Novels like The Imperial Exams: From a Duke’s Bastard Son to a Powerful Official
Books Chinese readers most often put in the same booklists as The Imperial Exams: From a Duke’s Bastard Son to a Powerful Official, best match first.
- 1 Transmigration: From the Imperial Exams to Chief Grand Secretary 穿越：从科举开始的内阁首辅之路 An ordinary university student transmigrates into the son of a small landowner in ancient times. He takes the imperial exams and enters government service under the Great Feng dynasty, rising through the ranks step by step. Of all pursuits, study is supreme. “What? Young Master Wang has passed the county-level scholar exam!” “Young Master Wang really is impressive!” “Scholar Wang has passed the provincial exam and become a juren!” “I hear Wang, the top scholar in the provincial exam, passed the 37Reads—Score—Shelves
- 2 Transmigrated to Ancient Times to Take the Imperial Exams in a Farming Novel 穿越古代在种田文里考科举 [Rags-to-Riches Reversal + Political Intrigue + No System] He wakes up to find himself the son of a dirt-poor farming family. His parents are counting on him to change their fate through study, while the whole village waits to see him make a fool of himself! Wen You'an says, “What’s there to panic about? A top student is a top student anywhere! A scientific approach to exam prep? Coming right up! Targeted poverty alleviation to improve the family’s lot? Absolutely!” From the county exam to the p 425Reads6.1Score—Shelves
- 3 Transmigrated as the Fake Young Master in an Imperial Exam Novel 穿成科举文里的假少爷 [Imperial examinations + fake and real young masters + alternate dynasty + transmigrate + transmigrate into a book + everyday life] [Male protagonist's perspective, no CP, no female lead, and the true heiress has little page time] Yuan Kunyu transmigrated after a celebration banquet for getting into a 985 university's gifted youth program. The good news: he had become a young master from a prestigious family. The not-so-bad news: he was the fake one. So, at the age of ten, Yuan Kunyu returned to 47Reads—Score—Shelves
- 4 A Commoner Boy: Disciple of the Son of Heaven 布衣少年：天子门生 The novel finally received its rating on July 5. The rating has just opened, so it will rise later. [Young political intrigue | Redemption for all | Reform for the people | Women's awakening | Passionate ensemble cast | Imperial examinations | Xu Zhiyan] The Great Jing court was rigidly stratified. For a hundred years, no commoner from a humble family had risen to the top overnight and caught the emperor's attention. Xu Zhiyan was the first. He came from Xu Family Village in Huzhou, Zhejiang. 4.2kReads8.1Score300Shelves
- 5 You Sold My Beloved Wife? I'll Rule the Court Through the Imperial Exams! 卖我娇妻？我靠科举权倾朝野！ [Transmigrator Reborn + No System + Imperial Examinations + Political Intrigue] “I'll kill them all!” That was Li Yu's first thought when he woke up. After transmigrating, Li Yu was betrayed by his parents and family. His newlywed wife was sold and disfigured. He used a transmigrator's knowledge, far beyond that of the ancient world, to build wealth, but was cruelly oppressed by the powerful. His whole life was a tragedy! But just when all seemed lost, he was reborn. The moment he opens h 342Reads8.2Score—Shelves
- 6 A Farmer's Son's Road to the Imperial Exams in Ming Hongwu's Reign 农家子在大明洪武科举之路 [Imperial examinations + transmigration + no System + one heroine] An engineer unexpectedly transmigrates to the Hongwu era of the Ming dynasty, taking over the body of a farmer's son from the Jiang family in Qingshui Village, De'an County, Jiujiang Prefecture. Looking at his family's dilapidated thatched hut, bare of all furnishings, Jiang Xiangwen quietly considers his options. In an age when "all pursuits are inferior to studying," how can he change his fate through education and achieve the 1Reads—Score—Shelves
- 7 From the Start, I Was a Lowly Illegitimate Son, but the Imperial Exams Carried Me to Success 开局低贱庶子，我靠科举步步青云 Transmigration, imperial examinations, illegitimate son, political intrigue, court politics, play the pig to eat the tiger, male-oriented, historical, one female lead When Lin Yan transmigrated, he became an inconspicuous illegitimate son of the Lin family. He harbored no deep-seated hatred and had never endured relentless bullying. All he knew was how to keep his talents hidden, guard his heart, and live quietly. While others studied hard for the imperial examinations, he already had a firm gr 19.3kReads6.7Score1.7kShelves
