The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

Zhuge Yunshu glanced at the clansmen surrounding her and saw that most of them had complicated expressions.

At this moment, a middle-aged man in his thirties stepped forward from the crowd, looked at Zhuge Yunshu, and said:

“Yun Shu, we are willing to send the girls to the clan school, but it's not something we can just do on a whim. They have to prove themselves and pass the exam first. If they don't pass…”

Before this person could finish speaking, Zhuge Yunshu interrupted him:

"Second Uncle, if your sisters Mai'er and Cao'er don't pass the exam, then don't expect your Jinbao to pass either... If you really care about Jinbao, you have to harden your heart and allow enough time for Mai'er and Cao'er to study diligently with their cousins ​​at the clan school..."

Zhuge Yunshu smiled and looked at this elder from the clan, then continued:

"Forget it, I told you before that this method of persuading you to study is too difficult for you, but you wouldn't believe me and insisted on trying it... After all, not every parent truly loves their precious son. What's the use of just putting on a show of love..."

When they were young, you spoiled and pampered them in every way, indulging their every whim and wanting to feed them all the good food. Even when they did something wrong, you would praise them, saying things like, "My son is so amazing." Little did you know that you could be with them for five, ten, or even longer, but could you be with them for a lifetime?

To put it bluntly, if you grow old and pass away first, what will happen to these precious sons you've spoiled so much? They'll be too old to lift a finger, and after they've eaten up all the family fortune, they'll either starve or freeze to death...

Leaving aside Chenjia Village next door, let's talk about our Zhuge Village. Granny Liu used to dote on her son so much, but look what happened! If it weren't for the clan's intervention, he could have done something as heinous as kicking his own parents out in the dead of winter...

And then there's our fifth grandfather, who only passed away three years ago. His son and his family are practically lazy and good-for-nothing... Now they're living off selling off their family's land..."

Zhuge Yunshu said all she wanted to say. She knew that these few words alone would not change the way these clansmen, who were used to being biased, behaved.

She didn't want much to begin with.

If even one or two of them can make changes, she will have succeeded halfway.

Sometimes, things that are rushed into a situation only raise more suspicion.

So, after Zhuge Yunshu finished speaking and greeted his aunts, uncles, and other relatives, he continued on his way home in the carriage.

Aunt Li watched the carriage disappear into the distance, then gave Uncle Zhuge a reproachful look:

"Look at you, I still have so many questions to discuss with Yun Shu, and you just drove her away like that."

"That's right. Yun Shu heard about such a valuable method from the prefectural city, and you not only don't appreciate it, but you also question Yun Shu's good intentions. If it were me, I would be even more heartbroken than Yun Shu."

"..."

Zhuge Erbo: "......???"

He didn't say anything!

Just as Zhuge Erbo was questioning the meaning of life, the clansmen of Zhuge Village continued their discussion:

"By the way, do you think this method is feasible?"

As soon as the man finished speaking, Aunt Li's eyes darted around, and an idea immediately formed in her mind:

"I don't think it's feasible. Why don't you all stop trying and let my family set an example for you first? If it works, then you can try it yourself!"

Everyone: "..."

That cunning woman, does she think they're all fools?

......

After sending Zhuge Yunchu and Zhuge Yunjin back to the clan chief Zhuge Fengcang's house, Zhuge Yunshu drove her carriage back to her own home.

Along the way, Zhuge Yunshu met many elders of the clan, and she greeted them all with the same affection as always.

However, the clansmen, seeing that Zhuge Yunshu's attitude towards them had not changed even after passing the imperial examination, were very pleased with themselves. So, they escorted Zhuge Yunshu's carriage all the way to her home.

Seeing this, Zhuge Yunshu tried to persuade them to go about their own business, but no matter what she said, these people felt it was an honor to follow her family's carriage.

There was no other way, so Zhuge Yunshu could only have a few of her clansmen who were old enough to be her ancestors sit on either side of her.

And so, they walked from one end of Zhuge Village to the other, the villagers following her carriage for the time it takes to brew a cup of tea. When they were almost at her house, they happily went home one after another.

"Dahua, Grandma's dear granddaughter, I've missed you so much."

Zhuge Yunshu had just tied the reins of the carriage to the cowshed built by her uncle Zhuge Lairong when she was caught red-handed by her grandmother Chen Cuifang, who would occasionally go out to check if she had returned.

Zhuge Yunshu saw her grandmother nimbly rushing towards her. Zhuge Yunshu was equally excited and readily allowed her grandmother to pull her into her arms.

When the Zhuge family members came out to see what was happening, they saw the grandfather and grandson embracing each other very skillfully.

At first, they felt a pang of jealousy seeing the grandfather and grandson being so enthusiastic, but after seeing it so often, they all let it go.

In Zhuge Laifu's words, he was more afraid that his mother would slap him when he wasn't looking than to have a heartwarming mother-son moment with her.

At this moment, Zhuge Yunshu, nestled in her grandmother's sun-kissed arms, habitually patted her slightly hunched back and softly said:

"Grandma, I'm back! This time, your dear granddaughter is going to stay home for a long time. I hope you won't find me a nuisance!"

Chen Cuifang wiped her eyes and gave a light, displeased rebuke:

"You little rascal, Grandma would love for you to stay home all the time and keep this old woman company."

As she spoke, she pulled Zhuge Yunshu out of her arms. "Quick, let Grandma take a look. Oh dear, you've lost weight from exhaustion, but you've become much fairer. The more I look at you, the more you resemble a refined scholar."

Hearing her grandmother's words, Zhuge Yunshu couldn't help but smile smugly to herself. Although this whitening card was a bit of a waste, not the kind that would make you instantly fair-skinned, it was still pretty good to have this effect.

"Mother, Da Hua has been driving the carriage all morning. Why don't you let her go inside and rest for a bit?" Liu Lan, the fourth aunt standing next to Chen Cuifang, looked at Zhuge Yunshu, who was covered in sweat, and kindly suggested.

Seeing this, Chen Cuifang slapped her forehead and said, "Xiaolan is so thoughtful. Dahua, hurry up and come inside with Grandma. There are some watermelons that your fourth aunt brought back, and they're being chilled in the well water right now."

When they reached Zhuge Laifu and Lin Si Niang, the old lady glared at Zhuge Laifu with displeasure:

"Third brother, I'm not trying to be mean, but Da Hua is so young, couldn't you have waited for her to come back with you? It's been so hot on the way here, my dear granddaughter must have suffered so much!"

Zhuge Laifu: "..."