pappabearbooks Chapter 668 The Number One Scholar Parade
Chapter 668 The Number One Scholar Parade
Three days after the announcement of the results of the joint examination, the palace examination will be held. The questions for the palace examination will be set by the emperor himself, and all students who pass the joint examination will take the examination in the Chongzheng Hall.
On the day of the palace examination, the old emperor was present in person, and Prime Minister Su and Chief Minister Zhang were invigilating.
There are a total of 139 tribute candidates this year, and the current emperor will personally rank them after the palace examination.
On the second day after the palace examination, Prime Minister Su and Chief Minister Zhang, together with the examiners from the Ministry of Rites, delivered the examination papers to the old emperor.
Normally, the palace examination files should be reviewed by His Majesty himself, but the old emperor has been in poor health in recent years and has delegated many matters to court officials. This year, the review of the files was also reviewed by Prime Minister Su and Prime Minister Zhang together with the Ministry of Rites.
"Your Majesty, these three papers are the ones that this old minister and Prime Minister Su agree can rank first. Please review them."
The old emperor sat in front of his desk and opened the three sets of papers one by one and reviewed them carefully. The handwriting on the first two papers was neat and the analysis of governing the country and benefiting the people in the articles was very in-depth. Overall, they were at the same level as the first-class Jinshi in previous years, with more rules than novelty.
Then the old emperor opened the third paper and was attracted by the majestic handwriting on it at first sight. It is said that handwriting reflects the character of the writer. The handwriting here is sharp and free, so the writer must be extremely decisive. After reading the content of the article, a light gradually gathered in the old emperor's eyes. The content of the article was quite constructive.
When he saw the name at the end, the old emperor's expression suddenly changed.
Zhang Shoufu said: "Your Majesty, Jiang Ci is the champion of the imperial examination, and the only top three since the founding of the Sui Dynasty. His essay in this palace examination is really brilliant. I think he is the best candidate for the top prize."
Prime Minister Su said, "I noticed him during the palace examination yesterday. He is very handsome, with both the talent of the top scholar and the appearance of the third place. I hope Your Majesty will make the final decision."
The old emperor slowly raised his head and looked at the two white-haired old men.
"What does Prime Minister Zhang mean?"
"Your Majesty, this boy's ability is far superior to other students. It would be an understatement to confer him the title of Tanhua."
The old emperor lowered his eyes and looked at the paper deeply for a while.
"You guys go down first, let me think about it."
"Old minister retire!"
next day
A grand ceremony was held in Chongzheng Hall, and the results of the palace examination were announced by the current emperor himself.
The old emperor handed the ranking booklet to Yang Zhong to announce on the spot.
Wei Chengxuan, ranked 139th among the three classes, was granted the status of Jinshi.
...Liu Yunzhao, ranked 27th in the second class, was granted the status of Jinshi.
...Fang Wenxun, ranked thirteenth in the second class, was granted the status of Jinshi.
Finally, it was time to announce the final three. Everyone's eyes were focused on the remaining three people. One of them was a middle-aged man in his forties, and the remaining two were both well-dressed young men.
Someone in the crowd sighed: "What a young talent."
"Talented people emerge in every generation. These two young men are very handsome. I wonder who will be the third place winner this time?"
The third place winner must not only be talented but also have outstanding looks. Now the two remaining young men in the palace are both outstanding in appearance.
The old emperor stared quietly at Jiang Ci in the hall. He nodded slightly so that his appearance could not be seen clearly, but the noble aura around him could not be concealed. He did not expect to see him in this way in his lifetime.
Emperor Hongwu felt mixed emotions. If this son did not have the Feng family blood flowing in his veins, he would have been the most outstanding among his many sons.
Yang Zhong's voice slowly rang out in the hall.
"Wen Yutang, the third place in the first class, is awarded the title of Jinshi!"
Wen Yutang was stunned for a moment, then he knelt in the hall and kowtowed: "I thank the emperor for his grace. Long live the emperor!"
"Zhaozhou, the second place in the first class is awarded the title of Jinshi!"
"Long live my emperor."
The last one, Yang Zhong looked at Jiang Ci and said, "Jiang Ci is the first in the first class, and he is awarded the title of Jinshi!"
Jiang Ci stepped forward calmly and bowed. The old emperor spoke personally: "Lord Jiang is young and promising. He is also very handsome. His eyebrows and eyes are somewhat similar to those of my seventh prince."
Jiang Ci raised his head calmly and looked at the man sitting in the high position. After many years, this man was no longer as tall and majestic as he remembered. Now, half of his hair was silver, and his eyebrows and eyes were full of deep traces of time. His eyes were also cloudy and dim. Even if he was the Lord of the World, the True Dragon Emperor, what could he do? He would become unrecognizable under the torture of long-term illness.
Jiang Ci sneered in his heart, it was really the law of karma and retribution.
"I am a humble official and dare not be compared with the Seventh Prince."
The old emperor smiled faintly, but his eyes were unusually cold.
"You don't have to be so modest, Mr. Jiang. The fact that you can fight your way through thousands of students has already proven your strength, Old Seven."
