Help or support by her family and if she do not get support by her family she not going to get in.
As I said before, it is the last sentence of the book.
Government officials primary way communicate with citizens through the media, the way they try to show or let their people know about their efforts/accomplishments is in Press conferences with the journalist there in charge of passing the message that would be in the newspapers and bulletins or throughout TV. But now in times where social media has taken over the printed paper and screen its not unusual to see government officials accounts in charge of transmitting information in sites/apps.
It's purpose was to let people get good places in the government if they passed, but the only people that could take it were people that were already recommended into the government, so the rich and influential continued to run the government and the test was based on Confucianism.