A PhD from a Top University Transmigrates to Ancient Times to Become the Top Scholar

Lu Zhao, a PhD in psychometrics from a top university, transmigrates into the body of a poor scholar and makes it through the metropolitan exam on the strength of his own abilities. He thinks the imperial examinations are a test of knowledge, until he discovers that rankings don't depend on whether an answer is correct, but on whether the chief examiner can "interpret" it. His true opponent is Pei Su, a veteran of three reigns, imperial tutor, and Minister of Rites, a guardian of the system who sincerely believes that "selecting scholars means selecting loyal subjects." At first, Pei Su admires Lu Zhao and wants to take him on as a disciple. Then he grows wary of him, because Lu Zhao's exam paper contains a dangerous line: The Way of the sages can be verified. And so his mentor becomes his oppressor, while the title of top scholar becomes a gilded shackle.