The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

afternoon.

The county government's notice board was no longer as bustling as it was at midday.

Zhuge Laifu and his family waited outside the county government office. Zhuge Yunshu and Zhuge Yunchu went into the ceremonial office to receive the examination documents.

They arrived not too late, but there were already quite a few candidates ahead of them when they entered the ceremony room.

Zhuge Yunshu peeked out and found that, apart from a very few familiar faces, the others were probably county candidates who had previously failed the prefectural or provincial examinations.

After all, the new policy was only issued by the county magistrate at noon, and some candidates from the previous year who lived far away probably haven't received the news yet.

In about the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, the group quickly reached the two of them.

Zhuge Yunshu and Zhuge Yunchu stepped forward, first respectfully bowing to Magistrate Wu as students, and then carefully taking the examination documents from Magistrate Wu's hands.

It's actually just the report card with the official stamp from this county-level exam.

Magistrate Wu looked up and carefully examined Zhuge Yunshu and Zhuge Yunchu in front of him.

The two women remained calm and composed, showing no fear even under such scrutinizing gazes.

Magistrate Wu nodded in satisfaction upon seeing this.

"Zhuge Yunshu and Zhuge Yunchu, this magistrate observes that you two, at such a young age, already possess knowledge surpassing that of many scholars older than you. If nothing unexpected happens, your future achievements will certainly be remarkable..."

...However, there are many stories of children who failed to live up to their potential. You possess the talent that most scholars dream of. This magistrate hopes that you will never become arrogant or complacent, and thus waste this exceptional talent..."

Magistrate Wu, unusually, patiently and earnestly instructed this rare and promising student.

These are the top two scorers in the county-level examination among those under fifteen years old!

In particular, Zhuge Yunshu, who was only nine years old and was the top county official, was a rare talent since the founding of the Great Xia Kingdom, and could be counted on one hand.

Moreover, he had carefully read all of Zhuge Yunshu's answer sheets from the five examinations, and he had to admit that each one was the result of deep thought... The ingenuity of his answers was so remarkable that even he, a successful candidate in the imperial examinations, had to admire them and say, "Brilliant!"

Magistrate Wu could foresee that if Zhuge Yunshu's level was as high as in the county examination, even for the sake of political achievements, the examiners of the upcoming prefectural and provincial examinations would certainly hand over the top two positions to him.

This is a nine-year-old who has achieved the highest score in the imperial examinations!

Thinking of this, Magistrate Wu's eyes became even more amiable.

Zhuge Yunshu was unaware that the seemingly dignified new magistrate of Linxi County was already dreaming of her future success in the imperial examinations.

Hearing Magistrate Wu's earnest teachings, she and Zhuge Yun Chu quickly stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

"I will heed your teachings, Magistrate, and will diligently study from now on..."

The two women were not ungrateful; they were well aware of Magistrate Wu's intentions.

"You are all very well, now you may leave!"

Zhuge Yunshu and Zhuge Yunchu bowed again as instructed before leaving the ceremony room.

When they came out of the county government gate, most of the candidates who had been looking at the results, their companions, and the local people who had come to watch the spectacle had already left.

The few candidates who remained were mostly those who had failed the county-level examinations. They stayed only to make connections with the candidates who had passed the examinations, thereby expanding their networks.

Even worse, some candidates, obsessed with saving face, thought that when there were few people around, they would copy down the answers from the five exam papers of the county-level top candidate so they could study them later.

Zhuge Yunshu was quick-witted and nimble. Before the scholars who wanted to make friends could even come up and chat, she pulled Zhuge Yunchu into their family's carriage.

“Mom and Dad, didn’t you say you’re going back to Yunshui Town tomorrow? We rarely come to the county town, so why don’t we take advantage of the free time this afternoon to stroll around and pick out some things that our grandparents, uncles, aunts, and other relatives might like…”

Zhuge Yunshu deliberately spoke loudly, mainly to let those scholars who wanted to make friends know that it wasn't that they didn't want to make friends, but that they really had something to do.