Jiang Qiuchi, who was standing aside, walked to the center of the hall.
"Father!"
"Lord Jiang is very knowledgeable. You can communicate with him more in the future."
Jiang Qiuchi glanced in the direction of Jiang Ci and said, "I obey your orders, Jiang Zhuangyuan, please give me more guidance in the future."
Jiang Ci turned sideways and bowed to Jiang Qiuchi: "It's not so much about giving advice as it is an honor for me to be able to encourage you, Your Highness."
Emperor Hongwu's gaze lingered on Jiang Ci and Jiang Qiuchi's faces for a moment, and he sneered in his heart. The real show was about to begin.
After the ceremony of announcing the selection of candidates, the number one scholar would parade through the streets on horseback, with flags and drums leading the way in front and soldiers escorting him from behind. The number one scholar wore a bright red round-collar court robe, a carved silver belt around his waist, a black gauze hat on his head, and a big red flower pinned on the side of his right ear. He had a handsome face, a noble and cold temperament, and he held the imperial edict in his hand and rode a horse with a golden saddle and a red mane, looking particularly dazzling as he walked in the parade.
The roadsides were filled with common people watching the parade. The ladies and young ladies from prominent aristocratic families would make reservations in advance at the nearby teahouses and restaurants and stand on high places to watch the bustling scene on the street.
Yan Shu stood in front of the guardrail on the second floor, which was a viewing platform of Hongyue Tower and also the best place to watch the parade of top scholars. Cui Mengsheng, Yan Wu, Erzhu and Shitou ran to the street to watch the excitement.
Her eyes were quietly fixed on the man sitting on the tall horse. "The horse gallops in the spring breeze, and all the flowers in Chang'an can be seen in one day." If Jiang Ci was not a prince and did not carry a deep blood feud, with his talent and strategy, he would surely be able to thrive in the officialdom.
In a restaurant opposite, several young women were sitting around a table, watching the lively scene below.
A woman in yellow said, "This year's No. 1 and No. 3 are both very good-looking. They are really handsome in their own ways."
"It's obvious that the top scholar is more handsome, but there's a cold air between his eyebrows, and he looks like he's not easy to get close to."
"I heard that His Majesty was once struggling over who to appoint as the third place scholar. In the end, because the first place scholar's literary talent was too outstanding, he deserved the title of the first place scholar, so he re-selected the current third place scholar."
The woman in blue sitting at the table said nothing, her hands tightly holding the teacup, her bright eyes staring straight at the handsome and clear figure on the tall horse.
The woman in yellow sitting next to her noticed that she looked strange and teased, "Our sister Tang'er is in love? I wonder which man you are looking at?"
"Sister, please don't laugh at me. I just saw someone I know."
I didn’t expect that he would be this year’s third place winner, Wen Yutang. Yutang, her name is Su Tang. Is this a kind of fate?
The woman in yellow smiled and said, "Oh? Who is the acquaintance you are talking about? That top scholar looks really good, with outstanding talent and good looks. I'm sure many noble families will have their eyes on him after today. But if you like him, grandfather and third uncle will definitely find a way. I heard that third uncle also intended to choose a good marriage for you this year."
Su Tang has always been lively, but she also shows shyness when it comes to love affairs.
"It's not the number one scholar, it's him I know!"
The second young lady of the Su family looked in the direction of Su Tang's finger and then smiled faintly.
"So it's the third place winner, not bad, not bad. This third place winner looks easier to get along with than the first place winner. Don't worry, I will tell my grandmother about this when we return home."
"I'm not... I don't mean that, it's just... we just met once."
Seeing that Su Tang's face turned red with shame, the other sisters naturally understood the girl's love in her heart.
The eldest girl said, "I'm telling you, dear husband, you should act quickly, otherwise after today you will belong to someone else, and it will be too late for you to regret it then."
After listening to what her sisters said, Su Tang felt inexplicably lost when she thought that Wen Yutang might marry someone else.
When Jiang Ci passed by Hongyue Tower, he intentionally looked towards the terrace on the second floor. He was the one who arranged the position for the little fox, so he knew she was staying there.
He immediately spotted Yan Shu's figure in the crowd, and a bright smile appeared on his cold face.
As a result, the noble ladies in this direction became excited.
"The top scholar is smiling in our direction. Is he attracted to someone?"
"I thought he was a little cold just now, but I didn't expect him to look so good when he smiles. He's simply a demon."
"He must be smiling at me. I like this champion. I will go back and ask my father to ask His Majesty to grant me marriage."
"Nonsense, there are so many of us here, how can you be sure he is smiling at you? He is obviously smiling at me."
Several young sisters did not care about the lady's usual image, and did not forget to mock each other to show their own excellence.
Yan Shu was eating melon in silence. At a table farthest from her sat a woman dressed in purple, a pair of eyes hidden under a veil staring at her viciously.
Jiang Ci, Yan Shu, all the suffering I have experienced is caused by you. Now that I am trapped in hell, none of you can have an easy life!