The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

Zhuge Yunshu and Wang Yi left Ya Shi Ju and headed towards the adjacent library.

Upon reaching the entrance, they handed over their town school identification cards.

The old man guarding the library picked up the papers and examined them carefully. "New students, Zhuge Yunshu and Wang Yi, from Class 2 of Xiaotian, not bad." Then he picked up two pieces of paper from the desk and handed them to them.

"Go to the designated location on the paper to collect the corresponding items and books."

Zhuge Yunshu looked at the contents of the book list, which read: Zhuge Yunshu - Class 2, Xiaotian - Freshman Book List.

The study of phonology and exegesis in the early stages of learning: "Li Weng's Rhyming Dictionary", "Guangyun", "Yaji", and "Shuowen Jiezi".

Basic books for the imperial examination stage: First stage - Four Books and Five Classics, mathematics.

One month's supply of writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstone: two writing brushes, ten ink sticks, four reams of paper (about 400 sheets), and one inkstone.

Based on the location of each book on the book list, Zhuge Yunshu and Wang Yi divided the work and quickly found all the books.

They then received the corresponding amount of writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones.

Before long, the old man guarding the library saw a little girl carrying two book bags on her back, and another girl holding two books in her hands, walking out leisurely.

Especially the little girl carrying two schoolbags, striding along without even a sound of panting.

"Sir, I have found all the books. Please check them over here." Zhuge Yunshu put down two book bags, opened them, and thoughtfully placed them in front of the old man.

The old man suppressed his surprise and examined the document carefully. After a while, he said, "Yes, yes, you can leave after you sign here."

Wang Yi quickly stepped forward and wrote down their names on a piece of paper.

"By the way, these books must be kept safe. They need to be returned after graduation. If they are damaged, you will have to pay ten times the original price in compensation."

Zhuge Yunshu was also aware of the rule about guarding the school, which was probably to prevent those who did not cherish books from damaging them at will.

"Thank you for your advice, sir."

After saying that, Zhuge Yunshu put his book bag back on and went back to the dormitory with Wang Yi to put the books away.

At this hour, the path to the town's school is bustling with people, and Zhuge Yunshu, carrying two large book bags, walks among them, appearing unusually strange.

This inevitably attracted some strange looks and comments.

"My goodness, this junior sister is a strongwoman!"

"Is this what they call innate superhuman strength?"

"As someone who aspires to take the martial arts exam in the future, I am extremely envious!"

"..."

"How do you think she'll ever get married?"

"Who would dare to marry her? If they argued, she'd probably get slapped to death."

"Someone like her, plain-looking but with superhuman strength, is just waiting to die alone!"

"..."

Upon hearing these remarks, Wang Yi wanted to argue with those senior students who were just being nosy.

Zhuge Yunshu grabbed her arm and whispered, "Watch me."

"That senior in the blue school uniform with the long face, yes, I'm talking about you." Zhuge Yunshu looked him up and down, his eyes filled with disdain.

"You look... well, I'm at a loss for words, I can't find a good one to describe you. Senior brother, you'd better come out less often in the future."

Wang Yi continued Zhuge Yunshu's words, "You can also come out, just wear a veil."

Zhuge Yunshu silently gave Wang Yi a thumbs up.

"You...you...don't...go too far." The long-faced senior brother blushed and pointed at Zhuge Yunshu and Wang Yi.

"Is that too much? Didn't you teach me these words, Senior Brother?" Zhuge Yunshu asked innocently.

"So sharp-tongued, yet lacking any of the gentleness a woman should have... This is you~"

Zhuge Yunshu quickly interrupted the long-faced senior brother, "Senior brother, not only do you love to gossip behind people's backs, but you're also petty and narrow-minded. You've truly lost the demeanor of a gentleman and disgraced the reputation of the school's senior brother!"

“However, one of my senior brothers is right, I really can kill someone with a slap. As for my junior sister, she’s good in every way, except she has a bit of a temper.” Zhuge Yunshu said, while twirling the book bag he was carrying in his hands.

Everyone was stunned by Zhuge Yunshu's move.

After they realized what had happened, the senior brothers who had spoken ill of Zhuge Yunshu came out to apologize.

The long-faced senior brother, utterly humiliated, slunk away in a certain direction.

"Hmph, Senior Sister Yi, let's go." Zhuge Yunshu slung the two large book bags over her shoulder again and continued on her way to the dormitory.

What Zhuge Yunshu didn't know was that, because of this incident, her reputation spread throughout the town's schools, and she even got an unpleasant nickname—"Strong Woman".

These are all things for later.

Back in their dorm room, the two placed their books on the bookshelves they had wiped down the day before.

Then, he put the "Li Weng's Rhyming Dictionary" and "The Great Learning" that he was going to study that day, along with his writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, into his book box, and went out again.

When they arrived at Class 2 of Xiaotian, the classroom was empty.

Zhuge Yunshu looked at the twelve desks in the classroom and asked with some concern, "Senior Sister, where should we sit?"

Looking at the layout of the school, which had four rows with three desks in each row, Wang Yi said, "The front row is the closest to the teacher, so it's definitely the best. First come, first served. Let's go to the front row!"

Zhuge Yunshu looked at the Master's desk, which was some distance from the desks of the disciples below, and unlike modern times, it did not have chalk. So he happily agreed.

After they sat down, Zhuge Yunshu kindly saved a seat for Zhang Hao.

After a while, some male students from Class 2 of Xiaotian also arrived one after another. They looked at Zhuge Yunshu and Wang Yi with strange eyes.

At this moment, Zhang Hao and his roommates also entered the classroom. Zhuge Yunshu looked up, waved, and said, "Senior Brother Zhang, I've saved a seat for you here."

Zhang Hao looked in the direction of the voice and found that Junior Sister Yun Shu and Junior Sister Wang were sitting calmly in the first row, and had even saved a seat for him.

His eyes widened in disbelief. "Don't you know what the first three seats represent at the town's school?"

"Junior Sister Wang, you don't know either?"

Zhang Hao thought this shouldn't be the case; Junior Sister Wang is Master Wang's niece.

"I know, that's why I saved a spot for you too," Wang Yi said calmly.

Zhang Hao: "..."

He doesn't need it, thank you.

Zhuge Yunshu was completely bewildered. Looking at everyone, he asked, "There are twelve seats in the school, so there must be twelve students. Is there any significance to the front seat?"

“According to the town’s school rules, the three students who sit in the best seats at the front of Class 2 will sit in those seats for the rest of the time,” Zhang Hao said gloatingly.

"Isn't that great? The front seats are so good, closest to the teacher, and the best for listening to the lecture. Why are they so unpopular?" Zhuge Yunshu was even more puzzled. Looking at Senior Brother Zhang's attitude, he felt that it wasn't a good thing.

She suddenly recalled that the way each of her senior brothers looked at them when they entered the academy always seemed strange.

At first, she thought that because she and Senior Sister Yi were beautiful, they couldn't help but glance at her a few more times!

It seems she was overthinking things.