Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“The empire is divided into nine regions, and each region has nine prefectures, each prefecture has nine counties, each county has and nine towns. For example, there are 729 towns in Qingze Prefecture in the entire empire.
Of course, although our Qingze Prefecture is not in the hinterland of the central plains, thousands of miles away from Shengjing Prefecture, it is still relatively prosperous. It is not a remote place. Due to it being close to the waterways and a stronghold for land and water transportation, in terms of prosperity, it can rank among the top 20 prefectures in the whole of the empire. As for how big the entire empire, that would be approximately billions square kilometers.”
When hearing this, Yan Qixun almost exclaimed out of shock. The current so-called measurement system was equivalent to 300 steps per kilometer. If it were in the city of her era, it would be about 83 percent of a city.
Billions of square kilometers would be more than 80 million square kilometers, and 40 million square kilometers would be about the size of five of China in the future. No wonder it could support so many people. So, how big was this planet?
Yan Qixun felt that her worldview needed to be reorganized. “Mom, how many countries are as strong as our empire?”
Gongyu Mingxi laughed, “On this continent, our empire is naturally the most substantial. There are some countries around, but they are nothing to worry about. However, the tribes in the northern plains are mighty. They often disturb the borders, so the borders are not peaceful. As for the other continents, I’m not too sure.
“There are other continents?” However, thinking about it carefully, there were still five continents on the blue planet that she had lived on. It was not strange that there were other continents here.
“Of course there are. I’ve read from ancient books that other continents overseas are not inferior to the empire we live in. In ancient times, there were still a few continents that interacted with each other, but for nearly a thousand years, there has been no news of other continents.”
This was indeed a fantasy world. From the looks of it, this planet was far more vast than the blue planet that she had once lived on. She wanted to go out and take a look.
Yan Qixun’s soul as a scientist was once again lighted up. If one day she could be like Brother Monkey, who could travel thousands of miles with his nimbus cloud, wouldn’t she be able to roam the world and go wherever she wanted? Although dreams were a bit distant, life would be meaningless without dreams.
Yan Qixun felt that she had motivation again. She was a genius scientist who had explored space. Why couldn’t she see this planet? The development of technology might take too long to achieve. But the matter of cultivation was just around the corner— she had to work hard.
Yan Qixun stared at Brother Monkey with glowing eyes, and she frightened Gongyu Hao.
‘What? Wasn’t she listening to Mother?’
“Brother Monkey, is there any way to speed up the cultivation speed?”
Gongyu Hao directly slapped her head. “Wash up and sleep. There’s everything in your dreams.”
Yan Qixun was speechless. It seemed like her brother was influenced by her naughty side and used it on her. She looked at her own shabby house again. Her dreams had yet to come true for the time being. She had to think about her family’s well-being first. However, she still had to figure out the questions on her mind first.
“Mother, the academy and sect that you mentioned earlier? What are they?”
“The sect is mysterious, and I only know of its existence. As for the academy, I do know of it. I wanted to take the exam, but that year, it happened that I fell ill and missed the exam. Later on, your grandfather resigned, and we went back to our hometown, so I lost the chance to take the exam. There were two academies in the Capital, the Imperial Academy and the Imperial College, run by the Imperial family.
“Only people from the empire could apply for the Imperial Academy. However, Imperial College does not have that restriction. Anyone could apply, even if they were international students. Both academies were not restricted to men and women.
“However, there was an age limit, and neither of them could be older than 18 years old. Your father was once a student of the Imperial College. However, after your great-grandparents passed away, he had no choice but to return to his hometown, so he abandoned his studies.”
“So we can also apply for the exam?”
“Of course. Your father brought your elder brother into the Capital this time because he wanted your elder brother to learn more and apply for the two academies in the future.
“It’s a pity that your second brother doesn’t like to study, and you guys are still young. Besides, living in the Capital isn’t easy. Our family doesn’t have the financial resources to bring you guys to live in the Capital, so we’ve been holding you guys up.
“If you want to take the exam, then study hard in the future. We’ll think of ways to earn some money. At the very least, we’ll have to earn enough money to travel to the Capital. When you guys pass the exam, the academy will provide you with food and lodging. I feel that you guys will be a little older by that time. Even if your father and I don’t live in the Capital, we can rest assured that you guys could take care of yourselves.”
If they studied hard for a few years, they would surely pass the exam with their intelligence. As for Gongyu Hao, Gongyu Mingxi did not have high hopes for him to study. He was an immortal, so there was no need for him to further his studies.
Gongyu Mingxi’s heart also warmed up at this moment. Hoping that her children would be successful was quite the obsession for all parents. If it were in the past, she wouldn’t dare to think about it. But now, she could have the expectation.
She was so sure that her children could be compared to the students from the two academies! Although she felt no need to mention her immortal son, Gongyu Mingxi still looked at her son fervently.
After being startled by his sister’s gaze, Gongyu Hao was also surprised by his mother’s gaze.
“Mother, why don’t I try to study hard as well?” After all, it was his mother’s expectations. Wouldn’t it be a little unfilial to disappoint her? Back then, he was also a top scholar with excellent character while studying at Mount Sancun.
“Oh dear, my son.” Gongyu Mingxi was overjoyed, “As long as you are willing to study, I will support you. I will study with you tonight. I have lived for two lifetimes, and I have sufficient knowledge to help you with your studies. Although I’m not as good as others, I’m confident that I can help you out with it.”
‘Aren’t you confident? You even feel that your grandmaster, the number one poet in the world, Grand Scholar Su, is inferior to you. You have also mocked Ouyang Gong, the number one scholar in the world, for not knowing how to write poetry. In terms of craziness, you are still crazier than me.’ Yan Qixun thought to herself.
However, Yan Qixun felt that reading and studying were essential. In this ancient world, her liberal arts was indeed a weakness. But the most important thing was still to make money. If she didn’t have money, she would not be able to go to the Capital, right?
Yan Qixun concluded, “Therefore, we still have to earn money first.”
Regarding this matter, Gongyu Mingxi scratched her head.
“Why don’t I go to the town or the county town’s bookstore to look for a copying books job?” Her handwriting wasn’t so bad after all.
Gongyu Hao waved his hand and said, “There’s no need, Mother. I’ll go into the mountains to hunt for tigers.”
Zuo Guanglu said that tigers were precious. There were tigers deep in the mountains. His father and Eldest Brother had only brought about a hundred taels of silver when they went to the Capital. Selling one tiger was equivalent to a hundred taels of silver. If he were to kill a dozen tigers, it would be enough for his family to go to the Capital. In short, from now on, Gongyu Hao was determined to hunt for tigers.
As Yan Qixun had initially wanted to earn money to improve her life, she was not that anxious. She did not want to be too outstanding either. After all, she first thought that she would have to live in the Yan family village forever. Who would have thought that she could go to Beijing to study at a university? This way, it would be much better for her.
She had always thought that girls could not go to school or at most enter some kind of female-only school. After all, there were no girls who attended school here, right? The atmosphere of Shengjing Prefecture was indeed different..