Chapter Sixty-One: A Suggestion

  The next day, Zhao Huai came with his father. After paying respects to Zhao Xun, he retreated to one side and stood there, still looking a bit bewildered, seemingly unaware of why Zhao Xun had summoned him.

  Zhao Xun had someone serve tea and didn't beat around the bush, directly asking: "Huaige, how old were you when you started school? What books have you read?"

  Zhao Huai was still a bit dazed, although Zhao Xuan was his aunt, but this seven-year-old little bean asked him, a fourteen-year-old boy, in such an obvious elder tone, it looked and felt strange.

  Zhao Qixuan sat beside him and saw that he was in a hurry, pulled his son's sleeve: "What are you doing? Your aunt is asking you, didn't you hear?"

  Zhao Huai came to his senses and, without being affected by his father's tone, respectfully replied: "At the age of eight, I entered Master Zhu's private school to study. Starting from the Three Hundred Thousand Characters, I have now finished reading 'The Analects' and 'The Great Learning'. Next month, I will start reading 'Mencius'."

  Three hundred thousand is the foundation, Zhao Xuan himself learned these three books in just half a year. Although it's unclear how long Zhao Huai has been learning, he has only learned half of the four books so far, which is somewhat too slow.

  If she had met a reliable teacher, Zhao Xun could still imagine that Zhao Huai was just more diligent in his studies. However, when Zhang Shi decided to send Zhao Wei to a school outside the county to study, he had searched through all the private schools within the borders of Fengxian County. She followed him and naturally knew about the old teacher, who, as Zhao Qi Xuan said, was an old scholar from the previous dynasty, rather pedantic, and it was unclear whether he really didn't want to be an official in the new dynasty or if his abilities were limited and couldn't progress further. Anyway, he had been a scholar for fifty years, and the knowledge in his brain was still what he had learned fifty years ago.

  After Emperor Taizu ascended to the throne, he made some minor reforms to the imperial examination system. He did not abolish the eight-legged essay, but added a few small test questions. The eight-legged essay tested knowledge of the Four Books and Five Classics, while the small test questions tested knowledge of people's livelihoods, economics, law, and human emotions. If an examinee wrote beautiful eight-legged essays but answered the small test questions in a way that was completely off the mark, even if his writing style was excellent, he would not be able to pass the examination and become a jinshi or tongsheng scholar.

  The old master's performance in this regard is very poor. His level in the classics and history is barely passable, but he doesn't understand the new examination questions at all. With a look of disdain on his face, he says that his heart only belongs to the previous dynasty, looking down on the current imperial examination system, and not bothering to learn. And among the students he has taught, the most outstanding ones can only pass the xiucai exam, while most people are eliminated in the county or prefectural exams. In the county, any student who is slightly better in their studies and has a stronger desire for self-improvement will not become his apprentice, unless they cannot find a better teacher, or are short of money and want to take advantage of his cheap tuition fees.

  Zhao Xuan was somewhat worried and didn't know what Zhao Huai had become after following Master Zhu for several years.

  Since Zhao Huai had finished reading "The Analects" and "The Great Learning", Zhao Xiu picked out two famous sentences to ask him, wanting him to make an explanation.

  Zhai Huai's response was quite fluent, and it could be seen that his foundation was very solid. However, as Zhai Xun asked more and more questions, and the questions became increasingly detailed, he began to break out in a cold sweat. He looked up at Zhai Xun, who hadn't even brought a book, yet was able to rattle off those questions effortlessly. It took him great effort to think of an answer, and he couldn't help but feel that his confidence had been severely shaken.

  He knew he hadn't had a good teacher since childhood. But he still worked hard, and among the students taught by various old masters, he was considered to be outstanding. But what's going on now? He couldn't compare with Zhao Wei who was taught by famous teachers, let alone Zhao Xuan, a little girl, could surpass him too?

  Zhao Qixuan was also watching from the side, his heart racing with fear. He had originally thought that his son was very talented and would definitely pass the imperial examination with flying colors if he just found a good teacher to guide him for a few more years. But Zhao Xun was seven years younger than his son and could recite so many lines fluently, while his son still needed to think before answering questions. Could it be... that his son wasn't as talented as he had imagined? He felt like the sky was falling - Zhao Xun was just a little girl, no matter how smart she was, she couldn't possibly pass the imperial examination, could she? His son couldn't even compare to her, would he really have a future? Shouldn't he give up his foolish dreams and send his son to work in his brothers' shop instead?

  Unlike her father and son who were severely traumatized, Zhao Xuan's heart was very calm, she didn't think her performance was unreasonable. In modern times, these classical Chinese texts have been taught in school since elementary school to university, so she had a certain understanding of them. After crossing over, Zhang Shi's education for his grandson and granddaughter was also very strict, starting from when Zhao Wei was 8 years old and Zhao Xuan was 4 years old, he began to roughly teach them the Four Books. Later, when Zhao Wei went to school, every day after learning something new, Zhang Shi would ask him to recite it back to himself at home, Zhao Xuan listened on the side and naturally remembered it. When Zhao Wei did his homework, Zhao Xuan often accompanied him, occasionally even helping to copy books, what Zhao Wei memorized, she also remembered, the knowledge Zhao Wei learned, she also followed and learned. If there were things she didn't understand, there was Zhang Shi as a teacher who could be consulted at any time, and there were many books stored at home. If it weren't for the fact that Zhao Xuan couldn't attend school with her brother, maybe her grades would have been comparable to his.

  Now it's just reciting a few famous quotes to test Zhao Huai, a young man who is not even a child prodigy, and Zhao Xuan really has no pressure at all.

