The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

On the seventh day of the third month, three days had passed since the first county examination.

On this day, before dawn, Zhuge Laifu and Lin Siniang opened their eyes early.

Zhuge Laifu, in particular, tossed and turned in bed, unable to fall asleep at all. He simply got up and said, "Fourth Sister, we can't sleep anyway, so we might as well go to the county government office to post the results and get a good spot."

That's right, today is the day the first exam of the county examination was held.

Zhuge Laifu was so worried that he couldn't sleep all night.

Although, given his daughter's talent for studying, she would be able to pass the county-level examination in time.

However, family members know their own situation. Their daughter had only been studying for half a year. Although she was much better than other classmates of similar age, Zhuge Laifu saw clearly in this county examination that his daughter Dahua's age was at the bottom of the list. Among them were some scholars in their twenties who had taken the county examination several times and were certainly more experienced than Dahua.

Moreover, comparing their own daughter's six months of schooling with their own ten or twenty years of hard study, well, the more he thought about it, the less confident he felt.

Lin Si Niang was already having trouble sleeping because of Zhuge Laifu's constant tossing and turning. Now, listening to her husband's pointless whining, she rolled her eyes in an unseemly manner.

"I told you Dahua inherited her intelligence from me, and you still argue with me. Look at you, worrying about nothing. Can those twenty-something candidates you're concerned about compare to our Dahua? It's a joke. They may have studied for a long time, but what's the use? They've taken the county exam for so long and haven't passed. Do you think they'll pass this time? If you ask me, these older candidates are either unlucky or they didn't study in the right way... Oh, and maybe there's something wrong with their brains..."

Serious illness!!!

Otherwise, why would they persist in taking the exam for so many years?

Based on her own experience, these people were definitely using studying as an excuse to slack off and enjoy themselves with the money their families had saved up...

She and Da Hua's father were very close.

Zhuge Laifu listened to Lin Si Niang's words and also felt that they made a lot of sense. He had to admit that his wife was very insightful.

He quickly got up and prepared to get dressed.

Lin Si Niang glanced at it and quickly grabbed Zhuge Laifu:

"Getting up this early won't do any good. The county government won't release the list earlier just because you get up early. Although going early might get you a good spot, didn't Da Hua and Chu Jie agree last night that we should wait for them to go see the list together?"

If we go early, and Da Hua and the others don't see us when they wake up, they'll probably be worried..."

Zhuge Laifu knew that Lin Siniang was right, but he just couldn't sleep.

With no other option, the couple could only sit on the bed and chat to pass the time.

Lin Si Niang said, "Husband, I think you are actually quite concerned about Da Hua's county exam results. Why haven't you asked Da Hua how she did these past few days? I originally thought you were just keeping it to yourself in front of the younger generation at home, but asking her in private."

Zhuge Laifu said helplessly, "Do you think I don't want to? But I also know that asking or not asking won't change the outcome. Lately, I've been in more contact with Master Zhang and the others, and I've learned a lot about the taboos of scholars. For example, asking a child how they did on an exam after it's over is the most unacceptable thing to do..."

Speaking of which, Fourth Sister, why were you able to refrain from asking?

It's no wonder Zhuge Laifu was puzzled. Given Lin Si Niang's crazy gossip tendencies, it was truly beyond his expectations that she could endure it for three days.

At this moment, upon hearing Zhuge Laifu's doubts, Lin Si Niang appeared confident:

"Is there even a question? With my daughter's intelligence, passing the county examination is a piece of cake. In fact, I would say she deserves to be the top scorer in the county examination."

Zhuge Laifu: "..."

Who gave her that confidence?

Um, is this what Da Hua was talking about as the mother-daughter filter?

On the other hand, looking at his wife's smug expression, anyone who didn't know better would think she was the one taking the county-level exam.

The couple talked for a while longer, and then the sky gradually brightened.

Zhuge Laifu and Lin Siniang quickly got up, tidied themselves up briefly, and hurriedly left the room.

At this moment, Zhuge Yunshu and Zhuge Yunchu had also finished packing and left their rooms.

The family ate a simple breakfast.

Zhuge Laifu then drove the carriage, leading the four men, toward the county government office.

These four people include Zhuge Yunshu, Zhuge Yunchu, Zhuge Yunren, and Zhuge Yunyi.

Lin Si Niang, Zhuge Yun Chun, and Zhuge Yun Xia originally wanted to come along as well.

However, the carriage couldn't fit so many people.

Driven by self-interest, they ultimately gave up their spots to see the list to two strong young men.

About half an hour.

When they arrived at the place where the results were posted, it was already packed with people waiting to see the list.

Zhuge Yunshu curiously lifted the carriage curtain to look outside, only to see a dark mass of heads, making it impossible to see the specific situation inside.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

If I remember correctly, this was only the first release of results for the county-level examination.

Keep in mind that there are four more rounds of retests after the first round.

At this moment, the system's voice rang in Zhuge Yunshu's mind:

"Host, you really are making a fuss over nothing. Although the admission standards for the first exam of the county examination are relatively relaxed, as long as the handwriting is neat, the sentences are fluent, and there are no taboo words or phrases, you can basically pass."

However, for scholars, who wouldn't want to know their exam results as soon as possible? Besides, passing the first county-level exam meant they could start preparing for the next four re-examinations...

Moreover, each examination in the imperial examination system is like checking your college entrance exam results or civil service exam results in your time... It always takes a long time for the results to appear. The reason for this is that every candidate is eager to know how they did as soon as possible...

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

She said that after finishing her college entrance exam, she found a factory job for the summer. She was so tired that she just wanted to sleep every day. She was only told her college entrance exam results by her homeroom teacher when she returned to school.

Uh, it seems I lost my dynamic password card, which almost caused me to miss the deadline for submitting my undergraduate application.

Looking back now, I realize that in my past life I really lacked enthusiasm for anything, just drifting through each day, my life like a stagnant pool, completely devoid of any ripples...

The system, oblivious to its host's melancholy, continued:

"Well, I have to say, it was really time-consuming and laborious for people in ancient times to check the list... Look at that crowded crowd, if you're not careful, there's a chance of a stampede that could injure someone."

At this point, the system paused, then secretly glanced at Zhuge Yunshu:

"Actually, there is a way. With just 500 points, the host can find out the results of the first county examination."

"500 points, a worthwhile investment... The host can also spend another 250 points to check their friend's county-level exam results..."