Chapter 6 The Fairy in the Painting Collaboration
Shao Yanzhe had just put down his pen when he heard the lady's words. He was stunned for a moment, and read the article from beginning to end, but did not find the problem she mentioned.
"Where is it crude?" he asked directly.
The lady sneered and criticized his article from beginning to end: "In short, it's worlds apart from the previous one!"
Shao Yanzhe: ...
He silently processed what the lady had just said, and when he looked at his own writing, he found it unbearable to look at.
Well, the lady is right.
Shao Yanzhe sat at his desk, staring blankly at what was in front of him, and began to think.
After all, he came from the modern era and had basically never written any policy essays. Even though he had so much more knowledge than the original owner, it was still not enough for him to figure out how to write essays on his own when he first came into contact with the Four Books and Five Classics. Even though he could occasionally write a few good articles, it was still not enough.
He couldn't guarantee that all his future writings would be as elegant as the one he had just written. It was only then that he realized that the elegance he had produced after finishing the article was very little, like a thin mist that seemed to dissipate as soon as the wind blew.
He needs a teacher's guidance!
The original owner was studying at Wenyuan Academy in the county town, but later stopped attending classes there because of exam preparation.
Shao Yanzhe knew that he was different from the original owner of the body, and that the teacher who taught the original owner of the body would definitely be able to distinguish the difference between the two of them.
Therefore, sending him back to Wenyuan Academy to study is not feasible.
But where is he going to find a scholar as a teacher?
The lady in the painting didn't care what Shao Yanzhe was thinking. She continued, "Have you wasted all your education?"
"The policy essay is the most important part of the imperial examination questions. With your level of ability, you actually dare to dream of becoming a Xiucai? Hah!"
"I think you should just go home and roast sweet potatoes!"
"If someone with your level can still pass the imperial examination and become a scholar, then the entire imperial court is truly doomed!"
"The court is finished, the people are finished even more! The whole world is doomed!"
Shao Yanzhe: ...
The lady is quite knowledgeable, but how can she utter such cold words from a mouth that's 37 degrees Celsius?
"My eldest daughter, Yun, was able to recite the Three Character Classic by heart at the age of three, memorize the Four Books and Five Classics at the age of five, pass the county-level imperial examination at the age of nine, become a provincial-level scholar at the age of fifteen, and achieve first place in the metropolitan examination at the age of eighteen. She is unprecedented and no one in the world can compare to her!"
“Your current writing is barely comparable to the policy essays I wrote when I was seven years old. Although you wrote a decent article before, you are still far behind me.”
The maid's voice rang out one after another, stabbing Shao Yanzhe's heart with knife after knife.
Shao Yanzhe suddenly stood up and looked at the lady.
The lady fell silent instantly. She stared at Shao Yanzhe, recalling what she had just said, and couldn't help but feel a little guilty.
Perhaps, it seems, what she just said was a bit too much.
Is he trying to hit me out of anger and embarrassment?
Shao Yanzhe began, "You..."
The lady interrupted him, "What's wrong with me! Weren't those the truth?"
Shao Yanzhe nodded: "That's the truth."
The lady breathed a sigh of relief: "So what do you want to do?"
Shao Yanzhe stared intently at the lady and said, "I don't need anything, but I do need a tutor. Your esteemed knowledge is vast, and you are sure to be able to teach me!"
The lady was taken aback, then frowned and looked him up and down: "What are you thinking? How could I possibly teach you!"
Shao Yanzhe was not surprised that she refused, after all, they were now enemies on opposing sides.
"I suspect your death is related to this Shen Moyuan."
His gaze fell on the small characters in the lower right corner of the scroll, and he was about 70% sure of his guess.
The "Weiyue" mentioned above should be the name of the lady in front of us. Combining this with what she just said about being the eldest daughter of the Yun family, her maiden name should be Yun Weiyue, and she once participated in the imperial examination.
He knew from the original owner's memories that the current dynasty was the Yong Dynasty, with the reign title Xirui. This year was the sixtieth year of Xirui, and the current Emperor Xirui had been on the throne for exactly sixty years.
At the beginning of his reign, Emperor Xirui reformed the imperial examination system, not only introducing special examinations but also allowing women to participate in the examinations.
However, a cheating scandal in the imperial examinations later led to the imprisonment of many candidates and the death penalty for nearly one hundred of them.
This imperial examination cheating case is the famous "Xi Rui En Ke Case" of the Dayong Dynasty, but privately, it is more often referred to as the "Women's Examination Disaster".
Shao Yanzhe speculated that the lady Yun Weiyue in the scroll must have lost her life in the Xiruienke case.
But judging from Yun Weiyue's personal experience and her knowledge, he did not think that she would need to cheat. There must be something fishy going on!
Yun Weiyue was caught up in this, and excluding the possibility that she actually cheated, it is highly likely that she was framed for cheating, either by being implicated by others or by being reported by others.
As her husband, Shen Moyuan must have already made thorough preparations before he came forward to accuse Yun Weiyue of cheating.
With someone deliberately scheming against someone else, how could Yun Weiyue possibly escape?
Upon hearing the name from Shao Yanzhe, Yun Weiyue's pupils dilated slightly, and her whole body trembled.
She gritted her teeth and said angrily, "Don't mention that name in front of me!"
After she finished speaking, she suddenly realized where Shao Yanzhe had seen it from. With a gentle wave of her sleeve, the line of small characters in the lower right corner of the scroll disappeared abruptly.