- 8 A Farm Boy’s Journey to the Imperial Exams 农家娃的科举生涯 Li Shan is born into ancient times with memories from before, but he has amnesia. Even so, the belief that he must study, despite growing up poor, is etched into his bones. In the end, this impoverished family, mocked by everyone, really does produce an official. He brings prosperity to the community and grows into a great figure renowned throughout the history books... A heads-up: The author came up with many of the settings, systems, and so on on the spur of the moment. Readers who care about 233Reads6.5Score—Shelves
- 9 The Imperial Examination Path of a Lazybones in Ancient Times 咸鱼古代的科举路 In the modern world, Gu Qin spent every day exhausting himself over work, slaving away for his company until one day he suddenly died at his desk. But what he never expected was that he would be reincarnated. In his new life, his grandparents doted on him, his parents cherished him, and his older sister looked after him. Gu Qin only wanted to lie flat. Luckily, his family was well-off, so he figured he could just take it easy this time. Unfortunately, misfortune can strike at any moment. To avoi 127Reads6.4Score—Shelves
- 10 Starting My Civil Service Exam Journey After Being Kicked Out of My Home 科举从被赶出家门开始 An accident turned Gu Yuan into the third son of the Gu family in ancient Qing Shui Village. His father had died young, and his mother showed him no affection. His family was reasonably well-off, but he didn’t get a single cent of it after being kicked out. Just as he had finally found hope for life, a System suddenly appeared and told him he’d die if he didn’t take the imperial examinations. Fine, then: he’d sit the exams and make a living. Let’s see how he builds a future for himself, one step 250Reads7.9Score—Shelves
- 11 The Poor Scholar 寒门文星 Chen Yan, a six-year-old farmer’s son, beats the powerful minister’s son in the county exam and takes first place. Overnight, he goes from a poor country boy to the literary prodigy everyone in town is talking about. But he knows that being first is a poisoned chalice. The Vice Minister of Personnel’s son hates him to the core, the county magistrate is plotting to ruin him, and even his uncle’s family is eager to take a bite out of him. In his previous life, he was a master of classical studies. 49Reads9.2Score—Shelves
- 12 A Farmer's Son Places First in All Six Exams 农家子六元及第了 Father and son, both top scholars; imperial exams; transmigration; an alternate world; satisfying wish fulfillment; one-on-one romance; sixfold top honors. After a car accident, Shen Ce, Henan’s top college entrance exam scorer, transmigrated into the Great Yan Dynasty. Unwilling to take up farming, he used the imperial exams to steadily climb the road to success… 226Reads—Score102Shelves
- 13 A Name in the Unofficial Histories: The Young Prince's Unorthodox Path to Office 名留野史，小世子的另类为官路 An unconventional farming-and-imperial-exams story: transmigration and rebirth, with no pocket dimension, no System, and no golden finger. He's simply absurdly lucky. In his previous life, Jiang Ruyan was bedridden and paralyzed for fifteen years. He never imagined that after closing his eyes and opening them again, he would transmigrate. He spent twelve years wandering the world with his parents, who were always chasing poetry and distant horizons, before they finally sent him off to school. 893Reads—Score110Shelves
- 14 Reborn as a Cannon-Fodder Man in a Broken Engagement Face-Slapping Story 穿成退婚打脸文里的炮灰男 [Imperial Exams, One-on-One Romance] [Not a Power Fantasy] (The rating just came out, so it might go up later?) At first, Lu Heming thought he had transmigrated, or perhaps there had been water in Granny Meng’s soup, allowing him to be reborn with memories of his past life. It wasn’t until he turned six that he realized he had transmigrated into a women’s novel about a broken engagement and face-slapping revenge. But he was neither the male lead who would join hands with the heroine and reach th 636Reads8.4Score—Shelves
