Chapter 140: Studying at Huai Mountain (9)
Liu Sheng felt a bit defeated for the first time.
She remembered the initial test that morning, where they said she had talent, but now, upon seeing her essay, they looked troubled.
Returning to her seat, she quietly asked Lu Shen, “Lu Senior Brother, the teacher seems quite pleased with your essay. May I borrow it to take a look?”
Lu Shen nodded and said, “Of course, no problem.”
With that, he took out the essay he had just finished writing.
“Junior Sister, would it be convenient for you to let me see what you wrote? Maybe I can also guess what Teacher Nangong is thinking.”
“Thank you, Senior Brother. Please give me your guidance.” This was certainly good, so Liu Sheng quickly handed it to Lu Shen.
“It’s not really guidance; I’ve just been studying policy essays for over four years, so I have some experience,” Lu Shen said, scratching his head bashfully.
Nangong Wan sat on the podium, her gaze sweeping over their “brotherly kindness and sisterly respect,” and the corner of her mouth curved slightly.
These two were the most talented in writing policy essays among the few she had recruited this year.
It was just that Liu Sheng was still an unpolished jade; she had ideas but didn’t understand many unwritten rules.
Lu Shen, on the other hand, was an “old hand” at policy essays, but he was too stuck within the framework and lacked flexibility.
It was good that the two could complement each other.
Indeed, after Lu Shen finished reading Liu Sheng’s essay, he was utterly amazed, marveling at her imaginative and unconventional approach.
“Junior Apprentice Sister Liu, your ideas are truly excellent. Many… I couldn’t even think of them. Like this ‘accelerating the civilian application of Spiritual Artifacts,’ the optimization points you proposed, if realized, would indeed benefit the people.”
“However, in my opinion, the biggest shortcoming of your essay is that it doesn’t follow the regulations…”
“Regulations?” Liu Sheng was quite puzzled.
“I see that Junior Sister’s writing style is still biased towards journal articles. Although policy essays are similar, there are still differences.”
“Ahem, who do you think the audience for a policy essay is?” Lu Shen lightly coughed to remind Liu Sheng, who still looked confused.
“The examiner?”
Liu Sheng immediately reacted.
“No! It’s His Majesty.”
“Yes, the examiner just takes a glance on behalf of His Majesty. Note, it’s only on behalf of,” Lu Shen said. “The ultimate decision-making power still rests with His Majesty, so… your essay must be written for His Majesty.”
“So?” Liu Sheng vaguely understood. “I need to fathom the Emperor’s will, and then, praise his achievements first?”
“Well… it doesn’t have to be said so, so… so…” Lu Shen hesitated, searching for words, his face turning red and dark.
“Blatant,” Zhong Youzhi, who had finished writing, interjected after listening for a while.
Lu Shen’s expression tensed upon hearing this.
“What are you afraid of? We’re in a Weird Domain,” Zhong Youzhi reminded him.
“Not only that, you also have to mention the Supreme God at the beginning,” he added, then leisurely got up and went to the podium, waiting for Nangong Wan’s review.
“Ah?” Liu Sheng was stunned. She remembered that the sample policy essays she had didn’t have such a requirement!
“This only started recently…” Lu Shen whispered. “The professors in our academy have also reminded us of this, and Teacher Nangong has emphasized it repeatedly. Junior Sister, you haven’t studied it yet, so it’s normal not to know.”
Only then did Liu Sheng deeply feel what it meant for different fields to be as separated as mountains, and she put away her contempt.
Originally, she thought that with “the world” in her hands, many things would be effortless, but now it seemed that some things could not be solved by pure knowledge; many “human” factors also had to be considered.
No wonder Wen Weilan insisted that she come to study.
After everyone had completed the three policy essay questions and Nangong Wan had reviewed them one by one, the unified lecture officially began.
Liu Sheng took out her notebook and began to record diligently.
