Chapter 805 Everyone Receives a Reward

After the first monthly exam, the second parent-teacher conference was held.

Lady Pang and Lady Huainan were dressed very modestly and sat quietly in the crowd, afraid of attracting attention.

The two women knew their son's character very well; he was a lazy bum who only occasionally showed ambition... It had been a month since his last trip to Linxi, and the regret and enthusiasm he felt then had probably long since vanished. He might have been relatively well-behaved at school during this time, but he was definitely not as good as the others... His ranking on the list was definitely at the bottom.

The thought of a public execution every month throughout the year made Lady Pang and Lady Huainan wish they were dead.

As for their husbands, they said they had matters to attend to at court and were unwilling to appear, leaving the women to bear this embarrassing moment alone.

When the time came, the King of Qin appeared on the stage with his teachers.

"This is our school's second parent-teacher meeting. The main purpose is to report to all of you parents on the students' performance at the school this month," King Qin said. "Overall, all the students have performed well, which has given me a glimpse of the bright future of Xiao Qin University. Next, Dr. Tao and Mr. Cheng will each give a detailed account of the students' specific performance."

Dr. Tao stepped forward first, coughed, and began, "I'll mainly talk about the children's progress in terms of daily life. The university doesn't allow students to bring maids or servants, which means that students have to do everything themselves. At first, many students weren't used to it. It was common for them not to change their clothes for three to five days, and it was also normal for them to wear only one sock each. It was also common for their hair to be messy..."

Mentioning this made the parents below feel heartbroken.

The child comes home every five days, and every time he comes home his clothes are wrinkled and his hair is messy, which looks pitiful.

They, as parents, have people to take care of them, so how could they bear to see their child suffer? But since they've sent their child to school, they have to abide by the school's rules, and can only restrain themselves from feeling sorry for the child...

"But after more than a month, the students have all made progress," Dr. Tao said with satisfaction. "It's not that they've done exceptionally well, but rather that they've gradually come to understand that they should take responsibility for their own work, learn to do their jobs well, and learn to shoulder their own duties. That's the most valuable thing..."

"My Qingsong doesn't need anyone to help him take a bath anymore."

"Speaking of which, my son Jian'er has made progress. The other day he wouldn't even let me dress him."

“When Jie’er was studying, he needed more than a dozen people to take care of him, feeding him water, snacks, and grinding his own food. Now he can do it all by himself.”

"..."

Parents can reflect on their children's progress and notice the changes. Their children have learned to rely on themselves, which is a good thing.

After Dr. Tao finished his report, Cheng Wanwan came out.

As soon as she stepped onto the stage, the parents below immediately tensed up, because what she was about to report was the most crucial information.

"The results of the first monthly exam are out. The monthly exam scores and points are calculated into a total score according to a certain ratio, forming the monthly ranking." Cheng Wanwan opened the booklet in her hand. "Now, I will read the monthly ranking to everyone."

The room immediately fell silent.

The students who were supposed to be studying in the classrooms have all secretly slipped away to the edge of the square. They are still unaware of the monthly ranking results.

"First place, Peng Wang."

He came in first place, which didn't surprise anyone. If someone else had surpassed him, it would only mean that there was something fishy about Peng Wang's status as a scholar.

The second through ninth place students were all scholars in the class.

"Tenth place, Dou Qingsong."

Madam Dou's eyes suddenly lit up: "My Qingsong is too outstanding, he actually got tenth place!"

Her son had always wanted to learn martial arts, but the whole family forbade him to touch any weapons, which finally extinguished his desire and made him focus on his studies. However, he couldn't concentrate on his studies, and she thought that was all there was to him. Unexpectedly, he made progress at Xiao Qin Academy... Although being ranked tenth doesn't mean much, as long as her son could concentrate on his studies and learn a foreign language, then the Dou family would have a chance to send him to the Court of State Ceremonies...

Among the next dozen or so names, three scions of prominent families appeared.

When their mothers heard that their sons were at the front of the line, they burst into tears of joy, their happiness beyond words.

In the past, they always felt ashamed of their son, but at this moment, they were proud of him.

"Twenty-fourth place, Pang Jie."

"Twenty-eighth place, Li Jian."

Lady Pang and Lady Huainan looked at each other in disbelief and then, unable to resist, grasped each other's hands.

Li Jian and Pang Jie, who were eavesdropping nearby, were also shocked.

They actually got in the twenties! That's unbelievable... So, it turns out that as long as you put in just a little effort, you can be better than others?

Only Peng Wang knew that everyone in this class was actually on the same starting line, because the subjects at Xiao Qin Academy were different from what he had studied before. Everyone was standing at the same starting point, and the competition was about who worked harder and who had more talent... When everyone's talent and aptitude were similar, hard work became especially valuable.

"Actually, I haven't studied much either." Li Jian scratched his chin. "If we study for half an hour more every day, we should be able to get into the top twenty next time."

Pang Jie snorted: "My goal is to be in the top ten."

He realized that studying wasn't as difficult as he had imagined...

Cheng Wanwan continued reading the names until she reached the last one.

The ladies at the very end of the line looked embarrassed, wishing they could disappear into a hole in the ground.

“Madam Zhou and Madam Yang, there’s no need for that,” Cheng Wanwan said gently. “I’ve seen their exam papers from the Imperial Academy. Compared to their previous performances, they’ve improved a lot. If they can’t beat others right now, that’s okay. They should compare themselves to their past selves. As long as they surpass their previous performance each time, it means they’re making progress, and that’s something to be encouraged.”

The expressions of the ladies at the end of the list softened somewhat.

Cheng Wanwan put down the booklet and said with a smile, "All fifty-four students have improved, so this time, everyone will receive an improvement award. Don't hide there, come up on stage to receive your awards."

This time, the prize is a wolf-hair brush sponsored by the Emperor, which is a tribute from the Western Regions and is extremely precious.

Fifty-four people, fifty-four pens.

Though seemingly insignificant, its meaning is profound.

Everyone present understood that this was the Emperor's high regard for the students; the very essence of the emperor and his subjects was contained in this single pen.

This parent-teacher meeting has come to a successful conclusion.

And the reputation of Xiao Qin Academy finally spread.

"I heard that those spoiled brats have all become more ambitious, and several of them even did better than the scholar in the imperial examination."

"Could it be that those spoiled brats bribed or threatened the teachers grading the papers to get their scores at the top?"

"The King of Qin personally supervises the examiners' review of the papers. Who would dare to cause trouble under the King of Qin's nose? Moreover, Lady Sui would not allow such a thing to happen."

"So, this Xiao Qin Academy really does have some merit?"

"Let's see how things go this year. If it really helps the child succeed, I'll send my good-for-nothing son over there to try next year."

"..."