Chapter 130 Child Prodigy (First Update)
Strictly speaking, this matter cannot be blamed on the two of them. The examination papers for the Imperial Academy's elementary school were different every year, and there was only one year in which a foreign language test was included, and that was ten years ago.
That exam paper had long since stopped selling, and the people at the study stopped making copies of it. Therefore, when Xiao Liulang went to the study to buy the entrance exam papers for the Imperial Academy's elementary school over the years, he did not manage to buy this one.
Xiao Jingkong is an extremely smart child. He can learn everything he is taught diligently. If he doesn't pass the exam, then it's definitely the fault of the two adults.
The examiners who set the exam were indeed determined to stump the child prodigies. These prodigies, being naturally smarter than ordinary people, were inevitably arrogant and conceited. The examiners wanted to give them a rude awakening during the exam and dampen their arrogance.
When the examiners began grading the papers, unsurprisingly, the last three questions were all answered incorrectly.
No one got all the answers right. The most impressive one wrote a complete seven-character quatrain from the State of Zhao, but still got three characters wrong. The other candidates only wrote a few words.
The examiners were overjoyed; it seemed the youngsters would have to obediently admit defeat and attend class this year.
However, when they got to the last exam paper, they suddenly couldn't laugh anymore.
Who is this? What is all this writing?
"This kid must have written it all down," one of the examiners asked.
Another examiner sensed something was amiss: "I feel like I've seen this kind of writing somewhere before."
The two invited the most prestigious language teacher at the Imperial Academy. After looking at the document, the teacher was unable to give a definite answer for a moment: "I... I have to let my teacher take a look."
The teacher took Xiao Jingkong's exam paper to a residence in the capital and found an elderly man who was over seventy years old and had reached the tenth level of Sanskrit studies.
Finally, the senior scholar, a level 10 expert in Sanskrit, concluded that the candidate had written in Sanskrit.
Legend has it that Sanskrit was created by Brahma, the guardian deity of Buddhism, and is therefore also called Sanskrit.
"So what did he write?" one of the examiners asked.
The teacher said, "He wrote a Buddhist scripture."
Everyone: "..."
This is actually allowed?
They spent a day compiling the exam paper and three days translating Xiao Jingkong's Buddhist scriptures.
For the first time, examiners who have been testing students for years have been stumped by a student.
Examiner 1: "No points can be awarded."
Examiner 2: "That's right, he didn't answer the questions as required."
Examiner 3: "And the handwriting is illegible."
Examiner 4: "...Is that because he wrote in Sanskrit?"
The four examiners were collectively beaten up!
Why are you speaking such blunt truths?
Xiao Jingkong ultimately entered the Imperial Academy's elementary school with a total ranking of seventh.
Xiao Jingkong was very frustrated.
For the first time in his life, he tasted defeat.
He boasted to his wicked brother-in-law that he would definitely get first place, but he only got seventh. Xiao Jingkong lost his appetite.
Gu Yan, unusually, didn't take the opportunity to ridicule him. Instead, she patted his little shoulder and said, "Alright, you're already better than many kids. When I was your age, I couldn't even read a single word!"
Little Jingkong pondered for a moment, then suddenly burst into tears: "Will I be as stupid as you when I grow up? Waaah—"
Gu Yan: "..."
What must I be thinking, that a mediocre student would come and comfort a top student!
On the morning of October 27th, Xiao Liulang also began his entrance examination at the Imperial College.
The Imperial College had been closed for nearly four years, and a large number of its original students came to take the exam.
The Imperial College had three grades. After entering the college, students were not ranked according to age or seniority, but only according to their scores.
Students with poor grades are admitted to the three halls of Justice, Ambition, and Broad Learning, which constitute the first year, with a semester of one and a half years.
Students with average grades enter the two halls of cultivation and sincerity, which is the second year, and the semester is also one and a half years.
Finally, there's the Shuaixing Hall, the highest grade in the Imperial Academy. Unlike the previous five halls, which were divided into Class A and Class B, Shuaixing Hall only had one class. The chances of a freshman getting in were slim; generally, students had to complete three years of study at the Imperial Academy and pass extremely rigorous examinations to be admitted to Shuaixing Hall.
However, this year Shuaixingtang has one guaranteed admission spot—Prince An, the direct grandson of Grand Tutor Zhuang.
Prince An was a recognized prodigy. His talent was already renowned in the six kingdoms when he was a hostage in the State of Chen. Logically speaking, such a talented person would not need to take the imperial examination to be valued by the court.
However, the Zhuang family has an ancestral rule that all Zhuang family members must take the imperial examination.
Over the years, the Zhuang family has produced many talented individuals who have passed the imperial examinations. Of course, there have also been those who failed. The Zhuang family is so successful that passing the examinations is commonplace for ordinary people, while failing them would result in being condemned and ridiculed by everyone.
The dealer didn't care about what others thought and insisted on sending all his sons to the examination hall.
