Chapter 214: Photographic Memory
This novel is translated and hosted on bcatranslation.
Lu Chao Chao stood blankly before a group of senior disciples.
There were many senior disciples, but only one Lu Chao Chao.
The contrast was enough to bring tears to anyone’s eyes.
“A whole group of senior disciples competing against a two-year-old junior sister… isn’t that a bit unfair?”
“Perhaps we should pick just one?” The disciples murmured among themselves, worried that if Princess Sunshine lost, she might start crying.
If the emperor became angry, none of them would be in a good position.
The emperor had gone to great lengths to ensure the princess could attend the academy.
Lu Chao Chao obediently sat on a stool. “All of you can come at once. I wanna go home drink milk…”
The disciples felt even more defeated. She was still just a baby who drank milk.
Chief Minister Yuan cast a glance at Lu Chao Chao.
At first, he only wanted to repay her for saving his grandson.
But after witnessing her talent, he grew truly interested.
She was the most intelligent disciple he had ever encountered.
“What should we test her on? She probably hasn’t even learned the Three Character Classic.” The students hesitated.
Lu Chao Chao slowly raised her tiny hand. “I learned it already!”
The little girl sat on the stool, swaying her head as she recited, “At birth, people are inherently good…”
“Jade that is not polished cannot be made into a useful vessel…”
“The three lights are the sun, moon, and stars…” The little one muttered, shaking her little head.
“That’s all Teacher taught today. I don’t know the rest…” Lu Chao Chao spread her hands, the small tuft of hair on her head swaying.
Instructor Zhu stared at her in shock.
“I-I never taught her! I only read it aloud once to let the students get familiar with it! Just once!” Instructor Zhu exclaimed in disbelief.
The students exchanged glances.
“Lu Brother, did you teach her to memorize the Three Character Classic at home?” One classmate teased.
Lu Yan Shu only smiled.
“Let’s test the Four Books and Five Classics. Chao Chao is only two; she hasn’t learned to interpret them yet. You all recite first, and then Chao Chao will follow, how about that?” Lu Yan Shu looked at his fellow scholars.
After a moment of contemplation, they nodded. “We’ll do as Lu Brother suggests.”
Those who were preparing for the capital exam did not participate.
Winning or losing against a child would bring them neither honor nor disgrace.
Preparing for the exam was the only priority.
For the first round, a disciple from the first-class division stepped forward. He was already a xiucai (aspiring scholar), a thirteen-year-old prodigy.
If not for Lu Yan Shu’s presence, he would have been the most renowned young talent in the capital.
“Listen carefully. Since you know the Three Character Classic, I will recite it for you. I learned it at four years old and took only one day to memorize it!”
The crowd gasped.
“I took three days. I’m truly dull.”
“I took two.”
Someone turned to Lu Yan Shu. “Lu Brother, how long did it take you?”
Lu Yan Shu smiled faintly. “Three recitations.”
The crowd felt a wave of bitterness. The young scholar pursed his lips—his elder brother had needed six recitations.
The young xiucai clasped his hands behind his back and, within half an hour, fluently recited the entire text without a single error.
Lu Chao Chao mimicked his gaze, reciting word for word, pausing at the exact same moments he did.
Flawlessly, without a single mistake.
The crowd was astonished. “Lu Brother, your family starts education so early? A two-year-old has already completed the Three Character Classic and can recite it perfectly! Two years old!!”
“No wonder they dared to send her to the academy.”
Only the young xiucai frowned suspiciously at Lu Chao Chao. Was it his imagination?
When he was reciting, his throat felt a little dry. At the part about tying one’s head to a beam and stabbing one’s thigh to stay awake, he made a tiny mistake, though it was too subtle for the audience to notice.
Yet, Lu Chao Chao made the same mistake!!
Had she truly learned it in advance?
The young xiucai furrowed his brows. Impossible, right? Ha, there was no way she had learned it on the spot, right?!
Ha, impossible.
Standing silently in a corner, the young xiucai clenched his lips and continued observing Lu Chao Chao.
Meanwhile, Lu Yuan Xiao had also entered the Imperial Academy thanks to his family’s connections.
Li Si Qi was fuming. “So many senior disciples, and all against Chao Chao alone. Aren’t you afraid she’ll cry? And you’re still laughing!”
Lu Yuan Xiao rubbed his face. “Am I laughing? Hehe, this is great. Finally, I’m not the only one being humbled!”
