Who Said a Study Servant Can't Win the Imperial Exam? - Chapter 17 - The Birth of a Genius Prodigy

Cui Xian followed Pei Jian into the Classroom, which revealed a hidden world of its own inside.

The school building included dormitories, a dining hall, a tea room, and a music room, boasting a full range of facilities.

Outside the main classroom building, along the corridor.

The stiff middle-aged man who had been sarcastic to Pei Jian was surrounded by a group of young boys, eagerly asking him questions.

“Teacher, ‘To subdue oneself and return to propriety is benevolence, and the benevolent find peace in benevolence’-is there a mistake in this question?”

“I’ve searched through the ‘Analects’ and only found the first part.”

Cui Xian overheard this.

There was no mistake in the question, as it was a connecting question.

The first part came from ‘Analects: Yan Yuan’, and the second part from ‘Analects: Li Ren’.

In the realm of connecting questions, this was considered quite simple.

Yet, these young scholars doubted it was an error.

It was clear they were not yet familiar with the Eight-Legged Essay and had probably not yet participated in the imperial examination.

As expected.

The stiff middle-aged man explained, “This question is correct. It’s a connecting question, where the first part is from Analects: Yan Yuan, and the second part from Analects: Li Ren. You need to approach ‘subduing oneself’ as the foundation of ‘finding peace in benevolence’, and use ‘propriety is the articulation of benevolence’ to solve the question, interpreting the unity of internal and external cultivation…”

The students listened, half-understanding, exclaiming, “That’s difficult.”

The stiff man shook his head and chuckled: “As Xunzi: Encouraging Learning says, ‘Learning should never cease.’ Do not lose heart because of the difficulties you face now; how else will you face the imperial examination in the future? Alright, I need to go teach. You all continue working on solving this question.”

With that, the students bowed and dispersed.

The stiff man stood up, just in time to see Pei Jian and Cui Xian walking in.

His smile suddenly vanished, and he even snorted through his nose before turning to enter the classroom.

Pei Jian’s forehead twitched, suppressing his anger, and said to Cui Xian, “That was Teacher Wu showing his friendliness to me, don’t misunderstand.”

Cui Xian: “…”

So, just how incompetent were you before that the Teacher despises you so much?

It seemed too far-fetched an explanation.

Pei Jian took the Book Chest from Cui Xian and said, “I’m off to class. If you find it boring, you can rest in the Inner Room next door, where tea, pastries, books, and ink are available.”

After saying this, Pei Jian gritted his teeth and followed Teacher Wu into the classroom.

Inside, the students had already taken their seats.

Seeing Pei Jian enter, everyone exchanged mischievous glances, creating a humorous atmosphere.

Teacher Wu stood at the front of the classroom, his eyes fixed on Pei Jian, wary of any mischief he might cause.

However, today was unusual.

Pei Jian sat down obediently, making no noise, his expression surprisingly normal.

This left Teacher Wu unprepared for his usual ‘battle stance’.

Has this troublemaker turned over a new leaf?

Only Pei Jian inwardly sighed in relief.

Because his junior brother was watching him from outside the classroom!

He had no choice but to ‘perform’.

Engrossed in playing the ‘genius’, he inadvertently started to really learn!

Outside the classroom.

Cui Xian watched Pei Jian’s clumsy performance for a while, barely suppressing his laughter, before quietly slipping away.

Their acquaintance was entirely due to Cui Xian’s clever maneuvering.

But regardless of how it came about, the Cui Family was going through tough times, and Pei Jian had extended a helping hand.

He had sent rice, flour, cooking oil, and even silver.

For that alone, Cui Xian would always remember his kindness and make sure Pei Jian applied himself to his studies.

After leaving the Classroom, Cui Xian wandered around the Pei Family Clan School for a bit.

He first visited the beginner’s classroom that Pei Jian had mentioned.

After observing for a moment, he shook his head and quietly left.

As a former PhD in Chinese Language and Literature who had traveled back in time, Cui Xian had never been arrogant enough to think he could “outwit great Confucians” or “outshine the Saint of Poetry.”

He had always held a deep respect for the wisdom of the ancients.

But that didn’t mean he was willing to start over from scratch, relearning the basics of literacy like a child.

That would be far too painful.

Cui Xian decided to skip the “beginner’s class” and jump straight to the “intermediate” or “advanced” levels.