“Policy essays, to be honest, are not just about showcasing talent and offering advice; they are also about sharing His Majesty’s burdens.”
This statement from Nangong Wan was truly pragmatic.
So pragmatic that Liu Sheng’s pen paused.
“I have already told you that when writing policy essays, you must not only study ancient and modern knowledge extensively and draw inferences, but also read more newspapers and periodicals to understand what the imperial court is currently concerned about, what the current internal and external troubles are, and most importantly… the Emperor’s will.”
Such words could not be spoken outside.
Liu Sheng had not expected that Senior Sister Nangong, who, according to Wen Weilan, had long since retired from the world, would say such a thing.
This strong sense of disconnect made her increasingly unable to see through the woman eloquently speaking on the podium.
…
The policy essay class finally ended. As soon as Nangong Wan left, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
“Let’s go, let’s go! To the commissary!” Qu Chunyan was almost exhausted to the point of collapse, but as soon as this was mentioned, she immediately perked up, springing to her feet with a carp flip.
“Let’s go together, let’s go together!” Zhong Youzhi also looked like his policy essay had been criticized, and his bright, brilliant appearance had dimmed a bit.
“Let’s buy some good food to relieve the stress.” Even the steady Lin Shuying sighed deeply.
“The policy essay class, is the pressure that great?” Liu Sheng was somewhat puzzled.
“You, the one who stayed behind, don’t you feel the pressure is great?” Qu Chunyan was shocked by Liu Sheng’s casualness.
Liu Sheng spread her hands: “I only really started writing today.”
“That’s true, that’s true, I almost forgot.”
“Alas, Junior Apprentice Sister is indeed a heaven-sent talent, unlike us, shallow-water crayfish, living from hand to mouth.” Lu Shen, as the only one among the Senior Brothers and Junior Sisters who had seen Liu Sheng’s essay, couldn’t help but sigh.
“Junior Brother Lu doesn’t seem like the type to feel such emotion,” Lin Shuying said curiously. She was the first to enroll, so she was the eldest, and everyone else was her Junior Brother or Junior Sister.
“When this comes from Senior Brother Lu’s mouth, it sounds particularly sincere. If someone else were to say it, it would definitely sound glib,” Qu Chunyan took the opportunity to step on someone again, then quickly slipped out the front door of the classroom.
Zhong Youzhi, who was referred to as “someone,” also hurriedly chased after her.
However, they only heard Qu Chunyan let out a scream, the echo still lingering, followed immediately by Zhong Youzhi also emitting a similarly miserable cry.
Liu Sheng was puzzled and quickly followed Lu Shen and Lin Shuying to the front door.
Out the front door was an empty corridor, with faint darkness at both ends, and outside the corridor, it was as dark as night.
Qu Chunyan and Zhong Youzhi were both soaked from head to toe, with a large puddle of water on the ground and two overturned basins beside them.
The two looked at each other, then roared at the darkness at the end of the corridor, and then chased after it, splitting left and right.
Liu Sheng was about to ask what they were chasing.
But the answer was immediately revealed: the sounds of children giggling echoed from the darkness at both ends of the corridor, sounding both mischievous and annoying.
“Who told them to knock over people’s desks and chairs and not put them back? It’s normal for the little students to be angry,” Lin Shuying said coolly.
“So… these small punishments, we don’t need to worry about them, right?” Liu Sheng asked.
“Don’t be afraid, these little Weirds don’t harm people,” Lu Shen shook his head, revealing a simple and honest smile. “Sometimes they’re quite cute. Last time, they even put a fake spider in my book. I don’t know how they knew I liked little critters like spiders.”
Liu Sheng recalled that line from the analysis results.
“Please note, although Hongxing Elementary School has been purified, the purifiers were a bit careless, so there might occasionally be residual effects. There’s no need to panic if you encounter them; they won’t kill you, they’re just a bit mischievous.”
It seemed these were those little mischievous ones…
It’s Monday again, ahhh, happy Monday ahhh