I Studied Abroad in the Modern Times

Chapter 7: Madam

Inside the waterside pavilion, the young students who had just submitted their papers were staring intently at a white wall. Behind this wall was a room filled with bookshelves.

In the center of the room, there was a black wooden desk where Mr. Shen and Steward Wu stood, reviewing the students’ answers.

After a while, they exchanged a glance and sighed.

“Most of them barely remembered a tenth of it. The better ones probably retained two or three tenths,” Steward Wu said with a bitter smile.

Mr. Shen picked through the stack of papers and pulled out four of them.

“These few managed to remember around forty percent. They’re decent prospects.”

Steward Wu glanced at these answer sheets and nodded, but then sighed. “You’re right, these belong to the three scholars, plus one who’s studied for six or seven years already.”

“That’s to be expected,” Mr. Shen said without surprise. “Besides true prodigies, the more you study, the more you retain. Just from a few years of elementary studies, you learn methods for memorizing text to some degree.”

He continued to leaf casually through the stack of papers.

After a moment, he stopped, holding one paper with a slight frown.

“Hmm, could there be an unexpected gem?” Steward Wu noticed his expression and curiously leaned over, recognizing the paper instantly.

“Isn’t that… isn’t that Zheng Fa’s?”

Steward Wu had a lasting impression of Zheng Fa.

In fact, he had paid special attention to Zheng Fa’s answer sheet, but after reviewing it, he had only one thought: What nonsense!

Not a single answer was correct!

Recalling how confidently he’d once vouched for Zheng Fa, Steward Wu, despite all he’d experienced, felt a tinge of embarrassment.

Mr. Shen ignored him, instead studying the answer sheet in silence. After a long while, he suddenly raised his head and clasped his hands toward Steward Wu in respect, saying, “Wu, I must commend your discerning eye!”

Steward Wu looked down at Zheng Fa’s answer sheet again, examining it from every angle, finding it nothing but an eyesore. Naturally, his face darkened. “Mr. Shen, I know you’re frustrated with having to test a study attendant, as if using a sledgehammer to kill a chicken. But if you’re going to sarcastically take it out on me, that’s a bit unfair. We’re all just following orders.”

Seeing the misunderstanding, Mr. Shen waved a hand, his expression even more earnest as he explained, “I genuinely admire your keen vision!”

Steward Wu wasn’t about to believe him, suspecting that Mr. Shen was mocking him in a scholarly way. “Fine! I admit it. I made a mistake in judging that Zheng boy. Today, my eyes were truly blind.”

“You don’t understand. This answer sheet of Zheng Fa’s is quite extraordinary!”

“What’s extraordinary? It’s just a bunch of words, not a single one correct…”

Faced with Zheng Fa’s appalling answer sheet, Steward Wu couldn’t help but feel that Mr. Shen was simply insulting his eyesight.

“It’s half a word that’s correct!” Mr. Shen clapped his hands, exclaiming in admiration.

“…Huh?”

Mr. Shen placed Zheng Fa’s answer sheet beside the original text of The Classic of Purity and Tranquility and compared them side by side.

“Do you see it?”

“See what?”

“This copy of The Classic of Purity and Tranquility by Zheng Fa, at first glance, doesn’t have a single correct word. But if you look carefully!” Mr. Shen pointed to Zheng Fa’s paper with one finger and the original text with another, comparing them word by word.

“…It’s really just half a word?”

Steward Wu finally saw it after a long while.

Zheng Fa’s answer sheet was peculiar—almost every character he wrote was partially correct.

If you didn’t look closely, it was nearly impossible to understand what he was trying to write.

“What do you see?” Mr. Shen asked with a hint of excitement in his voice.

“I see… a determined but struggling illiterate?”

“…It shows this child has real talent!” Mr. Shen pointed at Zheng Fa’s paper, saying, “Though his writing is wrong, if you compare it to the original text, he’s got about ninety percent correct!”

“A photographic memory?” Steward Wu began to understand Mr. Shen’s point.

“Yes, someone who doesn’t know the characters but can remember them so precisely in such a short time—only a photographic memory could explain that.”

“So you’re genuinely not mocking me…”

“Of course not! Although a photographic memory is remarkable, I’ve come across such people before. What impresses me more about this child is something else.”

“What?” Steward Wu grew interested.

“Look at these characters. Though they all seem to be missing strokes, each one is written in a consistent way. It’s as if… he’s developed his own method of writing these characters while preserving their essence.”

Steward Wu listened with skepticism. Creating his own script?

That would be more than genius—it would be freakish.

“Couldn’t it just be that he failed to remember the correct forms?”

“Well…” Mr. Shen also found Steward Wu’s explanation more plausible, realizing his speculation might be far-fetched.

Shaking his head, Mr. Shen sighed, “Either way, in terms of talent, I’d say this Zheng Fa ranks first among them.”

Hearing this, Steward Wu couldn’t help but chuckle. “See? I told you, these eyes of mine don’t make mistakes! That kid’s got potential!”

“Judging by this answer sheet, though, his family probably isn’t well-off, and he hasn’t had much formal education. Given his age, his talent may be difficult to cultivate in a short time, and the Madam may not consider him suitable,” Mr. Shen said, a little regretfully.

In response, Steward Wu placed Zheng Fa’s paper among the four selected sheets and held it in his hands.

“That’s where you don’t understand our Madam.” He chuckled, heading toward the inner residence. “For Madam…”

“As for family background,” he pointed outside at the waiting youths. “These kids, rich or poor, are all just the children of servants.”

“And in terms of education,” he gestured to himself, then to Mr. Shen, “We’re just as replaceable.”

“I bet you that out of all these papers, the one Madam will choose is this Zheng boy. Madam treasures talent.”

With the papers in hand, he walked further into the estate, passing the Lotus Pond and through the rear garden.

Finally, he arrived at a two-story building.

Upstairs, faint strains of silk and bamboo music drifted.

He climbed the sandalwood stairs to the second floor, where layered curtains partially revealed the silhouette of a graceful figure reclining on a wide, low couch.

The woman propped her head with one hand, listening to three young women playing instruments in the corner. Lazily, she toyed with a gold hairpin in her hand.

Steward Wu didn’t dare raise his head or speak. He simply stood quietly before the curtain.

After a while, the song concluded.

The woman lifted her hand and gently tapped the jade ring hanging from the curtain with the tip of her hairpin.

Ding.

The clear sound passed through the layers of gauze.

Steward Wu knew he was permitted to speak.

“Madam, today’s answer sheets for selecting the Seventh Young Master’s study attendant include a few worthy of attention. I have brought them.”

Ding.

A young girl stepped forward, took the papers from Steward Wu, and returned to the couch, handing them to the reclining figure.

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