Prince An lived up to expectations, achieving the highest score in the provincial examination and becoming the top scholar in the capital.
As everyone knows, the competition in the capital is the fiercest, and the top scholar in the capital is the rarest; otherwise, the Imperial Academy would not have made an exception and recommended him to the Shuaixing Hall.
The Imperial College's grading speed was no joke; the exams finished on the 27th, and the results were all released on the morning of the 29th.
This year's freshmen generally performed well, but some of the older students who had been delayed for several years due to imprisonment became somewhat lax. Studying is like rowing against the current; if you don't move forward, you fall behind.
However, not all senior students were like this. The teaching quality of the Imperial College was beyond doubt. Anyone who put in a little effort would not do too badly on the exam.
As expected, those who were admitted to Shuaixingtang this time were mostly returning students.
But when they were sorting through the last set of exam papers, they found an unfamiliar name.
"Xiao Liulang?" Zheng Siye asked, "Where did this student come from? Has our Imperial Academy ever had anyone named Xiao Liulang before?"
"Could it be a freshman?" Li Siye asked.
Zheng Siye frowned: "How could a freshman do so well on the exam?"
This achievement would place them among the top performers at Shuaixingtang.
The two officials checked Xiao Liulang's school records and found that he was indeed a freshman who had passed the provincial examination in Youzhou and become the top scholar in the region.
Li Siye smiled: "Is this the first time a new student has been admitted to Shuaixing Hall?"
He was inexplicably looking forward to it.
Zheng Siye said coldly, "Don't forget, Prince An is also a freshman. This candidate named Xiao Liulang is just lucky. The title of freshman king belongs to Prince An."
Li Siye dared not refute these words.
Although Prince An did not participate in the entrance examination, it was obvious to everyone that his talent surpassed that of the senior students of Shuaixing Hall. If he had taken the exam, the first place would have gone to someone else.
Of course, this new student is also dazzling enough.
Li Siye, keeping a close eye on him, went through all his academic records and materials, and then realized something: "Could he be the candidate who wrote an article advocating the reduction of the power of the princes and who hurled a scathing insult at the emperor?"
The incident caused quite a stir at the time, and all the examiners in Youzhou were in an uproar. The chief examiner who was sent to Youzhou to preside over the provincial examination was a good friend of Li Siye. After returning to the capital, he privately discussed the article with Li Siye.
Upon hearing this, Li Siye's eyelids twitched uncontrollably. Was that candidate courting death? How dare he make such a fuss about the emperor?
He dared not give the score too high this time, for fear that if the emperor wanted to watch it, it would make the emperor sick with anger.
But even though he did so well in the first and third rounds, he still had to be the top scorer overall.
So this is truly a very capable candidate; his admission to Shuaixingtang was definitely not just due to luck.
However, Li Siye couldn't explain that much to Zheng Siye.
The Imperial College did not rank the students based on their exam results; it only provided the class information for each student.
Xiao Liulang entered the Shuaixing Hall, Feng Lin entered the Chengxin Hall in the second year, and Lin Chengye also entered the Chengxin Hall. The difference was that Feng Lin was in Class A of the Chengxin Hall, while Lin Chengye was in Class B of the Chengxin Hall.
Meanwhile, Gu Yan and Gu Xiaoshun's private school has also been settled. It's located at Qinghe Academy near the Imperial College. All the procedures have been completed, and they can start school next month.
Gu Jiao prepared a large table of delicious dishes and invited Feng Lin and Lin Chengye to her home to celebrate the start of the new school term for everyone.
It got cold in Beijing at the end of October. It is said that the first snow has already fallen on the mountain of Huguolong Temple, so it should be soon in the city as well.
Gu Jiao's earlier stockpiled silver charcoal came in handy. She bought several hand warmers, filled them with silver charcoal, and they could keep warm for an hour. She would replace the charcoal with new ones when they returned at noon.
Now that charcoal prices have risen again, it's fortunate that Gu Jiao had the foresight to stock up on enough charcoal, saving the family a lot of money.
On his first day of school, Xiao Jingkong wanted Jiaojiao to take him.
Gu Jiao sent him and Xiao Liulang to the Imperial Academy, and then sent Gu Xiaoshun and Gu Yan to Qinghe Academy.
When she returned to the house in Bishui Hutong, the old lady had just gotten up and was sitting in a rattan chair in the backyard, playing with the fledgling eagle that Gu Changqing had brought.
Gu Changqing found this eaglet at the bottom of the cliff. It must have fallen off the cliff not long after it was born. Whether it fell on its own or was knocked down by its mother's wings is unknown. In any case, its mother seems to have forgotten to pick it up.
Even so, it did not give up. It stubbornly struggled to stand up, its small body seemingly hiding immense strength.
A slender little figure quickly appeared in Gu Changqing's mind.
He brought the fledgling eagle back and took it to that alley.
