Climbing High (Political Intrigue)

[The stats are too low, so I'm dropping this. Any landmines will be refunded as red envelopes]

Yan Tongguang was born into poverty, the son of a failed scholar. After many twists and turns, he landed a humble position as a clerk at the county yamen.

He had no grand ambitions. He only hoped to earn three taels and five qian in wages, enough to spare himself the misery of two meals a day through all four seasons, and to spend six qian and seven fen at year's end to buy his mother a scrawny, steaming pork knuckle as a treat...

Who could have guessed that one day his superior would make a mistake, leaving him on the verge of losing his livelihood?!

Perhaps there has never been such a thing as a peaceful life. If you don't want to be knocked down, you have to climb higher, and higher still...

A: This story is full of the rules of survival and social intricacies that come with adulthood. It's a tale of climbing the ranks in the ancient imperial court!

Recommended: the completed ancient imperial-examination and officialdom novel The Great Nation's Little Fresh Talent (Imperial Examinations).

Completed food-and-crime-solving novels: Kaifeng Prefecture's Food Case Files, The Big County Magistrate and the Little Coroner, Constable Yan, and Dalu's Investigation Notes.

Food novels: A Feast for All, The Little Scholar Next Door, The Wish-Fulfilling Restaurant Doesn't Want to Go Viral, and The Little Restaurant.

Note: The story blends the Ming and Qing dynasties as its general backdrop. All events, officials' promotions, and career histories mentioned in the story can be verified in historical records. A bibliography will be added after the novel is complete.

Theme: As long as life goes on, so does the struggle.