Thriving in an Imperial Exam Novel

Shen Mulin had enjoyed smooth sailing for over twenty years when a sudden car accident sent him, body and soul, to another world.

From the start, all he had was a hospital gown.

Question: How do you make a fortune?

Shen Mulin said: No need to panic.

With two years of experience supporting rural development, he knew how to tend crops and raise livestock. After one season, the lambs were plump and the melons and fruits were sweet and fragrant.

After ten years of sampling snacks, making stinky tofu and spicy hot pot was second nature. He set up stalls and opened shops, drawing crowds of customers and earning a steady stream of silver. Then he expanded into the capital.

From rouge and face powder to clothing and accessories, from jade ornaments to gold jewelry, Shen Mulin was everywhere. With his pockets stuffed with gold, he became the head of the capital's merchants' guild.

Merchants envied him, and commoners admired him. Then they saw him give generously to charity, donating food and clothes, and throwing himself into public works by building irrigation and repairing roads.

Shen Mulin: Becoming the Great Yan dynasty's top imperial merchant is a piece of cake.

-

The Gu family had a blind scholar who lived with his little father. One day, they found a young man from the south who had fled to their door.

Gu Xiangzhu: He's all alone. Poor thing.

Shen Mulin: He's blind and softhearted. Poor thing.

The two agreed to pretend to be a married couple for a while and rely on each other. After that, they punched their foul-mouthed neighbors, trampled their awful relatives, and refused to put up with anyone who picked on them, threw their weight around, or stole their honors.

They opened shops and made a fortune, then passed the civil service exams, rose through the ranks, and entered the Grand Secretariat.

Their relationship developed naturally, making others green with envy. The only thing people regretted was that the couple had no children.

Shen Mulin: Can you give birth?

Gu Xiangzhu: We should try a little more.

[Scene 1]

When it came to all kinds of jerks, Shen Mulin would throw a punch rather than waste words.

Once, after a fight, he deliberately let himself get a small cut to avoid trouble. It was less than an inch long.

Gu Xiangzhu gently applied medicine to the nearly healed wound. "You're so kind and gentle. How could they use their numbers to bully you?"

[Scene 2]

At court, Gu Xiangzhu remonstrated with the emperor and debated the officials. Everyone said, "That man has a silver tongue. Don't mess with him, don't mess with him."

One day after court, Shen Mulin saw the bloodshot look in Gu Xiangzhu's eyes and felt his heart ache. "How could they use their seniority to bully you for being so bad with words?!"

A certain physician surnamed Ji, a friend of both men, had this to say about the scenes above: "Don't ask. Their eyes still aren't fixed."

Patient, scheming, and devoted gong x cheerful, optimistic, and affectionate shou

Both husbands have eight hundred tricks up their sleeves. In each other's eyes, they're innocent little rabbits; in everyone else's, they're smiling tigers.

Content warnings:

1. Childbirth. (Much later in the story or in the extras. There's a child in the middle of the story, but they adopt him.)

2. Not a transmigration in the literal sense. (The logic is being patched up as best I can.)

3. The systems of land, taxes, civil service examinations, and official posts in the story draw on various ancient systems. The recipes for snacks, clothing, and tools are based on online searches, and most of them are things I made up. Please don't take them too seriously.

4. Farming and raising sheep happen later. The early story focuses mainly on opening shops and making money.

Theme: Reading brings wisdom, and hard work brings wealth.