Chapter 173 Li Xiuhong's Scheme Succeeds
Aunt Wang rushed into the house and pulled Cheng Wanwan up.
Cheng Wanwan quickly tidied her hair and followed them out of the courtyard. It was still dark, but most of the villagers were awake and gathered around the big locust tree to watch the excitement.
She thought it was Widow Zhang who had come back to cause trouble, otherwise why would there be so many people surrounding them?
"It's Granny Zhang scolding Young Master Zheng." Aunt Wang said with disgust. "Young Master Zheng and Young Master Qian were staying at the village head's house just fine, but Granny Zhang insisted on having her niece bring the two young masters to stay at her house. And on the very first night, this happened."
Cheng Wanwan turned her head and saw that the two carriages parked at the entrance of the village were gone, which meant that Zheng Wangfeng and Qian Hui had left Dahe Village overnight.
"Shameless scoundrel! You just put on your pants and left. Did you really think my family was easy to bully?" Granny Zhang sat on the ground, throwing a tantrum and cursing. "I kindly invited you to live in my house, treating you to good food and drink, and you actually laid a hand on my niece! My niece is such a beautiful girl, and she's been ruined like this. It's a terrible tragedy!"
No one in Dahe Village stood on Granny Zhang's side.
"The eldest daughter of the Li family dresses up in such a flamboyant way every day. Isn't that just a blatant attempt to seduce the young masters of wealthy families?"
"I also saw her talking to Young Master Shen. Our Young Master Shen doesn't think much of this kind of woman, otherwise he would have fallen for Zhang Po Niang's tricks too."
"To be honest, Granny Zhang is really bold. She actually dared to scheme against Young Master Zheng, the son of the magistrate of Phoenix Town. If Magistrate Zheng knew that his son had been slept with by a country girl, he would probably be furious."
Granny Zhang scrambled to her feet with a roar, shouting angrily, "Zheng Wangfeng slept with a virgin! What's he so angry about? The ones who should be angry are my elder brother and sister-in-law! If Zheng Wangfeng dares to shirk responsibility, all twenty-odd members of our Li family will go to the county government office in Phoenix Town to demand an explanation! Doesn't Zheng Wangfeng still want to take the imperial examination? If the imperial court finds out he's done such a heinous thing, they definitely won't let him pass the county-level examination!"
The villagers were speechless.
Although they disliked Young Master Zheng's arrogant demeanor, they still silently sympathized with him in their hearts.
Cheng Wanwan pressed her temples.
She had specifically warned them, but this still happened. It just goes to show that you can't stop someone who wants to die.
She wasn't interested in the commotion and went home to help prepare breakfast.
The children in the family were also discussing this.
Shen Zheng sneered and said, "Don't be fooled by Zheng Wangfeng's humble and polite demeanor. In fact, he already has two concubines and often visits brothels. Now, he will soon have a third concubine. How lively will the Zheng family be?"
Zhao Sidan asked curiously, "What's a brothel? What's a concubine?"
"You're just a kid, don't ask so many questions." Shen Zheng changed the subject. "You're preparing for the exam today, right? You guys should review some more. I'll be proctoring. Anyone who dares to cheat will be kicked out."
After the autumn harvest, every household had stored grain, so more children came to study, with more than 70 of them already. There was no room for tables in front of the Zhao Family Ancestral Hall, so some younger children sat on the steps to listen to the lessons, each one of them very attentively.
More than a month has passed since the start of the course, and this is the first exam.
After breakfast, all the students gathered at the entrance of the ancestral hall, each with a sand table in front of them.
Because there was no extra pen, ink, paper, and inkstone, the exam was very simple and divided into two major sections: dictation and arithmetic.
Cheng Zhao gave questions on the spot and recorded the scores, while Shen Zheng supervised the exam.
"Part One, recite the single word," Cheng Zhaolang said in a clear voice, "人 (person)."
As soon as he finished speaking, the students below wrote the character "人" (person) on the sand table.
