On February 12, after a series of preparations, Xi Yao summoned the ladies of the nobles in the capital and told them that he would set up a girls' school in the capital, so that the daughters of the nobles and officials could go to school with the royal women. And I talked about the system of girls' schools.

These noble ladies were at a loss, and did not shirk or agree on the spot, but discussed with their husbands after returning home.

Xungui himself didn't understand what Yunxi or Xiyao were going to do, but after thinking about it, it didn't seem to hurt much, and he could also let his daughter have a good relationship with the royal princess and county lord. So most people are willing to send their daughters to girls' schools.

Later, when someone joked with others, he said, "If your majesty sees your daughter at the end of school, you may be chosen as a concubine." ”

He was just joking, but the others thought it made sense. "Your Majesty will not really set up a school in the name of it, but in fact, it is to select concubines." Someone said.

However, the regulations of the girls' school stipulate that only children under the age of ten are accepted, which makes them feel unlike; At this time, someone finally guessed one of Yun Xi's real purposes: His Majesty may be preparing for the selection of the prince's concubines in the future.

After this purpose was discovered, the nobles and officials quickly diverged:

People who cherish their daughters very much and are not keen on climbing dragons and phoenixes are reluctant to let their daughters enter the women's school: once they enter the palace gate, they are as deep as the sea, if they are really selected by the queen to become the princess's concubine, and fall out of favor after old age, wouldn't it hurt their daughter's life?

And some people who also cherish their daughters, but are unwilling to give up letting their daughters make friends with the princess of the royal princess, plan to send their favorite daughters to the girls' school, but they are instructed not to behave too well, there can be some small shortcomings that are innocuous but not very liked by the queen; At the same time, the unfavored concubines in the family were also sent to school to see if they could climb the dragon and attach the phoenix.

Of course, there are some of the most shameless people, if it weren't for the age limit of girls' schools, who intend to send all their daughters to school.

The latter two types of families are willing to send their daughters to school, although there is a clear age limit, but there are many nobles and officials in the capital, and there are many who are eligible. Out of caution, Xi Yao finally decided to enroll only thirty students in each of the three sessions this time, counting no more than thirty-five princess lords of the same age, which is almost the number of two classes in the country private school. Because this time it was a joint enrollment of seven, eight, and ninety, a total of ninety female students were recruited, and there were ninety-nine people counting the princess county lords of the same age.

The school officially opened on March 15. Except for the princess, everyone is required to live in a dormitory, with two students in the dormitory, and students with similar family backgrounds are selected to sleep together, and each person is allowed to have one maid. Although it is called a dormitory, the accommodation conditions prepared for these young ladies are very good, and it is not the same thing as a collective dormitory for the students of Jiangwutang.

Hee Yao also has a strict discipline in place, even if the princess is inside the school, she can't bully others. She set an example by harshly dealing with a county lord who had violated discipline.

Although public scolding is banned, private inequality cannot be eliminated. Maybe the daughter of the noble family is not afraid of the county lord, but she will not offend; As for the daughters of mid-level officials, they are walking on thin ice.

However, in general, under strict management and a reasonable system, girls' schools are running well.

……

……

On the same day that the girls' school opened, officials sent by the Ministry of Rites presided over the Ying Tianfu Yuan examination.

The local college examinations are all presided over by the academic administration, but there is no academic administration in the direct subordinate, so the Ministry of Rites sent officials to the provinces to preside over the academic examinations.

In previous years, few officials in the court would pay attention to the court exams. After passing the college examination, he is just a showman, and he can only be counted as a reserve army of the ruling class, and he is still far from entering the officialdom! There are a lot of things that you need to worry about as an official, and you won't pay attention to it unless it's your own family exam.

But this year, it has changed from usual, and the Tianfu Academy examination has attracted the attention of many people. The reason is also very simple, because Xue Xiyang has to take the hospital exam.

From before he reached the Gongyuan, there were countless people staring at him; When he was examined, some people seemed to want to attach their eyeballs to the body of the person who searched to see if there was any water released from the search.

The searcher also knew that this exam was in the spotlight, so he didn't dare to release the water at all, so he carefully searched and searched for it before letting him in.

Even in the examination room, although the patrol officer in charge of order was patrolling the entire examination room, he couldn't help but keep his eyes on Xuan Yang: many of the patrol officers in charge of the Tianfu Yuan examination this time were soldiers from the previous Jinwu left and right guards, and they all knew Xi Yang, so they paid great attention.

Xu Yang didn't pay attention to so many people 'caring' about him, and all his attention was focused on the test paper in front of him.

The person who asked the question this time was a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, and he was also a member of the Ministry of Etiquette. Although the questions are not tricky, it is not easy for nerds who are familiar with the four books to answer them; Although he is not a nerd, he has spent a lot of time writing an outline, and he also stops to think about it from time to time.