The people in the alley knew nothing about the origin of the fledgling eagle, and simply assumed that, as Xiao Jingkong had said, it was a gift from his older brother.
The fledgling eagle is quite fierce; it will peck anyone who feeds it in the house. But the old lady has a special trick up her sleeve.
The old lady opened the chicken coop.
Xiao Jingkong's seven chicks swaggered out. They were very brave chicks. They entered the eaglet's cage without fear, and then lined up as Xiao Jingkong usually did when he took them out for a walk. Each chick picked up a piece of raw meat and fed it to the eaglet.
The eaglet was very well-behaved with seven mother hens, chirping and waiting to be fed!
The old lady enjoyed watching it.
Gu Jiao walked over and said, "Auntie, I'm going to the military camp to deliver something to Uncle Gouwa."
When she left the village, Xue Ningxiang asked them to send a letter, some thick winter clothes, and a peace charm that she had obtained from the temple to Uncle Gouwa.
Gu Jiao added another jar of her homemade pickles and dried meat.
The old lady nodded: "Go ahead."
There are several military camps in the capital. Gu Jiao is going to the Tiger Mountain Camp, which is not too far away. If you are fast, you can get there in half an hour.
Gu Jiao hired a horse-drawn carriage.
When I arrived at the military camp, they were training. I could hear the soldiers' spirited voices from afar.
The carriage stopped outside the military camp.
A soldier approached and stopped the carriage: "Who goes there?"
Gu Jiao stepped down from the carriage and said to him, "I'm here to find someone. He's under Deputy General Hu and his name is Zhou Erzhuang."
Gouwa's father is named Zhou Dazhuang.
The soldier looked Gu Jiao up and down, then said impatiently, "Visits to the military camp are prohibited. Leave immediately!"
Gu Jiao said, "Just for a little while."
The soldier said coldly, "That won't do!"
Gu Jiao said, "I brought him something, and I'll leave after I give it to him."
The soldier grew increasingly impatient: "Just leave it here, I'll take it inside in a bit!"
Zhou Erzhuang's letter mentioned that some soldiers would embezzle the supplies sent in, but Gu Jiao still wanted to hand them to him personally: "When will they finish training? I'll wait for him here."
The soldier frowned and said, "Hey, what's wrong with you? Is the military camp a place you can just hang out in? How am I supposed to know you're not a spy?"
“I’m not,” Gu Jiao said.
The soldier shouted, "You think you can just say it's not true? I could say it is!"
"What happened?"
A majestic voice came from the direction of the military camp.
The soldier turned around and immediately bowed respectfully: "Commander! A woman has come here. She says she wants to see someone from our camp, but we are training right now. I told her to go back first, and I'll bring the things in later."
The captain walked out of the military camp and came to the two of them.
The soldier's body shrunk even further.
The captain's gaze fell on Gu Jiao's face: "It's you?"
Gu Jiao nodded: "It's me."
The soldier was stunned. You two... know each other?
This little girl doesn't look like she comes from a good family at all. How could she know the captain of their military camp?
Moreover, the captain didn't seem as frightening as usual when he spoke to her...
Where is the iron-faced Yama we were promised?
Gu Changqing looked at Gu Jiao: "Do you know anyone in the military?"
Gu Jiao nodded again: "Yes, we're from the same village. His family lives next door to me. His family asked me to bring him some things."
Gu Changqing asked, "What's his name? Who's he under?"
Gu Jiao said, "Zhou Erzhuang is a subordinate of Deputy General Hu."
Gu Changqing said, "You've come at a bad time. Deputy General Hu has just been transferred to the Qishan military camp. The Qishan military camp is far from here, and if you go there now, you won't be able to come back tonight. Give me the things, and I'll take them to you tomorrow."
"Thank you for your trouble." Gu Jiao carried the things down.
The soldiers were dumbfounded. Who was this little girl? How could she have the Commandant personally running errands for her?
Gu Changqing looked at the soldiers: "Don't you know that Deputy General Hu is no longer in the camp?"
The soldier choked, "I...I..."
Gu Changqing's gaze was like a knife: "You knew about it but didn't tell her, and even let her leave the things here. I think you just wanted to pocket it all yourself!"
The soldier's legs went weak: "I...I...I wouldn't dare!"
Gu Changqing said coldly, "So you didn't know? As a sentry, not even knowing about such a large-scale mobilization within the military camp is dereliction of duty!"
"Please have mercy, Commandant!" The soldier knelt down with a thud.
If Gu Changqing were to show mercy, he wouldn't be the incorruptible Yama.
The soldier was eventually dragged away and punished with one hundred strokes of the cane, nearly losing his life.
Gu Changqing wasn't standing up for Gu Jiao; he had always been strict in managing his subordinates.
After handing the things over to Gu Changqing, Gu Jiao took a carriage back home. Before leaving, Gu Jiao asked him to tell Zhou Erzhuang her address, and to come to her house if Zhou Erzhuang needed anything.
(End of this chapter)
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