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

When the man saw Jiang Xiaoqi look up, he quickly looked away.

He casually tidied up the brushes and inkstones that were already neatly arranged in front of him.

Jiang Xiaoqi didn't dwell on what the person meant; she just waited for the exam papers to be handed out, as the exam was the most important thing.

After sitting for about 15 minutes, the people who came in later also took their seats.

Three gongs sounded, and the yamen runners patrolled the examination hall with lanterns. The exam questions were displayed on boards, and candidates were required to write down the questions, fill in their seat numbers and exam numbers, and then begin writing!

After quickly jotting down the exam questions on the draft paper, Jiang Xiaoqi began to grind the ink at a leisurely pace.

Only after grinding the ink to the appropriate concentration should one begin to answer.

This was to prevent the ink from drying out before it was ground, and also to prevent the ink from being accidentally spilled by the yamen runners during the distribution of the scrolls, thus staining them.

The examiners don't care what your reason is. If you didn't read your exam paper carefully, they will disqualify you from the exam and kick you out of the exam room!

That would be such a waste. To avoid dying before even getting started, it's always best to be cautious in everything you do.

After all, those with poor handwriting and messy papers are likely to be eliminated in the first round.

There was no other way; there were just too many exam papers. The examiners would only glance at them briefly first, and in this round, they would remove the papers with dirty pages and illegible handwriting.

Only the papers that pass the test will be carefully examined to see what you wrote. This is one of the reasons why Jiang Xiaoqi practiced the official script style at the last minute.

After all, the official script is widely recognized as the most suitable font for exams. Simply put, it's easy for examiners to read and they don't need to guess what the examinee has written...

The various examinations consisted of nothing more than the Four Books, poems, Five Classics, poems, rhapsodies, essays, theories of sexuality, and imperial edicts.

The topics, poems, and essays all have certain formats and cannot violate the taboos of temple names (the names of deceased emperors), imperial names (the names of the current emperors), or the taboos of sages (the names of Confucius). The essays in the exam must be no less than three hundred words.

The first test consisted of two essays from the Four Books, a five-character, six-rhyme poem, and a long passage of imperial edicts and instructions to memorize.

Surprisingly, two extra math problems were added to the first session of the county exam.

Jiang Xiaoqi didn't pay much attention to this, since the math problems at this time weren't that incredibly difficult.

The Four Books questions are divided into those with and without a prefix. Jiang Xiaoqi naturally chose the one without a prefix, since he wouldn't reach adulthood for another fourteen years.

Jiang Xiaoqi glanced at the topic of the test poem and thought it was alright; he should be able to come up with one if he really tried.

He had considered plagiarism, but this era occasionally overlapped with historical dynasties, and there were some discrepancies in the timeline.

He was afraid that if he plagiarized the work of some already famous poet, that person would come after him demanding royalties!

Having read so many poems and essays, even if my own writing lacks a bit of inspiration, it's still better than simply being a freeloader.

Well, he felt that after six years of hard study, he had developed a bit of the so-called aloofness of a scholar.

The sky was already fully bright, and the lighting was just right for writing under the shade of the examination tent.

First, write down the Four Books questions, which take more time.

The first question in the Four Books: "To be neutral and not to rely on the powerful is a true virtue."

The second question: "Gather the people of the world, collect the goods of the world, trade and then leave, each getting what they deserve."

After completing the two questions, half the time had already passed.

Test poem: High mountains, late autumn

The two may seem unrelated, but they are not.

When people are young, they always like to climb higher and higher, to see all the mountains below.

Climb the best mountain and conquer the world!

But as people grow older, they become hesitant and fearful about conquering high mountains.

In my twilight years, I can only reminisce about my youthful days and the energetic self I once was.

The magistrate set this question to remind the young candidates to cherish their youth and not wait until they are old and frail to regret it.

Well, then I can't write in a somber, old-fashioned way; I need to write something more positive and uplifting.

First, conceive the idea on a draft, and only after polishing it to a near-perfect consistency should you copy it onto the roll of paper.

Next are two math problems. The first math problem is:

There is now a wall five feet thick, through which two rats burrow.

The rat grows one foot per day, and the mouse also grows one foot per day. The rat doubles its daily growth, while the mouse halves its daily growth.

On what day will we meet again? And what will each of us be wearing?

—From *Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art*, Chapter 1: Excess and Deficiency

It means:

There is a wall, five feet thick (about 1.2 meters), with a mouse on each side.

They dig holes towards each other, and they move at a constant speed every day.

On the first day, the two mice each dug one foot.

After that, the larger mice became more and more motivated to dig and decided to increase their speed by 100% every day, while the smaller mice refused to compete and dug 50% less every day.

When the two mice dug through this wall, how long did it take them to dig, and how far did they each dig?

The second math problem was a geometry problem, and Jiang Xiaoqi could only say, "Don't underestimate the wisdom of the ancients."

Without a calculator, it really took quite a long time to solve this problem.

Question 2:

There is also a circular field, with a central perimeter of sixty-two steps and three-quarters of a step, an outer perimeter of one hundred and thirteen steps and one-half of a step, and a diameter of twelve steps and two-thirds of a step.

How much land is there?

In plain terms, it means: there is a ring-shaped field, but it may not be a complete circle.

它的内弧长62.75步，外弧长113.5步，两条弧线间距12+2/3步。

How big is this field in total?

To solve this problem, you need to draw a rough sketch on scratch paper.

After finishing the math problems, all that was left was to memorize the imperial edict and extensive instructions, starting from "ten years of life" and ending with "since it is rare".

It's alright, not too many words.

After finishing the last part and relaxing, Jiang Xiaoqi realized she was thirsty.

After thinking about it, he decided not to ring the bell to have the yamen runner bring him a bowl of water.

After all the questions were answered, we were just waiting for everyone to hand in their papers so we could leave once we had enough people. Chrysanthemum tea was prepared in the carriage.

The first group to hand in their papers and wait to leave the examination hall are those who exit through the open gate, a process known as "releasing the cards" or "releasing the first card".

After Jiang Xiaoqi handed in her paper, she felt that familiar gaze again. She looked up and their eyes met.

If it weren't for the rule against making noise in the exam room, Jiang Xiaoqi would have really wanted to ask, "What are you looking at!?"

The person probably finally realized that they had been somewhat impolite, and continued to answer the questions with their head down.

When we arrived at the waiting area, there were already a few people waiting there.

I estimate it will open after a few more people.

Those waiting there were shocked to see a tiny baby, shorter than their legs, come out and sit with them.

Everyone: Could this be the magistrate's son? Did he come to the examination hall to play around?

However, after a moment of doubt, they accepted the fact that the doll was also a test taker.

After all, the child's attire was so similar to theirs; truly, a hero emerges from among the young...

Regardless of whether the child can pass the exam, his courage is commendable, and his family is also quite bold to allow such a young child to enter the venue.

They must be from an official family or a scholarly family, with a prestigious lineage.

Jiang Xiaoqi had no idea what others were imagining about him; he just wanted to get out and get some water as soon as possible.

Staring intently in the direction of the examination hall, longingly awaiting its arrival!