The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

At this point, Master Wang tossed out a stack of papers, "Take a look at these arithmetic problems, what kind of nonsense have they solved?"

There's another point he didn't mention: nowadays, a very small number of students in the county school still interpret "cart track standard" as "building horse-drawn carriages" and write "six kinds of smuggled food" as "six kinds of snacks"...

Thinking of this, Master Wang especially wanted to curse Instructor Song, wondering if he was blind to have put these "talented people" into the county school.

Instructor Song: "......???"

All he wanted to say was that the situation forced them to act against themselves; it was all because these families had power and influence, and the money they spent was too tempting.

For the sake of more students' educational resources in the county, Instructor Song felt that these spoiled brats could be tolerated as long as they didn't make any major mistakes.

Just then, Zhuge Yunshu, with his sharp eyes, picked up the poem annotation at the top and saw that "青青子衿" was interpreted as "students in green robes love to eat artemisia." Upon seeing this comical explanation, he couldn't help but burst out laughing.

Seeing this, Wang Yi looked over curiously. Her expression shifted rapidly, but ultimately, she held the absurd article in her hand, her brows furrowed: "But we are, after all, from the town's prestigious school..."

Perhaps sensing her doubt, Master Wang stroked his smooth chin and smiled: "So Instructor Song set out the conditions..."

At this point, he paused, took a slow sip of tea, and then continued:

"If the three of you can help the county school win this public competition, the person behind it will promise to reward you with two special places in the prefectural school..."

As soon as he finished speaking, the study fell silent.

The cicadas outside the window suddenly became noisy, and Zhuge Yunshu, Wang Yi, and Zhang Hao all saw joy in each other's eyes.

Even someone as outstanding as Wang Yi couldn't guarantee that she would be able to secure this spot in the county school selection in September.

After all, there are far too many students in the entire Great Xia Kingdom who are more outstanding than her and of the right age.

Not to mention Zhang Hao.

You should know that he had already given up the opportunity for the special spot at Pingchuan County School in his heart.

In fact, he spent this period of time studying diligently at home in order to pass the county school entrance exam.

For no other reason than that he didn't want to fall too far behind his two junior sisters.

Thinking this, the three of them said in unison:

"This disciple is willing to go."

Even Master Wang felt gratified looking at the three excited people.

However, considering practical factors, he had to be upfront about the unpleasant aspects:

"Although this is an opportunity, a slight misstep could also lead to your reputation being ruined..."

As if he had thought of something, he had to explain the key point to his three disciples, especially the general situation of Dr. Qin, the teacher who led the Xiaoshan County School team this time.

After the introductions, Master Wang, fearing his three disciples might become too arrogant, had Ning Mei ponder for a moment before continuing:

"The county school of Linxi is not skilled in mathematics, so the county school of Xiaoshan Prefecture will likely make it their main subject of competition... especially since one of Dr. Qin's personal disciples is named Sun Zixiu..."

He paused, then continued, "This student has received Dr. Qin's true teachings, and is especially proficient in mathematics. His abacus skills are so impressive that even I am amazed."

Zhuge Yunshu seemed to have thought of something and suddenly spoke:

"Master, I would like to borrow your copy of the *Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art* with commentary."

Considering how much Master Wang valued it, Zhuge Yunshu had no choice but to pat his chest and guarantee:

"Rest assured, I will take good care of it and return it to you in just one night!"

It wasn't that Zhuge Yunshu specifically wanted this book; he just wanted to find a pretext.

After all, within the system dedicated to serving the country and its people, what information can't be found?

On the other hand, after hearing Zhuge Yunshu's words, Master Wang would probably have given it serious consideration in the past, but at this moment, a glint flashed in his eyes:

"You want to solve the problem using ancient arithmetic methods?"

"Exactly."

Zhuge Yunshu took out several problem-solving diagrams from her sleeve—actually, from the "For the Country and the People" system—which she had been working on a few days ago, and said:

"Some time ago, my cousin Yun Chu mentioned that there's a rare copy of a mathematical book in the capital's library, which contains a trick for solving complex arithmetic problems..."

Upon hearing Zhuge Yunshu's words, Zhang Hao slapped his forehead: "I remember now! Senior Sister Yun Chu once said that a student from Xiaoshan County solved a difficult problem on a fragmented scroll using counting rods. Could it be...?"

"That's exactly the method we used." Master Wang stroked his beardless chin and nodded. "But this is a unique copy of mathematics; only half of it exists in the capital's library, and..."

He suddenly fell silent and looked at Zhuge Yunshu:

"It is not an easy task to surpass Sun Zixiu, the scholar of Xiaoshan County School, in the art of mathematics."

Upon hearing this, Zhuge Yunshu and Wang Yi exchanged a glance. At this moment, Wang Yi stepped forward, cupped his hands in a salute, and said:

"This disciple will certainly do his utmost."

......

The next day, Zhuge Yunshu, who had been studying mathematics all night, came to Master Wang's study again.

However, they found that Wang Yi and Zhang Hao were already sitting at their respective desks, reading their books.

Zhuge Yunshu gave a brief greeting before taking out several sheets of rough paper filled with calculations from the cloth bag he carried with him:

"Last night, I painstakingly studied this rare copy of the *Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art*, and discovered that using its methods for solving equations might be the key to winning this mathematical competition."

Wang Yi glanced at it curiously, then suddenly exclaimed softly, "Isn't this a diagram from 'The Arithmetic of Circle Measurement'?"

"Senior Sister Yi has a good eye."

Zhuge Yunshu spread out the paper, "I've based my approach on the ancient Chinese method of circumference measurement, combined with land surveying techniques; perhaps that will be able to solve the problem."

Zhang Hao looked at this and then that, sighing, "So I'm the only one still stubbornly struggling with 'Xia Lü'?"

Looking at the dejected Zhang Hao, Master Wang pulled a yellowed book from under his desk and, thinking himself considerate, began to offer words of comfort:

"Don't worry, everyone has their strengths and weaknesses; this is where your strengths lie."

Zhang Hao took the booklet handed to him by Master Wang and found that it contained annotations on many types of criminal cases. Upon seeing this, Zhang Hao turned pale and spoke tremblingly:

"Master, Master, where did you find so many government archives...?"

Zhuge Yunshu and Wang Yi also looked over curiously, and when they saw what was inside, they couldn't help but shed a tear of sympathy for Zhang Hao.

On the contrary, Master Wang seemed oblivious and continued with his unfinished words:

"Seven years ago, a child prodigy emerged in Xiaoshan County, using the laws of the current dynasty to refute more than a dozen clerks in the government offices. This incident shocked the court and the public. And this time, for the exchange between the two county schools, it is said that his younger brother, Fang Lue, will be the one to participate..."