The Cannon Fodder Family in the Imperial Exams Goes Wild Every Day

After transmigrating, Jiang Youling became the illegitimate son of a declining marquis’s household. His biological father was superstitious and blamed him for his mother’s death. The old matriarch, the real head of the household, raised him like a stud to carry on the family line. His indifferent stepmother was loaded, though, and in a fit of competitive spending with her friends, she tossed out thirty thousand taels to get him into the Imperial College as a “boarding student.” Jiang Youling, attending school for the first time thanks to the power of money: “…” As he looked forward to life at a top school in a feudal society, Jiang Youling noticed that his arrogant legitimate older brother, Jiang Youxin, had completely changed overnight. With tears in his eyes, he stuffed banknotes into Jiang Youling’s hands. “Little brother, spend it while you’re still alive. Li Yuanqing is picking a fight with us. Our whole useless family is going to die horribly.” Jiang Youling was shocked into remembering the plot. He had transmigrated into The Farmboy Who Became Top Scholar. After the transmigrated male protagonist became the top scholar and married a Grand Secretary’s daughter, the first person he face-slapped was the Li family, who had once fawned on the powerful. That was his stepmother’s maiden family. He also dealt with the Jiang family on the side, making an example of them to establish his authority and clear the way for reform. The entire Jiang household, servants included, was slaughtered. Since he and Jiang Youxin hadn’t yet “come of age,” they were sent to the entertainment quarters, where they eventually met gruesome ends. Furious, Jiang Youling grabbed his adoptive father and explained his origins. Then he seized his reborn brother as a hostage and roared, “If you want to live, listen to me!” His stepmother, who doted on her son, immediately turned vicious, even more cruel than her character description. “I’ll file a complaint directly with the emperor and frame the male lead, who’s only a sixth-rank official right now, for harassing me. Then we’ll kill him!” His superstitious marquis father said, “I’ll stage a miracle and claim the six-time top exam graduate is the future emperor. Even if we’re found out, we can take him down with us. At least we’ll die cleanly instead of being tortured to death.” The old matriarch calmly rested both hands on her dragon-headed cane. “You two should focus on studying! Fabricating accusations and staging a miracle are too much trouble. Why not spread a rumor that the male lead was switched at birth and is actually a prince?” For a moment, Jiang Youling didn’t even know how to spell “survival,” so he could only focus on his studies. After all, thirty thousand taels a year was a lot of tuition. The students at the Imperial College: “Is Jiang Youling crazy? He came in first again?” “He’s only been studying for a year, and he already dares to take the county exam?” “...” Later, the entire court screamed, “Jiang Youling, you lunatic! What do you mean, you learned from the Tang envoy how to conquer a whole country by yourself?” “He’s been promoted again after only three months?” “He just...” Gradually, everyone went numb. In silence and submission, they knelt before Jiang Youling, the lunatic who helped the princess become emperor. Theme: The knowledge you gain is your own.