The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

Because of their close proximity, the tall, thin man's words were clearly heard by Master Wang and Xie Yu, who couldn't help but frown.

Although they intended to subject Zhuge Yunshu and the other two to a setback, they would not allow others to gossip about them.

"Master, it is said that some students in the town's academy have studied policy essays for several years, while my junior brothers and sisters have only studied for half a month. How can you compare them?" Xie Yu said sarcastically.

“Ayu, others may not know, but you certainly do, right? Back when you were five, you had already completed a full policy essay… So, some people learn in half a month what others learn in several years. There’s nothing we can do about it; such talent is something we can’t envy.” Master Wang chimed in.

“Master, you see things very clearly, unlike some people who, just because they are old, dare to look down on everyone.” As she spoke, she glanced meaningfully in the direction of Yunze Town School, “…”

The students of Yunze Town School: "..."

They suddenly realized that this back-and-forth scene was remarkably similar to what had happened the night before.

As expected of master and disciples, they are truly of the same lineage.

But what good is knowing? They were the ones who had the nerve to talk back first.

One was a teacher with the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations), and the other looked younger than them, but his demeanor made it clear that he was not someone to be trifled with.

They're used to bullying the weak and fearing the strong, so they're not stupid enough to do something that would only make them unhappy.

They can just wait for the results and laugh at the situation.

At this moment, the county magistrate looked at the performance of the students below the stage, shook his head helplessly, and then turned to the headmaster of the county school beside him and said:

"Yuanshan, wasn't there a student who solved two arithmetic problems before? Is he here today?"

"Your Excellency, please look. The youngest student in section number two on the stage is Zhuge Yunshu. He currently studies at the town school in Yunshui Town and is a relative of the fourth-rank Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices in the capital." The headmaster of the county school gestured to the county magistrate to look towards the competition area.

"Oh! It's a relative of Lord Zhuge!" The magistrate quickly looked over and saw an eight-year-old girl sitting on the desk in a daze with her hands empty. He couldn't help but sigh helplessly, "At this age, it's really difficult for her to write policy essays."

The most difficult questions were still the ones chosen. Looking at the other students on stage, he saw that they were all scratching their heads in thought. The magistrate thought to himself, "This is the norm."

"Rest assured, sir. It is said that this student is quite talented. He has already written a decent essay after only half a month of intensive study."

After listening to the headmaster's explanation, the county magistrate had already given up all hope.

He's been there too; what can you accomplish in just half a month of studying policy theory?

Not everyone is that child prodigy in the county town.

The original idea was that this student had a talent for mathematics, and if he was also good at other things, we could take this opportunity to promote him, since it could be counted in this year's performance evaluation.

Alas, things often don't go as planned.

At this moment, Zhuge Yunshu looked at Wang Yi and Zhang Hao, who had already put down their brushes, and made a gesture to her.

Zhuge Yunshu immediately understood, stood up, picked up the drumstick beside him, and struck the drumhead to indicate his request to hand in his paper.

At this moment, the onlookers around, seeing that there was only an incense stick's worth of time left, also sighed with regret.

"That's amazing, they handed in their papers so quickly."

"What's so impressive about it? The essay competition is about the quality of the content, not the speed."

"That's true. I reckon number two's score is definitely not as good as number one's. Didn't you see that the youngest girl stopped writing when the incense had only burned halfway down?"

"Of course I saw it. I reckon Number Two will be dragged down by this girl."

"..."

"You said they only have half an incense stick's time left, why don't they check for any mistakes and make up for them? Maybe they can get a few more points."

"Maybe they're worried about making the paper look neat."

"..."

Master Wang and Xie Yu listened to the murmurs of the crowd, but only smiled faintly and remained silent.

What makes a good article is that it should be written in one go; revising it will only affect its quality.

……

At this moment, Zhuge Yunshu looked at the three people opposite him with admiration and found that they were not affected by the drumbeats at all and were still writing with complete focus.

Keep in mind that the crowd was quite noisy at that moment.

Time passed quickly, and the last incense stick burned out. The constables collected all the papers and delivered them to the county magistrate and the headmaster of the county school.

They picked up a card at random and looked at it, and all of them shook their heads and sighed.

"Yuanshan, it seems this question really is difficult for these students." The county magistrate looked at the essay in his hand, finding the ideas simplistic and naive. He was truly at a loss for words.

The headmaster of the county school then picked up another one, saying, "Although this article is completely nonsensical, it still shows that this student has a kind heart."

He then gave it a score of three as encouragement and passed it on to the other teachers for review.

"This chapter is good, it hits the mark, and the writing is standard. Although it's clear that you haven't been writing for long, it's rare to have such insights at your age." The magistrate's expression softened slightly, and with a wave of his hand, he wrote a red "six" on the scroll.

"This article is also quite good. Not only is the handwriting beautiful, but it is also written at a high level. This shows that the student must have put in a lot of effort in this field. In particular, the proposed solutions are very practical. The only shortcoming is that it is not detailed enough." Although the headmaster of the county school regretted it, he still gave the article a score of seven.

At this moment, the county magistrate, after reading the papers in his hand, picked up the last one on the table and started reading it.

"Haha, that's brilliant! How come I didn't think of this method?" Overwhelmed with excitement, the magistrate burst into laughter, disregarding his composure.

Out of curiosity, the headmaster of the county school disregarded etiquette and peeked over.

This article has a clear purpose, addressing disaster prevention, relief and treatment, resettlement of victims, and post-disaster reconstruction. It proposes countermeasures such as "lower taxes and greater reserves," "sufficient granaries to prepare for floods and droughts," "work relief," and "relocation for food aid."

Although the entire text is devoid of ornate language, there is truly not a single superfluous word.

The most amazing thing is that after reading this strategy, you'll wonder why you didn't think of this method before... it's so practical.

"This article is the first one."

"Truly a genius."

The headmaster of the county school and the county magistrate spoke at the same time, and even their meanings were almost identical.

So the two of them wrote down full marks on the exam paper, believing that such a good article that benefited the country and its people was well worth it.

"Quickly check which town school this student is from."

As soon as the magistrate finished speaking, the headmaster of the county school tore off the patch, and soon the name of Zhuge Yunshu, the headmaster of Yunshui Town School, appeared in their eyes.

The two looked at each other in surprise, seeing disbelief and delight in each other's eyes.

Could it be that their Linxi County is about to produce a child prodigy?

"Brother Yuanshan, there are reasons for this, I have to go first. This exam paper is between you and me, you must not reveal a single word about it..." After explaining the details, the magistrate carefully packed the exam paper and then hurriedly left the county school.

Meanwhile, the other teachers who had not yet graded the last paper looked puzzled.

They saw the county magistrate and Headmaster Song looking at the last exam paper for a long time.

Then, with a mixture of surprise and delight, and a rather complicated expression, the magistrate carefully put away the paper like a precious treasure and hurriedly left.

"The magistrate had to leave early, but he was so pleased with the last exam paper that he took it with him," Headmaster Song explained to the puzzled teachers.

"Oh! By the way, the magistrate and I both gave full marks, so you should give your scores accordingly."

He was confident that other teachers would also be amazed by this paper.

Song Shanzhang wondered what kind of person this Zhuge Yunshu was, how her brain worked, and why she knew so much at such a young age.