A Seventh-Rank Official's Reborn Journey Through the Imperial Exams

Chen Qingdan transmigrated as a penniless scholar. Looking at the drafty, ramshackle hut he called home, he chose to keep studying for the imperial exams. After much hardship, he finally became a seventh-rank county magistrate, only to be framed for embezzlement and corruption and sentenced to beheading.

After his head fell, he was reborn at the very moment he had first transmigrated. He had yet to take the imperial exams, enter government service, or be framed.

This time, he still chose the road of the imperial examinations: pass the exams, place first in the palace examination, and become Grand Secretary. In this feudal dynasty, where human life was as worthless as grass, Chen Qingdan could only avoid being trampled at will by making himself stronger. In his previous life, he had been framed simply because he lacked power.

In the end, Chen Qingdan became a powerful minister who held the court in his grasp, with countless former students serving under him. People called him "the greatest treacherous minister."

Some said Grand Secretary Chen was a capable statesman who brought peace to the realm.

Others called him a treacherous dog with wolfish ambitions, bent on monopolizing power.

********Seeking follows for new novel*********

"The Crown Prince Is Plotting a Rebellion Again Today"

Pei Chengji transmigrates into an age of chaos among nine kingdoms and becomes crown prince of the weakest state. Eight kingdoms lie in wait beyond its borders. Within, rebel princes rise up, royal brothers fight for the throne, great clans vie for power, and refugees and bandits run rampant... The emperor even wants to strip him of his title as crown prince.

Pei Chengji: "..." What kind of start is this?

The emperor sends him to provide disaster relief, hoping he will die in a refugee uprising.

Pei Chengji uses the opportunity to recruit refugees, secretly organize a refugee army, build up production, and stockpile grain, keeping a low profile as he grows stronger.

When a vassal state rebels and the rebel prince prepares to march on the capital...

A refugee army descends from nowhere, surrounds the vassal state, kills the rebel prince, and occupies the territory.

When the royal brothers fight for the throne and the great clans stir up trouble...

That same refugee army descends from nowhere, surrounds the capital, stages a rebellion, and welcomes a new emperor.

As loyal officials and righteous men weep over the refugee army's revolt and the country's fall, ready to die for their state,

Pei Chengji is carried by the refugee army to take his seat on the throne.

Pei Chengji: "Bad news: the refugee army has stormed the capital, and the dynasty has changed."

"Good news: I'm the leader of the refugee army, and the new imperial family is still surnamed Pei."

The emperor, the great clans, and the other princes: "..." That's a terrible good news!

After ascending the throne, Emperor Shengwu Qin Pei Chengji launches sweeping reforms: changes the land system, builds infrastructure, opens the imperial examinations, takes on the great clans, recovers the lost northern territories, and unifies the nine kingdoms... ushering in the prosperous age of Shengwu!

********Seeking follows for new novel*********

"The Treacherous Villain Won't Redeem Himself [Imperial Examinations]"

Ye Chengfeng enters an imperial-examination novel as a poor scholar. The scholar has mediocre talent and passes the provincial examination by stealing the male lead's essay. After entering government service, he opposes the male lead at every turn. In the future, he will become a treacherous villain who murders his wife, abandons his child, and aids a tyrant, only to be executed by slow slicing after a new emperor takes the throne.

As a top student with impeccable roots, Ye Chengfeng despises this. He wants to take the imperial exams through his own efforts, become a good official, and leave a name for himself through the ages, just like the male lead.

But it seems he tried a little too hard, and the top scholar title that was supposed to go to the male lead fell to him instead.

The male lead, who was supposed to be a paragon of virtue, insists on recruiting him to become a "treacherous minister" together.

Male lead: "Brother Ye, why don't you just ascend the throne? You'd be great at it."

Ye Chengfeng, horrified: "No, I wouldn't."

Male lead: "I know you want to be a powerful minister, second only to the emperor."

Ye Chengfeng shakes his head: "I want to be a virtuous minister remembered through the ages."

Male lead: "Then why have you taken control of the government and made yourself all-powerful?"

Ye Chengfeng: "..." He really did try too hard.

At first, the world was simply amazed that Ye Chengfeng, a scholar of mediocre talent, had passed all three levels of the imperial examinations and become the top scholar.

Later, people began cursing him for being all-powerful, controlling the court, and plotting rebellion.

In the end, Ye Chengfeng really did rebel, and people started calling him "an emperor of civil and military excellence, virtue, and wisdom," singing his praises to the skies.

Ye Chengfeng says, "Walk your own path. Don't listen to the sour grapes."

Core message: Live life with optimism