Shao Yanzhe felt uneasy. Yun Weiyue's attitude just now told him that his guess was terrifyingly accurate.
The person who caused Yun Weiyue to end up like this is Shen Moyuan!
Betrayed by her husband, no wonder Yun Weiyue turned into a ghost?
Shao Yanzhe sighed inwardly, but he still remembered his purpose.
"I suppose you were drowned..." He had only uttered one word of the name when he felt Yun Weiyue's cold gaze and immediately changed his form of address.
"You've been slandered by that person, and I'm sure you're not happy about being treated like this. I can help you find out the truth and clear your name. In exchange, you can tutor my article."
What do you think?
Shao Yanzhe looked at Yun Weiyue and asked, hoping to achieve his goal.
Yun Weiyue stared at Shao Yanzhe and said, "I am indeed unwilling, but you should not have forgotten that I just tried to kill you. Aren't you afraid of me?"
As she spoke, her face slowly revealed a skull, her stark white teeth clattering together, making a clicking sound, which looked extremely eerie.
Shao Yanzhe shuddered, but nodded without hesitation and answered confidently, "Of course I'm scared!"
Yun Weiyue glared at him: "Then why did you ask me to cooperate!"
Shao Yanzhe chuckled: "Let's keep things separate. You need me to help you find evidence, and I need you to help me with my writing. How about we each get what we need?"
Yun Weiyue raised an eyebrow at Shao Yanzhe: "Deal!"
The human and the ghost temporarily reached a deal.
"Now, answer all the policy essay questions in that stack of exam papers!" Yun Weiyue said, looking at the exam papers on the desk.
Shao Yanzhe looked at the nearly fifty exam papers on the desk, flexed his fingers, and immediately began to answer the policy questions as she requested.
Seeing his actions, Yun Weiyue raised her eyebrows in surprise. At her pace, it would take her at least five hours to finish all those test papers.
It is now the hour of Xu (7-9 PM), and there are only four hours left until dawn. In other words, it will take Shao Yanzhe a whole night to finish these exam papers.
She originally thought Shao Yanzhe would try to negotiate with her, but to her surprise, he agreed immediately.
She pursed her lips slightly, hoping that he could really do as she asked.
Xuan Yao opened its eyes, twitched its ears, and avoided the dazzling light shining on its eyelids.
It rested overnight, and its internal injuries healed somewhat.
It stretched its body, involuntarily gave a big yawn, and then squatted down on the ground, looking around at its surroundings.
Sunlight streamed in through the half-open window, bathing the entire study in a golden glow. A gentle morning breeze rustled the thick layer of Xuan paper on the desk.
After Xuan Yao took in his surroundings, he remembered what had happened yesterday.
It suddenly stood up straight, its golden-black pupils scanning the surroundings, trying to find Shao Yanzhe's figure.
Finally, it found the person on the low table next to the desk.
Xuan Yao walked over and saw that Shao Yanzhe had many crumpled pieces of paper scattered around him, and his head and stomach were covered with Xuan paper covered with writing.
It tilted its head and looked at the two-legged creature that was fast asleep, its large pupils filled with confusion.
Do all two-legged creatures sleep like this?
I don't understand, but I respect it!
"Hey! Stinky cat! See that?" Yun Weiyue's voice rang out above Xuan Yao's head.
Xuan Yao bared his teeth and stared warily at Yun Weiyue, ready to attack immediately if she made any unusual move.
Yun Weiyue didn't care about its vigilance; instead, she proudly shook out a stack of Xuan paper in her hand.
"Look, these all belong to Shao Yanzhe. He's my disciple now. If you continue to be disrespectful to me, I'll have him kick you out!"
"Meow!"
Xuan Yao barked angrily, not even glancing at Yun Weiyue, and raised his front paw to slap Shao Yanzhe, who was fast asleep, across the face.
"Who hit me!"
After being slapped, Shao Yanzhe fell off the low table with a thud.
He frantically pulled the Xuan paper off his head, sat on the ground with a blank look on his face, and glanced around before finally landing on Xuan Yao, who was staring at him with hostility.
"Hey, Xuan Yao, you're all set!"
He reached out to pet it, but Xuan Yao disdainfully swatted it away with his cat paw.
Xuan Yao's originally round cat eyes turned sharp, and its aura suddenly became fierce. It growled at Shao Yanzhe in a low voice, its ears turned into helicopter ears, and its whiskers stood up in a fan shape, with the ends twitching involuntarily.
It pointed its paw at Shao Yanzhe, then at Yun Weiyue, and finally slapped its paw hard on the ground. It was clear that it was very angry.
Shao Yanzhe immediately understood Xuan Yao's meaning and quickly explained, "No! Of course you're more important than her! We're just partners for now!"
"Meow?" Xuan Yao suppressed his fierce aura and looked at him with a puzzled expression.
Shao Yanzhe nodded firmly: "Really!"
Xuan Yao nodded in satisfaction, then looked at Yun Weiyue, called out to her, and then, with light steps, jumped onto the windowsill and lay there comfortably basking in the sun.
Yun Weiyue snorted coldly and glanced at Shao Yanzhe: "Hmph! As expected, all men are scum!"
After saying that, he turned and left, hiding behind the bookshelf in the painting.
Shao Yanzhe glanced at the empty scroll, not caring at all. Just as he had said, the temporary peaceful coexistence between him and Yun Weiyue was merely a matter of cooperation.
A business partner is certainly not as good as a kitten.
"Aze, are you there?" A somewhat familiar voice rang out outside the courtyard gate, accompanied by urgent knocking.
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