An eunuch came out of the hall and shouted, "Announce Qi Yongzhen, Chu Hanqiao Zhou Duxin, and Zhuo Xilan to enter the hall."
Zhou Duxin was delighted. He was safe and didn't have to worry about falling into the top three. The only thing he didn't know was if he would be lucky enough to move up one or two places in the rankings.
When they entered the hall, they were stared at by princes, ministers, civil and military officials in court robes on both sides, and their scalps went numb.
The candidates selected for this subject this year are all relatively young, with the oldest, Chu Hanqiao, being only 27 years old.
The youngest is Zhuo Xilan, who is seventeen years old, more than a year younger than Zhou Duxin.
The emperor chatted with the ten people in a friendly manner, or unexpectedly told an anecdote and asked someone what book it came from.
Or they might give the first line of a couplet and ask people to come up with the second line, or they might ask about the customs and habits of the tribute scholar’s hometown.
Zhou Duxin was asked to write the second couplet, and the emperor wrote the first couplet: "Respected in Nanyang, thinking of the days when I wore a feather fan and a scarf, loyally supporting Ji Han."
This is about Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang was a loyal minister of the Shu Kingdom. He had noble character and outstanding talents, and his reputation will be remembered through the ages.
There are two ways to respond to this couplet. One is to continue praising Zhuge Liang, and the other is to praise another loyal minister in history.
Zhou Duxin didn't know that the emperor admired another loyal minister besides Zhuge Liang, so he replied conservatively: "Zhe Zhou Xishu, I love this place where flowers and brocade are washed, and incense is poured into the temple."
"Are you from Chengdu? You speak Mandarin well," asked the emperor.
"In reply to Your Majesty, I am from Hangzhou and have lived in the capital for a long time," Zhou Duxin replied.
"Have you ever been to the Wuhou Temple in Chengdu?" the emperor continued to ask.
Zhou Duxin replied: "In reply to your Majesty, I once went there with my teacher when I was young."
The emperor asked him a few more questions, then turned to Zhuo Xilan and asked, "Besides reading, what other hobbies do you have?"
"In reply to Your Majesty, I am good at playing the piano." Zhuo Xilan replied.
The emperor asked him, "What are the nine virtues of Qin?"
"In reply to your majesty, the nine virtues of the zither are strange, ancient, transparent, quiet, smooth, round, clear, even, and fragrant."
The emperor did not favor one over another. He questioned and tested all ten people. "I hereby announce the top ranking of the new Jinshi candidates: Zheng Yuncong is the top scholar, Chu Hanqiao is the second, and Zhuo Xilan is the third."
Zheng Yuncong was overjoyed. He was ranked third in the spring examination list, but now he became the top scorer. When he returned home in glory to worship his ancestors, he would definitely want to see if there was smoke coming out of his ancestral grave.
Qi Yongzhen, who ranked first on the original spring exam list, was not even among the top three and looked pale.
The court officials said in unison: "We are obeying your orders. Long live the emperor!"
The ten successful candidates left the hall, and the rankings of the others were announced by the first place winner of the second class. This is the so-called "Announcement Ceremony".
Seeing the ten people coming out, the others had different expressions, but even though they were curious, they didn't dare to ask.
About a quarter of an hour later, music started and a eunuch came out, holding a leather whip over ten feet long. He swung the whip in the air, making three whip sounds.
After everyone is quiet, you can hear the voices of civil and military officials paying homage in the hall.
Then someone inside said, "Announce the new Jinshi to enter the palace."
The ceremony of announcing the names of the successful candidates began. To the sound of music, they entered the hall, and an official from the Honglu Temple called out the names of the successful candidates: "Zheng Yuncong, the first place winner of the first class."
Zheng Yun stepped out of the line and knelt on the left side of the imperial road.
Sing again: "The second place in the first class is Chu-Han Bridge."
Chu Hanqiao stepped out and knelt on the right side of the imperial road.
In this dynasty, the left is respected. The champion kneels on the left side of the imperial road, the runner-up kneels on the right side, the third place kneels behind the champion, the first place of the second place kneels behind the runner-up... and so on.
Zhou Duxin was quite lucky, he was first in the second class.