It was noon in a short time, and Xu Yang's examination paper was only two-thirds completed. So he took out the dry food he had prepared at home and nibbled on it.

After gnawing on the dry food, Xue Xiyang continued to answer the questions, finished writing three articles in Shenshi, and got up to hand in the papers. Then he left the Gongyuan and got into a carriage and went home.

……

……

He himself was relaxed, but Lu Yuanzhi felt heavy pressure soon after seeing Lu Yuanzhen's article.

Lu Yuanzhi is Fang Xiaoru's cousin, and he is deeply influenced by Fang Xiaoru in terms of learning, and he is also one of the representatives of the Zhou Li School.

In this case, of course, he will choose to admit children who meet his heart in the examination. Although Xue Xiyang's article is not particularly in line with Lu Yuanzhi's intentions, it is already considered good among all the candidates in Yingtianfu this time, and Lu Yuanzhi even wants to point Xue Xiyang as the head of the case, so that he can even be a small and medium-sized three yuan, which is also a good story.

But then Lu Yuanzhi saw an article that was not quite in line with his mind, but the writing was excellent, and after reading it, he expected that the author would definitely be able to win the title.

At this moment, Lu Yuan was embarrassed. If Xue Xiyang was not the queen's younger brother, he would have ordered Xue Xiyang as the head of the case, even if someone has a bone in his egg, he is not afraid; But Xiyang is the queen's younger brother, so you have to be cautious. If he named Xiyang as the head of the case, his political opponents would definitely impeach him on the grounds of 'flattery'. In the case of the victory of the two articles, although the emperor will certainly not bother with such an impeachment, it is likely to affect his reputation.

Now in addition to the Zhou Li faction, there are also Confucian factions such as the School of Science and the School of Classics, and even those who worship half-Confucianism and half-Taoism, and the contradictions between them are no less than the contradictions between the civil and military. Fortunately, it was just a few small things, and it passed after a while, so Yun Xi didn't make a big move.

It was already late at night, but Lu Yuanzhi was still walking around the house, thinking hard.

After a while, he thought, 'What would my cousin do if he presided over this college exam?' ’

Lu Yuanzhi reflected in his mind the resolute expression of Fang Xiaoru when he talked to him once, and remembered what he once said: 'We serve the imperial court, why should we care about the evaluation of others? As long as you are worthy of your heart, as long as you are dedicated to the court, even if you are misunderstood, what is it! ’

Thinking of Fang Xiaoru's words, Lu Yuanzhi finally made up his mind and wrote a few words on Xue Xiyang's test paper.

……

……

"I heard that Xue Xiyang was admitted to Xiucai, or should he be the head of the Tianfu Academy?" When Yunxi was eating at noon, He Xiyao said.

Today is March 18th, and the list has been officially released this morning. Countless people who were paying attention to Xue Xiyang's exam results immediately reported the people who sent him out when they saw his name.

Yun Xi was also very concerned, letting Qin Song stare at a little; Qin Song then personally entered the palace after the release of the list and told Yun Xi about it.

"Yes, husband, Xue Xiyang has hit the head of the case." Xi Yao said with a smile. Even though she had known it an hour ago, it was still nice to hear Yoon-hee mention it.

"The next time he enters the palace, I want to praise him well, even the middle and small three yuan, it is much more difficult than the middle lift." Yun Xi smiled.

"Dad, mother, what are you talking about?" Min'er suddenly interjected.

"It was your little uncle who was admitted to Xiucai." Xi Yao smiled.

"Xiucai? What is Xiucai? Min'er asked again.

Xiyao explained, Min'er seemed to understand, and said, "Isn't my uncle already an official, why do you still need to take the Xiu exam to become an official?" ”

"This," Xi Yao felt that it was difficult to explain, and just as she was thinking about it, Yun Xi said, "You'll know when you grow up." ”

"Humph!" Min'er snorted, dissatisfied.

"Min'er has been doing this recently, because Baoqing and Siqi have gone to school and feel lonely, so is this so?" Yun Xi asked Xi Yao quietly.

"Probably that's the case," Xi Yao looked at Min'er and said, "The three of them have been playing together since they were children, and now the children in the palace who are the same age as her have also gone to school, and she herself is a little lonely." ”

"Husband, why don't you let Min'er go to school a year early, she's just four months younger than Siqi."

"I think it's a bit early for Siqi to go to school, and Min'er will go to school next year. She won't be alone when she goes to school next year. Yun Xi said.

"But what about this year?" Xi Yao said.

"Find a few people to play with her. I remember that Xi Ran's eldest daughter Dai Wen is also six years old, the same age as Min'er? Call her into the palace; There are also Changfu and Li Mansion, I remember that there are also little girls who are exactly six years old? also entered the palace and read and played with Min'er. "Yoon-hee decided to set up a separate 'preschool' for Min-a.

Xi Yao obviously understood that it was a companion reading. But being a companion wasn't a bad thing for her niece, and she nodded in agreement.