Lester Liew arrived home at a quarter past 7PM.
He'd lucked out today—after class at the academy, he managed to catch a passing ox cart heading toward Riverbend Village. For an extra five coins, the driver agreed to drop him off at the entrance of Liew Clan Village, allowing him to return just before sunset.
By the time he stepped through the door, dinner was already over. Every dish had meat added, glistening with oil. The stir-fried greens alone were so fragrant they made Clara eat an extra bowl of rice. For the first time, she was so full she reclined in her bamboo chair in the courtyard, too stuffed to move.
Lester walked in expecting a warm welcome.
But instead, he found the four children sitting quietly at the desk, diligently practicing their calligraphy. Two oil lamps lit the room brightly. They glanced back when they heard the door, greeted him with a soft "Welcome home, Dad," and immediately returned to their studies.
The past few days had been taken up by the autumn harvest. Clara had also been busy with setting up the workshop, so lessons had been paused. Now that there was a spare moment, naturally, the children needed to catch up.
Reading and writing were like flowing water—stop for even a little while, and it was hard to resume.
Clara raised a finger to her lips and made a "shhh" gesture, reminding Lester to keep quiet so the kids could focus.
Lester felt a twist in his gut. What was this household anymore? It felt more like Clara's than his. He was starting to feel like a guest.
No—less than a guest.
Swallowing his frustration, he walked into his room, dropped off his belongings, handed over the materials Clara had asked for, and went into the kitchen to warm up his dinner.
Lifting the lid of the pot on the stove, he found a bowl of meat and vegetables and another of rice, packed tight. Two logs had been left in the hearth and had burned down just right, leaving the food perfectly warm.
That small act soothed Lester's wounded soul. He took the bowls out and began eating ravenously.
The academy's food wasn't much, and meat was out of the question. He'd been craving it so badly, he once splurged on two meat buns—just once. He couldn't afford more. But compared to the thick, juicy slices of meat now in his bowl, those buns weren't even worth mentioning.
With each bite of home-cooked food, the sting of his cold welcome faded. By the end of his meal, he felt fully revived.
He made his way over to Clara and, glancing at the darkening sky, asked tentatively, "It's already this dark, dear—can you see clearly?"
Clara shot him a sideways look. "Then why aren't you lighting the lamp?"
Chastised, Lester turned around and lit the lamp in the hall, bringing it over. Still, he muttered inwardly—couldn't she work inside instead of sitting in the gloomy courtyard?
After a month's effort, Lester had only managed to collect exam questions from the past two years under the new dynasty—two County Exam sets and one Provincial Exam set.
That made six exams in total.
The Great Sheng Empire's civil exam system resembled the Song and Ming models Clara knew. Candidates could choose from several categories to test in, but everything still revolved around the Four Books and Five Classics. Each exam had a fixed format and word limit—700 or 1000 words depending on the subject.
Lester's notes were a mess—he had scribbled only the regnal year and session. Clara would have to reorganize it all.
There were only four sample answers.
It was quite a bit of content, and Lester's handwriting was an eyesore. Clara decided to wait until daylight to properly go through it.
Overall, Lester had completed maybe 70% of the task—far below Clara's expectations.
But then again, considering his limited social standing, the fact that he'd managed to get four County Exam answer sheets was already commendable.
The Provincial Exam was for certified scholars. Even those who failed were seasoned examinees. Lester had no contact with them; none of them were in the academy.
"Dear, you said I'd get a reward for completing this task. So…" Lester asked, hopeful as Clara tucked the materials away.
Clara patted the notebook and smiled. "There's a reward, don't worry. Once I organize everything, the first full two-year practice test book will be yours."
Lester frowned. That didn't sound much like a reward.
Clara stood. "Time for bed. Don't forget to shut the door and prepare breakfast tomorrow."
With that, she headed to her room and shut the door.
Lester was too tired to think much of it. He washed his face and feet with cold water, then returned to his small room to sleep.
At first, he'd looked down on the tiny room, but now… he almost missed it.
No stinky feet, no snoring, no teeth grinding—just the quiet hum of insects and birds, and the fresh, clean air.
He slept soundly through the night and awoke just as the sun peeked over the horizon.
He thought he was the earliest riser—until he noticed the light from the master bedroom.
Clara was already up. She had trimmed papers to match the exam format and was now writing out questions onto answer cards for the County Exam.
There were two parts to the County Exam. This was the initial one, commonly known as the Child Scholar Exam.
Passing that granted one eligibility for the examination track.
The second round happened around May or June—it was the formal County Exam, the one that earned the title of County Scholar.
These two occurred once a year. The higher-level exams followed a triennial schedule.
However, with the new emperor's grace, this year was an exceptional case—there would be an exam every year.
Clara was creating mock exams and practice booklets.
Thanks to her month as a bodyguard at the Ding estate, she'd picked up plenty of insights from Miss Emily Ding and Butler Hugh. She now had a good grasp of the exam process.
With that foundation, she could now structure full simulations right at home.
The County Exam's preliminary round started in February each year, comprising five sessions. Students had to report before dawn and submit their papers the same day.
Answer sheets followed strict formatting: fourteen lines per page, eighteen characters per line, over ten pages in total, plus extra blank sheets.
Exam topics included two essays from the Four Books and one poem in test-post format, with a cap of 700 characters per piece.
The remaining four sessions were retests.
These retests existed to prevent corruption or favoritism. Candidates who passed the prelims might be summoned again to ensure fairness.
Retests usually occurred after results were posted and only if someone lodged a complaint.
All this—Lester had no idea about. Who knew what the academy teachers were doing? They hadn't explained any of this.
Then again, maybe it was because Lester had only just enrolled. If he hadn't even passed the basic curriculum, the teachers likely didn't see the point in telling him.
Most of his classmates were still children, after all.
"Tsk…" Clara clicked her tongue. Maybe it was time to get his class reassigned.
He was preparing for the civil service exams, not just learning to read.
At breakfast, Clara brought it up. Lester scratched his head awkwardly. "Well… I have to memorize all of the Four Books first before they'll let me switch."
"You still haven't finished memorizing that?" Clara was stunned. She began to suspect something might be wrong with his brain.
Lester mumbled, "How could I find time to study? I spent it all copying those exam papers and sample answers you wanted…"
Now it was Clara's turn to scratch her head. This was getting worrisome. The next exam was in February—only six months away.
Time was short and the workload heavy. Starting today, it was time to hit the books hard.
Clara's eyes gleamed sharply. Lester, halfway through his steamed bun, suddenly had a bad feeling in his gut.
(End of Chapter)
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