short series

The Butcher's Son's Journey to the Imperial Exam

share time: 2025-10-06 00:30:45

Chen Aniu, the son of a butcher, is ridiculed by the whole village for “a butcher’s kid not being worthy of reading”. However, he secretly saves money to buy brushes and ink, studying the Four Books and Five Classics with the same grit he uses to scrape hair off pigs. His father scolds him for “wasting time” but secretly sells a pig’s hind leg to get books for him. On his first trip to the city for the scholar exam, he accidentally saves Su Wantang, the daughter of the Minister of Rites, who is being chased while disguised as a man to escape an arranged marriage. Su takes a liking to his “reckless courage” and insists on being his “bookboy”. Even more surprisingly, Aniu’s essay *On Butchering Pigs* is seen by the chief examiner as a “metaphor for governing officials”, and he tops the exam! But waiting for him are not just fame in the capital, but also Su’s true identity, the crown prince’s overtures, and powerful officials who want to bring him down… If a butchering knife can kill pigs, can it withstand the knives in the imperial court?

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