Great Ming: I Am Already Dead, So Why Do I Still Have to Take Exams?

Other people who transmigrate to the Ming dynasty either take the imperial exams and become high-ranking officials, go into business and make a fortune, or practice martial arts and become heroes. Chen Zhao transmigrates to the Ming dynasty in the twelfth year of the Hongwu era, becoming the son of a penniless scholar in Yingtian Prefecture. His father died young, and his mother washes clothes for others to support his studies.

The previous owner of his body studied hard for ten years but couldn't even pass the provincial exam. His family is so poor they can barely afford to eat. Looking at the half-box of eight-legged essays left behind, Chen Zhao feels like dying. Eight-legged essays? Breaking down the topic, carrying it forward, opening, entering the topic? Who can write this stuff? Forget it, he'd rather find a job as a bookkeeper and muddle through.

But on his first day applying for a copyist job at the Yingtian Prefecture government office, he finds a sheet of paper that has drifted from beneath a desk. In large characters, it reads: Civil Service Aptitude Test, General Knowledge. Under the Ming dynasty's current land-tax system, what is the standard tax grain levied per mu on government land? A. One dou B. Three dou C. Five dou D. Eight dou

Chen Zhao: ??? Isn't this damn thing a civil service aptitude test question? Without thinking, he picks B in his head.

A “ding” rings in his mind. A translucent panel pops up:

[Imperial Exam Success System activated] [Aptitude Test score: 1] [Total score: 1/100] [Notice to Host: The System will officially activate once your combined Aptitude Test and Essay scores reach 100. After that, every time you reach 100 points, you can refresh the reward pool and unlock a new question bank module. Completed so far: Aptitude Test 1/70, Essay 0/30]

Chen Zhao: ...I did transmigrate to the Ming dynasty, right? Did this System wander onto the wrong set?