Chapter 43: The Treatment of a Prodigy

Reflecting on the events of the past two days, Elder Ye still felt a lingering sense of bewilderment.

Magistrate Wang hadn't treated Chen Ping like a child at all. He acted like a stern, pragmatic official from the Court of Agricultural Affairs, while Chen Ping was treated merely like a young duck that urgently needed to be fattened up.

Such a ferocious, relentless approach to education was truly startling.

Having taught for many years, Elder Ye had employed all sorts of pedagogical methods. Yet, he had never witnessed any tutor being so ruthless to a student!

Magistrate Wang had dumped a thick stack of imperial examination model essays spanning nearly a decade right in front of the trembling Chen Ping. Completely ignoring Chen Ping’s soft protests, the magistrate pointed right at the boy's nose and scoffed, "Your teacher says you are a prodigy in mathematics, and I believe that."

"However, in my view, you are simultaneously utterly hopeless when it comes to composing essays!"

"The imperial court selects officials through literary composition. If you only master arithmetic, you can never hope to pass the Jinshi examinations. Are you unaware of this basic truth?"

There was undeniable reason in these words.

Although Chen Ping had picked up some essay-writing techniques at the academy—basically knowing how to quote the subtle and profound words of the sages and how to shape sentences into polished parallel couplets—that was the extent of his ability. With his current proficiency, let alone passing the provincial imperial examinations, even clearing the county examination to earn the title of a Cultivated Talent would be quite dubious if the magistrate before him hadn't been inclined to show leniency.

Previously at the academy, Chen Ping had studied with the grim determination of someone burning his boats behind him. However, Rome was not built in a day; literary foundation cannot be drastically improved in a short time through sheer hard work alone. Otherwise, it would be utterly unfair to those scholars who had dedicated themselves to learning since early childhood.

Unless he took an unorthodox path!

Profoundly stimulated, Chen Ping seemed to grasp Magistrate Wang's intention. Without further words, he reached out and accepted the thick stack of model essays.

In fact, Chen Ping had heard whispers of this method before.

According to rumors circulating in the academy, there was once a provincial student in a distant prefecture who had repeatedly failed the examinations and possessed exceptionally mediocre aptitude. The essays he wrote could only be described as absolute nonsense devoid of any spiritual spark, leading his tutors to repeatedly curse him as worthless sweet-wine dregs and declare him rotten wood incapable of being carved.

Yet, this very foolish man possessed unwavering determination and a photographic memory. Having somehow caught wind of an utterly absurd method, he began collecting imperial examination model essays and memorized them one by one.

In the end, relying purely on rote memorization, he managed to commit over a thousand essays completely to heart.

The following year, he caused a sensation by successfully passing and earning the status of a Cultivated Talent.

Even more terrifyingly, just two years later, after further preparation and rest, he passed the provincial examination, bringing complete glory to his family lineage!

When his method of study was eventually leaked, countless people at the time went mad trying to replicate it. For a time, this bizarre tale spread far and wide. Scholars across all prefectures and provinces rushed to imitate it, frantically memorizing model essays to the point of treating the Jinshi examinations like the simple Mingjing classics exams.

And understandably so—who could blame them, when the Mingjing examinations were the most despised among scholars, carrying low social status and little hope for significant promotion?

Unfortunately, this frantic and obsessive method of taking the imperial exams seemed to possess a will of its own; it produced no miraculous results when applied by others. Instead, it turned numerous students into madmen who could spout marvelous literary passages yet struggled to string together coherent daily conversation.

Now, Magistrate Wang had handed over such a massive pile of examination essays in one go, all of which were recent current-affairs essays critiquing contemporary politics. The intention behind this was self-evident.

Achieving the status of a Cultivated Talent required merely an excellent writing style, but securing the status of a Provincial Graduate required writing essays that integrated current political affairs—a hurdle that tripped up countless scholars from humble backgrounds.

Hunched away in remote corners and lacking a scholarly lineage, they grew up isolated from political discourse and had no way of knowing the affairs of the world. If they half-understood these matters and forced themselves to write about them, they would likely only be laughed at as frogs at the bottom of a well.

Chen Ping had originally intended to first secure the status of a Cultivated Talent and hadn't considered things so far ahead, which was why he lacked an understanding of current political affairs. But now, since he was going to participate in the imperial examinations for child prodigies, policy discourse was an absolute necessity.

With trembling hands, Chen Ping cautiously accepted the stack of essays while casting a desperate, pleading look toward his teacher.

