Chapter 7: Chapter 7 Madam Chapter 7: Chapter 7 Madam In the water pavilion, the young men who had just handed in their examination papers stared intently at a white wall in front of them, behind which was a room filled with bookshelves.
At the very center of the room was a black wooden desk, where Mr.
Shen and Housekeeper Wu stood, looking down and flipping through everyone’s answer sheets.
After a while, the two exchanged glances, both shaking their heads and sighing.
“Most people didn’t even get one-tenth of it.
The slightly better ones have memorized about two or three-tenths,” Housekeeper Wu said with a wry smile.
Shen picked out four answer sheets from the pile of papers.
“These few who could remember about four-tenths are considered promising youths.”
Housekeeper Wu took the answer sheets, looked them over, nodded, and then exclaimed, “You’re right, Sir.
These are from those three Attendant Students, and one who has been studying for six or seven years.”
“That’s perfectly normal,” Mr.
Shen felt otherwise unsurprised: “Aside from those genuine prodigies, the more you study, the better you learn, that’s certain.
Not to mention, after a few years in elementary school, you would have grasped some methods of memorization.”
“As for those born with knowledge, where could you easily stumble upon such geniuses?”
While speaking, he casually sifted through the papers.
Soon after, he pinched an answer sheet, and his eyebrows gently furrowed.
“Eh, is there a pearl missed?” Housekeeper Wu, seeing his expression, leaned over curiously and recognized the answer sheet as extremely familiar.
“Isn’t this, isn’t this Zheng Fa’s?”
Housekeeper Wu had a vivid impression of Zheng Fa
In fact, he had specifically paid attention to the latter’s answer sheets.
After looking them over, his impression was—what on earth is this?
Not a single word was correct!
Recalling how he had assuredly claimed Zheng Fa had something worthwhile inside him, even with Housekeeper Wu’s extensive experience, he couldn’t help but feel a bit embarrassed.
Shen ignored him, simply silently studying the exam paper for a long time before suddenly raising his head to offer his respects with cupped hands: “Wu, I have now witnessed your penetrating insight!”
“…” Housekeeper Wu looked down again at Zheng Fa’s answer sheet.
No matter how he looked at it, he found it an eyesore, and of course, he darkened his face: “Mr.
Shen, I know you’re here to examine the student attendants and using a sledgehammer to crack a nut has irked you.
But it’s not right to make these sarcastic remarks at me!
We’re all just following orders.”
Seeing his misunderstanding, Mr.
Shen waved his hands and explained even more earnestly: “I truly admire your eye for talent!”
Housekeeper Wu would not believe his nonsense, feeling that these scholars had a knack for aggravating others—seriously hurling insults with a straight face, who could bear that?
I know, my judgment was poor!
I should not have favored this Zheng youngster, I might as well have been blind today, right?”
“You don’t understand, Wu, Zheng Fa’s answer sheet is rather extraordinary!”
“What’s so extraordinary?
He wrote so many words, but not even half a word is correct…”
Facing Zheng Fa’s miserable answer sheet, Housekeeper Wu couldn’t help but feel that Mr.
Shen was criticizing his own blindness.
“He got half a word right!” Mr.
Shen slapped his hands together, in admiration.
Shen placed Zheng Fa’s answer sheet to one side, then took out the original text of the Qingjing Scripture and compared the two.
“This version of Qingjing Scripture written by Zheng Fa, at first glance, there isn’t a single correct word, but look closely!” Mr.
Shen pointed at Zheng Fa’s answer sheet and the original text, comparing them word for word.
“…It really is half a word?”
Housekeeper Wu saw it after looking for a long time.
Zheng Fa’s answer sheet was peculiar; for nearly every word, he had only part of it written correctly.
If you didn’t look closely, it was even hard to understand what was meant to be written on the paper.
“What do you see?” Mr.
Shen asked with a hint of excitement in his voice.
a desperate yet striving illiterate?”
“… It means the child truly has talent!” Mr.
Shen pointed to Zheng Fa’s answer sheet and said, “Although all the characters he wrote are incorrect, if you compare them, he almost got ninety percent of the original text right!”
“Photographic memory?” Housekeeper Wu began to understand Mr.
“Yes, for a person who cannot read, to be able to remember these characters in such a short time, only photographic memory could explain it.”
“So, you really weren’t mocking me…”
Photographic memory is indeed somewhat peculiar, but truthfully, I’ve heard of such individuals before.
However, there’s something else that makes me think this child is extraordinary.”
“What?” Housekeeper Wu also became interested.
“Look, the characters he wrote, they seem to lack strokes and lines, but if you think carefully, you’ll realize that each character he wrote has its own set of rules.
I even have a feeling—each character, he has his own way of writing, and this method almost always retains the essential parts of the character itself.”
Upon hearing this, Housekeeper Wu became rather skeptical.
Creating a unique script on his own?
That’s not just genius, that’s monstrosity.
“Is it possible that he simply did not remember the correct shapes of the characters?”
“This…” From the bottom of his heart, Mr.
Shen felt Housekeeper Wu’s point had some merit, his own conjecture was perhaps too far-fetched.
Shen shook his head: “No matter what, in terms of talent, among this group of people, Zheng Fa should be considered the best.”
Housekeeper Wu laughed upon hearing this: “I knew it, my eyes couldn’t have been mistaken!
This boy is talented!”
“However, from this answer sheet, it’s apparent that his family must be average at best, he hasn’t attended much school, and given his age, it would be difficult for him to make a substantial impact in a short time, I’m afraid the lady may not take a liking to him,” Mr.
Shen said somewhat regretfully.
At this moment, it was Housekeeper Wu who took Zheng Fa’s answer sheet and placed it among the four that had been selected earlier, holding them in hand.
“You really don’t understand our lady,” he said while smiling, walking towards the interior: “For the lady…”
“Economic background,” he pointed through the wall towards the young men who were eagerly awaiting: “Whether these persons are poor or rich, they are just the children of servants.”
“Knowledge,” he turned back pointing to himself then to Mr.
Shen: “Is also just so-so, we make do with those who are useful and replace those who are not.”
“I bet, among these people, the one that will be selected will definitely be this lad surnamed Zheng.
Our lady, she cherishes talent.”
He took the several answer sheets and walked towards the inner depths of the estate, passing a lotus pond, and through the back garden.
Until he arrived at a two-story small building.
From upstairs, the sound of silk and bamboo instruments echoed.
He ascended the Agarwood staircase to the second floor, where heavy curtains hung.
Through the layers of gauze, one could see a soft and graceful figure lying on a wide, low couch.
The woman was propping her head with one hand, listening to three young maidens playing their instruments in the corner, and lazily twirling a gold hairpin in her other hand.
Housekeeper Wu dared not raise his eyes nor make a sound.
He just stood silently in front of the curtains.
After a long while, the music came to an end.
The woman lifted her hand and lightly tapped a hanging jade ring with the end of the hairpin in her hand.
The clear sound passed through the layers of curtains.
Housekeeper Wu knew that he could speak now.
“Lady, today in selecting Attendant Students for Seventh Young Master, there are a few answer sheets that are somewhat impressive, your servant has brought them here.”
A young girl walked out slowly, took the answer sheets from Housekeeper Wu’s hand, then turned and went back to the couch.
She handed the several answer sheets to the person on the couch.