Be a small county magistrate in ancient times

Chapter 525 Liangzhou Academy
The further the carriage went, the fewer people there were on the street.

Soon a fence came into view, and then the carriage stopped. Lai Cai said, "We have arrived. Please wait for a moment. I will go and tell them why we are here."

Mo Lixiao was helped down from the carriage by Xiaojun, and Cai Rong in the carriage in front also got down.

After nodding at Cai Rong, Mo Lixiao followed Lai Cai who came forward and knocked on the door.

As Laicai knocked on the door, Mo Lixiao's attention fell on the door. It was an old brown wooden door, which was obviously quite old. In sharp contrast to it was the brand new plaque hanging on the door.

There are four big characters written on the plaque: Liangzhou Academy.

After knocking on the door for a long time, someone finally answered from inside, "Come here, come here. Who is it? Coming in and out at this time?" There was a lot of complaint in the words.

A small door next to the main door was opened from the inside, and the person who answered the call just now poked his head out and asked, "Who is it?"

The man had gray hair and a thin face, and looked like an elderly man. He was not dressed properly, and it was estimated that he had just come out of bed.

Lai Cai stepped forward and said, "Old man, we are from Beishan County Academy and would like to find the headmaster of this place. May I ask if the headmaster is in the courtyard?"

The old man looked Laicai up and down, then looked at the two people beside the carriage in the distance, "I have heard of Beishan County, but where did the Beishan County Academy come from?" The old man pulled his thick cotton jacket closer and laughed, "Strange, strange, these days any school dares to call itself an academy."

After hearing this, Lai Cai took out the visiting card that he had prepared long ago from his sleeve and handed it to the person in front of him, "Please let the old man know."

The old man took the visiting card and said to Laicai, "Wait."

The small door was closed again. Lai Cai turned around and saw Mo Lixiao and Xiaojun walking towards him. He advised: "Miss and Sir, you should get in the car and wait for a while. I don't know how big this courtyard is and how long it will take."

“That’s fine.” Mo Li said with a smile, “Since I was the one who proposed this matter, there’s no reason for others to wait on my behalf.”

"Miss, you are too polite." Lai Cai said, "You are working for Beishan County, so naturally we should all work together. Why should we distinguish between you and me?"

Lai Cai saw that she was determined to wait, so he stopped trying to persuade her. He just adjusted his position silently, trying to block more wind for her.

Fortunately, the old man came back after a while.

He opened the door and let them in. "Please come in, everyone. The headmaster is waiting for you in the Cuibai Hall. I was negligent before, so I will show you the way now."

Lai Cai stepped back a few steps, ready to let Mo Lixiao and Cai Rong go first.

But the old man said in embarrassment: "Gentlemen, this is a school after all, it is not appropriate for women to enter."

Cai Rong stopped walking, turned back to Mo Lixiao and introduced, "This is the person in charge of Beishan Academy. She can't come in, I'm afraid we have to ask the dean to come out and talk."

The old man really didn't expect this. After hearing the introduction, he stopped trying to stop them and led the group into the school.

A few people walked along the gravel road to a two-story building. Compared with other buildings in the courtyard, this building was obviously built with more care, and the wood and tiles used on the roof were obviously exquisite.

"Master." The old man bowed and reported at the door, "The person has arrived."

The door opened and a middle-aged man walked out. He was tall and strong, wearing a green gown with a jade hanging around his waist. He greeted everyone as he came out.

Mo Lixiao immediately returned the greeting and said, "Please forgive me for my sudden visit, Headmaster."

"No, please come in." The headmaster led a few people inside, and at the same time he was confused, why is it a woman who spoke here? The gatekeeper did not explain in advance, so he almost showed his emotions. After walking around the screen, Mo Lixiao saw three people sitting in the room. The headmaster introduced them, "These are the masters in my courtyard. They were discussing something with me just now."

Mo Lixiao apologized for interrupting him again. The dean said it was okay and told the boy to bring stools and tea. "Please take a seat. I don't know why you are here. Would you like to ask the gentleman in our courtyard to leave?"

Since the other party asked this, it meant that he didn't want these three gentlemen to avoid him.

Although Mo Lixiao didn't understand, she came here just for the gentleman and wanted to take this opportunity to learn more about him.

"No need." Mo Li smiled and sat down, then said to the headmaster, "We came here this time to help the students of Beishan County to study. The headmaster must know that Beishan County has only been established for three or four years."

Seeing the headmaster nod, Mo Li smiled and continued, "But Lord Meng of our county has always attached great importance to educating the people. He has set up a school since the establishment of the county and invited teachers from other counties to teach the people. It has been three or four years now.

Among these people, there are some with high comprehension and have learned far more than their classmates. My teacher feels unable to continue teaching, but also cannot bear to see their knowledge go to waste, so I thought of your institution.

That's why I came here today and disturbed you all."

While Mo Lixiao was speaking, he carefully observed the expressions of everyone present and saw that two of the three gentlemen showed disapproval on their faces.

Mo Lixiao felt puzzled. She hadn't even opened her mouth to ask for anything, so why did these two people make such expressions?
The headmaster said: "In that case, you can let them come here in the spring. As long as they can answer the questions given by the teacher, they can enter our school."

Mo Li smiled and stood up to thank the dean.

The headmaster said politely, "Your Excellency, you don't have to be so polite. The school always welcomes students who study hard." He also felt strange. If a student wanted to come here to study, it would be normal to take the exam. Why would he make such a big fuss and come here? Could there be other requirements?

On the mountain, Mo Lixiao waited for him to make a request, but the other party was polite for a long time and didn't mention it.

Mo Lixiao observed the situation, but he really couldn't think of any good way to get those three gentlemen to speak.

If the gentlemen don't speak up, how can we create an opportunity to drag them to Beishan County?
Mo Lixiao simply took out the test paper that Qi Renli had drawn. Lai Cai took it and handed it to the dean at Mo Lixiao's signal. "This is the test paper that my school has collected with great difficulty. I would like to ask the dean and the three gentlemen to take a look and see if these questions are helpful for the provincial examination?"

The headmaster took the paper and read it carefully. Two of the three gentlemen also came over. The remaining gentleman, whose seat was closest to Mo Lixiao, sat down on the chair and chuckled before he even read the questions. "Young lady is a woman after all. She has no knowledge of the imperial examination system. She starts with the provincial examination.

You should know that only those who become scholars are eligible to take part in the provincial examination.

Let alone Beishan County, how many people in the entire Liangzhou are qualified?"

Mo Li smiled and nodded to the man, "Sir, what you said makes sense."

The gentleman felt a lump in his chest. He snorted coldly and stood up behind the headmaster. When he saw the question on the paper, he laughed and said, "Ridiculous! How can we hold the provincial examination with such a question?"

The dean turned around and said to the man, "You are all distinguished guests of the academy, please do not be disrespectful, sir."

The man stood there awkwardly, his expression frozen.

The headmaster whispered a few words to the other two gentlemen, then returned the test paper to Lai Cai and said to Mo Li with a smile, "The method of predicting the topic is not feasible. When participating in the provincial examination, the most important thing is to make the students memorize the Four Books and Five Classics."

"Yes." Another gentleman also said, "The questions in the second half are quite miscellaneous, but they are not helpful for the imperial examination. If you want to be a minor official in the government office, they are useful.

But it is useless to learn these questions if you want to be a minor official. People who can do the job do not necessarily understand them in advance.

It is useless for ordinary people to learn and it is just a waste of time.”