Chapter 75

"Mother, the imperial examination relies on talent, second on natural ability, and third on luck. If the luck is bad, I might not pass the autumn examination this year. At this moment, I really can't be distracted."

This natural ability has many meanings, including the mental state during the exam. Some people usually perform well, but their mental state cannot keep up during the exam, and the knowledge they learned before becomes a mess in their minds. There is also patience and control. Even if the grades are not good, one can still perform well by answering the questions they know first and leaving the difficult ones for later. Even if the grades are good, one can perform poorly by writing without thinking and being the first to submit the paper. That is not a hero but a fool. Why not think carefully and make the answers more correct? Especially during the imperial examination, there is more time, so there is no need to rush to submit the paper.

Qin Shi stammered.

The imperial examination means more in this era. What if it delays my son-in-law's future?

Wang Ju consoled, "Mother, Fei'er is even praised by my teacher's wife. Whether she will be called out at the Donghua Gate in the future or not, I will not betray her."

Li Fei'er is quite cute. Unless she changes drastically after growing up, why would I betray her?

However, Wang Ju genuinely disliked the idea of getting married at this time.

In ancient times, they counted age in nominal years, so one year was counted from birth. Li Fei'er is fifteen in nominal years, but actually only fourteen. He is not like the inhuman principal Chen Zaipeng or the inhuman beast master Ke Yubei. Even if he gets married three years later, he feels that he has entered the 'new era.'

"Mother, I hate the most when couples, who are supposed to share the same fate, fly apart when disaster strikes. What are couples? They share both good and bad times, and never abandon each other."

"Hehe, you, a little devil."

With these words, Qin Shi had nothing to worry about.

After Wang Ju finished speaking, he took his younger brother and sister to find a private school.

Erlang was also growing up, and she could no longer keep up with her brother in the private school. However, it was not a big problem for now. This would have to wait until after the spring examination next year. If he passed by chance, he would have to take her with him to his new post, not knowing where it would be. If he did not pass, he would think of other ways. The key was that he did not trust the Yan Prefecture School at all.

"Big brother, what a big house."

"Shh, the Li family's house is even bigger."

"That is the Li family's house."

"Third brother, your sister is right. No matter how good the house, it belongs to the Li family. But you must believe that in the future, we will have an even bigger and better house."

"Big brother, I will definitely help you when I grow up."

"Third brother, I don't need your help, but you must work hard."

"Then how can I repay Big brother?"

"Silly, we are brothers, what talk of repayment?"

The Li family servant leading the way shuddered, feeling very moved. Why were his own children so disobedient?

On the way, Erlang and San Niu looked around in amazement. Although they had come to Yan Prefecture during the Lantern Festival last year, the city still dazzled them.

"Brother, Yan Prefecture is much bigger than Yunyan."

"Of course, Yunyan is just a small county. However, Yan Prefecture is not that big. Bianliang is at least dozens of times bigger."

"How big would that be?"

Wang Ju had a sudden idea and asked, "Little sister, do you want to go to the capital?"

"Yes."

"If there is a chance, I will take you to the capital in winter."

"Really or not?"

"Nine out of ten times, it's true."

Erlang immediately jumped with joy.

Actually, even the capital of Tokyo (Bianliang) was not considered big in Wang Ju's mind. It probably had a population of over a million, and if you include the floating population, it might have over two million residents. In his time, cities with over two million residents were not rare.

However, in terms of internal governance, the Song Dynasty was indeed remarkable. In this era of backward productivity and a historically small territory of less than three million square kilometers, the actual controlled area might not exceed two million square kilometers. Yet, it managed to have over twenty million households, which was a miracle in ancient history.

Unfortunately, the military was weak.

After settling in, Wang Ju immediately went to the prefectural school.

Without any recommendation from the candidates, several professors in the prefectural school even came out to greet him personally and led him in.

Moreover, Wang Ju made a good impression on the professors on his first day of class.

In terms of scholarship, these people were far inferior to Zhang Zai, and even collectively, they were not as good as Wang Ju at this time. However, for review, three people walking together, one must be a teacher, so it was not bad to listen. Wang Ju not only listened attentively but also thought while listening.

However, Wang Ju soon saw the true face of the Yan Prefecture School. While a class was in session, several students were playing sumo at the door, and students kept walking out to watch, cheering on the side.

"Is this a school?" Wang Ju was speechless.

Professor Meng could not bear to see it and waved his hand, saying, "Everyone, do as you please."

Then he left the classroom with the "Book of Rites," probably running back to drink tea in anger.

As soon as he left, the remaining students rushed out.

"Xu Daren, try harder, try harder." Many students cheered for the student who was at a disadvantage.

"Is this the prefectural school?" Wang Ju asked Li Wan yuan in surprise.

"Not often, that is Xu Daren, and that is Niu Er. The Xu family and the Zhu family have a good relationship, but they are very hostile to the Niu family. Because of the Zhu family, the Ding family was ruined, and the conflict between the Xu family and the Niu family intensified. These two probably had a conflict when they came to school and started fighting."

Can't they fight in the prefectural school? So they are competing in sumo.

As Li Wan yuan finished speaking, Xu Daren was viciously pinned to the ground by Niu Er, who also punched him repeatedly, saying, "I'll teach you to be arrogant. Next time, I'll beat you up every time I catch you."

"Doesn't the professor do anything?"

"Little one, they are all from wealthy families. How can the professor dare to manage them?"

"Alright, I will study at home in the future."

Xu Daren was beaten up with a bruised face, not daring to make a sound. Niu Er stood up victoriously and saw Wang Ju, "Kid, I heard you are good. Let's compete?"

If it were a fight, Wang Ju was not afraid. He had been consistently training with the eldest son of Quan's family for several years, not just for show. However, in sumo, Niu Er was twice as big as Wang Ju.

Wang Ju did not want to cause trouble and tried to turn back, but Niu Er did not let go, pulling his arm, "Kid, are you scared?"

"Niu Er, I am not good at sumo, but I know how to kill," Wang Ju's face turned cold. He did not want to cause trouble, but he was not afraid of it.

"Ha ha, go ahead and kill."

"I led a group of villagers to kill hundreds of Western Xia soldiers in Wang Family Village. I just nodded, and a wealthy family was ruined. Are you sure you want me to take action against you?"

Niu Er laughed at first, but suddenly stopped. He thought of the Ding family, which was indeed ruined!

"However, this is the prefectural school, not a martial arts club. You come here to study Confucianism, not sumo. How about we make a bet?"

"What kind of bet?"

"I will give you a couplet. If you can come up with a matching line within half a month, I will bow to you and step aside three paces whenever I see you. If you can't, you will bow to me and step aside three paces whenever you see me."

"Bet it!" Niu Er immediately said. It must be a difficult couplet, but it doesn't matter. Wang Ju said half a month, so if he can't come up with it, can't he ask someone else?

"Everyone, be witnesses."

"Good." The other students cheered, and even a few professors were alarmed and came over.

"Listen carefully, 'Smoke locks the pond willow.' Please come up with a matching line in half a month."

"This is easy, I can think of it right away."

"Hehe, don't be careless. It involves the five elements—metal, wood, water, fire, and earth—and the poetic mood." Wang Ju laughed and walked back to the classroom.

This is the real competition. In martial arts, can you lead a group of villagers to defeat several times the number of Western Xia soldiers and win a great victory?

In wisdom, can you make a wealthy family bankrupt with just a nod?

In literature, can you come up with a matching line for the couplet I give you?

Then Niu Er was dumbfounded...