Lu Yuan Xiao grinned widely, keeping his true thoughts hidden.
“Who’s next?” Lu Chao Chao asked sweetly.
“Oh? The little one is getting impatient now,” the crowd chuckled, clearly not taking her seriously.
“Since my dear sister Zhaoyang is so confident, let our eldest imperial brother temper your arrogance,” the Eldest Prince remarked with a smirk of superiority.
“Lu Yan Shu, has he ever taught you The Analects?”
Lu Chao Chao shook her head. “Big Brother never taught me to read, Eldest Imperial Brother.” Not even the Three Character Classic.
[Oh my, oh my, so this is the child raised by Consort Hui…]
Lu Yan Shu’s eyelid twitched slightly.
The Eldest Prince had studied at the Imperial Academy and was well-versed in scholarly pursuits. Before the Crown Prince was appointed, he had been the strongest candidate for heir apparent, nearly securing the position.
However, it seemed that Consort Hui had no desire for him to be entangled in the struggle for power.
“With nothing better to do, I have committed the entirety of The Analects to memory. Twenty chapters in total, sixteen thousand words,” he declared.
“Princess Zhaoyang, listen well.”
“Confucius said: ‘Is it not a pleasure to learn and to practice what has been learned in due time? Is it not delightful to have friends come from afar? Is he not a gentleman who remains unperturbed when others do not understand him?’” The Eldest Prince clasped one hand behind his back and recited solemnly.
He had attempted multiple times to gain favor with the Chief Minister and become his student, yet had been refused each time.
To a child, The Analects was undoubtedly difficult to comprehend, let alone memorize. It was likely she would not even understand the words.
At that moment, Lu Chao Chao was already nodding off.
Her tiny head bobbed, struggling to stay upright.
A faint smirk curled on the Eldest Prince’s lips, satisfaction gleaming in his gaze.
Half an hour later.
“Princess Zhaoyang, it is your turn now,” the Eldest Prince said, turning to Chief Minister Yuan, who merely maintained an indifferent expression, as if he had absolute confidence in Lu Chao Chao.
Rubbing her sleepy eyes, Lu Chao Chao yawned. “Eldest Imperial Brother, have you finished reciting?”
The Eldest Prince cast her a disdainful glance.
“Naturally. Princess Zhaoyang, if you lose, do not start crying…”
Lu Chao Chao stared at him in astonishment.
“Teach? My big brother never teaches me.”
“He says teaching me is frustrating.”
“Besides, why would I cry? Do I even need to study this?” Her face held genuine surprise, with not the slightest hint of pretense.
“Twenty chapters, only sixteen thousand words.”
She stood up and stretched, letting out another yawn.
“Confucius said: ‘Is it not a pleasure to learn and to practice what has been learned in due time?’”
Her childish voice, still tinged with innocence, rang through the air. But as she continued, one sentence after another, the amusement on everyone’s faces gradually froze.
As the tender voice echoed through the hall, expressions darkened with solemnity.
Silence. An eerie, heavy silence blanketed the room.
All eyes were glued to the two-year-old child, who flawlessly recited the entire text, word for word.
When her voice finally stopped, the room remained shrouded in a deep, stunned quiet.
The Eldest Prince pointed at her, his fingertip trembling.
“You—!”
“You—!”
Two years old. She was only two years old!!
The crowd gazed at her in pure disbelief, some even crying out in shock.
“I’ve studied for ten years and still haven’t memorized the entire text!”
“Neither have I!”
“Me… me neither.” Their dazed expressions reflected an overwhelming sense of defeat.
“I cannot teach Chao Chao,” Lu Yan Shu admitted sincerely. “What little knowledge I have is not enough for her.”
The outside world hailed him as a genius.
Yet before Chao Chao, he was but a minor talent standing in the shadow of a true prodigy.
If one lacked an indomitable heart, her sheer talent alone could shatter all belief and resolve.
Years of perseverance and diligent study were rendered meaningless in her presence.
Her photographic memory was merely the beginning.
She could infer from one example, master all through association—it was as if the heavens had bestowed upon her every extraordinary gift in existence.
The Eldest Prince pressed his lips into a tight line, his gaze sharp yet laced with a trace of unease.
A thought flickered through his mind, and he abruptly asked, “Sister Zhaoyang, have you studied The Analects before?”
Lu Chao Chao nodded.
“Mhm.”
“Just now, with you.”