The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

The results of the prefectural examinations are usually released in about ten days.

After finishing their exams and relieving themselves of their burdens, these candidates actively engaged in various social activities while waiting for the results.

You invited me today, so in a few days I'll have to reciprocate by inviting you back.

Today, a restaurant is hosting a poetry gathering, and tomorrow, a scholar from Jingling Prefecture will have acquired a famous painting or a rare book, inviting these outstanding talents from various counties to come and appreciate it.

In short, during this period, Zhuge Yunshu and the other three received no less than a dozen invitations. Originally, apart from Qin Shuangyu's invitation, they did not want to go to any of the others. However, this idea was criticized and educated by Master Wang. In his words, the worst thing for a scholar is to study books to death... Learning to communicate with different types of people is also an essential skill they need to learn.

With no other option, Zhuge Yunshu and the other three could only pick and choose, and found a rather interesting poetry gathering to participate in—the Tongshenglou Poetry Gathering.

This was a very formal and large-scale poetry gathering. Any scholar in Jingling Prefecture with even a little knowledge would go inside and stand and watch, even if they weren't invited.

The poetry gathering was actually held in a private garden built by a wealthy merchant in Jingling Prefecture. There were six buildings in the garden, the most famous of which was the Tongsheng Building.

Tongshenglou (童生楼) wasn't always called that. The reason it was renamed is said to be because one year, a down-on-his-luck scholar held a poetry gathering here. The scholars who attended, out of respect for him, were all people he had helped and were relatively unknown. However, unexpectedly, after the prefectural examination results were released, all those who had attended the gathering passed the exam and became Tongsheng (童生). Therefore, the building was later renamed Tongshenglou by its owner. For this reason, every year before the prefectural examination results are released, many literati and scholars hold poetry gatherings here.

The owner of this private garden was a generous and hospitable wealthy merchant, so any scholar who attended a banquet in the Tongsheng Building could visit this exquisite garden for free.

When Zhuge Yunshu, Zhuge Yunchu, Wang Yi, and Zhang Hao arrived at the poetry gathering location, they were also attracted by the beautiful scenery of the garden.

It's springtime, and the flowers in this garden are blooming in profusion, especially the snow-white magnolias and fiery red camellias, whose colors bring a lot of life and vitality to the whole garden.

Just like these young and energetic students, Zhuge Yunshu would encounter many familiar faces wherever she went.

Qin Shuangyu, Qian Wenxing, Xiao An, and Wu Mochi all attended the poetry gathering.

"It's true that scholars and poets all love poetry gatherings!" Zhuge Yunshu remarked to Zhuge Yunchu and the others.

She thought that perhaps this banquet might bring her many surprises, and it wasn't impossible.

When Zhuge Yunshu and his group finished touring the garden and entered the Tongsheng Building, there were already quite a few people inside, some sitting and some standing, chatting in small groups.

What Zhuge Yunshu saw was Qin Shuangyu sitting there, somewhat absentmindedly dealing with the students who came to chat her up...

Qin Shuangyu was raised in a very strict family, and her father was a rather pedantic Confucian scholar. So, apart from studying, she didn't care much about anything else. In fact, she was just afraid of dealing with strangers. However, she was quite enthusiastic towards people she knew well. So, after learning that Zhuge Yunshu was also participating in this poetry gathering, she came here with Qian Wenxing and a few others.

Qian Wenxing, on the other hand, belongs to the type of person who is very good at social maneuvering, commonly known as "social butterfly syndrome".

His father was Qian Baiwan, a well-known wealthy merchant in Linxi County. His family had been in business for three generations, so in his generation, they were determined to cultivate a scholar who would bring glory to the family. As a result, he developed the ability to "speak human language to human language and ghost language to ghost language" by being influenced by his family from a young age.

Sure enough, Zhuge Yunshu saw him conning a fat, rich scholar.

Just as Qian Wenxing was thinking of flattering the wealthy scholar to introduce him to the candidate who had been chosen in court, he saw Qin Shuangyu get up and walk quickly toward the main gate.

Out of curiosity, he followed the gaze and his eyes suddenly lit up. The people who came were Zhuge Yunshu and his group.

Zhuge Yunshu also saw them, so the group quickly came together, greeted each other, and then found a secluded spot to sit down and chat.

This is a large, rectangular table with a winding stream, and only those scholars with invitations are qualified to sit at this table.

Zhuge Yunshu looked up and glanced around. Thanks to her good memory, she could see that all the students in the same examination room as her were there, especially the student who had been called on in the exam. He was sitting at the front of the table, surrounded by a crowd, which showed how popular he was.

When Zhuge Yunshu saw this scene, he couldn't help but laugh out loud, recalling the arrogant way Zhuge Yunshu had handed in his paper.

Just then, Liu, the scholar who organized the poetry gathering, walked over.

This man was over seven feet tall and wore a long robe. Although he had an ordinary appearance, he exuded a very refined and scholarly air.

Accompanying him was a group of graceful women, each carrying a pipa. They split into two groups and sat on either side of the square, winding-water table. As soon as they sat down, as if they had planned it, they began to sing the most popular lyrics and tunes in literary circles.

Seeing this, Zhuge Yunshu had only one thought: These literati really know how to enjoy life!

Perhaps sensing her thoughts, Qian Wenxing, already accustomed to such poetry gatherings, leaned closer and whispered:

"This is nothing. If it weren't for women like you around, these people would have gone even further, like bringing in pretty girls from brothels to keep them company, and..."

Zhuge Yunshu, Zhuge Yunchu, Wang Yi, and Zhang Hao were all shocked and their mouths dropped open as they listened to what Qian Wenxing said.

Although Zhuge Yunshu had seen similar scenes in TV dramas in her previous life, they were not as exaggerated as Qian Wenxing described. Even if she were in ancient times now, she would not have the opportunity to witness such things. Zhuge Yunchu, Wang Yi, and Zhang Hao, on the other hand, did have the opportunity, but all three of them were well protected by their elders, so they also had no chance to have the same kind of experience as Qian Wenxing.

Therefore, this group of ignorant bumpkins could only exclaim "Wow!" and "Wow... These intellectuals are really 'dirty'!" when they heard what Qian Wenxing was saying.

They were now finding it hard to look directly at this serious poetry gathering.