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

Jiang Xiaoqi hasn't used the Worry-Free Pen in a long time.

With the blessing of the Marrow Cleansing Pill, and the addition of learning martial arts and archery from Master Lin, I rarely experience wrist pain or lack of energy anymore.

Even after writing large characters for five consecutive hours, he was still full of energy and refreshed.

In two months, the newly acquired official script style has become quite proficient, and the handwriting is so neat that it is impossible to tell that it was written by a six-year-old child.

Between the lines, there is a calm and dignified demeanor.

A month before the county examination, the county government had already issued a notice announcing the specific examination date.

This month is also the registration period for the county examination. Applicants need to fill out forms such as personal testimonies, mutual agreements, and written pledges.

The personal statement contains the candidate's specific information, including name, age, place of origin, physique, physical characteristics, and details about the parents and three generations.

The mutual guarantee involved five candidates vouching for each other; if one of them cheated, the other four would be held jointly liable. This was a point that Landlord Jiang had repeatedly emphasized to several families.

The "guarantee" involves having a local scholar provide a guarantee, ensuring that the candidate's family background is clean and that their identity has not been falsified.

The students were recruited through connections at the county school arranged by landlord Jiang, and each family had to pay a guarantee fee of about two to five taels of silver.

Two ounces is the minimum; some families with better financial situations may give more, but the exact amount is entirely up to the individual.

The county examination consists of five sessions, each lasting one day. Students return on the same day of the examination and do not need to stay overnight at the examination venue.

Only candidates who pass the first round can participate in the second round of exams; those who fail the first round do not need to come back for the second round.

The top 20 students in the first exam are officially admitted, while the remaining students will have to go through several more exams to determine the final admission list.

Many candidates who pass the first round of formal admission do not choose to participate in the subsequent exams.

Generally speaking, the number of people admitted in the county-level examination is determined proportionally based on the county's population and the number of test takers, with a minimum of three people per county.

Larger counties generally admit fewer than 50 students. In special cases, the county magistrate may apply to a higher level to increase the number of students, but such cases are rare.

The top scorer in the county examination is called the county's top scholar. If there are no surprises, the top scorer in both the county and prefectural examinations is basically the default candidate for the title of Xiucai (a scholar who has passed the county-level imperial examination).

Those who pass the county or prefectural examinations with top honors are basically guaranteed a spot as a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations) as long as they don't do anything like running naked in the examination hall during the provincial examinations.

Jiang Xiaoqi's initial decision was not to take the county-level examination, but what if she actually became the top scholar in the county...

He might change his original plan, after all, this would avoid confronting the venomous snake lurking in the shadows.

Since one can become a minor scholar, why not?

Although a six-year-old scholar is a bit too conspicuous, he is not in a hurry to take the provincial examination or go to the prefectural school.

During this time, you can either visit the great Confucian scholar introduced by the Liu family, travel and study, or continue to hone your martial arts skills and find a suitable martial arts manual—anything is fine with you!

Stay away from the crowd, develop stealthily, and then make a name for yourself.

Ahem~ I've gone off on a tangent.

Only candidates who pass the county examination are eligible to participate in the prefectural examination, which requires candidates to travel to the prefecture where their household registration is located.

In other words, if Jiang Xiaoqi passes the county examination, he will have to go to Xinghe Prefecture for the prefectural examination.

The prefectural examination was presided over by the prefect, and the process was basically the same as the county examination. The first session was the main session, and the first place winner was the top scorer in the prefectural examination.

The number of people admitted to the prefectural examination was generally less than 100. Xinghe Prefecture had more than a dozen counties, so the number of applicants for the prefectural examination should have been quite considerable.

Candidates who passed the prefectural examination obtained the ticket to participate in the provincial examination, which was presided over by the provincial education commissioner (who was appointed by the emperor from among the Hanlin scholars).

The provincial examination and the county examination were held twice a year, unlike the provincial examination which was held twice every three years.

The educational officials would travel to each prefecture in batches to conduct examinations, one main examination and one re-examination. Those who passed were called students, also known as scholars, with the top scorer being the head of the academy.

However, compared to the candidates who participated in the prefectural examination, the number of candidates admitted through the academy examination was even smaller, with only about 50 people admitted in total.

Therefore, those who could pass the imperial examination to become Xiucai were considered to have overcome numerous obstacles and were selected from among hundreds of talented individuals.

Candidates admitted through the imperial examination were divided into three classes: Linsheng, Zengsheng, and Fusheng. Linsheng were formal students, also known as Linshan students, who received a stipend of rice or silver from the imperial court every year.

Students who received stipends could provide guarantees for the examinations of students preparing for the imperial examinations and earn income, which was a considerable sum and the main source of income for most of them.

However, the number of students receiving stipends was limited, generally forty for prefectural schools, thirty for state schools, and twenty for county schools.

Since the number of subsidized students was limited, an additional student body was established outside of the subsidized students, namely, an expanded student body with the same number of places as the subsidized students. If a vacancy became available for the subsidized students, they could become a subsidized student through an examination.

"Wenbin, is the test basket packed?"

"Alright, young master, but really, aren't you going to bring any food? We'll be taking exams all day long; how will we have the energy to do the questions if we don't eat?"

February was still very cold, and you couldn't wear clothes with layers to the exam. Jiang Xiaoqi wore five or six layers of single-layer clothing and then put on a rabbit fur cloak.

"The examination room security... no, during the examination room check, they also check all the items you bring in. Snacks and steamed buns will be crushed into crumbs by the guards."

They definitely won't wash their hands before coming in, and I'd rather endure it than eat something unclean and get diarrhea.

Besides, I'll try my best to come out when the first batch of students are released. You wait for me outside the exam hall with the food box, and I'll eat as soon as I get out.

"Oh? Is that so? Well, alright then, I'll have my mother make salted egg and chicken congee, and add some finely chopped green vegetables. I guarantee it will warm the young master and soothe his stomach!"

Jiang Xiaoqi just likes pageboys like Wenbin, hmm, easy to fool~ no need for too much talk.

With the fasting pills obtained from the system, you won't have to worry about food even if you take the exam for three days and three nights.

However, you still need to drink water; clean water is provided in the examination room.

After checking all the items he needed to carry with him again and confirming that everything was in order, he put the exam basket directly into the exquisite space.

There's no other way; nothing makes me feel as at ease as keeping it in the space.

Even if someone wants to stuff something into the exam basket, frame someone, or do something bad, they still have to find their exam basket first, right?

I already took a nap during the day, so I won't feel sleepy even if I wake up at 3 AM.

As night deepened, Jiang Xiaoqi went into the study space again, taking advantage of the two hours before getting up to look at books related to mathematics.

Give your brain a break from the recent poisoning of official writing styles, the Four Books and Five Classics, and examination poems.

I feel a little guilty towards the four people I've bonded with, because of my own concerns, they all have to get up around 3 AM.

Ah, I hope everything goes well tomorrow. Amitabha, Infinite Heavenly Venerable, Amen.