The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

The following day, at the He family's residence in Linxi County.

The whole family is having lunch.

The men sat at one table, and the women at another, clearly separated.

Just then, a man in his forties, stroking his neatly trimmed beard, looked with satisfaction at the man in his twenties sitting beside him and said:

“Jiaming, although you didn’t pass the imperial examination this time, you are still young and in the prime of your life. It’s only a matter of time before you pass it.”

As he spoke, he said in a sarcastic tone towards the woman's table:

“Jiaming’s wife, as the eldest daughter-in-law of the He family, you should learn to be more understanding of the hardships Jiaming has endured while studying. Which capable man doesn’t have multiple wives and concubines? Besides, Jiaming only wants to take in a woman to keep you company while you are pregnant. As his legal wife, you should learn to be more magnanimous.”

As soon as he finished speaking, a woman in her thirties continued:

"If you ask me, mother-in-law, you spoil Jiaming's wife too much. She has no virtues a woman should have. All she does is be jealous and nitpicky all day long... Now, our Jiaming is not what he used to be. He is a scholar who has passed the imperial examination. Jiaming's wife, you can't always act like a petty businessman. Otherwise, people will laugh at our family."

Seeing her in-laws belittling her like that, Zhao Jinzhu turned pale with anger. Just as she was about to stand up, her mother, Li Dongmei, pressed her down.

"Oh, look at what my in-laws are saying. If you hadn't told me that Jiaming had passed the preliminary examination, with all this fanfare, I would have thought he had become the top scholar. He's over twenty and has taken the exam more than ten times. If he hadn't passed, it wouldn't have looked good for him. Don't you think so?"

So what's with all the smugness? Humph!

“My dear in-law, you may not know this, but for a scholar to pass the preliminary examination is already a great honor for the family. Some scholars have spent their whole lives trying to pass the exam, but they never achieve any official rank. Not to mention our Ming, who is only twenty-three this year. You could say he has a very promising future.”

He Yaozu suppressed his anger and patiently explained to Li Dongmei.

After all, in his heart, his in-laws were nothing more than an ignorant woman.

"Oh, really? It's that hard to pass?"

She frowned and pondered for a moment, then asked in confusion:

“That shouldn’t be the case. If it’s this difficult to pass the exam, how come my future uncle’s child, who is my precious daughter’s future in-law, passed the exam at the age of nine and became the top scholar in both the county and prefecture?”

I thought the reason Jiaming hadn't passed the exams for so long was because he wasn't focusing on his studies.

Speaking in a sarcastic and unsettling tone, as if no one could do that.

Anyway, after these few interactions, Li Dongmei finally understood what kind of wolf's den her daughter had married into.

In short, if things can work out, great; if not, while her daughter is pregnant, she can take her dowry and divorce her, thus giving her family an extra child...

Isn't that the best of both worlds?

Li Dongmei thought to herself with delight, "Lin Si Niang's idea is still the best."

Why didn't she think of this before?

Furthermore, because the eldest daughter had a strained relationship with her husband's family, she feared it would affect her other daughter's marriage prospects.

Thinking of this, Li Dongmei wished she could pry open her former self's brain to see what kind of things were inside.

It's unbelievable that her daughter has suffered so much injustice for so many years.

At this moment, He Jiaming, who had been silent, paused for a moment after hearing his mother-in-law's words, then seemed to remember something before speaking:

“Mother-in-law, this top scholar in the government office is none other than Zhuge Yunshu.”

Upon seeing this, Li Dongmei smiled smugly:

"That's right, she's my Baozhu's future husband's cousin."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Jinzhu's father-in-law, He Yaozu, spoke disdainfully:

"So she's just a little girl. Even if she passed the preliminary examination, so what? To be honest, it's just luck. In our Great Xia, how many young geniuses have ultimately faded into obscurity? Unlike our Ming, who has accumulated knowledge and experience over time. If she had prepared properly for a few more years, she would definitely have passed the county-level examination..."

Unfortunately, before he could finish speaking, his son interrupted him:

"Father, what do you know? This top scholar in the prefecture, although young, writes excellent articles. Even our teacher often marvels at his skillful writing, which is not something a nine-year-old child could write."

As soon as he finished speaking, He Yaozu couldn't help but roll his eyes, and suddenly an idea popped into his head:

“Son, do you think she might be… After all, if she’s lucky, she might have guessed a few exam questions correctly and memorized them, so it’s not impossible.”

He Jiaming remained silent in response to his father's unfinished words, thus revealing his own attitude.

This infuriated Li Dongmei and Zhao Jinzhu.

Who are these people!

They themselves are ignorant and shallow, yet they always presumptuously point fingers at others.

Just as Li Dongmei was about to say something, she was interrupted by a servant-like man:

"Master, Madam, the young mistress's sister has arrived."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhao Baozhu swaggered in with two servants and two maids.

"My dear in-laws, I hope you are well. My brother-in-law is also well. My father asked me to come today to pick up my mother and sister and bring them home for a family gathering..."

Before she could finish speaking, Zhao Jinzhu's mother-in-law interrupted, saying:

“Just take your mother-in-law back, why bring your sister along? You know, she's pregnant and can't withstand the bumpy ride.”

Although the fortune teller said that her daughter-in-law was carrying a granddaughter, that was still their He family bloodline. If anything happened to her, she would be heartbroken, okay?

Hearing her hypocritical words, Li Dongmei couldn't help but roll her eyes:

"This short distance is nothing compared to my Jinzhu being pregnant, yet you, my 'good' mother-in-law, have summoned her to serve you..."

She decided that once she brought her eldest daughter home, she would send the family a divorce agreement.

However, she still needs to discuss the specifics with her husband after she gets home. As for now, she's not stupid, and she certainly can't let the slightest word slip out.

Zhao Baozhu could tell from the way her mother and sister were that they hadn't been having a good time at the He family's house these past few days.

So he stepped forward and said respectfully:

“Auntie, the reason I brought my sister back this time is because there's a great celebration in our family. My future husband's cousin has achieved the top rank in the provincial examination this time. Counting the previous two times, she's even achieved the 'Minor Triple Crown'! My father said that as in-laws, we must all go and celebrate to show how important this is…”

Presumably, my uncle and brother-in-law, being scholars, should be most familiar with these customs; otherwise, they wouldn't have pointed at my family and scolded them for being impolite when my brother-in-law was a student.

Zhao Baozhu paused here before looking at He Jiaming and saying:

"Look at my forgetful mind! I completely forgot that my brother-in-law also went to the Han Yuefu to take the imperial examination. Did you pass the county-level exam? How did it go? Are you planning a celebration? Could it be that your birthday clashes with my future cousin's wedding day, which is also the day after tomorrow...?"

At this moment, the He family members saw Zhao Baozhu talking non-stop, especially the last few questions. With each question she asked, He Jiaming's head drooped even lower.

He wished he could bury his head between his knees to hide his embarrassment.

You should know that after the first round of the provincial examination, he returned to Linxi County in a sorry state. The questions in the provincial examination were simply too difficult, so he had no idea how Zhuge Yunshu had performed in the provincial examination.

Moreover, since returning from the Han Dynasty Music Bureau, he had been indulging in a life of pleasure with his friends due to his poor performance in the provincial examination. Therefore, he had no chance to hear the rumors circulating outside.

......