This is the simplest character, and it's the first character everyone learns. Almost everyone writes it correctly.
"early."
This character is quite difficult; half the people failed on the second question.
Cheng Zhao lowered his head and made notes and gave scores on paper.
As students continued to memorize the words one by one, more and more of them began to feel overwhelmed.
The dictation consisted of thirty characters. After the dictation, it was time to recite. Cheng Zhao would read a sentence, and the rest of the class would read the next sentence together. Anyone who didn't speak would lose points. Shen Zheng was in charge of keeping an eye on things. He wasn't serious about studying, but he was very attentive when proctoring. He could spot anyone who was just pretending to be a student.
The last section consisted of arithmetic problems. Cheng Zhao would set the questions, and the students would write their answers on the sand table.
The exam lasted nearly two hours before it ended.
The students can leave after the exam. Cheng Zhao and Shen Zheng stay to count the scores and divide the students into classes.
There were a total of seventy-two people, with thirty-six from Class A and thirty-six from Class B. After the headcount was written down, it was posted at the entrance of the ancestral hall.
The students who had just finished their exams did not leave, but gathered around to watch.
"I'm actually in Class A? Am I that good?"
"I'm in Class B, which is pretty good. I thought my cousin Cheng didn't want me anymore. I'm so stupid."
"My name is written first in Class A, does that mean I'm number one?"
Zhao Tiezhu blinked and asked, his big eyes full of anticipation. "Brother Cheng said that the first place winner will receive a set of the Four Treasures of the Study."
Cheng Zhao began, "This exam is a preliminary assessment; there are no specific rankings. To distribute rewards, we'll only announce the top three students from each class. For Class A, first place goes to Zhao Sidan, second to Zhao Ergou, and third to Zhao Tiezhu. For Class B, first place goes to Zhao Dawang, and second to Zhu Huzi..."
The students whose names were called jumped for joy.
Cheng Zhao continued, "In addition to setting up awards for the top three students, the student who makes the most progress in the future will also receive an award. Everyone must study hard."
"We definitely will!"
The children shouted, and their voices echoed through the valley.
Zhao Ergou was a little unconvinced: "Cousin, why are there only three math problems?"
He excels in arithmetic; if there were twenty questions, he would definitely get first place.
Cheng Zhao was stumped by the question. Because the current dynasty did not attach much importance to arithmetic, arithmetic was always considered as an additional question in the imperial examinations, with only one question. The Southern Academy also did not emphasize arithmetic education. The teacher only mentioned the book "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art" briefly and did not require them to read it.
Influenced by this, he didn't value arithmetic, and instinctively reduced the proportion of arithmetic questions when setting exam questions.
But if you think about it carefully, how many students from Dahe Village actually went down the path of the imperial examinations? After they learned to read and write, arithmetic should have been more important to them. If they learned arithmetic, they could do accounting and become apprentices in shops in town, which was better than toiling in the fields for a living.
Cheng Zhao said, "There will be some more math problems in the next exam."
Zhao Ergou nudged Zhao Sidan's arm: "I'll be number one next time, don't get too excited."
Zhao Sidan retorted, "My arithmetic isn't bad either, just you wait and see."
Cheng Zhao silently decided that he would review "Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art" when he got back. He only knew how to use abacus beads and didn't understand much about the application theory in arithmetic. In order to be worthy of the title of teacher, he had to take the time to read the book thoroughly.
As a group of people were chatting at the entrance of the ancestral hall, a group of women suddenly surrounded the hall from a distance, each carrying a bag of grain.
"Cheng Tongsheng, this is the maintenance fee our family paid, plus ten catties of white rice."
"Last time, my family gave you two loads of dry firewood, which is really too little. I also brought eight kilograms of rice. You must accept it."
“My grandson can even write the names of the whole family, all thanks to Cheng Tongsheng. You must accept these steamed buns.”
"We saved three eggs at home, and Cheng Tongsheng took them home and cooked them to eat. They're good for your health."
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