The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

Master Wang looked at the three of them and asked, "Have you all made up your minds?"

Just as Zhang Hao was about to say something, Wang Yi spoke first, "Master, the three of us have made a decision."

Zhang Hao: "......"

No, that's not what he said. He has no thoughts on that at all.

He shouldn't be too satisfied with his current reading progress. He has room to learn, so wouldn't it be better to sleep a little more each day?

However, because he couldn't open his mouth, he missed the best time to explain.

"I am very pleased that you have this awareness."

“But once you make this choice, there is no turning back. From now on, I will be even stricter with you, and your workload will be several times that of your fellow students. Are you still willing to accept this?” Master Wang asked again.

Zhuge Yunshu and Wang Yi both nodded in agreement.

Seeing their reactions, Master Wang's usually serious face revealed a suspicious smile, which he quickly concealed.

Of course, Zhang Hao's expression, which seemed to want to say something but didn't know how to start, was completely ignored by the people in the room.

He now deeply regretted his actions of following Junior Sister Yun Shu and Junior Sister Wang out of curiosity to find out what was going on.

"You all know about the county-level inter-school competition, right? In recent years, our Yunshui Town School has had poor results year after year, and we are often invited to various town schools to summarize our failures. As a result, some of your seniors couldn't bear the pressure and chose to drop out."

“I’m not saying it’s wrong, but since they’ve made their decision, they must have thought it through carefully. It just goes to show that everyone has their own ambitions, and you can’t force them. The imperial examination system is inherently unpredictable, and if you don’t have a good mindset, it’s better to give up early.” Master Wang sighed helplessly.

"Master, please rest assured! I can't guarantee anything in other aspects, but when it comes to our thick skin—no, I mean our ability to withstand pressure—we're second to none in the town's school." Zhang Hao quickly comforted his usually serious teacher, who was now showing a vulnerable expression.

Of course, this was just his perception of vulnerability.

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

Wang Yi: "......"

Don't assume they don't know what the unfinished word "face" means.

When this senior brother gets ruthless, he even curses himself.

"Very good, that's what I appreciate most about you," Master Wang said happily.

He believes that having such a person in the team would be very effective.

Zhang Hao was rarely praised by Master Wang, and he was extremely excited. When his emotions were running high, he was prone to making boastful claims: "Master, don't worry, I will definitely bring back a top three place for you."

Zhuge Yunshu and Wang Yi stared at Zhang Hao in shock. Was this still the Senior Brother Zhang they knew?

What the two of them didn't know was that after the first day of class, Master Wang had already become Zhang Hao's most admired teacher.

The power of idols is immense, and Zhang Hao felt a surge of energy coursing through his body.

“That’s ambitious. Yi-jie and Yun-shu should learn more from your senior brother.”

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

Wang Yi: "......"

Should we learn from his domineering aura?

Then, Master Wang continued, "Because the various town schools have been busy holding clan literary gatherings recently, the county school joint competition this month has been postponed to the fifteenth of next month, leaving only one month to prepare."

"The rules for the county-level inter-school competition are quite unique. Each town school has three rounds. The competition topics are chosen by the two town schools that are helping to compete. The teams will be drawn by lot and will compete in pairs until only one team remains. The top three teams will then be determined."

"..."

"Master Lin just returned from the county school a few days ago. He said that this year's competition has become more difficult, adding law and policy essays to the original subjects of mathematics, classical texts (calligraphy and calligraphy), and poetry relay. Do you know what this means?" Master Wang looked up at them.

Zhuge Yunshu thought for a moment and said, "When each town school holds a literary competition, other town schools will definitely send people to gather information. In other words, our strongest subject will definitely be excluded by other town schools. Therefore, we don't need to pay too much attention to mathematics."

"I just don't know if they will target Jingyi, after all, on the day of the literary competition, the scores of the three of us were almost all perfect."

After listening to Zhuge Yunshu's words, Wang Yi pondered for a moment, "I don't think so, because many people start learning elementary books at the age of three, and those who study diligently basically memorize them. If that's the case, then in terms of memory and comprehension, we still have Junior Sister Yunshu~"

"Even so, there's only one chance of winning. We haven't been exposed to law and strategy. Aren't these things only taught in the Middle Heaven Class? Especially strategy, which is only taught in the Great Heaven Class."

"It's said that other town schools sent their top three students to the county school to participate in the competition. Is that really true, Master?" Zhang Hao asked doubtfully.

Master Wang watched the three of them analyzing the situation logically and with evidence, and he couldn't hide the smile in his eyes.

He is worthy of being his favorite disciple.

“What you three said makes sense, but it’s a big deal to say that other towns’ schools are letting their top three students participate in the county school’s competition. The top ten students in each town’s list are all promising talents who have the potential to become scholars or even county-level scholars. They won’t risk losing more than they gain. You can rest assured about that.”

"If it's not in the top ten, then it must be after tenth place," Zhang Hao stated definitively.

"That makes sense. Anyway, remember this: many of the participants in the competition are progressing faster than you in your studies, so you need to work even harder in the coming days. How will you know if you can do it if you don't push yourself..."

Master Wang paused for a moment, then looked at the three of them and continued, "Our town school has weaknesses, and so do other town schools, so there's no need to panic too much."

"Headmaster Lin and I have also discussed this. This year's county school joint competition will definitely focus on the Four Books in the subject of Classics. So, in the next two weeks, you should try to memorize the Four Books and the Law and understand their meaning. In the remaining two weeks, we will focus on policy essays and cram for a bit. Whether you can do it or not depends on you."

“So starting tomorrow, the three of you can come directly to my study for classes. Elective courses will also be suspended for the time being. For the next month, I will be in charge of all your courses. Do you understand?” Master Wang said.

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

In this world, scholars are becoming increasingly pedantic.

Wang Yi: "......"

Unexpectedly, the county-level inter-school competition was much more difficult than she had imagined.

Zhang Hao: "......"

It's all his fault for talking such big nonsense; otherwise, the teacher wouldn't have put so much pressure on them.

Master Wang was quite satisfied with the performance of his three disciples. Although they were all shocked by the task, they didn't give up like their senior brothers and sisters had done in the past.

He didn't really care about the rankings; of course, it would be better if he could get a better result. But this time, it was indeed a test for his three disciples.

I hope they all pass smoothly!