Shaoxing Advisors

Plot Synopsis

The corrupt and ossified Qing Dynasty made the imperial examination seem like a farce. In the officialdom, people who passed the examination in the same year colluded with each other to form cliques. It was hard to find a few good officials on the imperial court who dared to be the first in the world and were willing to plead for the common people. Fang Jingzhai, who lived in Shaoxing Prefecture, had been well-versed in poetry and books since childhood and could compose excellent writings extemporaneously. His upright, loyal, and incorruptible yet aloof and unyielding character also made him unwilling to collaborate with the powerful and noble in the officialdom. He was even willing to risk getting seriously hurt in order to preserve his integrity. However, there was no other way. Fang Jingzhai went to the capital to take the imperial examination together with Dong Rui, a scholar he had accidentally got to know. Who would have thought that despite his profound knowledge, he was like a precious pearl cast in