*Teacher, aren't you going to intervene?*

*Magistrate Wang is clearly jealous that you have such a good disciple, and he's leading me straight into the tiger's den!*

Having already seen through Chen Ping's internal struggle, Elder Ye offered no comforting words. He merely dropped the phrase, "If you do not enter the tiger's den, how can you catch its cubs?" and promptly dragged Magistrate Wang away with him.

What Chen Ping did not know, however, was that as soon as Elder Ye and Magistrate Wang walked out of earshot, a fierce argument immediately erupted between them.

Elder Ye had his own pedagogical philosophy; how could he let someone casually interfere with the education of his sole closed-door disciple? Moreover, this was a method akin to pulling shoots to help them grow. If the boy's mental fortitude wavered, the hidden dangers would be boundless, effectively destroying his own future prospects.

Even if the other party was a magistrate, Elder Ye would never allow him to act so recklessly with Chen Ping's education.

Faced with Elder Ye's imposing and aggressive interrogation, Magistrate Wang's expression remained completely unperturbed. He merely asked a single question: "Does Elder Ye know where your disciple's limits lie?"

"Think of his words and actions recently. Do you truly believe that a learning method which ordinary people have no blessing to endure is something he cannot bear?"

"If he does not walk this path, how can he stand out among a crowd of geniuses and pass the examination for child prodigies?"

Faced with this question, Elder Ye wanted to refute, but was momentarily left speechless.

Indeed, Chen Ping's recent performance had been entirely too monstrous. His own previous teaching methods had subconsciously pigeonholed Chen Ping as a child whose mind was still tender and immature, at best mentally adding a few years to treat him like a teenage student in his early teens.

Yet this was clearly a gross underestimate.

Continuing to educate Chen Ping—who had revealed his true mental maturity—with those past pedagogical methods was evidently no longer appropriate.

As for the limits Magistrate Wang spoke of, Elder Ye naturally had not tested them, nor did he wish to.

*Time reveals a person's heart*—this applied to Magistrate Wang, who had tumbled and struggled in officialdom for over a decade. *Distance tests a horse's strength*—this applied to Chen Ping, who was facing the impending child prodigy examinations.

According to Elder Ye's original plan, Chen Ping was still young. Even if he spent a few more years honing his craft at the academy before taking the imperial examinations, it wouldn't be considered late.

After all, once someone became a provincial graduate, they would inevitably have to face the warmth and coldness of human relationships, hidden daggers, temptations of fame and wealth, and numerous interactions with officials.

These were things a child of his age simply could not bear.

If Chen Ping became a provincial graduate before the age of fifteen, his mind would not yet be fully mature—it would be the age most susceptible to straying onto unorthodox paths. Should he become tainted by the murky atmosphere of officialdom too early, it might ruin his entire future.

As his teacher, how could Elder Ye allow him to fall into such a perilous situation?

Yet the situation was different now.

When Chen Ping proposed the strategy for funding road construction, the mental fortitude and methods he displayed were already no inferior to those of any adult.

Under such circumstances, if he were forcibly kept penned up in the academy and taught according to conventional methods, it would be like binding his hands and feet, ultimately proving even more detrimental to his growth.

Elder Ye had clearly been persuaded by Magistrate Wang, which led to the scene that unfolded today.

In truth, Magistrate Wang still held some words deep within his heart that he had not spoken aloud.

In Magistrate Wang's view, the reason Chen Ping dedicated himself so single-mindedly to learning was not because he genuinely loved studying knowledge or admired the sages, but rather because he harbored an unmistakably utilitarian motive.

Taking the imperial examinations was not his ultimate goal; it was merely a process.

And towards this mindset, Magistrate Wang felt a deep sense of resonance, for he had possessed the exact same mindset back in his youth.

The reason why Magistrate Wang, after donning his official robes, abandoned his past habits and never wrote another poem or lyric verse was precisely because the only purpose of studying poetry and essays back then had been to pass the exams and become an official, thereby realizing his inner ideals and ambitions.

Since he was already an official, he should naturally focus on fulfilling his long-cherished aspirations. To continue dabbling in flowery poetry about romantic moonlight would truly be indulging in trivial pursuits that sap one's will and waste one's life.

It was because he understood Chen Ping's inner thoughts that Magistrate Wang dared to act in such a manner.

Thus, under Magistrate Wang's reasoned and emotional persuasion, Elder Ye finally came around. Abandoning his usual bark-is-worse-than-bite demeanor, he picked up the disciplinary ruler directly.

Chen Ping remained entirely oblivious to their inner thoughts. As the "victim" of this arrangement, he was finally coming to understand just how difficult it truly was to be a prodigy in the Dayu Dynasty!