Time to Drill

"It's all thanks to your encouragement, Master, and the teachings of all the other masters," said Zhao Ruxi, a typical office worker, offering a timely and mutually flattering remark.

Madam Cui was clearly not a smooth talker, and was somewhat stunned by Zhao Ruxi's fluent and skillful flattery. She stared at Zhao Ruxi for a while before abruptly changing the subject. "I called you here because I'm going to take you to Class Jia. You know what Class Jia is like, right?"

Zhao Ruxi shook her head. "I don't know."

Madam Cui fell silent again.

She had spent many years at the academy and had met countless students. But Zhao Ruxi was the one she understood the least.

Look at all those flattering words she just uttered; they were delivered so fluently and skillfully, almost like those seasoned officials who have been in the bureaucracy for years.

But if you call her shrewd, she's been in the North Academy for so long, yet she doesn't seem to know anyone from other classes.

Mu Qingqiang, who was the least sociable student in Class Ding, had become acquainted with students from other classes. Not to mention the others who were keen on making friends. Zhao Ruxi was simply an anomaly.

"Okay, let me introduce you," she said. "Class Jia has about the same number of students as your Class Ding, six in total. Including you, that makes seven. Three of them have already taken the first round of the imperial examinations; you can talk to them then."

"Okay." Zhao Ruxi nodded.

Looking at the seemingly well-behaved Zhao Ruxi, Madam Cui simply stood up. "I'll take you to the classroom."

"Master," Zhao Ruxi quickly called out to her, "I received an imperial decree last night to teach painting to the people of the Court of Judicial Review and the provinces and counties below."

She explained to Madam Cui the reason for teaching painting, "Because this matter involves the arrest of a criminal, it's better to act sooner rather than later, so I will be focusing a lot of my energy on it in the near future. I will attend the morning classes if I feel it's necessary; if I feel I can grasp the material, I may study on my own and not come to the academy. If the teacher could tell me about the teaching plans and content for the other subjects, I will be able to better manage my study time and not let teaching painting interfere with my studies."

Madam Cui remained silent for a long time.

She naturally disapproved of Zhao Ruxi's actions. Although Zhao Ruxi was very intelligent, if her mind became distracted, it would definitely affect her performance in the imperial examinations. After so many years Beining Women's Academy had only produced one student as intelligent as a prodigy, and she absolutely did not want her to fade into obscurity.

But the Emperor has already issued an imperial edict, so even Grand Princess Shangde cannot interfere in this matter, let alone her.

After a long silence, she finally said, "No... I'm saying, Xiaoxi, although you're smart, if you continue like this, do you think you'll pass the imperial examination next year?"

"There's nothing we can do," Zhao Ruxi said, spreading her hands. "This is an imperial edict from His Majesty; I cannot disobey it."

She paused, then said, "Besides, taking the imperial examinations is also for the purpose of becoming an official and serving the court. Now the court needs my humble contribution. I can't just participate in the examinations and not work for the court, can I? Wouldn't that be putting the cart before the horse?"

Madam Cui felt somewhat ashamed by her words: "What you said makes sense." She had been narrow-minded.

"Don't worry, Master, even if I'm not sitting in the academy, I'll use my other time to study and memorize. Please check my results next time," Zhao Ruxi said.

She had promised Madam Cui that she would participate in the imperial examinations, and she was determined to do so. Since studying at the academy was taking up her time, she would complete this task in the shortest possible time. If she could pass the examinations and become a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations), she wouldn't have let Madam Cui down, would she?

Upon hearing Zhao Ruxi's words, Madam Cui's previously somewhat dejected mood was immediately soothed.

Perhaps she can see how far this child is capable of.

"Let's go then, let's go to Class Jia," she said.

The two went to the North Academy, where Madam Cui led her into the classroom of Class Jia.

It was still early before class started, about half an hour away, but six people were already sitting in the classroom.

This is truly a top-performing class for college entrance exam preparation; everyone is working so hard.

Zhao Ruxi sighed.

"This is Zhao Ruxi. She came in first place in the ten-day exam, so she was promoted directly from Class Ding to Class Jia," Madam Cui introduced simply, then pointed to a table behind her and said, "I had someone bring this here for you last night. Please sit here."

"Thank you, Teacher Cui." Zhao Ruxi walked over and put the things down.

"Zhao Ruxi, would you like to sit here?" A girl sitting in the middle of the first row suddenly stood up and smiled at Zhao Ruxi.

Zhao Ruxi was taken aback for a moment, then quickly waved her hand. "No need, no need."

There are only seven students in the class, so it doesn't matter where she sits. Besides, she doesn't attend many classes, so the middle seat in the first row is often empty. Isn't that just testing the patience of the teacher and classmates?

Madam Cui probably thought of this as well. Seeing that the girl seemed to want to say something more, she quickly said, "No need to change. Zhao Ruxi can just sit there."

She nodded to everyone, "Then you all enjoy your reading, I won't disturb you any longer." With that, she led her maid out.

As soon as she left, everyone gathered around and asked Zhao Ruxi, "How did you study? How did you get such a good score?"

"Yes, do you have some secret? Can you teach us?"

Seeing these classmates, Zhao Ruxi felt as if she had returned to the modern world, and inexplicably felt a great sense of familiarity.

She shared her study tips with everyone without reservation, saying, "Since you're all in Class Jia, you've probably already read through the Four Books and Five Classics. I think you should do more practice questions. By doing practice questions, you'll discover your weaknesses, fill in the gaps in your knowledge, and focus on making up for what you haven't learned or fully understood. This way, you can achieve twice the result with half the effort."

Everyone's eyes lit up. "Is that so?"

Zhao Ruxi nodded. "I will talk to Madam Cui and ask the academy to provide some practice questions for you to do when the teacher is not teaching in the afternoon and you are studying on your own."

Everyone's been practicing with "Five Years of College Entrance Examination, Three Years of Simulation".

Madam Cui also wanted to exchange learning experiences with Zhao Ruxi. After school in the morning, she found Zhao Ruxi and chatted with Zhao Ruxi for a while before letting Zhao Ruxi go.

Zhao Ruxi and Xu Xue had some snacks in the pavilion, and after inquiring about the Xu Family, she took a carriage to the painting academy.

She had told Kang Shilin that the painting training class would be held in the late afternoon after school. But it was only early morning, and everyone was already seriously painting in the art academy. Even Gong Cheng, who hadn't been able to come to the class before because of work, had arrived.

"Master." Zhao Ruxi approached Kang Shilin first and greeted him.