Chapter 284: Let’s Open a Blind Box Today—Whoever Reports First, I’ll Dig Up Their Gossip! (2 / 2)
He sighed regretfully to Xu Yanmiao, “Although a position as a principal secretary in the Ministry of Works is technically higher in rank than a Hanlin Academy editor or compiler, Hanlin graduates have a much faster path to promotion.”
Xu Yanmiao laughed at him. “If you’d practiced your calligraphy earlier, you could have become a junior compiler after the court exam.”
After the palace examination, except for the top-ranking candidates, everyone had to take another court exam. Those skilled in literature and calligraphy could be selected as junior compilers at the Hanlin Academy.
Gao He’s face flushed. “Calligraphy… isn’t something you can just practice and get good at right away. I mean, I did practice for a while, but…”
“But you used the study hall’s designated calligraphy practice time to copy scriptures instead?”
Gao He’s voice shot up in shock. “How did you know?!”
At his former study hall, students were required to copy scriptures for an hour each day, regardless of their calligraphy skills. Those with good handwriting would use expensive paper or silk, while those with poor handwriting would use bamboo or wooden slips.
The study hall would then sell these scriptures to temples, and the money would help cover students’ living expenses.
To earn money, Gao He spent all his spare time copying scriptures, prioritizing quantity over quality and pretending that they were done within the required practice hour.