Chapter 22: Sorry, Host, With Your Aptitude, You Won’t Pass the Imperial Exams.
Zhang Susu had never found this voice so kind and pleasant before.
System: [Host, I’m back.]
Zhang Susu: [System, you’ve finally returned!]
At this moment, Zhang Susu suddenly realized that, from some point onward, she had begun to trust the system deeply. After all, this was the only existence that could fully understand her—Zhang Susu living as Su Yingxue within the palace of the Da Sheng Kingdom.
System: [Host, I’ve rested for a while and have now recovered 30% of my energy. I should be able to stay clear-headed briefly for a few minutes every couple of days.]
Zhang Susu: [System, when will you be fully awake then?]
System: [Host, it might still take some time. Earlier, in my drowsy state, I sensed you calling for me. Is there something you need my help with?]
Hearing this, Zhang Susu nodded and said, “System, I want to know in advance what will happen to Mo Yunsheng in the next month according to the original novel’s plot. The novel doesn’t describe much about his current situation, so I can’t figure out his specific whereabouts from it.”
System: [Host, please wait a moment.]
System: [Host, I’ve checked and found that Mo Yunsheng is currently studying at Dongli Academy. This academy is said to be the top private institution in Da Sheng Guo Du, second only to the government-run Juxian Elegant Lodge, the highest official academy. Every year, besides the top-ranked official academy, Dongli Academy produces the most successful candidates in the imperial examinations.]
Zhang Susu: [But System, if that’s the case, why is Mo Yunsheng—who, according to the original novel, will top the imperial exams as Zhuangyuan Lang in two years—studying at the second-ranked Dongli Academy instead of the official academy, given his exceptional talent?]
System: [Host, do you know what an official academy is?]
The system’s voice remained as cold, mechanical, and emotionless as ever. It continued: [Juxian Elegant Lodge, as the official academy of the Da Sheng Imperial family, has one admission requirement: students must be children of the Imperial family, aristocratic families, or direct line officials of the fourth rank and above.]
System: [The current head of Juxian Elegant Lodge is the retired former Hanlin Academy elder, Lord Li Hongru. Lord Li was already renowned throughout Dasheng Chaotang for his scholarship during his time in court. The other instructors all hold official positions, so it can be said that gaining admission to the official academy is like having one foot already in the Dasheng court.]
System: [With peers who are all members of the imperial family and children of officials, and teachers who are great Confucian scholars of the court, how could Mo Yunsheng, a mere legitimate son of a wealthy merchant family, even dream of attending such an academy?]
The system said coldly: [Scholars, farmers, artisans, merchants—merchants rank at the bottom. Even though the Mo family is one of the top wealthy merchants in the capital, they are not regarded highly in the eyes of society.]
[In previous dynasties, the Great Sheng Dynasty’s imperial examinations did not allow children of merchants to participate. Although reforms have been made now, the centuries-old national system and public mindset remain like towering green mountains that are difficult to overcome in the eyes of the people.]
Upon hearing this, Zhang Susu fell into deep thought and remained silent for a long time.
Zhang Susu: [So at this time, even though Mo Yunsheng possesses remarkable talent and is as refined as a noble gentleman, in the eyes of the world, he is merely the son of a merchant. Even if Mo Yunsheng is a humble gentleman like Yuanchai Lilan, learned and gifted with the ability to govern the world, he still holds no official position and is seen as mediocre by society, right?]
System: [Host, you are quite perceptive and quick to understand.]
System: [It was quite difficult for Mo Yunsheng to gain admission to Dongli Academy. The academy holds an annual examination testing classical studies, poetry, policy essays, and the Six Arts.]
[The founder of Dongli Academy was the late Grand Duke Liu, a revered minister who served three dynasties in the former court of Da Sheng Kingdom. His purpose in retiring from the court to establish the academy was to select and cultivate talented individuals from among the common people, providing a ladder of opportunity for scholars from the common class in Da Sheng Guo Du and narrowing the gap with those from official academies.]
System: [The current headmaster of Dongli Academy is the Sage of Xiandu, also one of the top literary figures in Da Sheng Guo Du. Therefore, from another perspective, Mo Yunsheng’s admission to this private academy means he has already distinguished himself from hundreds of thousands of annual applicants. Because Dongli Academy admits at most a few hundred students each year, and at minimum only a few dozen.]
System: [In some years, Dongli Academy might not even release a new enrollment list. However, this does not dampen the enthusiasm of thousands of scholars who travel from afar to take the entrance examination when the admission quotas are announced at the end of each year.]
System: [By the way, to add, when Mo Yunsheng was admitted to Dongli Academy the year before last, he ranked third on the list.]
Zhang Susu: [Not bad at all, truly worthy of being the future Newly Appointed Zhuangyuan and a future powerful minister. So, if I also gain admission to Dongli Academy, would it make completing tasks easier?]
Upon hearing this, the System paused slightly. Using its special ability to sense Zhang Susu’s brain and scanning it thoroughly, it still replied expressionlessly: [Sorry, Host, you’re overthinking it. With your aptitude, you won’t pass the exam.]
Zhang Susu was greatly surprised by this. Though she couldn’t see the System’s physical form, its cold and mechanical tone felt like a bucket of cold water had been poured over her. She responded coldly: [I haven’t even taken the exam yet, how do you know I can’t pass with my abilities?]
After all, no matter what, she, Zhang Susu, was at least a college student—a proper college student who had studied diligently for years to get admitted. How could it look down on her like this!
It must be that the System judges people at first glance. No, she had to prove herself!
Seeing her furious and unconvinced expression, the System used its ability to scan Zhang Susu’s brain again. The result remained the same: Zhang Susu would not pass Dongli Academy’s entrance exam.
System: [Host, don’t indulge in illusions. With your intelligence, you really won’t pass.]
System: [If you don’t believe me, here are last year’s entrance exam questions. Try them. See how many you can answer?]
After speaking coldly, an exam paper and a set of the Four Treasures of the Study appeared before Zhang Susu. Every time the System communicated with Zhang Susu, it created a four-dimensional space in her mind, pulling her consciousness into it to allow her to communicate with it through thought.
But now, materializing objects out of thin air like this was a first.
Zhang Susu hadn’t believed it at first, but when she saw that exam booklet, her heart sank.
Wasn’t this just an academy entrance exam? With so many questions, were they planning to test for three days and two nights?
She held it in her hands, looking it over again and again, until she finally had to sigh and admit, “Honestly, with my abilities, I really can’t pass this exam.”
Zhang Susu continued, “You know, I recognize every single character here, yet somehow they all seem unfamiliar. When they’re separated, I know them all, but when they’re connected to form questions, I can’t understand any of them. I even feel like I’m not a real Chinese person.”