The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

Zhuge Yunshu picked up his pen and wrote down the final answer.

The answer is: twelve rabbits and twenty-three chickens.

Zhuge Yunshu arrived at the waiting area and, seeing that there was already someone there, smiled and nodded in acknowledgment.

"Hello, I am Wang Yi from the Wang family school. May I ask your name, sister?"

Zhuge Yunshu was taken aback, not expecting the aloof young lady to greet her. So she stepped forward and bowed, saying, "Hello, Senior Sister Wang. My name is Zhuge Yunshu, from the Zhuge Clan Academy."

"Junior Sister Yun Shu, I see your exam paper is full of writing, why don't I see you using an abacus?" Wang Yi asked curiously.

"Senior Sister Wang, you don't know this, but I'm different from others. My abacus skills are terrible. It's much faster to calculate in my head than to waste time using an abacus," Zhuge Yunshu said helplessly.

Wang Yi was very surprised, she didn't expect that someone could solve problems so quickly without an abacus.

They couldn't help but look at Zhuge Yunshu with new respect.

Soon, they naturally started comparing their answers.

One question, two questions, three questions, all the way to the last question, the result was the same.

Wang Yi was certain that she hadn't made a mistake, meaning that the younger sister in front of her, who was even younger than her, was the same.

If she remembers correctly, Zhuge Village's clan school has almost always been at the bottom of the rankings, but this year it will probably surprise everyone.

"Junior Sister Yun Shu, did you also figure out the answer to the last question by trying each one?" Wang Yi asked curiously.

"How could that be? That would be a huge waste of time. Every arithmetic problem has a solution, otherwise the question setter would have deliberately written it to trick people," Zhuge Yunshu said confidently.

Wang Yi: "..."

She considered herself a genius in mathematics, but she never expected that there was someone even more capable than her.

As the saying goes, there are always people better than you, and mountains beyond mountains.

She was still rather naive.

"Junior Sister Yun Shu, would it be convenient for you to explain a few things to me?" Wang Yi was a math enthusiast, especially when it came to problems she didn't understand, so she wanted to find out the answers.

"no problem."

Zhuge Yunshu explained everything according to his own ideas, and in the process, he also had to answer Wang Yi's questions from time to time.

Time passed slowly as they continued their question-and-answer session, and soon the second round of the arithmetic competition came to an end.

Senior brothers Ziqing and Ziyun complained to Zhuge Yunshu, "Junior sister, the last question was too difficult. I couldn't get the correct answer even when I handed in the paper."

"Luckily, I gave up on the last question and spent all my time on the first twenty questions."

Zhuge Yunshu greatly admired the problem-solving methods of his two senior brothers.

When you know you can't answer a question, you should give up on it immediately and maintain your accuracy on the questions you're good at.

Meanwhile, Master Li was also restless, and he also wanted to ask his three disciples how the exam went.

Out of consideration for face, he did not leave his seat as the headmaster of the clan school.

"Brother Li, please calm down. Your clan school has already achieved third place in the first competition. Even at the very least, it's better than last year," a clan school teacher who was on good terms with Teacher Li comforted him.

“Brother Shen, you misunderstand. I’m not worried about the rankings; I’m just curious whether they solved the last problem. After all, my eight-year-old disciple has a decent talent for mathematics,” Master Li explained.

Actually, the results we've achieved so far have been beyond our expectations.

Regardless of his future results, he was able to accept them with equanimity.

"Tch, it's just that he did a little better in the first competition, what's there to be so proud of?" a teacher from the clan school said sarcastically.

There will always be some people in the world who are envious and can't stand seeing others succeed.

"He's quite talented; even the Wang family academy doesn't praise its disciples like this."

"..."

Hearing these whispers in his face, Master Li was furious.

However, he couldn't bring himself to argue with those shrewish teachers, so he said, "What's wrong with me being proud to have such a disciple? It's your fault for not having one. Besides, the final result hasn't come out yet. Let's wait until it's out before discussing it, otherwise it'll be embarrassing."

"Hmph, let's see what right you have to be arrogant then."

Master Li: "..."

Who did he offend? Why is he so menacing?

On the high platform, the town's teacher had finished grading the exam papers and given the results to Headmaster Lin.

Headmaster Lin looked at the questions of the top three students and nodded in satisfaction.

Especially Zhuge Yunshu, who actually solved both of the major problems.

It also provides different problem-solving approaches.

He had a premonition that this child, barring any unforeseen circumstances, would be extraordinary in the future.

Turning to look at his deadpan junior brother, he noticed a suspicious curve at the corner of his mouth.

Seeing him look over, she quickly put it away.

Headmaster Lin shook his head helplessly; his junior brother was as naive as ever.

"Now we announce the results of the second competition: Zhang Hao from the Zhang family school, second place; Wang Yi from the Wang family school, first place; and Zhuge Yunshu from the Zhuge village school."

After Director Lin finished making the announcement, the onlookers began to discuss it animatedly.

Who is Zhuge Yunshu?

Third place in the first calligraphy competition.

"So powerful, how come there was no warning beforehand?"

“The students from the Zhuge Village Clan School always come in last place at the annual clan school literary gathering.”

"..."

Let alone the onlookers, even Zhuge Laigui himself couldn't believe the result.

"Xiao Lan, am I dreaming? Da Hua got first place in math class."

"No, I heard it very clearly." Liu Lan was equally excited.

You know, she was always ridiculed by her girlfriends for having no taste in men and choosing a country bumpkin.

They even said that Lai Gui was only with her for money.

Hmph, they're just jealous that I found a handsome and capable husband.

Now things are much better. Lai Gui is not only handsome, but he also has a niece who is good at studying.

"I'm so lucky," Liu Lan thought to herself with a smug smile.

Meanwhile, at the master's seat in the clan school, Master Shen deliberately said loudly, "Congratulations, congratulations! Brother Li is too modest to have such a bright disciple."

"Exactly, if I had such a disciple, I would take him everywhere I go."

"Unexpectedly, Brother Li's Zhuge Village Clan School is a dark horse this year."

The two men who had previously mocked Master Li now wished they could disappear into the ground; it was too embarrassing.

Before they were filled with remorse, they took advantage of a moment of verbal sparring.

At this moment, a disciple who looked to be fourteen or fifteen years old stood up, bowed to the master on the platform, and asked, "Master, could you please tell me the answers to the last two difficult questions?"

Headmaster Lin glanced at the disciple and said, "The first question has sixty guests, and the second question has twelve rabbits and twenty-three chickens."

As soon as the answer was given, the disciples below became restless.

"Me too, my answer is correct."

"Mine is correct too, so why didn't I get a ranking?"

"The Wang family is famous for its excellent mathematics, so why didn't they get first place?"

“Miss Wang was the first to hand in her paper, how could she not be number one?”

"It's unfair; there must be something fishy going on."

"..."

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

She was just an ordinary village student; what merit did she have to earn the town school's inside information?

"Don't make a fuss." Hearing the questioning voices from the students below, it would be a lie to say that Headmaster Lin wasn't angry.

This has already affected the reputation of their town's school.