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

A little over a month passed in the blink of an eye.

As April arrives, the weather is already quite comfortable, with clear water, branches hanging down, and flocks of ducks paddling in the water.

Those who participate in the prefectural examination cannot slack off; they must be extremely careful and attentive, because passing the prefectural examination means becoming a student of the lowest rank.

Although the title of Tongsheng is not considered a formal academic qualification, it is a crucial test for obtaining the qualification for the provincial examination and the first step into the imperial examination system.

After assigning her father and grandfather enough homework for ten days, Jiang Xiaoqi finally felt at ease and went into the room.

In April, the prefectural examination began, with the examination subjects divided into three sessions: Classical Texts, Miscellaneous Essays, and Policy Essays, which tested memorization, literary skills, and current affairs, respectively.

The prefectural examination admitted fifty people, divided into two classes, A and B. The top ten were in Class A, and the first place was the prefectural chief examiner.

Xinghe Prefecture has a total of sixteen counties. Assuming that 50 candidates from each county pass the county examination, at least 900 people will participate in the prefectural examination this time.

With a ratio of 900 to 50, the admission rate seems quite high, right?

But this doesn't even include those who took the county exam last year but failed the prefectural exam.

If we include all these people, the number in the denominator will only become larger.

If you include everyone, it would be almost one in every thirty people to be selected, which is much more difficult than the one in twelve selections during the county examination.

Of course, the acceptance rate for the later provincial and ministerial examinations was even lower, and the difficulty of passing the exams was even greater. Usually, a medium-sized county would only produce a dozen or so successful candidates every three years.

Therefore, becoming a scholar (秀才) was extremely valuable in this era, representing the first step into the privileged class. It granted them the privilege and dignity of not having to kneel before officials or be shackled.

Imagine a family with a scholar who passed the imperial examinations; they would have a respectable position even with the highest-ranking official in a county.

If a village has a scholar who has passed the imperial examinations, the yamen runners will not dare to kick the bucket when the government collects taxes.

In the village, if anyone needed to go to the government office for something, it would be much easier if a scholar stepped in.

Therefore, although scholars could not become officials, they still enjoyed considerable influence and prestige in villages and towns.

Of course, a well-managed scholar could also amass some wealth, and although he was a poor scholar, he was still comparable to a successful candidate in the imperial examinations.

Compared to ordinary people who toil in the fields, even if they weren't high-level professionals, they were definitely white-collar workers in ancient times.

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On the day of the prefectural examination, Jiang Xiaoqi only brought Wenbin and Li Mo with him. His two masters, Lin and Zhao, remained at their posts, responsible for the gate security of the Jiang family.

No matter how much Jiang the landlord and Jiang Wenqing tried to persuade him, Jiang Xiaoqi remained unmoved. He simply refused to leave the house unless the mock exam questions met the admission standards.

Landlord Jiang & Jiang Wenqing: Your Majesty, I cannot do it!

If you can't do it, then just work hard at home!

Upon arriving at the examination hall, I met up with several fellow students from the clan school. We checked each other's information and then lined up to enter.

The first exam, which tested calligraphy skills, mainly focused on memory and dictation, and was not difficult for Jiang Xiaoqi.

After all, I spend every day in the study space, surrounded by the system playing various books that I need to memorize.

The second exam was for essay writing, and the third exam was for policy discussions. This exam tested candidates' understanding of current affairs, which was not very favorable for candidates whose families did not have officials.

Of course, there are also exceptionally talented individuals who are self-taught geniuses, but the majority are ordinary people without any background.

When it comes to current affairs, one either relies on personal understanding or seeks out connections to learn some basic information from the county magistrate.

To find out more, one would need to obtain some of the latest official gazettes from the imperial court.

This is also the only thing Jiang Xiaoqi is willing to exchange points for from the system.

Therefore, I was somewhat confident about the third policy debate.

The three exams lasted three days, and the results of the prefectural exams were released three to four days later.

In the days leading up to the results of the prefectural examination, Jiang Xiaoqi continued to watch the two candidates study diligently, and during this time, he also secretly fed his grandfather and father brain-boosting pills.

The two of them were quite determined; unable to go out, they spent their days, apart from eating and sleeping, following the daily plan set by Jiang Xiaoqi step by step.

Compared to two months ago, the progress has been quite rapid, but at this pace, the chances of being admitted to the college entrance examination this year are still not high.

Therefore, we need to provide extra meals for the two of them in the remaining two months.

Jiang Xiaoqi felt that he had been too lenient, increasing his study time from four to six hours a day to twelve hours a day.

I'm constantly juggling work, even when I'm not eating or sleeping.

On the day the results were announced, Jiang Xiaoqi did not release the two people in his family who were studying diligently.

It wasn't until the messenger arrived at the Jiang family home with good news that Lin Feng and Zhao Shengnan, the two "door gods," showed mercy and opened the gate to let the two former students out to see the good fortune.

The two people who had been reborn almost dared not step out the door, fearing that they would be beaten up the moment they stepped out, and that would be a real beating.

The people were hired by Jiang Xiaoqi, so they won't listen to them. Although they might be careful with their strength, it won't look good on them.

Fortunately, my daughter-in-law and granddaughter were delayed in coming to the prefectural city due to some matters, otherwise it would have been even more embarrassing.

The person who brought the good news received a reward, and loads of flattering words poured out, as if they had been professionally trained.

More than a dozen strings of firecrackers, each with a thousand shots, were set off, drawing out all the neighbors to offer their congratulations.

Landlord Jiang wanted to throw a large banquet again, but he felt his grandson might have a reason to wait for him, such as waiting until the three of them passed the provincial examination together before celebrating...

It must be said that Landlord Jiang knew his grandson very well.

Being a top scholar in the provincial examinations is not his end, nor should being a student of the lowest level of the imperial examinations be the end for his father and grandfather.

To live is to be active, and a family should be together in an orderly fashion.

The provincial examination was taken by three generations of people. Once they passed the annual examination, they became students, also known as scholars.

Becoming a Xiucai (a scholar who passed the county-level imperial examination) is only the first step. To participate in the provincial-level imperial examination, one must first pass the provincial-level examination to qualify for the title of Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examination).

Having secured the top score in the county government examination, one would naturally become a strong contender for the top three honors in the provincial examination, making the competition for the provincial examination even more intense.

After all, the number of students who had not taken the provincial examination over the years was still quite considerable, although not all students would participate in the provincial examination.

But anyone who feels there's hope will still give it a shot; they'll fight hard and turn barren land into gold.

Among them are certainly some who were the top county government officials last year or even the year before. Everyone started from the same point, but there can only be one "small three-in-one" (a title that earns the top honors in the county government).

If the writing is of similar quality, the person with better looks might have an advantage.

If they are all similar, then it depends on the examiner's preference. For example, the examiner may like your handwriting or your writing style.

That's a matter of opinion; it all comes down to luck.

It can be said that winning the triple crown requires both luck and skill.