The Upright Magistrate: Ye Zeyu

A dual male lead, male-oriented fast-paced story set in ancient officialdom, featuring power struggles, a poor scholar's rise, crime-solving, anti-corruption, infrastructure development, farming, court politics, and alternate history. The protagonist plays the fool while secretly amassing power. Ye Zeyu, a poor scholar, passes the imperial exams but is exiled to a remote county for refusing to collude with corrupt officials. Facing a rotten bureaucracy and tyrannical gentry, he pretends to go along with corruption while secretly using funds to build dikes, dams, and schools. Meanwhile, the county prince, concerned for the realm, sends an imperial censor to investigate corruption. When the censor arrives with account books, the entire county kneels and hails Ye Zeyu as 'the upright magistrate,' showcasing his wisdom and courage. The prince, impressed, allies with Ye Zeyu to push reforms for the people's welfare, becoming a legend passed down through generations.