- 15 A Scholar from a Humble Family in the Zhu Household 朱门寒士 A family of scholars, but who deserves a bowl of chicken soup? Climbing out of poverty: how many can fit on that narrow path? During the Jiajing reign of the Great Ming, the Zhu family hall in Zhuhe Village hosted a silent contest every night. The chicken soup's oily sheen floated only in the bowl of the eldest grandson, Zhu Yawen. The whole family tightened their belts to support a promising young scholar who had struggled for more than a decade without even passing the county-level examinatio 215Reads6.0Score—Shelves
- 16 Transmigrated into the Foil Character in an Imperial Exam Novel 穿成科举文里的对照组 Yu Wenyan, a Shandong native who had worked hard to become a civil servant, transmigrates into a book. In the story, he’s a wasteful, gambling, wine-loving underachiever who resents his younger brother for being good at school and spends every day trying to sabotage his studies and civil service exam prospects. The transmigrated Yu Wenyan makes one thing clear: not studying is out of the question, and not taking the civil service exam is out of the question too. Playing dirty is out of the quest 25Reads6.5Score—Shelves
- 17 A Zhuangyuan Emerges from a Farming Family Through the Imperial Exams 科举农门出了个状元郎 After finally making something of himself as an orphan, he opened his eyes in the darkness and found himself a five-year-old idiot in ancient times. From the start, the Husky System tricked him into going deep into the mountains, telling him to be independent and figure out how to survive there alone. To hell with that! I have a home and a family. There’s just one problem: this family is dirt poor! No worries. Getting rich and passing the imperial exams are well within his abilities! This is a s 365Reads6.9Score—Shelves
- 18 Build a Fortune and Pass the Imperial Exams 发家致富考科举 [No System or golden finger, one heroine, not a wish-fulfillment story, realistic] Xie Fan is a hopelessly single exam nerd, a useless graduate of a top university, and a slacker at a major organization. He enjoys a carefree life of choosing to lie flat. After an unexpected death, he returns to a parallel world in the Ming Dynasty, reborn as the son of a landlord. But life in a landlord’s household turns out to be no easier. To make ends meet, he sets out on the path of the imperial examinations 1.1kReads8.6Score103Shelves
- 19 The Unparalleled Illegitimate Son 绝代庶子 [Alternate World + Transmigration + Ancient Setting] After transmigrating, he finds his mother brutally murdered and his younger sister unconscious beside her. When she wakes, she has developed a split personality. He heads to the capital to find his biological father, only to discover that his father's family is the source of all the hatred. Watch as a concubine-born son avenges his mother and drives his father into an inescapable corner, step by step. Once his revenge is complete, where will h 420Reads7.3Score—Shelves
- 20 They Called Me Sickly, So I Turned Around and Made a Name for Myself in the Imperial Exams 说我病殃子，我转身科举争光 [Farming + Alternate Ancient Setting, Imperial Exams, but Not a Conventional Exam Novel, Romance] My new book, [Reborn with the Appearance of an Eighteen-Year-Old, While My Children Are Already Twelve], is now updating. Please give it your support. Wang Erxiao was in the prime of his life when he transmigrated, born into the body of a farm boy named Wang Erxiao in the Great Liang dynasty. The Wang family now has three generations living under one roof. Counting his biological and cousin sisters, 26.4kReads7.2Score2.4kShelves
- 21 The Imperial Exams: Uncle, A Commoner’s Rise Depends on You 科举：叔啊，泥腿子翻身就靠你了 My new book, After Refusing to Rejoin My Ancestral Clan, I Became a Sage Through the Imperial Exams, is out now. Come check it out! After transmigrating as the youngest son of a farming family, he finds himself with nothing but bare walls. The immense wealth he built in business in his previous life did not come with him, and everything he knows is useless here. His widowed mother is at the top of the household, his widowed sister-in-law in the middle, and his nieces and nephews at the bottom. H 1.6kReads8.3Score107Shelves
