The Leisurely Life of a Peasant Woman in the Tang Dynasty

Arriving at the entrance of the academy, Tang Youyou was stunned. The entrance to the academy was bustling with people, much more lively than usual. The children were also looking around curiously. The exquisite pastry shop was crowded with gorgeously dressed servants, each carrying exquisite food boxes, presumably prepared for their own masters.

"Mom, why are these people dressed so well?" Tang Xiaoya tugged at the corner of Tang Youyou's clothes and asked in a low voice, with a hint of uneasiness in her tone.

Tang Youyou patted her head and said softly, "Today is the academy's enrollment day, so naturally there are more children coming."

As soon as he finished speaking, he heard a hearty laugh: "Hey, isn't this the sister-in-law of the Tang family? Why, bringing the child to try his luck too?"

Tang Youyou looked in the direction of the voice and saw a gorgeously dressed woman walking over with a chubby boy. The boy was holding a handful of exquisite sugar figures in his hand and was eating them with gusto.

"Mrs. Qian." Tang Youyou responded indifferently, but she felt a little unhappy in her heart.

Mrs. Qian was the wife of a wealthy businessman in the city. She loved to show off her family's wealth and always looked down on ordinary people like them.

"Sister-in-law Tang, I'm not saying anything bad about you, but given your family's financial situation, you'd better not join in the fun. The tuition for this academy is not a small amount of money. Can you afford it?" Mrs. Qian smiled, covering her mouth with her hand, her tone full of sarcasm.

"That's right, mother, look at the clothes they are wearing, they are so shabby!" The boy behind Mrs. Qian pointed at Tang Jin and Tang Wan and said loudly, causing laughter from the people around.

Tang Jin and Tang Wan's faces suddenly turned red, and Tang Xiaoya hid behind Tang Youyou in fear.

"Mrs. Qian, you're joking. It's a good thing for children to want to study. As parents, we will naturally do our best to satisfy them." Tang Youyou suppressed her anger and said calmly, "As for whether they can pass the exam, that depends on the children's luck."

"Oh, you're so arrogant! I want to see how capable your child is!" Mrs. Qian snorted coldly and pulled her son into the academy.

The people around them also dispersed, leaving Tang Youyou and his family standing there.

"Mom..." Tang Wan bit her lip, tears in her eyes.

"Don't be afraid, let's go in." Tang Youyou took a deep breath, took the children's hands, and walked into the academy gate. Inside the academy, the children were led to a spacious hall and seated in order of age. Tang Jin and Tang Wan were placed in the front, while Tang Xiaoya sat near the door.

Master Zhao, an old man with a white beard and sharp eyes, slowly walked up to the podium. He placed a stack of test papers on the table, his eyes sweeping across the room. His majestic voice echoed through the hall, "Today, I will test you all. The content will cover literacy, arithmetic, and observation and understanding of things."

The children's expressions suddenly became nervous. Some scratched their heads, while others lowered their heads and muttered something.

The first round of the test was character recognition. Each time Master Zhao read a word, the children had to write it down on paper. Tang Jin and Tang Wan performed exceptionally well, their pen grips correct, their handwriting neat and powerful. Despite her young age, Tang Xiaoya possessed an astonishing memory. She accurately copied every word Master Zhao read, drawing the attention of the surrounding children.

The second round of assessment was arithmetic. The questions were much more difficult than Tang Youyou had expected. Some of the children had already started scratching their heads and looking worried. Tang Jin was also stumped by a question. He frowned, and the brush in his hand slid helplessly across the paper.

"Brother, look at this problem, shouldn't it be calculated like this..." Tang Wan, who was sitting next to him, reminded him softly, pointing to a sentence in the question. Tang Jin followed her train of thought and thought carefully, and suddenly he understood. He looked at Tang Wan gratefully and quickly corrected the answer.

The last round of assessment was about observation and understanding of things. Master Zhao took out flowers, fruits and other items that he had prepared in advance, and asked the children to come forward to observe them one by one and say their names, characteristics and uses.

When it was Tang Xiaoya's turn, Master Zhao took out a brightly colored flower that he couldn't name. The other children shook their heads, indicating they didn't know what it was. Only Tang Xiaoya tilted her head, thought for a moment, and said in a baby voice, "This is Mirabilis jalapa. My mother said its petals can be used to dye nails. It's so beautiful!"

A glimmer of admiration flashed in Master Zhao's eyes, and he stroked his beard and said, "Not bad, you observe carefully and have a good memory. You deserve praise!" After that, he signaled the gentleman who was taking notes to make a note behind Tang Xiaoya's name.

