The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

Zhuge Yunshu was quite surprised when he saw the beautiful letter.

This was, in fact, the first time she had received a letter in the eight years since she came to ancient times.

Moreover, the letter was addressed to my cousin Yun Chu, who lived far away in the capital at my second grandfather's house.

I've only heard of him, but never seen him in person.

Out of curiosity, Zhuge Yunshu opened the letter and saw that it read:

To my cousin Yun Shu:

See the words as if they are faces, show your confidence and make your face look soothing.

......

...We'll meet again soon, and we must talk all night long... (My writing skills are limited, and I'm afraid I'll be laughed at if I write it out, so I'll just omit it).

The gist of Zhuge Yun Chu's letter was that although he had never met Zhuge Yun Shu, he had already heard of her name from Zhuge Yun Xi and her grandfather.

That's how she learned that another woman in the Zhuge family had a talent for studying, and she was very happy about it.

Then he complained to her that none of the men in the Zhuge family, except for his grandfather, were capable of handling important tasks.

This also subtly suggests that outstanding scholars like her in the family actually face immense pressure, but it is precisely because of this that she is even more determined about her future path.

......

She wrote a total of four pages. The first three pages were about daily life and her curiosity about her cousin.

The true purpose of the letter is only revealed on the last page—

My cousin Yunxi and her family, led by her second grandfather in Beijing, are going back to Zhuge Village this year to pay respects to their ancestors.

Her letter was sent a week earlier along with a letter from her second grandfather.

In other words, Yun Chu's cousin and the others are already on their way back to Yunshui Town.

To be honest, when Zhuge Yunshu heard this news, he was happy but also secretly looking forward to it.

After all, Zhuge Yunxi had been praising her cousin Yun Chu to the skies in front of her.

He was exceptionally intelligent from a young age, having already learned the Hundred Family Surnames and the Three Character Classic by the age of three.

She passed the imperial examination at the age of ten. If it weren't for her second grandfather keeping her in check, Zhuge Yun Chu might already be a scholar at the age of twelve.

Don't underestimate her just because she's a mere child scholar. In the Great Xia Kingdom, a ten-year-old child scholar is a rare sight, let alone a girl.

Zhuge Yunshu thought about the women around her and concluded that the most outstanding women were Wang Yi and Qin Shuangyu.

Both of them were outstanding students in their respective schools, and among the few women who were the best disciples in their schools.

It is said that in this era, women can study for the imperial examinations and become officials just like men.

But how many female officials were actually in the imperial court?

How many of these are female officials with real power?

Take the ten town schools in Linxi County as an example; female teachers there are extremely rare.

In any case, apart from those who managed miscellaneous affairs, there wasn't a single female teacher in Yunshui Town School who actually taught classes.

They sing slogans that sound better than anything else, but these powerful and influential people don't treat women and men as equals at all.

In their traditional thinking, a woman's most important task is to get married, have children, and take care of the family. Even if she attends a government school, it is only to gain more leverage for marriage in the future.

Entering the civil service examination?

Stop daydreaming. Even men study hard for more than ten years.

They can afford to wait, but women can't.

They can be carefree, but women are bound by all sorts of trivial matters.

When a woman experiences menstrual flow (like the taste of spring water), she may feel unwell, which can negatively impact her work efficiency.

More importantly, pregnancy and childbirth.

This process takes up to a year, during which time pregnant women frequently take leave, sometimes for several consecutive months.

This gave those pedantic literati who already disliked women in official positions an even better excuse to attack them.

Moreover, in ancient times when medical conditions were already poor, childbirth was a life-threatening ordeal for women...

"Being a woman is too difficult, it really has never changed since ancient times," Zhuge Yunshu sighed.

Especially in this 'ancient' era that offered hope to women, it was even more difficult.

"Host, don't be so pessimistic."

"You should think positively. Ancient times in this timeline are much more open than those in other timelines."

"At the very least, women can live independently, inherit family businesses, and even pass the imperial examinations to become officials. This is already the greatest progress."

"Moreover, you can't get fat in one bite; some things take time to seep in."

"Here you are, host?"

"You can use your knowledge to show those old-fashioned people who say women are inferior to men..."

"It also made them realize that women are irreplaceable in officialdom."

"..."

As Zhuge Yunshu listened to the system's words, his eyes inexplicably stung.

She knew that although this path was extremely difficult, since she had come here, even if she didn't achieve great feats, she should still bring about some change to this era.

Women like her, in particular, should not be forgotten by the times.

She wanted to set an example for these people, proving that women don't have to get married and have children, and that women don't have to rely on men.

...Who says women can't have a place in the court?

She, Zhuge Yunshu, was determined to break these rules.

Haha, there are so many ministers who scheme and manipulate power.

But she refused to believe that those in power would abandon her, a true pragmatist, for the sake of these people.

Moreover, if women put their skills in domestic power struggles into the imperial court, who knows who would win?

Because of all this, Zhuge Yunshu was even more eager to meet his extraordinary cousin, Yun Chu.

After all, in this era, bound by societal constraints, it was extremely rare for her to encounter ambitious and like-minded women.

To date, there have only been four people.

Wang Yi, Qin Shuangyu, Zhuge Yunchu, and Zhuge Yunxi, who at the clan school award ceremony took her cousin Yunchu as a role model and declared, "Who says women are inferior to men?"

With this goal in mind, Zhuge Yunshu became even more motivated to study within the system of serving the country and its people.

As human beings, who wouldn't want to do something meaningful, especially when they have the ability to do so?

But I digress. Let's get back to the story of that second grandfather from the capital returning to Zhuge Village to pay respects to his ancestors.

Family ancestor worship is a very important event...

Of all virtues, filial piety is paramount; even academic pursuits should take a small step back for it.

At the strong request of Old Master Zhuge, Zhuge Yunshu returned to Zhuge Village ahead of schedule.

She was initially a little apprehensive when she asked Master Wang for leave.

After all, the experience of asking for leave from the clan school and Master Li was something she would never forget.

Unexpectedly, when Master Wang heard her explain why she wanted to take leave, he readily agreed.

Before leaving, he reminded her, "Ancestral worship is a big event, and there are many things to prepare. Yun Shu, you've basically finished studying the material for the imperial examinations, so you'll have to figure things out on your own in the days to come..."

"...You don't need to come to the town school before the New Year anymore. Compared to my teaching, your second grandfather has been in officialdom for so many years, which will probably be more beneficial to your upcoming imperial examination."

And so, Zhuge Yunshu bid farewell to Master Wang, Wang Yi, Zhang Hao, and some of his close fellow students.

He shouldered the huge bundle and headed towards his own yard in town.