- 22 The Imperial Exam: A Transmigrator's Road to Reversal 科举，穿越人的逆袭之路 [Everyday Farm Life | Exam-System Comeback | Court Intrigue | No System] After a car accident, a modern soul is reborn as Sun Dingyun, a two-year-old boy in an ordinary farming family in ancient times. The only grandson in the family, he is cherished by his parents and protected by his elders. His family is well-off, and there are no nasty relatives stirring up trouble. He has no System, no photographic memory, and no golden finger. He is just an ordinary person. With his whole family backing 3.4kReads7.8Score215Shelves
- 23 Reborn in the Womb, I Play at Revenge in an Imperial Exam Novel 胎穿后我在科举文里玩复仇 [Humble Origins + Daily Life + Revenge + Imperial Examinations + Political Scheming + Cunning + No CP + Small Pocket Space (Though I guess a dozen cubic meters still counts)] The orphan Chen Zhijing is born into another life and becomes Chen Shijiu. At last, he has a grandmother who loves him more than life itself, along with parents and an older brother. Just when he thinks he can spend this life happily with his family, working together toward a comfortable life, he is forced onto the path of 313Reads7.2Score—Shelves
- 24 The Imperial Exams: A Farmer’s Son Has His Day in the Sun 科举，农家子也有春天 One day, Fang Ping’an, a left-behind child, transmigrates to ancient times. He has no extraordinary opportunities and no influential benefactors. How can he turn his life around? The medicine shop has no one he knows. Who would buy the herbs you gather? He knows no one in the world of the imperial examinations. Who would teach you to read? He has no connections in officialdom. Who would help you get your foot in the door? This is the story of a farmer’s son who, in the midst of a confused and ai 43Reads—Score—Shelves
- 25 Cast Out of the Marquis's Residence, I Rise from Poverty to Become the Top Scholar 被逐出侯府，我寒门崛起成状元 The score was just posted, so it’ll gradually go up as the story progresses. [Imperial exams and farming] + [Fictional ancient setting] Jiang Huai unexpectedly transmigrated into a book and became the second young master of the Marquis of Yongning’s household. Unfortunately, he wasn’t the Marquis’s biological son, so Jiang Huai was sent along with the original owner to live in the impoverished countryside. His new home had nothing but bare walls. They were dirt poor. No matter. He wrote popular 2.3kReads7.8Score167Shelves
- 26 The He Clan's Palace Graduate 何氏传胪 [Imperial examinations + business + farming + native protagonist + romance] Born into a family of scholars and farmers, he comes from a long line of officials. His direct relatives now include a third-rank court official, but his own branch is so distant that they have been excluded from the clan for five generations. To restore the family’s former glory and stop his grandmother and grandparents from being mocked, he has only one path: the imperial examinations. He takes exam after exam, builds 664Reads6.7Score—Shelves
- 27 A Late-Born Son of a Farmer Takes the Imperial Exam and Leaves the Emperor Stunned 农家老来子考科举，强到朕傻眼了 Also known as The Late-Born Son of a Farming Family Takes the Civil Service Exams, and Grows So Powerful Even the Emperor Is Stunned; I Entered Government Through the Civil Service Exams and Became a Powerful Minister of Great Qian; Song Yuan, a rising star in the legal world, dies in a car accident and transmigrates into a farming family in Great Qian, becoming the late-born son whom the whole village mocks. With disasters striking one after another and his family mired in poverty, his life fro 12.4kReads8.1Score1.2kShelves
- 28 Zhao Wulang's Struggles in Ancient Times 赵五郎古代奋斗史 Zhao Xin transmigrates to the unfamiliar Great Qian Dynasty! His family has borrowed money from all over to save him, but when he wakes, his creditors are already at the door demanding repayment. See how Zhao Xin saves his family. Watch Zhao Xin use bread to lead the villagers to prosperity. 156Reads7.0Score—Shelves