Using the structure of modern preschools as a comparison, the Pei Family Clan School could be roughly divided into three tiers: beginner, intermediate, and advanced.

The beginner level focused on literacy and foundational studies.

The intermediate level, which was Pei Jian’s current class, delved into memorizing and reciting The Four Books and Five Classics.

The advanced level consisted of the group of students who had been surrounding Teacher Wu earlier, learning the eight-legged essay format and practicing problem-solving in preparation for the imperial examination.

After finishing his tour of the Clan School, Cui Xian headed to the Inner Room that Pei Jian had mentioned.

This space functioned as a “tea lounge and rest area,” complete with desks, paper, ink, and brushes.

Since the students were all attending classes, the Inner Room was completely deserted.

The Pei Family Clan School truly embodied the elegance of a noble household. Even the Young Masters’ Study Servants and attendants were allowed to sit in on lessons.

Teacher Wu, who came from humble beginnings, understood the struggles of rural families.

He had specifically instructed that the servants of various households could use the Inner Room to practice their writing.

Unfortunately, only a handful of attendants ever took advantage of this opportunity.

From the adjacent classroom, Teacher Wu’s lecture echoed with vigor and clarity.

The breeze rustled through the bamboo grove, carrying the sweet scent of bamboo leaves. Papers on the desk fluttered noisily in the wind.

No one noticed.

Inside the Inner Room, at the desk.

A young Study Servant, after flipping through a stack of crookedly written practice sheets annotated by Teacher Wu, began grinding ink.

Cui Xian had come to the Pei Mansion as a Study Servant to earn money and support his family.

But his ambitions extended far beyond simply making ends meet.

He was determined to craft the persona of a “super genius prodigy,” paving the way for his future success in the imperial examination and officialdom.

That was why he had coaxed and cajoled his way into the Pei Mansion and joined Pei Jian in the Classroom.

After all, only by entering the Classroom could he begin his grand performance!

And Teacher Wu, currently lecturing in the adjacent room, was the first audience member Cui Xian had chosen for his act.

Although he had been ridiculed by Teacher Wu upon entering the Classroom due to his association with Pei Jian, Cui Xian had gained a favorable impression of the teacher after gathering information during his tour of the Clan School.

Moments later.

Cui Xian picked up a brush with his left hand, exerting all his effort to write a deliberately crooked and awkward piece of calligraphy.

Looking at the finished product, Cui Xian was deeply dissatisfied.

It was too good.

Unacceptable.

He crumpled the paper into a ball and stuffed it into his pocket.

After a moment of thought, he placed a clean, heavy inkstone on his left arm and continued writing.

By the time he finished, beads of sweat had started to form on his forehead.

Pretending to be a hopeless student…

It was harder than he had imagined!

Turns out, being a “bad student” wasn’t easy either.

Carefully flattening the poorly written characters, he placed the paper neatly on the desk.

Listening to Teacher Wu’s lecture drifting over from the adjacent room, Cui Xian smiled to himself and thought, “Dear audience, are you ready to witness the birth of a Genius Prodigy?”

About an hour later, Teacher Wu finished his lecture and came to the Inner Room for a brief rest.

Today, Pei Jian had refrained from stirring up trouble and was unusually well-behaved, leaving Teacher Wu in a relatively good mood.

As he sat down at the desk in the Inner Room, Teacher Wu, as was his habit, glanced at the papers on the desk to see if there were any writings that needed his annotations.

He poured himself a cup of tea as his eyes swept over the desk.

But that one glance was enough to obliterate his good mood entirely. The teacup he had just lifted was slammed back onto the table in frustration.

He knew that the writings on the desk were usually produced by the household servants or study assistants.

Even when the writing was atrocious, Teacher Wu would make an effort to annotate it as a form of encouragement.

But today’s piece of writing defied description.

It was beyond atrocious-it was downright appalling!

Even a chicken, after jumping into an ink pot and flapping around on a sheet of paper, could produce something more legible than this!

The person who wrote this was not only hopelessly untalented but also showed no respect for the art of calligraphy. Their arrogance and recklessness were evident in every stroke.

How could anyone manage to make every single character look so hideous?

It was an insult to ink and paper!

Teacher Wu stared at the grotesque writing, his anger mounting with every passing second.

Grabbing his brush and dipping it into red ink, he furiously penned a critique in one swift motion-a critique that would haunt him for years to come, filling him with regret and shame every time he recalled it.

“Rotten wood cannot be carved!”