The Late Wife of the Imperial Exam Heroine

Yan An transmigrated into a novel—becoming the ancient imperial examination story’s female lead’s ex-wife. This ex-wife’s dying family elders had borrowed money to arrange a marriage for her, yet she looked down on her wife, deeming her stupid and crude, unworthy of her scholarly status, and treated her with cold indifference. Yet this woman couldn’t even lift a finger or tell grains apart—the entire household was maintained by the female lead, right down to the rice in her bowl, earned by the female lead’s hard labor. Still, she acted high and mighty, pinning all her hopes on the imperial exams to turn her fate around. In the end, the ex-wife, after failing the exams, drowned in a pond while drowning her sorrows in alcohol. Meanwhile, the female lead, self-taught using the books she left behind, embarked on her own imperial examination journey and became the first female top scholar in Heyun County. Yan An: Wow, what a piece of work—a master of eating soft rice yet acting tough, what an awesome female lead... --- Staring at the destitute house, counting the external debts, with two mouths to feed, Yan An clutched her chest in anguish, unwilling to accept such a disastrous starting point. Passing the provincial exams would naturally solve everything, but after flipping open a book and reading its contents, Yan An decisively shut it and handed it to the female lead with utmost sincerity. *You do it. Stupid as a pig, I’ll just be your support.* You focus on studying for the exams—I’ll handle earning money to feed the family! Wen Ying, who had never once been treated kindly by her before: “...” --- Yan An knew her convenient wife was a scheming individual. In the novel, the original owner had been the shackles holding the female lead back—only after her death did the female lead break free and soar. All Yan An could do was try her best to improve their circumstances while playing the good person, funding her studies until the right moment came—to let her fly away. --- Abandoning the scholar’s brush for trade, Yan An became the vulgar, money-stenched merchant most despised by scholars—and the most glaring stain on the newly crowned top scholar’s reputation. Knowing it was time for them to part ways... On the day of the divorce, as the papers lay before them, the usually calm and composed Wen Ying finally cracked, a distorted glint flashing in her eyes as she gripped Yan An tightly and demanded through gritted teeth: “You want a divorce—is it because you still can’t let go of that woman? Expecting me to step aside for her?” Shedding her gentle facade, Wen Ying trapped Yan An in her grasp, revealing the obsessive, jealous monster beneath. *“Yan An, mark my words—you’ll never escape. Your side belongs to me and only me!”*