The daily life of a peasant girl taking the imperial examination

Since Senior Brother Xie has said so, Zhuge Yunshu and the other two exchanged glances and then said in unison:

"The green hills remain unchanged!"

"May the green waters flow forever!"

"Take care, senior brother. We'll meet again someday!"

Xie Yu: "......"

What happened to your reluctance to part ways?

Xie Yu covered his embarrassment by pressing his fist to his lips.

"Don't be anxious. Your senior brother is just recruiting people—oh, he's not very good at expressing himself, but what he said was from the bottom of his heart. Let's wait for him to finish speaking..." Master Wang thought to himself, "I'm just trying to be helpful in saving the day."

Xie Yu: "???"

Who exactly is he annoying to?

There was no other way, so he cleared his throat and continued, "The difficulty of the imperial examination is like a path to heaven. Some people rise to prominence through it, while others fail miserably. Since you have chosen this path, you must all be people with great ambitions. Now, a better opportunity is presented to you. My fellow students are so intelligent, I'm sure you know how to choose."

Xie Yu paused for a moment, raised his head, and glanced at Zhuge Yunshu and the other two. He sighed with a hint of helplessness, "I know I've been a bit long-winded, but I still hope you can seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

He knew that this matter was quite difficult, but for some reason, he and his teacher felt that Junior Brother Zhang and Junior Sister Wang had boundless potential.

In particular, these two people's ability to withstand blows is absolutely extraordinary.

If Zhang Hao and Wang Yi could hear Xie Yu's inner thoughts, they would definitely complain without hesitation: "How could I not be used to being constantly criticized by Junior Sister Yun Shu!"

After listening to Xie Yu's words, which were both emotional and reasonable, it would be a lie to say that Zhuge Yunshu and the other two were not moved, especially Zhang Hao. After hesitating for a long time, he finally voiced his concerns.

"Thank you, Senior Brother. It's not that I'm backing down, but there are only twenty spots in the entire Pingchuan Prefecture. That means each county only has two spots on average. Take our Linxi County for example, it's like ten town schools competing for those two spots. Besides, with Junior Sister Yun Shu and Junior Sister Wang as shining examples, I..."

Zhang Hao became more and more frustrated as he spoke. If it were possible, he would also like to be one of them, but unfortunately, the number of spots was limited, and he was well aware of this.

Zhuge Yunshu was also deeply moved at this moment. This opportunity was equivalent to a prestigious provincial university recruiting twenty students from a lower-level institution in his previous life. It was easy to imagine how fierce the competition would be.

Unexpectedly, living in ancient times, she actually possessed this selection qualification. In fact, this was something she would never have dared to dream of in her previous life.

"Hmph! It's all thanks to this system," the system said arrogantly.

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

Well, what you said makes sense.

“Junior Brother Zhang, you’re probably overthinking it. This is a talent selection process, and there are no regional restrictions. As long as the final score is within the top twenty, even if there are more than a dozen people from Yunshui Town, we still have to follow the rules,” Xie Yu explained with a smile.

Zhang Hao: ......

In the end, he was just overthinking it.

“Besides the formal selection process, isn’t there another way to obtain the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations)?” Master Wang added, glancing meaningfully at Zhuge Yunshu after speaking.

“That’s true. Junior Sister Yun Shu’s abilities are certainly not enough to warrant this selection process,” Xie Yu quickly echoed Master Wang’s words.

Zhuge Yunshu: ???

She finally understood what the Master and Senior Brother Xie were up to with their back-and-forth banter; they were waiting for her here!

There was no other way; his thoughts coincided with theirs. So he bowed to the Master and said, "This disciple will do his utmost."

In fact, Zhuge Yunshu had his own selfish reasons for making this choice.

In this era, passing the imperial examination to become a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations) not only exempted one's family from taxes and corvée labor, but also granted preferential treatment in criminal matters and special privileges in clothing. Furthermore, some Xiucai who were granted official positions received an annual stipend, equivalent to a modern scholarship. All things considered, this not only saved the family a large sum of money but also provided additional income. In short, passing the Xiucai examination had many benefits.

On the contrary, if she were directly selected by the county school, she would have to study diligently for six years. Although she would be able to obtain the title of Juren upon graduation, it would take too long. Could she wait that long? Could her family and clansmen wait that long?

After all, the clan had given their family the best resources. Over time, other clan members would inevitably be happy about it. She needed to produce some results in time to silence the gossips.

Even the emperor in the capital would be happy to see a nine-year-old scholar pass the imperial examination!

When Master Wang and Xie Yu heard Zhuge Yunshu's reply, they couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

You see, after spending some time together, they discovered that Zhuge Yunshu and the others had a lazy and complacent personality. If they weren't given a whip, they would have stopped there and never made any progress.

This is also what worries them the most.

After all, geniuses aren't scary; what's scary is when they lack ambition.

If Zhuge Yunshu knew what they were thinking, he would definitely exclaim: First impressions can be deadly!

It was getting late, and Zhuge Yunshu and the others should set off.

Seeing the pile of gifts from the county magistrate, Xie Yu considerately offered them his carriage.

Although Zhuge Yunshu was eager to go home, at this final moment of parting, he couldn't help but tear up, albeit only a little.

Xie Yu bowed to each of them according to etiquette. When he got to Zhuge Yunshu, he wanted to pat her head, but then he thought that they were not his own siblings, so he put his hand down, leaned closer, and whispered, "When you get to the county town, I will introduce you to two people."

Zhuge Yunshu: "..."

Well, seeing Senior Brother Xie like this, she thought he had some great secret!

Compared to her and Wang Yi's subtle reluctance to part, Zhang Hao was much more conscientious.

He sniffled and choked out, "Thank you, senior brother. We should go now. Take care. I will definitely try my best to get this spot and not let you and the teacher down."

Zhuge Yunshu and Wang Yi looked at each other, their eyes slightly red, and comforted themselves: they were just not good at expressing themselves, yes, that's it.

Xie Yu nodded and took a careful look at the people in front of him. He hadn't expected that, apart from the teacher, the short time they spent together would make him feel reluctant to part.

The scions who are carefully nurtured by prominent families are all hard-hearted, and such a situation is extremely rare since he became aware of it.

I have to say, it feels great.

The morning sunlight seemed to gild the carriage. Zhuge Yunshu and the others boarded the carriage one by one. The carriage wheels creaked and groaned as they traveled on the stone road. Xie Yu stood at the entrance of the county school inn until the carriage had gone far away before he returned to the inn.

This parting is now, and I don't know when we will meet again.

"Hopefully next year!"