Chapter 6
The impatience of the other party was evident to the seventeen or eighteen-year-old children.
"Just a mere book boy..."
"What can we do? The Seventh Young Master is, after all, the apple of the Young Master's eye, and he will be the future head of the Zhao family. We must be cautious about those around him. You know, sir, the previous book boys were all dismissed by the lady."
"Clearly, it was his own mischief!"
At this point, Mr. Shen's expression grew even more displeased.
But Butler Wu dared not respond to that; he merely changed the subject. "This *Qingjing Jing* is quite obscure. None of us have read it, and these little ones usually only study Confucian classics. They’ve never been exposed to Daoist texts, so they’re in for a tough time."
"Hmph! Since your lady wants a good one, I’ll find her a good one!"
Butler Wu smiled slightly, knowing that the other was merely venting.
As the Young Master’s teacher, it was only natural for him to feel that this was a waste of talent, wasn’t it?
"This book is an excellent choice. None of these children have seen it before. Who can say we’re being unfair in today’s assessment?"
Little did he know, Mr. Shen shook his head slightly. "If we’re talking about fairness, I think only a few with some background will stand out."
"What do you mean?"
"You’ve read books; surely you understand? Eating meat nourishes better than eating vegetables. The better the food, the sharper the mind. Moreover, those who have been to school are generally smarter than those who haven’t."
Butler Wu understood that Mr. Shen was right.
"In this group of three students, each has their own background. One is the child of the second house’s steward, another is from the Seventh Young Master’s wet nurse’s family, and the last is the grandson of the family’s steward. So, according to you, it’s just these three?"
Mr. Shen nodded.
"But I think there’s one boy who’s quite interesting." Mr. Shen was taken aback and followed his gaze to the corner.
In the corner, Zheng Fa was slowly grinding ink.
"This child?" Mr. Shen frowned. "By his attire, he seems to be the least impressive among this group. You think he has a chance?"
Butler Wu chuckled. "Compared to you, sir, I’m certainly lacking in knowledge. But when it comes to judging people, my eyes are still somewhat discerning."
He lifted his chin slightly, pointing at Zheng Fa. "This boy, while others come in timidly, he may be a bit nervous, but within two or three breaths, he seems to have adapted to the environment."
"You just finished reciting, and all three of those students looked worried, but he had no such expression on his face."
"He must have something in him."
Mr. Shen scrutinized Zheng Fa for a few moments and, influenced by Butler Wu’s words, indeed saw a hint of composure on the boy’s face.
More importantly, he knew that Butler Wu’s words were not mere flattery. Being deeply trusted by the lady and managing nearly all the major and minor affairs of the main courtyard, his ability to judge character should not be underestimated.
...
Zheng Fa finally finished grinding the ink.
He wasn’t particularly nervous; after five years in the modern world, he had faced countless exams, easily over a hundred.
Regardless of how well he performed, he had developed a certain mindset for examinations.
He was confident that, compared to the other boys, he was quite experienced in this regard.
Moreover, the assessment method this time was extremely favorable for him—while the *Qingjing Jing* was certainly difficult to memorize, it was nothing compared to the initial struggle of learning English, which felt like deciphering a foreign script.
No matter how hard it was, could it be as challenging as a kindergarten-level student tackling high school math?
Sure enough, although there were some phrases he didn’t fully grasp, after Mr. Shen recited it once, he managed to remember most of it.
However, he found it quite unusual to have to grind ink before writing.
While others had already begun writing, he was still wrestling with the inkstone.
Finally, with ink in hand, Zheng Fa picked up the brush, only to realize a rather embarrassing problem—
He didn’t know how to use a brush!
No matter which world he was in, he had never learned calligraphy.
Zheng Fa could only awkwardly hold the brush like a water pen.
Then, he realized:
He didn’t know the characters of this world.
Not that he completely didn’t know; after all, he had attended a year of elementary education, but overall, he didn’t know much.
The characters of this world were strangely similar to modern ones, resembling the writing found in ancient texts.
When he read the *Qingjing Jing*, he hadn’t noticed this issue, just as many modern people find traditional characters somewhat smooth to read; he could genuinely understand it.
But when it came time to write, he felt a wave of despair.
