The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

On the first day after the holiday, Zhuge Yunshu, Wang Yi, and Zhang Hao came to Master Wang's study as usual.

Unexpectedly, a girl of about fourteen years old, dressed as a boy, appeared in Master Wang's study.

I don't know how to describe it, but she's even prettier than Wang Yi.

As a result, Zhuge Yunshu and the other two were completely stunned and did not react for a moment.

"Come here quickly, let me introduce you. This is Xie Yu from the county school. He's here in Yunshui Town to study and will be learning with you for a few days," Master Wang introduced.

Zhuge Yunshu and the others quickly stepped forward and performed a fellow disciple's greeting, "Thank you, Senior Sister."

Master Wang: "..."

Xie Yu: "......"

"Cough~cough!" Master Wang coughed a few times, clenching his fist and pressing it against his chin, trying his best to hide his urge to laugh.

It must be said that his disciple looked too much like a boy and a girl, and from childhood to adulthood, he was misunderstood by countless people.

Xie Yu's eyes twitched as he looked at Master Wang's self-deceiving act. Sure enough, this was still the same Master Wang. Even if he pretended to be indifferent now, he couldn't change his true nature.

"Junior brothers and sisters, just call me Senior Brother Xie. Also, I'm a man," Xie Yu explained helplessly.

He has it so tough. He's often mistaken for a woman, and he's explained himself countless times throughout the year.

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

Wang Yi: "..."

Zhang Hao: "..."

The three of them looked extremely embarrassed. They had called the wrong gender in front of others and wished they could disappear into a crack in the ground.

Even when his gender was misunderstood, which hurt the self-esteem of a scholar, Senior Brother Xie would just laugh it off and always maintain his gentle and refined demeanor.

In short, Zhuge Yunshu admired such a composed person from the bottom of his heart.

"Alright, your senior brother Xie and I have a few more things to say. You two go outside and wait." Master Wang found the awkward looks on his three disciples' faces rather amusing.

Zhuge Yunshu, Wang Yi, and Zhang Hao glanced gratefully at Master Wang before quickly leaving the study.

The three of them looked at each other, waiting for the other to speak first.

"Speaking of which, the name Xie Yu sounds familiar, like I've heard it somewhere before." In the end, Zhang Hao was the first to give in, unable to resist his curiosity.

"I haven't heard of him, but Senior Brother Xie's demeanor is definitely extraordinary. I don't know if you've noticed, but although he always has a smile on his face, his eyes are very indifferent, as if he's looking at us as if we're just being unreasonable juniors."

Whether it was a misperception or not, Zhuge Yunshu felt that this Senior Brother Xie looked very familiar, especially his smile and eyes.

“Pingchuan County’s number one child prodigy, Xie Yu, has the right to be proud,” Wang Yi suddenly said.

"Yes, yes, that's why that name sounds so familiar. It turns out to be Xie Yu, one of the child prodigies of the Great Xia Kingdom."

"It is said that this man had a photographic memory. By the age of ten, he had already read all the works of the Hundred Schools of Thought and was well-versed in the classics and history. He passed the imperial examination at the age of twelve and became a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination). However, for some reason, he refused the invitation from the Imperial Academy and continued to study at the county school. In the following years, he disappeared without a trace, and no news about him was ever heard again." Zhang Hao suddenly realized.

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

Are these the true geniuses of ancient times?

"Senior Brother Zhang, I heard you say that Senior Brother Xie is one of the child prodigies of the Great Xia Kingdom. Does that mean there are other child prodigies?" Zhuge Yunshu asked curiously.

"I've forgotten the specifics, but I remember Senior Brother Xie very well because he's from this county."

"But I've heard that some child prodigies can compose poems at three and write essays at six. There's one even more amazing: he can hold a pen in both hands and draw different patterns with each hand simultaneously, recite articles aloud, count the number of servants in his house, and still be composing poems in his mind. In short, he can do five things at the same time, and he can do each one very well..."

Zhuge Yunshu was so shocked by Senior Brother Zhang's introduction that his mouth dropped open!

These are all prodigies, but compared to them, Senior Brother Xie seems like a normal child prodigy.

“These are all rumors, some true and some false, who knows if they’re exaggerated? But Senior Brother Xie is different. He passed the imperial examination at the age of twelve and became a scholar. That can’t be faked,” Wang Yi argued.

In her heart, no child prodigy could compare to Senior Brother Xie.

“Junior Sister Wang is right, Senior Brother Xie is more honest. But why would such a genius come to our Yunshui Town? And he seems to know Master so well,” Zhang Hao asked, puzzled.

Can you imagine what it would be like if your childhood idol suddenly appeared in front of you?

Most importantly, they would have to attend classes together, which seems unrealistic.

Meanwhile, in the study, Master Wang was asking Xie Yu the same question.

“I have always kept in mind Master’s teachings that it is better to travel ten thousand miles than to read ten thousand books. In recent years, I have read a lot of books, but I still have many questions. So in recent years, I have been traveling around to various places to study, and I have experienced all aspects of life and gained a lot from it. I just happened to be passing through Yunshui Town, so I thought I would like to visit you.”

Speaking of which, I actually spent some time in this place when I was a child.

Master Wang looked at his former most prized disciple, who had once been so full of vigor and ambition, yet now, at only fourteen years old, spoke with such an air of maturity. He must still haven't forgotten... Ah, never mind, let's not dwell on it.

"Will you participate in next year's provincial examination?" Master Wang asked, changing the subject.

Given his disciple's abilities, it's safe to assume he has already mastered all the essential readings for the imperial examinations.

Xie Yu smiled gently and said, "This disciple still needs a few more years of training to strive for a good result in the palace examination."

Master Wang thought about it and agreed. Although his disciple was capable of passing the imperial examination, he was still a bit too young.

……

After chatting for a while, Master Wang realized it was getting late and quickly got straight to the point, "Ayu, the reason I kept you here is that I do have something to ask of you."

"Oh, is there something else that's putting the Master in a difficult position?" Xie Yu teased.

"I have a student whose academic talent is just as good as yours. No matter how much I teach her, it's like a bottomless pit; she drinks it all with ease. But because of this, I'm afraid she'll become arrogant because she doesn't have a worthy opponent. So, I want you to attend classes with her for the next few days, mainly to put her down and make her understand that there are always people better than her, and that there's always something beyond her..."

"...But remember, you must be careful to maintain a proper balance."

Although he wanted Yun Shu to experience setbacks as early as possible, so as to temper her character.

However, if such a promising talent is ruined by mistake, he will have nowhere to turn for help.

Upon hearing this, Xie Yu was both amused and exasperated. "Master, aren't you making things difficult for your disciple?"

"Don't worry about it. The suppression I meant wasn't about using your current knowledge to attack her. The gap between you two is so big, it wouldn't be very effective anyway."

“My main goal is for you to teach them the basics of policy theory. During this time, I will talk more about your childhood achievements… while giving them a pep talk, I also want them to take you as their role model…” Master Wang explained patiently.

Xie Yu: "..."

After that incident, Xie Yu rarely saw his teacher so concerned about anything, so he asked curiously, "Whoever you value so much, may I ask for their name?"

"Zhuge Yunshu".

Xie Yu: "..."

This name sounds so familiar.