The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

"Dahua took out a pen and wrote it down." Liu Lan excitedly pulled Zhuge Laigui.

Master Li also smiled and looked on with satisfaction.

Wang Fuzi, standing next to Lin Shanzhang, also had a strange upward curve to his lips.

Because he knew why Zhuge Yunshu did this.

The other teachers on the stage relaxed at this moment. After all, this student had performed so well in the morning. If he did poorly in the subject of classical studies, his previous reputation would probably be affected.

At this moment, the onlookers also paid special attention to Zhuge Yunshu.

"Hey, look! That girl has finally written down her answers."

"Maybe they'll realize it and start writing down what they know how to do first."

"To be honest, I'm a little disappointed, considering how well he performed this morning."

"Come on, he's a human being, not a god. How many people in the world are truly all-around talented?"

"Exactly, she's so young, and has only been studying for a month. Your expectations are way too high."

"Yes, yes, that makes a lot of sense."

"..."

The noise from the onlookers was too loud and inevitably disturbed the students who were competing.

They were agitated and confused, wondering why the town school had set up the exam venue outside. Without a good environment, how could they concentrate on answering the questions?

Then look at the questions on the scroll and try to find ways to trap them. Can't the onlookers stay quiet and let them think things through?

Whether Zhuge Yunshu raises his head or not, whether he writes the questions or not, is none of their business. It's such a trivial matter that they're arguing about it.

A student of about twelve years old, unable to bear it any longer, stood up angrily and said, "Headmaster, could you please ask the crowd to lower their voices? They're disturbing our competition."

No sooner had the student finished speaking than two burly men dressed as servants dragged him out at the instruction of Headmaster Lin.

"Why are you dragging me out? I haven't finished my homework yet!"

"Why? That's unfair. I was just offering a well-intentioned suggestion."

Headmaster Lin stood up and said to the crowd, "Anyone who disrupts the examination order will be disqualified from the competition."

"If a scholar doesn't even have this much self-discipline, how can he expect to pass the imperial examinations and enter officialdom in the future?"

After speaking, he sat down and calmly watched the students below answer the questions.

This action immediately silenced the students in the room, and it served as a good example to deter others.

The competition continued, and the farce that had just happened was just a trivial matter to everyone.

They are more concerned about the situation of outstanding students.

"Did you notice that Zhuge Yunshu has been writing down the answers with his head down the whole time?"

"Yes, I've been watching her."

"I don't understand what she's doing!"

"..."

After a while, the crowd became restless again.

"Look, she's staring blankly at the questions again."

"What's wrong with this girl? She's driving me crazy."

“You’re overthinking it. If you ask me, this girl is just memorizing the questions and writing the answers directly on the paper. Isn’t that a way to save unnecessary time looking up?” an elderly man in a long robe said confidently.

It must be said that this old man had some truth to his words.

"You're exaggerating. Does this girl have a photographic memory?"

"That's hilarious! In the entire Great Xia Kingdom, anyone with such abilities would have been known throughout the country long ago."

"That's right. I heard there's a child prodigy in the county town who has memorized all the Four Books and Five Classics at the age of ten."

"Your information is too outdated. I heard that the child prodigy has already obtained the title of 'Child Scholar'."

"Wow, so awesome."

"..."

"Zhuge Yunshu has started writing again."

"She won't look up again."

"My God, could that old man have actually guessed right?!"

"..."

Zhuge Yunshu was unaware of the ulterior motives of the onlookers; at that moment, she was writing furiously.

"The town's school is too insane, giving out so many questions in one competition," Zhuge Yunshu thought to himself.

She was incredibly grateful that she had developed such a fast copying speed through copying books.

But my hands really hurt from writing so much.

Zhuge Yunshu would sometimes look up in a daze, and sometimes look down to write. The onlookers had long since become numb to her behavior.

However, the students around her had the most say in this matter, as they observed that once Zhuge Yunshu picked up a pen, she never stopped writing except when she dipped it in ink.

This requires an astonishing level of memorization of seven primers to reach such a level.

They prided themselves on being able to read and recite the texts from memory, but when faced with a question, especially one asking them to write the sentence in a specific row and column of the book, they inevitably had to think about it.

I have to say, this is really discouraging.

If Zhuge Yunshu heard their inner thoughts, he would definitely reply, "That's because you haven't experienced the brutal beatings from the famous teachers within the system."

They really hit my hands with a slap, and each time it got harder than the last.

Looking back, it's all tears of sorrow.

Looking at the students below the stage, Master Wang said to Headmaster Lin, "This year's students have very poor mental resilience."

Hearing his words, Headmaster Lin was speechless. If it weren't for his junior brother's insistence on increasing the difficulty and number of questions, the students below wouldn't be in such a sorry state.

Although he complained a bit, his eyes were fixed on the top three finishers from the first two rounds.

Among so many disheveled students, a few remained calm and composed, standing out conspicuously in comparison.

Lin Shanzhang craned his neck to look at Zhuge Yunshu's answers in the first row.

It has to be said that she wrote incredibly fast; once she picked up her pen, she didn't stop, answering one question after another.

Lin Shanzhang comforted himself, thinking that perhaps the student had a very thorough understanding of the book's contents.

The examination of the classics in the "Jingyi" section tests a scholar's familiarity with the books. As long as one puts in the effort, there shouldn't be any major problems.

However, the interpretation of words is different; it mainly tests a scholar's understanding of the meaning of sentences in books.

Beyond what the teacher explains, students must experience the deeper meaning of the text on their own.

Lin Shanzhang continued to crane his neck, wanting to see if Zhuge Yunshu would be stumped by the Mo Yi question, after all, the child was so young and his comprehension ability should be limited.

However, things did not go as Lin Shanzhang had expected. After Zhuge Yunshu finished answering the questions, he quickly changed to a blank sheet of paper, looked up at the questions for a while, and then continued writing.

One question, two questions, three questions... without pausing.

Headmaster Lin was very surprised and unconsciously pinched the person next to him, asking, "Does it hurt?"

Master Wang looked at his senior brother speechlessly and said irritably, "Let me pinch you and see what happens."

"No need for that, I'm just checking if I'm hallucinating," Headmaster Lin waved his hands repeatedly.

"Tell me, how did Zhuge Yunshu manage to write the essay on the meaning of ink without thinking?" Headmaster Lin asked curiously.

“What’s so difficult about that? She had already memorized the answer while she was looking at the question.”

"Besides, the world is full of wonders. For a genius, everything can be answered with just a glance," Master Wang explained calmly.

Headmaster Lin had grown accustomed to his junior brother's calm demeanor. Ever since returning from the exchange with Liang Guo, he had maintained this deadpan attitude. He guessed that his junior brother must have been discouraged by some genius.

However, after his junior's explanation, he finally understood why this student answered the questions so quickly.

It turns out she memorized the answers, not the questions.

Looking at Zhuge Yunshu below the stage, Headmaster Lin sighed inwardly. In his more than ten years of teaching and educating people, this was the first time he had seen such a disciple.