Having completed compulsory education, was he to become illiterate again?
"During exams, it’s better to write incorrectly than to leave it blank!" Old Chen’s earnest advice echoed in his ears. Zheng Fa gritted his teeth and began to write in simplified characters.
In the hall, Mr. Shen watched as Zheng Fa scribbled a series of crooked, error-ridden characters on the paper, and couldn’t help but smile at Butler Wu.
Butler Wu stroked his little mustache. "I misjudged; where did this child get his confidence?"
---
**Chapter 7: The Lady**
In the waterside pavilion, the boys who had submitted their papers stared intently at a blank white wall ahead, behind which lay a room filled with bookshelves.
In the center of the room stood a black wooden desk, where Mr. Shen and Butler Wu stood, heads bowed, reviewing the students' answers.
After a long while, they exchanged glances, both shaking their heads with a sigh.
"Most of them didn’t even remember one-tenth of it. The better ones probably only managed to recall two or three points," Butler Wu said with a bitter smile.
Mr. Shen sifted through the stack of papers, pulling out four answer sheets.
"These few who managed to remember something probably got about forty percent right; they’re decent candidates."
Butler Wu took a look at the papers and nodded, then sighed, "You’re right, sir. These are from those three students, and one of them has been studying for six or seven years."
"That’s normal," Mr. Shen replied, not surprised. "Except for those true geniuses, the more you learn, the better you learn. Not to mention, after a few years of elementary education, you’ve at least grasped some methods of memorization."
"And where would you find a genius who knows everything from birth?"
As he spoke, he casually continued to sift through the papers.
After a while, he held up one answer sheet, his brow furrowing slightly.
"Ah, is there a hidden gem here?" Butler Wu, curious about his expression, leaned in to take a look and immediately recognized the paper.
"This isn’t… Zheng Fa’s, is it?"
Butler Wu had a deep impression of Zheng Fa.
He had even specifically noted Zheng Fa’s answer sheet, and after reading it, his only thought was—what on earth!
Not a single character was correct!
Recalling how he had confidently claimed that Zheng Fa had something in him, even with his considerable experience, he felt a twinge of embarrassment.
Mr. Shen ignored him, silently studying the test paper for a long time before suddenly looking up and bowing to Butler Wu. "Brother Wu, I’ve truly witnessed your keen eye!"
"..." Butler Wu looked down at Zheng Fa’s answer sheet again, glancing left and right, only to find it painfully glaring. He couldn’t help but frown. "Mr. Shen, I know you came to assess the book boys, which is like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, and you’re feeling frustrated. But your sarcastic remarks towards me are quite uncalled for! We’re both just following orders."
Seeing that he had misunderstood, Mr. Shen waved his hand, his expression earnest as he explained, "I genuinely admire your insight!"
Butler Wu was not convinced by his flattery; he felt that scholars could be quite infuriating, with their serious demeanor masking their mockery. Who could stand that?
"Yes! I know, I misjudged! I shouldn’t have thought well of that Zheng boy. My eyes must be blind today!"
"Brother Wu, you don’t understand. Zheng Fa’s answer sheet has remarkable significance!"
"What significance? It looks like he wrote so many words, yet not a single one is correct..."
Faced with Zheng Fa’s abysmal answer sheet, Butler Wu couldn’t help but feel that Mr. Shen was mocking his poor judgment.
"Actually, he got half a character right!" Mr. Shen clapped his hands in admiration.
"…Huh?"
Mr. Shen set Zheng Fa’s answer sheet aside and pulled out the original text of the *Qingjing Jing*, comparing the two.
"Did you notice?"
"What?"
"The *Qingjing Jing* that Zheng Fa wrote, at first glance, seems to have no correct characters, but if you look closely!" Mr. Shen pointed at Zheng Fa’s answer sheet with one hand and the original text with the other, comparing them character by character.
"…He really got half a character right?"
Butler Wu took a long time to realize this.
Zheng Fa’s answer sheet was peculiar; almost every character had only a part written correctly.
If you didn’t look closely, it was hard to even understand what he was trying to write on the paper.
"What do you see?" Mr. Shen’s tone was slightly excited.
"I see… a desperate but striving illiterate?"
Table of Contents
