pjbooks Chapter 230 A Female-Dominated World (2)
Chapter 230 A Female-Dominated World (2)
According to her mother, she was lucky to pass the exam because a classmate who was better than her had diarrhea; otherwise, she probably wouldn't have made it.
Wangyou felt that what her mother said was a bit unreliable, so she decided it would be better to ask her herself.
The next day, the mother and daughter packed up and set off in a donkey cart.
Upon arriving in the county town, Wangyou first went to the bookstore to read. There were many women there, some copying books, some reading books, and some wanting to buy books.
"My dear girl, which one do you want to buy?"
"Mother, you go see for yourself, I'll go see for myself!"
Wangyou is a person with a photographic memory, so she reads very quickly. She has to read fast, because a children's primer costs at least one tael of silver, and questions on classics, history, philosophy, and literature related to the imperial examinations cost at least ten taels of silver. Where could she afford that?
Despite her mother being a scholar, her family was only slightly better off than the average person.
So, she decided to just read the book. After she finished reading, she could go back and write it down from memory as a way to practice her handwriting. As for making money by copying books, Wangyou hadn't even considered that.
While reading, Wangyou couldn't help but think about how to make money quickly. After thinking about it, it seemed that robbing the rich to help the poor was the fastest way. As for other transmigrated women selling vegetable recipes or opening restaurants, Wangyou hadn't thought about it.
First of all, it's obvious that there's something wrong with her, a female ruler who never goes into the kitchen, knowing so many recipes. She needs to pass the imperial examinations, so such a big handle can't be left untouched.
Making money is really fast in the internet age; she made her money back in just a few days by trading stocks. It seems she still needs to honestly organize her own team.
Wangyou spent the entire day browsing through all the books in the bookstore, and then, just as they were about to close, she bought a stack of paper and a pen, before shamelessly leaving the bookstore.
As for the ink and inkstone, well, we'll just have to make do with those for now.
After leaving, Wangyou went to the inn that the mother and daughter had booked. Xie Sanniang had not returned yet, but Wangyou was not worried. She ate something, washed up, and went to sleep.
Wangyou saw Xie Sanniang the next morning. She seemed to have just woken up from a hangover and smelled of perfume. It was obvious where she had gone. Wangyou walked away in disgust.
"Mother, let's go back today!"
"Okay, let's go back. I'll wash up first."
"Okay." Seeing her daughter's disgusted look, Xie San Niang felt a little embarrassed and quickly went back to her room to wash up.
When Xie San Niang came out, Wang You and Xie San Niang drove the donkey cart to the embroidery shop to sell the handkerchiefs and other things that her father had embroidered, and then went to the pharmacy to buy some medicinal herbs.
"Girl, why are you buying medicinal herbs?"
"Medicinal bath!"
"When did you learn about medicinal baths?"
"I saw a recipe in a book yesterday and decided to give it a try."
"Then let's go back quickly." Upon hearing this, Xie San Niang no longer wanted to wander around. The medicinal bath recipe was extremely rare, so it was better to hurry back.
Wangyou suddenly realized that being carefree had its advantages; it was good enough that Xie Sanniang didn't pry into things.
“Mother, I have read the criminal law of the Feng Dynasty. To participate in the preliminary examination, all you need is a guarantor from a scholar. Can you vouch for me? I want to participate in this year’s preliminary examination.”
"Okay, when I get back I'll go to the village headman to get a note, then I'll go to the county government to register you, and then your mother will take you to the exam."
"it is good."
Xie San Niang wasn't surprised. If her daughter hadn't been so quiet a few years ago that she hadn't taken the exam to avoid being called mute, she could have taken it now that Wangyou had returned to normal.
Back home, Xie San Niang continued her teaching career, while Wang You took the paper she had bought and began to write down the books she had read from memory. This was partly to practice her handwriting, since the font used in this world was mainly regular script, and neat and beautiful handwriting was required for exams.
Wangyou's handwriting is just like her personality—beautiful yet unrestrained, always exuding a carefree and elegant vibe. It's fine for calligraphy, but not so good for exams, especially her casual cursive script, which might be unrecognizable to those unfamiliar with it.
On the other hand, she wrote these books down from memory so that her younger sisters could use them in the future, and her younger brothers could also be taught to read. Although men were not allowed to go out, it was never a bad thing for them to learn more.
Because her mother was a scholar, she didn't have to worry about anything when she took the imperial examination for the Forget-Worry Child; her mother took care of everything.
At night, someone would heat up the bathwater in the early morning. Wangyou would then sprinkle the medicinal powder into the bathtub and soak in it for a month. As a result, Wangyou grew taller and is now 1.6 meters tall.
After the medicinal bath, Wangyou began practicing martial arts. Xie Sanniang assumed that Wangyou had learned it from a book, so she didn't ask any questions and would occasionally practice with Wangyou.
Another half month passed, and one day Xie San Niang brought back a fish. When she received it in the early morning, she suddenly felt nauseous. When the doctor examined her, he found out she was pregnant.
Wangyou thought of the fertility pill she had given him, so she put another pregnancy-preserving pill into the chicken soup and had her father drink it. Later, Wangyou also secretly checked Lingchen's pulse and found that Lingchen was healthy, so Wangyou was relieved.
Since becoming pregnant in the early morning, all household affairs have been handled by her husband. Fortunately, there aren't many jealousies or rivalries in the family, so things are still very harmonious.
"Xie Xinmei, Xie Xinzhu, Xie Xinlan, come here."
"Big sister, what's the matter?" The three younger brothers were chubby and cute, and they respected Wangyou, their eldest sister, very much.
"Come here, I'll teach you to read."
"Big sister, can we do it?" The three children were happy, but even more so, they were apprehensive.
"Of course, come in!" Wangyou led the three inside and first used the Three Character Classic to teach them. The three cherished the opportunity to learn characters and studied very diligently.
Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, it was exam day. Xie San Niang still drove the donkey cart to take Wang You to the exam. She wanted to come in the early morning, but he was not feeling well, so she didn't let him go through all that trouble.
The place where the exam was held was so crowded that it was impossible not to describe it. Wangyou never knew there would be so many people in the county. It seems that everyone wants to have a scholar in their family.
After all, the benefits of passing the imperial examination and becoming a scholar are numerous. In addition to tax exemption, good husbands will come knocking on your door.
The most important thing is that it can help people move up the social class.
The exam will last for three days, and Wangyou isn't worried about being assigned to a bad class or anything, so she's very laid-back.
The inspection was much stricter; you had to be completely naked, and the inspection was extremely thorough. After hearing the yamen runner's request, Wangyou immediately hypnotized the two runners. Wangyou then symbolically took off her two outer garments and remained naked for a while before taking her things out.
Wangyou suddenly thought, "In the past, women disguised themselves as men to participate in the imperial examinations. If they didn't have some special means, how did they manage to get through all the checks? Were the inspectors blind?"
Wangyou had all the instant noodles her father made broken into pieces, and she couldn't eat them anymore. No wonder people say that the imperial examinations in ancient times were difficult; they really were difficult. You couldn't even put together a whole meal from this pile of food.
Steamed buns, mantou, and pancakes were all broken into small pieces; I don't know if it was intentional or just the custom.