- 29 Turning the Tables in the Imperial Exams: A Cat Swapped for the Crown Prince from the Start 科举逆袭：开局狸猫换太子 [One-on-one romance + System + imperial examinations + historical fiction + transmigration to an alternate world] Chen Xiao was once the head of a modern family of martial arts practitioners. Who could have imagined that his fiancée and younger brother would betray him? After dying, he was born into the Great Wei dynasty and became the crown prince who had been switched at birth! On the road to success in the imperial examinations, Chen Xiao pushed forward with his indomitable spirit, repeatedly 11Reads7.1Score—Shelves
- 30 After My Engagement Was Broken, I Turned to the Imperial Exams and Became the Top Scholar 被退婚后，我转头科举当状元 [Transmigration + no System + imperial examinations + feel-good power fantasy] Ma Chengji, a top scorer in the national college entrance exam with a photographic memory, transmigrated into the body of an eight-year-old poor boy in the Great Qian Kingdom. He started off in dire straits: his family had nothing, they lived on bran and wild greens, and the villagers mocked and ridiculed him. Su Jiuyuan, the daughter of a powerful minister, came with her mother to break off their engagement. “People —Reads—Score—Shelves
- 31 The Noble Son of a Farming Family 农门贵子 He never imagined that one day he would transmigrate into the body of a fifteen-year-old peasant boy who had died in an examination hall. To take control of his own fate in this dynasty, all he can do is study hard. Studying changes one's fate, and can pave the way to success… 52Reads7.4Score103Shelves
- 32 Imperial Exam Comeback: From Farmer’s Son to First-Rank Grand Secretary 科举逆袭：从农家子到一品阁老 A modern young man transmigrates overnight and becomes a farm boy, descended from generations of farmers. Other people who transmigrate get a golden finger or a System. But when he takes a look at himself, he has nothing at all and is one of the lowest-ranking people of this era. He wants to invent things and change the age, but he's hopeless with his hands. He wants to master Neo-Confucianism and stand above the world, but, well, he knows nothing... Sigh, he'd better face reality. After thinkin 4.7kReads8.8Score357Shelves
- 33 I Passed the Imperial Exam and Gave the Dynasty Three Hundred More Years 科举高中，我给王朝续命三百年 [Imperial Exams + Daily Life + Business + Officialdom + Political Intrigue + No Romance + No System] Xue Zhao, a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine, transmigrated one day into an abandoned infant who had been taken in and raised by a scholar and his wife. Before his adoptive father died, he urged Xue Zhao to take the imperial examinations, enter officialdom, and bring honor to the family. To fulfill his adoptive father’s dying wish, Xue Zhao embarked on the path of scholarship. From the coun 218Reads6.7Score—Shelves
- 34 A Farmer's Son's Road to the Imperial Exams, His Achievements Shining Across the Land 农家儿郎科举路，勋名耀山河！ [Imperial Examinations] [A Farmer’s Son Changes His Fate Through the Exams] Zhou Xu opens his eyes and finds himself in another era! Determined to make his mark in this new age, he looks down at his patched trousers and the endless fields stretching to the horizon. Zhou Xu decides he’d better study. Education can change your fate! His eldest aunt spits and says, “A country bumpkin thinks he can study?” Zhou Xu passes the county-level examination. His second aunt says enviously, “That’s as far as 28.9kReads8.5Score2.6kShelves
- 35 The Imperial Examination: I’m from a Humble Family 科举：我是寒门子弟 After an earthquake, modern college student Chen Xiao transmigrates to the fictional Great Zhou dynasty, becoming the son of a poor farming family. He has a widowed mother, a virtuous wife, and a child who is four months away from being born. Looking at his family’s utter poverty, Chen Xiao decides to take up the original owner’s ambition of passing the imperial examinations and lead the whole family toward a bright future... 1.1kReads7.7Score105Shelves
- 36 The Lowborn Grand Secretary 贱籍阁老 Transmigrated as the illegitimate son of a salt merchant in Great Zhou, Zhou Mingxuan was born into the lowest social class. A registered salt-household status was the only path to success for someone from a humble family. From the family estate and study halls to the imposing imperial court, he used his writing as his vessel, conquered the civil service examinations, pacified border troubles, and opened up the seas. From the Crown Prince's close friend to a trusted minister charged with safegua 626Reads8.0Score105Shelves
