kitchen.

As for my fourth uncle, he snatched up a son-in-law after the imperial exams and married a princess. As she rose through the ranks, he became the empress's pampered husband. Like me, he loves living off his wife.

Honestly, all I ever wanted was to pass the provincial exam, then go home and open a little school to teach some students.

You mean my wife?

Oh, she's number one on the rich list.

Years later, I stood at the lectern in the Royal Academy, looking at all the princes, heirs, noble young masters, and students below me. I thought in a daze that my dream had actually come true.

The school was just a little too grand, and the students a little too important.

You mean that beloved real heiress?

Oh, she's racking her brains trying to get her son into my school.

Little scene:

Song Yuntang: Women in ancient times were expected to be faithful to one man for life. Since she fell deeply in love with me, I couldn't let her down. So I had no choice but to love only her for the rest of my life.

Lu Xiaohe: At first, I just wanted to trick him into getting me a phoenix crown, fine robes, and an official title, and coax him so my career would go smoothly. But he never took concubines or kept any other women, and he loved and protected me, never abandoning me even in the face of death. What could I do? I had to spoil him twice as much, so nobody else could deceive him.

Also known as: I Have a Teacher's Golden Finger, and I Turned My Whole Family into Big Shots

Content warnings: 1. The blurb is in first person, but the story is in third person.

2. The swapped-at-birth story has more to it, and the real heiress is vilified.

3. More of an ensemble cast, everyday life, and career-building, with little romance.

My next book will be "I Became Empress by Throwing Money Around". Please add it to your collection.

Yan Zhi transmigrates into the body of the only daughter of the richest merchant in the Great An dynasty. She has a face so beautiful it can eclipse the moon. The heir of the marquis's household loves her, the third master of the Duke's household loves her, and even the refined and peerless top scholar loves her...

Him! Him! They all love her.

But because her family status is low, they only plan to take her as a concubine.

Adding the word "good" to her title is considered more than generous.

They threaten her with their power and lure her with sweet words, demanding that she bring a huge dowry.

Yan Zhi smiles coldly. If she's going to be a concubine anyway, why not become the most exalted concubine in the world?

Today, you force me to live on my knees. Tomorrow, you'll all kneel at my feet, and even looking me in the eye will be out of reach!

The selection is over. Before Yan Zhi can ask her father to find a way into the palace, she binds herself to a System called Money Talks, which unlocks the unique skill "Money makes the world go round." As long as she has money, she can buy anything in the world.

Palace entry package:

Rank 8, Selection Attendant: 10,000 taels of silver;

Rank 7, Junior Attendant: 100,000 taels of silver;

Rank 7, Beauty: 1,000,000 taels of silver.

"Which one would you like, Host?"

"Junior Attendant," Yan Zhi says firmly. "May His Majesty always be in my palace."

The late emperor spent money recklessly and loved pitting people against one another. After years of keeping his head down, the eighth prince struggles to seize the throne. Once he becomes emperor, he launches a major selection to fill the harem with the daughters of powerful officials, hoping to balance court factions and soothe public opinion.

Unfortunately, the treasury is so empty it couldn't keep a mouse fed. The emperor is forced to hand over the New Year's money he'd saved for eighteen years, and the look in his eyes as he regards the women of the harem is positively vicious.

Paying officials' salaries takes money. Supporting the imperial clan takes money. Border defense takes money. Putting down a rebellion in the southwest takes money... The emperor's great dream of becoming a wise ruler is about to die because he's broke!

Just then, a monster calling itself a Romance System comes to him. It says he's the male lead in a story, and he and the female lead were supposed to meet and fall in love, but fate kept them apart. It has to fix this mistake.

The emperor scoffs. "I have only the legacy of my ancestors in my heart, not love!"

The System immediately says, "Complete the assigned tasks and you'll get rewards. The rewards are money."

The emperor falls silent for a moment, then asks,

"What tasks are there, and how much do they pay?"

Years later, the emperor marries off all three thousand women of his harem as the bride's older brother, keeping only the empress by his side.

The System wipes away a tear, satisfied. "I knew I was the best! How could the couple I ship ever have a bad ending?"

Little scene:

The emperor writes an imperial decree naming Yan Zhi a Junior Attendant. Just then, the chief eunuch brings in the green name tablets, and the emperor is about to turn one over to fulfill his duties when the System frantically tries to stop him. "No!"

"Why?" The emperor is baffled.

"You already have a girl, so why go to another woman's palace?" the System demands.

"You mean Yan Zhi?" The emperor sneers. "She's only a Junior Attendant. Even if she bought the Empress package, she'd still have to encourage me to share my favor among the women."

"If you go, I'll self-destruct! I'll take you down with me!" the System screams. "The male leads from our Little Green River site all follow the rules of male fidelity. If you want a harem, go find another mother in your next life!"

The emperor: "..."

The rise of a merchant's daughter to become empress of the realm, also known as "His Majesty Keeps Opening the Back Door for Me" and "I'm the Harem's Biggest Nepotism Hire"

Yan Zhi: I don't think I did much. I just won without lifting a finger.

Later, when she becomes empress and their assets become shared after marriage, Yan Zhi can't help but marvel: It really is human nature to love money.

Theme: It's never too late to learn, from birth until death