The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

After a quick tidying up, Zhuge Yunshu, Wang Yi, and Zhang Hao arrived outside Xie Yumen and invited him to come downstairs for dinner.

However, they were told that he was taking a bath in his room, and that the innkeeper would bring them dinner after he finished bathing.

Perhaps sensing their confusion, the waiter kindly explained, "The inn offers preferential treatment to those who have achieved academic success, especially scholars who have obtained the title of Xiucai or above, who will receive the best hospitality..."

"Actually, the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations) is mainly for the teacher in charge of the town's school, but this Teacher Xie from your town's school is truly remarkable for his age, having obtained the title of Xiucai at such a young age..."

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

Wang Yi: "..."

Zhang Hao: "..."

That's definitely true – such differential treatment.

But it's not hard to understand, after all, in this era, reading is highly valued.

In particular, if even one member of a farming family passed the imperial examination and became a scholar, the family would be exempt from all corvée labor.

If someone passes the imperial examination and becomes a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations), all land and property owned by that family will be exempt from taxes.

The premise is that the parents do not separate the family. Once both parents pass away, the village chief and clan chief will take the initiative to visit and help preside over the family division ceremony.

The benefits of exemption from land and property taxes that previously applied to each property will no longer apply.

This is also why many families with students would register the purchase of land and real estate under the name of the family whose member had achieved academic success.

"Junior Sister Yun Shu, be careful." Wang Yi and Zhang Hao quickly stepped forward to support her.

Before Zhuge Yunshu could react to what was happening, several sixteen or seventeen-year-old scholars bumped into her one after another.

However, the reality was that Zhuge Yunshu stood firmly in place, while the other students from the town school were not so lucky. They comically had a close encounter with the ground and, by sheer coincidence, fell right at Zhuge Yunshu's feet.

"Senior Sister Yi, Senior Brother Zhang, I feel uncomfortable all over after being bumped by them. What should I do?" As soon as she finished speaking, she leaned weakly on Wang Yi's shoulder and whispered when no one was paying attention, "The three of them did it on purpose. We should strike first."

Upon hearing this, Wang Yi and Zhang Hao thought about it and realized it made sense. Otherwise, how could such a spacious area on the first floor of the inn have allowed several people to blatantly bump into her junior sister with such force?

Zhuge Yunshu, the person involved, was extremely grateful that she possessed the Super Strength Card and that she insisted on practicing horse stance every day; otherwise, she would be the one lying on the ground screaming right now.

"What's wrong with you guys? This road is so wide, why did you have to bump into my junior sister? I don't care, you should take my junior sister to the town clinic right away, otherwise it will affect tomorrow's competition."

"Also, after you heal your junior sister, you should apologize to her." Wang Yi angrily pointed at the three people on the ground.

As soon as she finished speaking, Zhuge Yunshu coughed a few times in response, making her look pitiful to outsiders.

At this moment, the three of them struggled to their feet, helping each other up. One of them, a plump scholar, looked as if he had heard the biggest joke in the world and said viciously, "Do you know who we are? With your town's school's consistently terrible grades, you think you can make us apologize? Dream on!"

At this moment, Zhang Hao seemed to realize something and whispered to Wang Yi in a voice that could be heard by everyone present, "Junior Sister Wang, they are from Yunze Town Academy, especially that tall, thin guy. I heard that his direct relative is a third-rank official in the capital. Let's just forget about it!"

Tall and thin guy: "..."

With such a loud voice, what are you whispering for?!

"Oh, so you are the senior students of Yunze Town Academy. No wonder you are so domineering. You just rely on the fact that there are high-ranking officials in your clan to back you up... You dare to be so arrogant. Is there no law anymore?"

"No, you must give Yunshui Town a proper explanation today, and give Junior Sister Yun Shu a proper explanation, or we will not stand for it." Wang Yi's eyes widened in anger. At this moment, she looked like a pitiful little girl who was being bullied by a group of thugs and was fighting back.

“Junior Sister Wang, let’s just forget about it. These senior brothers in Yunze Town Academy are all powerful and influential. What if they hold a grudge against us because of this? And when no one’s around, they might do something to us weaklings… Ah, that’s too cruel.” Zhang Hao paused at the right moment, leaving everyone with endless imagination.

The three students from Yunze Town: "..."

Damn it, you've said everything, good and bad, so what's the meaning of this pause? Explain yourself!

"Don't talk nonsense. Although we often bully the weak, we have never committed murder or arson."

"Besides, so what if Junior Brother Qin commits murder and arson? His uncle, a high-ranking official in the capital, can't just ignore him," the chubby scholar from Yunze Town School said in a fit of exasperation.

"Shut up!" the tall, thin man and another student from Yunze Town who had been silent all spoke in unison.

They were all internally complaining, "What a terrible teammate!"

