After being reborn as a man, the woman improved her family's fortunes through education.

When the county school instructor, Kong, opened the letter, he was taken aback.

Arithmetic?

Alright, it's exactly what I'm good at. It's not a big deal to release ten or eight of them tomorrow.

We have to give Lord Jiang some face, after all, he has just been promoted and is now a fifth-rank official, which is much higher than my mere instructor.

He didn't call anyone to serve him; he rolled up his sleeves, ground the ink himself, thought for a moment, and quickly put pen to paper.

At the same time, several private schools in Xinghe Prefecture City, whose teachers were skilled in mathematics, received letters from the prefectural governor.

After a quick look, without giving it any further thought, some started creating problems, while others dug out their most treasured problems—those they couldn't even solve themselves—which would come in handy!

This isn't about making things difficult for myself; since we're exchanging ideas on mathematics, we need some challenging problems to be presented.

The next morning, as dawn broke.

Sunlight streamed through the clouds, casting a golden glow. In front of the Jiang Clan School, a green-canopied horse-drawn carriage and four sedan chairs stood in a row.

There were already people there to welcome Instructor Kong and the teachers from the four private schools.

As soon as Instructor Kong and his entourage stepped out of the carriage, they saw several teachers from the Jiang family school. Among them was one who, although not a teacher of the family school, was a trusted advisor to Lord Jiang Changqing.

Like the other teachers, this one was also eagerly anticipating the arrival of the students.

The group felt a sense of comfort; yes, it felt good to be valued.

Jiang Changqing's advisor stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said with a smile, "Thank you all for making this trip. Tea and snacks have been prepared at the clan school. Please come in and rest for a while."

Everyone returned the greetings, and after some pleasantries, the clerk led them into the school, with the teachers following behind.

Tea and snacks were already laid out in the hall, along with tables, chairs, paper, and pens. Everyone was initially surprised, but quickly understood.

Instructor Kong sat down first and picked up his teacup.

Seeing this, the other teachers also took their seats and drank their tea.

After everyone was seated, the advisor revealed the purpose of Jiang Changqing's invitation.

Wow! The renowned Chiang Clan School has actually encountered such a problem!

If this is true, even if the reputation of the Jiang clan school isn't completely ruined, its status in Xinghe Prefecture will certainly drop.

Hey, this Lord Jiang is really something else. He learned this from his family, and instead of keeping it a secret and handling it privately, he actually invited these "competitors" from the outside world. What was he thinking?

Not only Instructor Jiang of the county school, but also the other four thought so.

What kind of tactic is this? Is it a case of "what's the use of trying"?

No! Touching the difficult math problem in their pockets, the group suppressed their thoughts and waited for the Jiang family's next move.

After a cup of tea, Jiang Changqing arrived in person.

After a series of greetings, everyone finally got the answer from Lord Jiang: the difficult problem they had racked their brains to come up with was actually for a student who was not even six years old.

Jiang Xiaoqi appeared at the opportune moment and greeted the county school's instructor and several private school teachers with great courtesy.

Several people said: "This child is as beautiful as snow and jade, and he looks quite intelligent."

But this child is probably only a few years old and has only recently started learning.

Trying to solve such a difficult problem is probably a joke.

What? This kid is the one who was rumored to have cheated on the monthly exam in Class A?

Oh, that's okay.

Doing a few more questions to prove one's ability is a good idea, but it's too risky.

Who knows how difficult the questions they'll ask? You, Magistrate Jiang, didn't even give us any advance notice, only saying it was for learning and exchange.

These people will certainly use all their skills. What they bring is not just difficult problems, but also unsolved mysteries from incomplete mathematical scrolls!

Isn't this bullying a child?

Despite their thoughts, the group still presented the traps they had carefully dug—no, the test questions they had meticulously prepared.

One, two, three, four, five sets of exam questions were laid out in a row, as if they had planned it together, and the paper size was exactly the same.

Jiang Xiaoqi: This five-court joint trial shows that the people from the clan school have really angered their great-uncle.

It's just math problems. As long as they don't present them with problems that require graduate-level difficulty, these five people will go easy on them.

He wanted to clear his name and Master Yan's name. He believed that once this ordeal was over, no one would question his achievements anymore, and Master Yan would not be implicated or subjected to this unwarranted slander.

Reputation is of paramount importance to scholars and educators; those who initially spread the rumors must have been well aware of this.

Although I don't know who I offended, I must have been in someone's way to be targeted by such a despicable and childish tactic.

However, they consistently miscalculated one thing: rumors are no match for absolute power.

Today, I, this young master, will teach you cowards a lesson!

Jiang Xiaoqi sat imposingly at the lowest desk, and like an emperor choosing a concubine, he first favored the examination paper of the county school instructor.

Excellent, a full ten questions, packed full, the handwriting is extremely small, as if they wanted to cram in even more questions. This is the type of contestant who wins by sheer quantity.

However, most of them were just word problems.

In less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Jiang Xiaoqi finished answering all the questions on the exam paper and put down her pen cleanly and neatly.

Then they proceeded to the next person—no, the next exam question.

This is a very typical algebra and geometry problem. Anyone who has gone through junior high school should be able to write down the correct answer.

Wow, they even dug a trap for me. The teacher who set the question is quite skilled.

Jiang Xiaoqi was doing her homework while praising the person who had dug a hole for her; her attitude was undeniably good.

Nervous? It's impossible for me to be nervous.

As the system was upgraded and he adapted to the King of Exams setting, he would automatically shield himself from stress and tension when facing exams of all sizes.

This wasn't something he did intentionally; it was just an added value that had accumulated over the years.

The second exam took a little longer, but only slightly longer than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

After putting down the second completed test paper, he picked up the third one without putting down his pen.

I glanced at it quickly, and hmm, this requires some high school level knowledge.

After the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn, the third portion is finished. Put it down and pick up the fourth portion.

It still took the time it takes for an incense stick to burn. This question is very similar to the one set by the county school instructor. Could they be fellow students?

This is the last one. I stretched my slightly sore wrists and picked up the last test paper.

This one is a little different; it only has three questions, making it the test paper with the fewest questions of all.

However, this particular exam paper is likely to have taken the longest to complete, simply because it is probably a fragment from a rare, unique copy.

To answer the questions, the test taker had to complete the questions themselves, which is very similar to the most common question-setting method in the imperial examinations—"intercepting and combining questions".

The first question was very tricky; the writer's hand froze for a long time before he could put pen to paper.

Jiang Changqing watched anxiously from the sidelines, regretting that he had invited this scholar from the north of the city to set the questions.

Master Chengbei: Hehe! This is a rare, well-kept book passed down through generations, a treasured heirloom! Most people wouldn't even dare show it to you!

Jiang Changqing: Well, so I have to thank your ancestors for eight generations!