I’m Taking the Imperial Exam at Qingbei

Hailing from a small town, Shen Qinghe was the ultimate “exam machine.” From college entrance exams, to civil service exams, to every imaginable qualification test—he had never failed, until overwork claimed his life at the height of his success.

Upon death, he bound to the Strongest Imperial Examination System, waking up in the body of a decadent playboy from the Great Yong dynasty who had purchased both degrees and offices.

The system contained the cultural treasures of five thousand years of Chinese civilization, compelling Shen Qinghe to study swiftly and rise through the imperial exams.

“Exams? Just a knack of mine,” Shen Qinghe said with a curl of his lips as he sifted through endless volumes of classics. “Let’s play a little differently.”

Thus, Qingbei Academy⁽¹⁾ rose from the ground, releasing its official enrollment notice:

A new education framework, a corps of great scholars, a curriculum covering literature, agriculture, commerce, crafts, and more. Now publishing: “Past Years’ Top Scoring Imperial Exam Papers,” “Qingbei’s Little Top Scholars,” and the program “Three Years at Qingbei, Five Years to Pass the Provincial Exams,”—all to secure students a brilliant tomorrow!

At first, scholars passing by the academy muttered scornfully:

• Year One: sneering. “What kind of chicken-scratch academy is this?”
• Year Three: hesitant. “Not sure… worth a look?”
• Year Five: ecstatic. “The exams! I must go to Qingbei!”
• Year Seven: the sons of nobles in the capital were shocked beyond words. The notorious dandy Shen Qinghe had transformed—he was now the Honorary Dean of Qingbei, a statesman second only to the emperor, with disciples spread across the entire empire.

—

Shen Qinghe never imagined that even after transmigrating, he would still be trapped in the grind of a 996 schedule⁽²⁾. Confronting the decayed, faction-ridden Great Yong, he comforted himself by sending one graduating class after another into office, then settled comfortably into being a hands-off administrator.

University students make cheap labor; teachers can’t overwork forever, so hand it all to the flowers of tomorrow.

And so a generation of practical talent blossomed, blessing the realm:

• Agronomy major: cultivated hybrid crops
• Metallurgy major: tinkered with firearms
• Medicine major: contained epidemics
• Civil engineering major: built cement houses

…

The people were lifted from fire and water; the Great Yong basked in tributes from all nations.

But the emperor loathed factions. Half the court officials were Qingbei alumni, and before the throne, Shen Qinghe wracked his brain on how to show flawless loyalty.

Yet Emperor Zhao Huan only touched his brows gently, tapping his nose with warmth:

“You worry too much, Lord Shen. You’ve worn yourself thin. Why not come stay in the palace for a while?”

Shen Qinghe: “???”

Pairing: The once-frivolous dandy turned reformer (Shou) × The warm but possessive “family head” emperor (Gong).

Reading Guide:

1. Atypical imperial examination story; some settings purely fabricated.
2. Power fantasy with little regard for rigid logic—meant to be enjoyed.
3. First attempt at this genre. Thank you to all the little angels for the support! bows

Footnotes

• Qingbei Academy – Formal allusion to “Qingbei,” a portmanteau of Qinghua + Beida, the two most prestigious modern universities in China, here reimagined as a fantastical imperial-era academy.

• 996 – A slang term in China referring to overwork culture: working 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., 6 days a week.