The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

Master Li confirmed his idea, so he beckoned Zhuge Yunshu to come to his side and had his most favored disciple recite the "Three Character Classic," "Thousand Character Classic," and "Hundred Family Surnames" that he had learned in the past few days.

Seeing that Zhuge Yunshu recited fluently, Master Li was very satisfied with the result. His initial wavering due to Yunshu's young age was now completely resolved.

He planned that his primary task now was to improve Zhuge Yunshu's reading progress. After all, the students who participated in the clan school literary gathering in previous years had basically finished reading the few books for elementary education.

Some gifted students can not only read and recite the text from memory, but also understand its meaning in its entirety. As a teacher in a clan school, I couldn't help but feel envious, or rather, I had a strange feeling that I couldn't quite explain.

If Zhuge Yunshu knew, he would definitely explain it to Master Li. It was just a battle between the three complex emotions of envy, jealousy, and hatred.

Master Li was an indomitable ancient educator who believed that one day he would meet a talented disciple, nurture him well, and guide him onto the path he had always dreamed of.

It is said that talent can be made up for by hard work, but as someone who has been through the imperial examination system, he can only say that without talent, it is all wishful thinking.

Fortunately, he encountered a disciple in his lifetime who was both talented and diligent. Master Li looked at Zhuge Yunshu and became more and more satisfied. Finally, he made up his mind and called Zhuge Yunshu aside to ask:

"Yun Shu, your reading progress has already surpassed that of your classmates who entered the clan school at the same time as you. I would like to give you private lessons during your lunch break and half an hour after school in the evening. However, this will be much more tiring than before. Are you willing?"

Master Li still did not reveal his ultimate goal, after all, these were all unknowns, and he would explain them to his disciples only after they were truly determined!

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Yunshu refused without hesitation, but his tone was very tactful: "Master, this is absolutely unacceptable. How could I possibly take up your rest time?"

She was actually very panicked. She used to study for dozens of hours every night, but now she couldn't even get a nap.

However, Master Li had no idea what Zhuge Yunshu was thinking.

After hearing his disciple's words, he felt extremely comforted. His usually serious face was filled with a smile, giving people a feeling of warmth and comfort. He originally wanted to reach out and pat his disciple's head, but after thinking about it, he put his hand down.

"My greatest wish is for you disciples to achieve something in your studies. It doesn't matter if it's hard work. Seeing you make progress is my greatest comfort."

"Host, Master Li is so old, yet he still takes the time to give you private lessons. You're not grateful, and your first reaction is to refuse. You even lied to Master Li to refuse. Tell me, doesn't your conscience hurt?" the system chimed in at the right moment.

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

Hearing the system say this, Zhuge Yunshu, who was already feeling complicated because of the Master's words, felt even more ashamed of his petty thoughts.

Master Li was undoubtedly a responsible teacher who valued her so much and wholeheartedly cared about her studies. How could she possibly let down an elder's expectations?

After a struggle between his conscience and his own mind, Zhuge Yunshu was still somewhat unwilling, but he still sincerely said, "Master, I am willing. I will trouble you in the future."

Looking at his satisfied disciple, Master Li couldn't help but smile, a smile he hadn't shown in a long time. He had indeed made the right choice.

The matter of private tutoring was thus decided by the master and apprentice. So, starting with the one-hour break at noon and the one-hour break after school in the evening, Zhuge Yunshu began her private tutoring career.

These are all things for later.

At this moment, Zhuge Yunshu followed Master Li into the clan school study room. To her surprise, she was not the only one receiving private tutoring from the master; there were also two senior brothers who were not familiar with her and were probably from the neighboring Class A.

With the introduction of the Master, Zhuge Yunshu took the initiative to step forward and greet his two senior brothers with a fellow student's salute. After the two senior brothers returned the salute, they began their formal study for the day.

She would probably be much happier if it weren't for this annoying system.

“Host, Master Li praised one of your senior brothers for being steady and reliable.”

“Host, Master Li smiled at your other senior brother.”

“Host, Master Li said that your two senior brothers are highly intelligent.”

"Host, your position as a beloved disciple is in jeopardy."

"..."

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

"Shut up, please stop nagging in my head. I would be very happy if there were a mute and report function," Zhuge Yunshu said discontentedly.

system:"......"

Oh my god! How could the host have such terrible thoughts? Does she know something? I'm so scared, what should I do!

If Zhuge Yunshu knew what the system was thinking at this moment, he would definitely say: "Isn't this the same formula for system novels in my previous life?"

The system obediently shut its mouth, and Zhuge Yunshu felt that the world had become quiet.

At this moment, she was diligently completing the task assigned to her by Master Li: practicing calligraphy.

In order to help her catch up with her two senior brothers, Master Li did not rush her learning. Instead, he gradually accelerated her learning pace, mainly because he was worried that if it was too fast, her ability to learn would be limited.

However, this was not the result Zhuge Yunshu wanted.

Seeing that his two senior brothers were especially favored by the Master, Zhuge Yunshu felt a strong sense of crisis.

She decided to take the initiative, otherwise her position as the Master's most beloved disciple might be in jeopardy.

"Master, please take a look at this calligraphy and tell me how well it is written." Zhuge Yunshu handed the large characters he had finished writing to Master Li.

Master Li was initially unconcerned, thinking that although Yun Shu's handwriting was better than that of the newly enrolled disciples, it was still incomparable to that of the top-ranked disciples.

However, in order not to discourage Zhuge Yunshu, he thought he should first offer a few comments and then a few words of encouragement.

Unexpectedly, upon taking a look, I was greeted by neat and comfortable paper. Upon closer inspection, I realized that it had made tremendous progress compared to the previous few days.

Master Li was quite surprised. Looking at his disciple, who was only eight years old, he had thought that Zhuge Yunshu was exceptional in terms of memory, but he never expected that his disciple would also have such talent in calligraphy.

"Indeed, your handwriting has now broken away from the deliberate imitation and has developed its own unique style. Although the imperial examination requires neat and clean handwriting, students with good calligraphy will naturally be looked up to."

Master Li glanced at Zhuge Yunshu. He had a premonition that this child would be quite successful in the future, barring any unforeseen circumstances. However, while he admired him, he still had some things to say: "I hope you can continue to work hard and never become arrogant or complacent."

Although he was only a student, he knew some things. For example, those families with rich heritage were people that ordinary people could never catch up with even if they worked hard all their lives. After all, the difference was evident from birth. He was afraid that his favorite disciple would become complacent because of a little achievement and stop making progress in his studies, which would ruin everything.