  She now roughly knew Zhao Huai's level, which was about the same as she had imagined. She said to Zhao Qixuan: "Huai Geer has a good foundation, and it seems that Mr. Zhus' teaching of 'Lun Yu' and 'Da Xue' is not bad, but he doesn't explain it in detail. If Huai Geer can read more annotations by famous scholars, he should be able to make some progress. Originally, my grandmother and brother could teach him these things, but they are not at home now. Even if they were at home, they might not have the time. I'll give my cousin an idea - I have a few books here that might be useful for Huai Geer. Let's lend them to him to copy and read carefully. If he can understand them, when autumn comes and my brother's private school recruits students again, let's ask Huai Geer to take the exam again. If he can get in, he will have a famous teacher to study with in the future."

  Zhao Wei is now studying at a private school, which is the best in all of Fengxian. The teacher is a holder of a jinshi degree and is still in his prime years, very dedicated to teaching, and can be called a good teacher. Every year, he teaches three or four students who become xiucai, and several who become holders of a jinshi degree, including two who became jinshi. Although he himself is only a holder of a jinshi degree, the students he teaches are not ordinary. After careful selection by Mrs. Zhang, she finally decided to have him as Zhao Wei's teacher. If Zhao Huai can enter his private school, his future academic prospects will naturally be promising.

  Zhao Qixuan and Zhao Huai were overjoyed. The former stuttered: "S-son, don't you thank your aunt quickly?!" Zhao Huai lifted the hem of his robe to kneel down. Zhao Xun hastily jumped down from the kang and stepped aside with a smile: "Don't mention it, I just lent you two books to take a look, whether you can make progress or not depends on whether you work hard. If you have a strong desire to learn, I'll help you; if you're someone without ambition, I won't bother with you."

  "Really, really." Zhao Qixuan laughed so hard that his eyes were not visible, "In any case, with sister's help. Huai Ge'er has a chance to move forward, right? Sister is indeed the legitimate granddaughter of her paternal grandmother, all are kind-hearted and gentle to juniors."

  Zhao Xun couldn't help but shiver at these words, and with a dry smile, he humbly said a few words, then hurried to the study to personally select several books and handed them over to Zhao Huai.

  Zhao Huai stayed at home and devoted himself to studying. The few books Zhao Xun gave him were like reference books, not only were they detailed in content, but also easy to understand. He could even infer three points from one example. With Zhao Huai's foundation, as long as he read carefully, he could easily solve all the doubts he had encountered in his previous studies. Zhao Huai's academic level was rising rapidly. He knew that these books were absolutely unavailable in bookstores outside, and they were rare treasures. If it were someone else, they might not even be willing to lend them a glance. But Zhao Xun was willing to let him take them home to copy, this kindness he would never forget.

  Zhao Huai worked even harder and performed exceptionally well in the private school of several old masters.

  After he finished copying those books, he returned them to Zhao Xun's hands. Zhao Xun then lent him a few more books, including explanations and analyses of "Mengzi" and "Zhongyong", as well as Tang poetry, Song lyrics, and several historical anecdotes. Zhao Huai was puzzled, so Zhao Xun explained: "Nowadays, taking the imperial examination is not just about mastering the Four Books; you also need to know other things. Of course, you can't neglect the Five Classics, but you should also learn a bit about poetry and literature. It's not that I want you to compose poems during the exam, but when writing essays, if your language is more elegant, your couplets are more refined, and your sentences have a good rhythm, wouldn't it be more pleasing to read? When citing classics and anecdotes, I don't expect you to come up with obscure or profound examples, but you must use them well. Therefore, reading history books is also necessary."

  Zhao Huai suddenly enlightened, looked at Zhao Xuan with even more admiration: "Little aunt, how can you know so many things at such a young age?"

  "Ah-choo!" Zhao Xuan said lightly: "My brother said so because his teacher taught him that way."

  It turned out to be the words of that famous teacher, and Zhao Huai suddenly became respectful, but he didn't underestimate Zhao Xuan either. He was even more confident in himself for entering Zhao Wei's private school in autumn.

  Zhao Huai studied diligently, and the clan members naturally took notice. Although he and his father Zhao Qixuan had privately advised Madam Ma and Zhao Yuan not to spread the news, in the clan, they received help from Zhao Xiu of the second house, it was no secret. When several brothers of Zhao Qixuan in the outer sixth house found out, they stopped mentioning letting Zhao Huai become an apprentice in the shop. They had only planned to help their younger brother and nephew, not intentionally opposing them. If their nephew could really read books and achieve a good reputation, it would bring glory to their faces. Even if their nephew couldn't succeed in his studies, with the support of the second house, he wouldn't starve in the future. They focused on persuading other young clan members instead.

  Zhao Huai devoted himself to reading, and the third house and the sixth house started arguing about entering the business world among the young people in the clan. Zhao Xuan used her grandmother and brother's absence from home and her own youth as an excuse to sit on the sidelines, but actually continued to practice calligraphy and painting at home, studying various books, researching those few English books, and thinking about future plans along the way.

  On the fifth day of the fifth month, a couple from the clan came to visit Zhao Xiu. They saw how Zhao Xiu helped Zhao Qi Xuan's son and thought that since she was willing to help someone as distant as Zhao Qi Xuan, maybe she would also be willing to lend a hand to their own family. Anyway, the young girl is easier to talk to than the cunning Madame of the county.

  "Buy your land?" Zhao Xuan looked at this cheap uncle and aunt in surprise, "Why? Isn't that the land allocated to you by the clan?"

  Because of financial difficulties, the land allocated by the clan was sold to fellow clansmen, which was a first for the developed Zhao family.