Halfway through the exam, the hall was silent, with only the rustling sound of children writing and the occasional cough.

Suddenly, a servant sitting in the corner hurried out… The servant hurried out the door and bumped into Madam Qian, who had come to inquire about the situation. Madam Qian, dressed in silk and satin, adorned with jewels, anxiously asked, “How is it? How did my son do on the exam?”

The servant looked embarrassed and stammered, "Master, he... Master, he..."

"What's wrong with him? Tell me quickly!" Mrs. Qian was anxious and grabbed the servant's sleeve.

"The young master... was caught cheating by Master Zhao..." The servant didn't dare to look up at Madam Qian's expression.

"What?!" Mrs. Qian's face turned pale immediately. She never expected that her son would dare to disobey her repeated instructions!

Inside the hall, Master Zhao's face turned livid. He pointed at the young master of the Qian family, who had been caught with cheat sheets, and shouted sternly, "Cheating is a cardinal sin for scholars! How can you behave like this?!"

The young master of the Qian family knew he was in the wrong and lowered his head in shame. The other children saw him and cast contemptuous glances at him.

This sudden disturbance threw the once quiet examination room into chaos. Master Zhao had no choice but to suspend the exam until the results were released.

Outside the examination room, Tang Youyou waited anxiously, standing on tiptoe from time to time to peek inside. The children had been in there for a long time, and it was unknown how they were doing on the exam.

"I hope all the children can pass the exam smoothly..." Tang Youyou clasped his hands together and prayed silently in his heart.

At this moment, the door of the examination room suddenly opened, and Mrs. Qian walked out angrily, followed by her dejected son.

"Mom, I..." The young master of the Qian family wanted to explain, but Mrs. Qian glared at him fiercely and he was so scared that he dared not say anything.

"What a misfortune for our family! What a misfortune for our family!" Mrs. Qian cursed and hurriedly left with her son.

Tang Youyou's heart skipped a beat, and an ominous premonition came over her.

"What happened?" Tang Youyou grabbed a passing servant and asked in a low voice.

The servant looked in the direction where Madam Qian had left and whispered, "Master Zhao caught the young master of the Qian family cheating, and he's now being taken back by Madam Qian to be disciplined..."

After hearing this, Tang Youyou felt even more uneasy.

At this moment, the door to the examination room opened again, and Master Zhao walked out slowly, his hands behind his back...

Master Zhao, hands behind his back, slowly walked out of the examination room. His gaze swept over the anxiously waiting parents before finally landing on Tang You You, nodding slightly. Tang You You nervously stepped forward and asked softly, "Master, may I ask..."

Before she could finish, the door of the examination room creaked open again, and three little heads popped out from inside. They were Tang Wan, Tang Jin and Tang Xiaoya.

"Mom!" the three children shouted in unison, their faces filled with excited smiles, obviously very satisfied with their performance.

"How was it? How did you do in the exam?" Tang Youyou hurried over and asked with concern.

"Mom, don't worry, we all answered very well!" Tang Jin patted his chest and said confidently.

"Yes, Mom, the questions this time are not difficult at all, we can all do them!" Tang Xiaoya also rushed to say, and blinked her eyes mischievously.

Although Tang Wan didn't say anything, she nodded slightly, with a hint of determination in her clear eyes.

Tang Youyou looked at the children's confident expressions, and her heart finally settled down. She gently touched the children's heads and said softly, "Okay, okay, Mom believes in you! Let's go home!"

Along the way, the children chattered about the exam questions and shared their ideas for solving them, their excitement evident. Tang Youyou listened with a smile, occasionally interjecting a sentence or two, creating a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere.

After returning home, the children were still immersed in the excitement of the exam, chattering non-stop. Tang Youyou listened patiently, answering some of their questions from time to time, until late at night when everyone was asleep, and then coaxed the children to sleep.

In the next few days, Tang Youyou's family anxiously awaited the test results. Although the children said they didn't care, their eyes still revealed a hint of anticipation and uneasiness.

Finally, the day of the results announcement arrived. Early in the morning, Tang Youyou brought the children to the entrance of the academy. At this time, the entrance of the academy was already crowded with people who came to check the list. The place was bustling and noisy.

Tang Youyou's family finally squeezed to the front of the list and nervously searched for the children's names.

"Mom, look!" Suddenly, Tang Jin pointed to a name on the list and shouted excitedly.

Tang Youyou looked in the direction of Tang Jin's finger, and saw...