The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

Uncle Zhuge Laigui looked at his niece Dahua. To verify his guess, he went to his room in the west wing and took out his treasured book, "Youxue Qionglin".

"Dahua, memorize these as I read them." He mainly wanted to see if his niece really had a good memory.

"In the beginning of chaos, heaven and earth were established. The light and pure air rose to become heaven, and the heavy and turbid air condensed to become earth... The Cloud Master is Fenglong, and the Snow God is Tengliu." Zhuge Dahua recited it word for word.

To be honest, she felt a little ashamed, after all, she had a cheat code.

However, the thought that this was all for a spot in the clan school exam quickly dispelled her shame. Knowledge changes destiny; she learned these things while others slept—there was nothing shameful about it! Nothing shameful at all!

Zhuge Laigui: "..."

Grandma Chen hurriedly asked, "Laigui, how is it?"

Zhuge Laigui: "You're all right..."

At this moment, Grandpa Zhuge turned to his three grandsons and said, "Erzhu, Shuanzi, and Gou Dan, you should also give it a try."

Second cousin Erzhu said with a troubled expression, "In the beginning of chaos... Heaven and Earth... were established, Qi... was light... Grandpa really can't remember the rest." He then lowered his head in embarrassment.

The third cousin, Shuanzi, said nervously, "In the beginning of chaos, when heaven and earth were first established, the air was so light... I don't remember it either."

Fourth cousin, Gou Dan, said confidently, "In the beginning of chaos, when heaven and earth were first established, the lightest and purest qi rose to the surface... the sun, moon, and five planets, what were they called again... I'm sure I can figure it out..."

The Zhuge family members: "..."

Seeing this, her mother, Lin, said with pride, "I knew it! Dahua is the smartest child in our family!"

Her father, Zhuge Laifu, quickly added, "Dad, you've seen it too, haven't you? Our Dahua is truly gifted in her studies. Anyway, this year's quota must be given to the third branch of the family, otherwise I won't stand for it."

Grandma Chen was also in a bit of a dilemma. It was rare for the family to have a child who could study, so she, as the grandmother, should have been happy.

However, the problem was that she was a girl.

Unable to make a decision, Old Mrs. Chen looked to Old Master Zhuge for help.

Before Old Master Zhuge could say anything, they heard Zhuge Laifu's aggrieved voice.

"Mom and Dad, I'm really suffering inside. Because of my poor health, I haven't had the chance to give Da Hua a brother to help her out. Da Hua is our only child, and we'll have to rely on her in the future. If Da Hua doesn't have any abilities in the future, what decent man would want her? Sigh..."

The Zhuge family elders felt guilty whenever this topic came up. If they hadn't insisted that their third son go to the fields to weed, things wouldn't have come to this...

Grandpa Zhuge said with a headache, "These past few days, Dahua has also been studying with your uncle. In the end, we'll choose two good ones from Erzhu, Shuanzi, and Gou Dan!" He thought to himself that with competition, the children in the family might study even harder.

Although my uncle and aunt were dissatisfied with the result, there was nothing they could do. Once the old man had made up his mind, nothing could change it.

On the contrary, the second uncle and aunt were indifferent to the matter. Anyway, they had two boys of school age, and one of them would be able to take the clan school exam no matter what.

After dinner, Zhuge Yunshu followed her parents back to her room to sleep amidst the envious gazes of her four older cousins.

As soon as she entered the room, her parents stared at her and looked her up and down. "Dahua, when did you become so smart?" her mother asked in surprise.

"How can the two of us tell whether someone is smart or not?" Zhuge Laifu tapped Lin's head and continued, "Dahua, you really made your father proud today. Ever since your uncle was born, your grandparents have never given me a second glance."

Hearing her father's words, Zhuge Yunshu sensitively sensed the sadness he was hiding, so she comforted him, "Father, you and Mother are the most important family members to me. We must both be well. I will definitely make sure you live a good life in the future."

"Dahua, you said it yourself, so you must study hard. Your parents will be counting on you for the rest of their lives."

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

His father's spirit of seizing opportunities was as strong as ever.

At this moment, Madam Lin gently patted Zhuge Dahua's head, looked at her eight-year-old daughter, and couldn't help but sigh, "My dear, time flies! In the blink of an eye, Dahua is already eight years old."

"Yes, when it was born, it was such a tiny, wrinkled little thing."

"Alright, that's enough. Da Hua has to get up early to study tomorrow, so go to sleep!" Zhuge Laifu said, yawning.

Just as Zhuge Yunshu climbed onto her small bed next door, a message popped into her mind: "Ding! You have obtained a spot in the clan school exam. Completed. Reward: 10 points. Keep up the good work, host!"

Looking at the 10 points that had already been credited to her account, Zhuge Dahua felt conflicted. "The points I earned are nowhere near as good as the points I spent."

Then, as if she had been injected with adrenaline, she continued to practice her calligraphy within the learning system.

Inside the main room, the younger uncle, Zhuge Laigui, was chatting with the Zhuge couple about everyday matters.

Grandma Chen said, "Old man, you really gave the clan school spot to the third son's daughter, Dahua. Although Dahua is really smart, she will still get married sooner or later. They say nice things, like Dahua won't get married in the future and will wait to find a husband, but don't we know the character of the third son's family?"

“Once you’ve said it, you can’t go back on your word. The eldest daughter of the third son’s family is a good, smart girl, much more reliable than her parents.” Zhuge Fengshou was very dissatisfied.

“Father and Mother, Da Hua is truly gifted in her studies. You have no idea how difficult it is to study. I spent three years in the clan school before I could barely finish reading the Three Character Classic, the Hundred Family Surnames, the Thousand Character Classic, and the Primer for Children. And Mother, stop saying that girls are useless. There are women outside who inherit family businesses and become officials. If our daughter is successful, she will surely help the family.”

"Alright, it's getting late, Lai Gui, you should go back and rest too!" Seeing that his wife was still planning to continue chatting, Old Master Zhuge quickly sent his youngest son away.

"Yes, Father and Mother, you should get some rest too. Your son is leaving now."

Meanwhile, in the main room on the north side, after the two younger children, including the eldest aunt Su, had gone to sleep, she said to her eldest uncle, Zhuge Lairong, with dissatisfaction:

"Honey, why didn't you say a few more words back then? Look what's happened now; Gou Dan might not even have a chance to take the clan school exam!"

Enraged, Su threw the clothes onto the trunk next to the bed.

"You always complain when I say you're stupid, but didn't you see the guilt that our parents couldn't hide in their eyes? They've always thought it was their fault that the third son couldn't have children, otherwise why would they have spoiled him so much all these years? Besides, the third son's family only has one child, Dahua, and the third son and his wife dote on him like crazy. If we don't give in to him this time, who knows what kind of trouble he'll cause?" Speaking of the Zhuge family, the one who understands Old Master Zhuge the most is none other than his eldest uncle, Zhuge Lairong.

"Well, alright!" Aunt Su stood up, looking helpless.

"Go to sleep!"

This was destined to be an unsettling night. Each member of the Zhuge family was preoccupied with their own thoughts and gradually drifted off to sleep.