m connections with useful people. Recognizing and utilizing such connections comes first, and studying comes second."
入学堂前，姑姑就告诉我：“如今我们王朝的弊端蛀虫非常严重，已经身处于风雨飘摇之中了，摇摇欲坠，随时随地都有可能改朝换代。现如今群雄四起，战火不断，攻破京城是迟早的事情，想要保护崔家在新旧王朝中屹立不倒，风华依旧，我们就要想尽办法，用尽手段去谋划，去创造机会和机遇，我来这京师学堂第一重要的事情不是为了学习，而是为了结交一些对自己有用的人，识人而谋之是首位，其次才是学习。”
Aunt was never wrong. As soon as I entered the academy, I found it was indeed a gathering place for the best and brightest.
姑姑说得从来都没有错，一入学堂后，我就发现这里真的是聚集了龙子凤孙，天下英杰。
The Cui family, one of the four prominent families with a century of prosperity, pooled all its resources and racked its brains to get me into the Imperial Academy. Of course, being a girl made it even more challenging to gain admission than it would have been for a boy.
百年繁华的四大家族之中的崔家倾全家之力，合族之能，想破了脑袋，用尽了计谋才能把我送来这京师学堂，当然也因为我是女儿身，所以比一般男儿更难进。