- 37 A Poor Scholar’s Rise Through the Exams: My Father in the First Volume, Me in the Next 寒门科举，上卷老爹下卷儿 A rise from poverty + imperial examinations + farming + political intrigue After transmigrating to ancient times, Gu Suifeng, a single man who just wants to lie flat, becomes the deadbeat father of three children. How can he keep living a quiet, carefree life with a family this poor? Huh? His father and all three children are pretty clever! Hahaha, then he'll just rely on them. Push them to work hard and have them back him up! 812Reads8.8Score105Shelves
- 38 My Whole Family Supports My Imperial Exams, and I Rise to Great Heights 全家供我科举，而后青云直上 One heroine + no System + lighthearted pacing A bird must flap its wings before it can soar; a person must study before they can get ahead. Huang Zhiwen unexpectedly gets another chance at life, bringing the memories of his previous life with him as he slowly adapts to this new world. Here, he finds new people to care about and a new family. The Huang family is warm and close-knit, and they will do everything they can to support Huang Zhiwen in the imperial examinations. That leaves all the pres 761Reads8.4Score—Shelves
- 39 A Proper Exam Candidate, and You Want Me to Have More Children, More Blessings? 正经科举人，你让我多子多福？ Imperial exams + System + Brother Cao + Comedy + Court politics + Struggle for supremacy Gu Zhengchuan had it rough. He was a delivery driver who got hit while rushing to finish his orders, and transmigrated to ancient times. He soon discovered that this was a society that valued civil officials far more than military ones, and the imperial exams were the only way for an ordinary person to rise in the world. But how was a vocational-school graduate like him supposed to pass the imperial exams? T 60Reads—Score—Shelves
- 40 Reborn as a Marquis's Bastard Son? Then I'll Take the Imperial Exams! 穿成侯门庶子？科举！科举！科举 [Imperial Exams + Feel-Good Story + Business + Child Prodigy + Everyday Life + Political Intrigue] Song Mingyuan dies in a car accident and wakes up as an illegitimate son in the Marquis of Great Zhou's household. The good news: he has plenty to eat and wear, and maids to look after him. The bad news: his adoptive mother is his father's principal wife. Now that she has a son of her own, she sees Song Mingyuan as a thorn in her side and wants him dead! Song Mingyuan, who has transmigrated into t 17.8kReads8.2Score1.8kShelves
- 41 I Took a Master, Then Rose to the Highest Office Through the Imperial Exams 拜了个师父，我靠科举位极人臣 Ma Chengli was born into the Ma family, a clan of veterinarians, and grew up in the womb before being born into this world. Then, one day, the newly founded Great Ying dynasty suddenly announced that it would resume the imperial examinations, just eight years after its founding. His father, Ma Dawei, suddenly discovered: “Could my son really have the makings of a child prodigy?” His mother, Lady Zhang, declared with confidence: “My son has been clever and bright since he was little. He should ta 428Reads7.5Score—Shelves
- 42 The Struggles of a Poor Family in the Song Dynasty 宋代寒门的奋斗史 In the blink of an eye, a history PhD from the 21st century becomes the second son of a farming family outside Bianliang City. His family is dirt poor, the elders are shortsighted, and they even have a “precious heir” whom the whole family must support. As the second son of a branch family whom no one takes seriously, watch how Chen He works his way up, crosses class boundaries, and leaps from the farm into a new life. 1.9kReads7.6Score145Shelves
- 43 The Great Traitor Is Reborn: What’s the Point of Becoming the Top Scholar in the Imperial Exams? 大奸臣重生后，科举当状元算什么 [Alternate Universe] [No Female Lead] [Book Transmigration] [Reborn] [Villain] [Slow Burn] [Not a Wish-Fulfillment Novel] [Light Ensemble Cast] [Early: Imperial Exams] [Middle: Infrastructure] [Late: Political Intrigue] Content warning: There is no female lead, but there is a political marriage. It involves no romantic entanglement, only an alliance of interests, and the person I marry will die. (For details, see the author’s note at the end of Chapter One.) [The blurb is in first person; the 38Reads8.2Score—Shelves