Just then, a group of constables rushed in from outside and happened to hear the chubby scholar's boastful words.

Just as the plump scholar was about to add a few words, Zhuge Yunshu spoke first:

"Officer, please don't misunderstand. My fellow disciples in Yunze Town didn't say they were going to kill or set fires, and they didn't intentionally injure me. In short, it wasn't intentional!"

As if afraid that the constables hadn't heard him clearly, Zhuge Yunshu deliberately emphasized it again.

But judging from her expression, anyone with eyes could see that she was forced into this situation and had no other choice.

“Junior Sister Yun Shu, the senior brothers from Yunze Town Academy have already knocked you down like this, and you're still speaking up for them. You're just too kind.” Wang Yi sighed helplessly.

"Junior sister is just too honest, so she was bullied by the three senior brothers of Yunze Town School at first glance." Zhang Hao looked at her with a disappointed expression.

The three students from Yunze Town: "..."

They probably have some misunderstanding about kindness, honesty, and weakness.

In short, it sounds very pretentious, and no one will believe it.

But when he saw everyone pointing and whispering about them, especially the constables who were looking at them with fierce expressions, the chubby scholar became anxious.

"They're just faking it, using their young age to gain sympathy. The ones who are truly hurt are us."

However, it was precisely because of his words that people despised them even more.

What a joke! These strong young men, who look about fifteen or sixteen, are being bullied by three skinny kids, especially one little girl who looks to be only eight years old.

Oh dear, the poor thing, tears welled up in her big eyes, threatening to fall, which made the group of rough-looking constables feel very sorry for her.

“You’ve recklessly disrupted the county school’s joint competition. You’d better come with us!” After saying that, he prepared to step forward.

Actually, they were just trying to scare people; they didn't really mean anything by it.

Even if they were taken to the county government office, they would only receive a verbal reprimand and then be released.

After all, the students in this inn are the most outstanding students in their respective towns, and their future prospects are bound to be extraordinary.

Zhuge Yunshu and his group understood this as well, so under the half-hearted persuasion of the teacher leading the group in Yunze Town, they reluctantly accepted 50 taels of silver as compensation for their emotional distress.

I thought the matter was over, but I didn't expect the students from Yunze Town to be so persistent.

"Your Yunshui Town school is getting worse every year. This year's clan school competition actually let a little girl from the countryside win first place. The competition is tomorrow~, hehe!" The tall, thin man from Yunze Town finished speaking and stomped his foot on the ground a few times, the meaning of which was self-evident.

"Junior Brother Qin, arguing with such a down-on-its-luck town school is beneath you. Look at their disciples, they're all utterly incompetent, even their teacher is... well, just a slip of the tongue! It was completely unintentional."

Judging from that disdainful attitude, one doesn't need to guess to know that the unfinished words were certainly not pleasant.

"Slap! Slap!" Wang Yi and Zhang Hao, their faces dark, stepped forward and slapped the fat man twice on the face.

Zhuge Yunshu was still pretending to be sick, so he was a step behind, but he still managed to deliver a slap.

The fat man, clutching his burning face, stared at them in terror.

"How dare you!"

Zhuge Yunshu, who had just finished hitting her, immediately covered her mouth and said, "Oops! I'm sorry, my hand suddenly went out of control. It seems that you guys really caused the problem."

That innocent look on his face was so genuine.

Then, looking at the teacher leading the group in Yunze Town who seemed completely unconcerned, he said with admiration, "Teacher, you are truly remarkable. I can tell from your appearance that you are a broad-minded person. Look at your disciple, not only does he speak arrogantly, but he also disrespects his teacher. Tsk tsk, he's so skilled at it. He must have practiced on you quite a bit!"

Master Yunze: "..."

Is this girl some kind of spirit? How can she use the gentlest voice to say the most heartbreaking things?

He figured he must be the most miserable teacher in the whole county. Oh well, what could he do? The confidence to use connections was simply not as strong as those who used the proper channels.

"Oh, right, I heard that the age limit for the county school inter-school competition is under fourteen, but—" Zhuge Yunshu paused, looking the three students from Yunze Town up and down, "Why do you look older than my nineteen-year-old uncle?"

"No way!" Zhang Hao exaggeratedly covered his mouth with his hand.

Just as the group of people from Yunze Town were incredulous, Zhuge Yunshu calmly spoke up, "It's definitely not possible. Given the character of the senior students from Yunze Town, how could it be? It's probably just because they look old!"

The three students from Yunze Town: "..."

Can't you just speak properly? This sarcastic tone is worse than not saying anything at all.

Besides, they're only fifteen!

But since they actually cheated, there was nothing they could do but swallow their grievances.

They vowed that they would make them pay back tenfold or a hundredfold for the humiliation they suffered today during the social competition tomorrow.