"That's okay too."

Lin Si Niang thought that she and her family hadn't had a proper chance to stroll around the county town because they had been so busy expanding their soap business.

Zhuge Laifu seemed to have thought of something and spoke:

"Dahua, have you spoken with Yi-jie, Hao-ge, and other close classmates? What if they want to have a small get-together with you and Chu-jie before they leave? What should we do?"

Zhuge Yunshu listened to her father's words and smiled knowingly:

"It's alright. We already agreed that there's plenty of time in the future, and we'll definitely meet again in the prefectural city or even the county city. Besides, Senior Sister Yi, Senior Brother Zhang, and I are all in Yunshui Town, so there's no rush..."

Zhuge Yunshu thought that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, Master Wang would definitely give the three of them a special pre-exam training session in the month leading up to the prefectural examination.

"That's fine, let's go back and pack up first."

Having been away from home for more than half a month, Zhuge Laifu was also eager to return home.

They returned to their rented courtyard in the county town, tidied up briefly, and then went to the bustling city center to make some purchases.

Because they wanted too many things, they divided the work among themselves.

Zhuge Laifu and Lin Si Niang mainly bought some daily necessities, such as clothes for the family as the weather gradually warmed up.

When you calculate it this way, you realize that quite a lot of fabric is needed.

As a result, Zhuge Yunren and Zhuge Yunyi, two young men, were taken by Zhuge Laifu to work as laborers.

Aunt Wu, along with Zhuge Yunchun and Zhuge Yunxia, ​​mainly purchased new kitchen items that were not available in the town.

Zhuge Yunshu and Zhuge Yunchu, on the other hand, were much more casual.

The two women weren't assigned to any particular type of item, so they bought whatever came to mind.

So the two of them strolled around and ended up at the largest gold and silver shop in the county.

Neither of them were short of money, so Zhuge Yunshu and Zhuge Yunchu went straight in without thinking.

Looking at the dazzling array of jewelry, Zhuge Yunshu was almost dazzled.

After much deliberation, I bought my grandmother, Old Chen, a gold bracelet with a unique openwork design that wasn't available in town, and a sandalwood comb with a subtle, fragrant aroma.

According to the shop assistant at the gold and silver shop, using this kind of comb to comb your hair for a long time can help with sleep and other benefits.

Zhuge Yunshu looked at the price; a sandalwood comb with sheep horn like this cost one tael of silver.

After thinking it over, she steeled herself and bought more than a dozen combs of different styles in one go.

There was no other way; there were simply too many women in the family.

Moreover, the faint, delicate fragrance made Zhuge Yunshu feel much more relaxed.

When one is in a good mood, money flows out of their hands in large wads.

During this period, Zhuge Yunshu bought several beautiful magnolia hairpins for her cousins, especially Zhuge Yunchun and Zhuge Yunxia.

Their hairpins were much more exquisite and valuable than those of Zhuge Yunqiu and Zhuge Yundong.

I am mainly grateful for the meticulous care my two older cousins ​​took during the county examination period.

Thinking of this, Zhuge Yunshu had no choice but to select two more novel hairpins.

It was all thanks to their cousins, Zhuge Yunren and Zhuge Yunyi, who had also put in a lot of effort to help them check the results.

Consider this gift a way to win over their future wives.

And so, Zhuge Yunshu bought quite a few more things.

When the final settlement was reached, Zhuge Yunshu's purse had shrunk by almost half.

Zhuge Yun Chu's side was equally impressive.

Zhuge Yunshu glanced at it and thought, "Wow, they bought even more than I did."

Even the errand boys in the gold and silver shops stared in astonishment as they watched the two of them making purchases as if they were buying wholesale.

The waiter bowed and scraped the entire time he was with these two gullible customers, his eyes practically disappearing with a grin.

Women, regardless of age, are fucking insane.