- 44 I, San Mao, Will Take the Imperial Exams 我，三毛，要科举 [Alternate world + farming + imperial examinations + everyday family life] One brick was all it took to turn Chen Ping'an into a poor farmer’s son. Farm the land? The taxes are too high. He shakes his head and gives up. Go into business? He’d still be stuck with corvee labor. No, that won’t work either. That leaves only one path. Fortunately, as he pursues his studies, he has the support of a teacher and several like-minded friends by his side. Along the way, Chen Sanmao overcomes one challenge 1.1kReads7.4Score100Shelves
- 45 Rising Through the Imperial Exams: Changing My Family's Fate 科举兴家：带着全家改换门庭 [Imperial examinations + transmigration + farming + no golden finger] [Romance included. The male lead is devoted to one woman. The heroine appears less often, and romance is not the main plot.] [The male lead is talented, but he still has to work hard. He climbs the ranks one step at a time.] A top student who had just graduated suddenly transmigrates into the body of a farmer’s son in ancient times. Determined not to spend his whole life farming, he embarks on the long road to the imperial exa 10kReads6.9Score757Shelves
- 46 The Top Scholar Is Real, and So Is the Beggar 状元是真的，乞丐也是真的 Shen Mo, a Peking University history professor, wakes up one day as a nameless beggar. No household registration, no food, no shoes, and only a yellow dog so thin its skin clings to its bones. He spent thirty years studying the imperial examinations in his previous life, yet in this one he cannot even get near an exam hall. From a ruined temple to the Golden Throne Hall, from eating tree bark to earning top honors. The top scholar is real, and so is the beggar. 9Reads—Score—Shelves
- 47 Top Scholar: I Blundered Into the Imperial Court, and Now I Rule the Realm 状元我误闯天家，少年郎权倾朝野 [Transmigration + Imperial Examinations + Officialdom + Political Scheming + No Romance + Clever Wish Fulfillment] After dying suddenly, economics master Qi Yu becomes the emperor of the Great Yong dynasty’s young nephew, who had been lost among the common folk and raised by a farming family surnamed Li. His adoptive grandmother has no idea that his late father was the emperor’s own elder brother. She plays favorites to an absurd degree, forcing the six-year-old boy and his widowed mother to sup 8.2kReads8.4Score901Shelves
- 48 The Marquis's Son Takes the Imperial Exams 侯府子科举 When fortune’s winds are fair, I’ll seize their strength and climb the ladder above the crowd. Before the palace gates, whips crack; the road to the clouds is lined with seven beams of purple jade. I have mastered the Four Books and Five Classics, and trained with blades, spears, swords, bows, and halberds. If I will not give myself to the realm, then what was the point of all my self-cultivation? A single-heroine story. Many thanks to all my readers. 430Reads7.1Score—Shelves
- 49 Transmigrate, Turn the Imperial Exams Around, and Raise a Wife 穿越，科举逆袭养媳妇 [One heroine + imperial examinations + transmigration + alternate history + devoted husband] Zhang Yue feels a sudden wave of dizziness. When he wakes up, he has become the illegitimate son of the Zhang family's second branch. Just thinking about being an illegitimate son gives him a headache, but then he sees his gentle, tender concubine mother and the First Madam, who has always looked after him, and feels like things might just work out after all... Life is hard. Yue sighs!!! 329Reads7.4Score—Shelves
- 50 The Great Zhou’s Number One Villain Raises a Top Scholar 大周第一奸臣，养出了个状元郎 [Transmigration] [Imperial Examinations] [Court Politics] [No Golden Finger] The short drama is now streaming on Fanqie under the title The Playboy Takes Up His Brush to Protect the Realm (Season 1). After transmigrating to Great Zhou, Gu Chang'an finds himself the son of a treacherous minister, reviled by everyone. His father, Gu Mingyuan, wields immense power at court. He purges the court and suppresses the scholars, earning the condemnation of the realm's literati as a traitor to the nation 113.5kReads8.6Score13kShelves