As the first place in the second class, he was the next to call out the names, "Second place in the second class Min Chengke, third place in the second class. Seventh place in the second class Qi Yongzhen."
Qi Yongzhen fell from first place to tenth place. Although the ranking is not low, it is far less glorious than the first place.
He didn't understand why the emperor disliked him, but Prince Jin knew the reason very well.
Yongzhen and Yongzhou have the same pronunciation, and the emperor disliked him, so Qi Yongzhen became the unfortunate scapegoat.
Prince Jin narrowed his eyes slightly, thinking that this matter could be used for something.
The roll call lasted for a full hour, and Zhou Duxin's throat became a little hoarse. After the last name was called out, the ceremony ended. It was almost noon.
What follows is the most glorious moment for students all over the world: being named on the list of successful candidates and being paraded through the streets as the top scorer.
In order to express their love for these scholars, the onlookers would throw flowers, sachets, handkerchiefs and other things.
When passing by a three-story teahouse, Zhou Duxin suddenly heard someone shouting, "Zhou Duxin, Zhou Duxin."
Zhou Duxin had very good eyesight. He immediately spotted Zheng Mingzhu, the Princess of Xiaochang County, standing on the second floor. He frowned slightly and was about to look away.
Zheng Mingzhu shouted, "Catch the flowers I gave you."
As soon as she finished speaking, she threw a bouquet of flowers to Zhou Duxin.
Zhou Duxin did not reach out to catch the bouquet. He even pulled the reins, causing the horse to tilt, allowing the bouquet to fall past him and onto the ground.
He rode his horse forward without even looking at Zheng Mingzhu.
Zheng Mingzhu was irritated by his attitude and yelled, "Zhou Duxin! You bastard!"
Zhou Duxin turned a deaf ear to him, and Zhuo Xilan beside him reminded him, "Zhou Chuanlu, someone is calling you."
"Don't bother with boring people." Zhou Duxin said calmly.
"Zhou Chuanlu, don't be so hard-hearted. You should be gentle and kind to women." Chu Hanqiao said with a smile.
Zhou Duxin glanced at him and didn't say anything, but he knew that he and Chu Hanqiao were not on the same page and could not be friends.
In addition to Zheng Mingzhu, sisters Wen Zizhi and Wen Zisu also came to watch the parade. Of course, the sisters did not travel together, but each booked a private room in a teahouse along the street.
As luck would have it, the private rooms they booked were across the street from each other, and they both saw each other.
When Zhuang Jike rode by on horseback, the two men threw sachets of perfume to him at the same time.
One of them called out, "Fourth Brother Zhuang."
One shouted, "Zizhi."
Zizhi is Zhuang Jike's pen name, so calling him by that pen name is naturally more intimate than calling him Fourth Brother Zhuang.
Wen Zisu stared at Wen Zizhi, the bitch, with sharp eyes.
Wen Zizhi raised her eyebrows proudly, and Zhuang Jike reached out to catch the sachet she threw.
But before she could fully develop her smug smile, she was dumbfounded. Zhuang Jike also took Wen Zisu's sachet.
Zhuang Jike didn't think there was anything wrong with this. He even waved to the other women, which drew enthusiastic cheers from them.
A pile of handkerchiefs, sachets, silk flowers and fresh flowers were thrown at his head as if they were free.
His ranking moved up two places to 181st.
His ranking was not high, but he was handsome. Wearing the imperial robes, he looked even more elegant and graceful, and his appearance was very appealing to women.
An hour later, they finally returned to the number one scholar's residence, and the whole horse parade was over.
The newly-appointed scholars, excited and reluctant to leave, did not disperse immediately.
They look for like-minded people to chat and make friends with.
People in the same field are a kind of connection, and they may be able to help you in the future.
It is easy to become an official if you have someone in the court. The second and third generation officials among the newly-appointed Jinshi are surrounded by many people.
For example, around Zhuang Jike, there were several new scholars who ranked higher than him.
They were flattering him, saying that after entering the official career, the current rank was not important and capable people in the family would be promoted faster.
Zhou Duxin chatted with a few acquaintances, then found his own carriage and left this noisy place.
Note: The couplet between the Emperor and Zhou Duxin was borrowed from the Wuhou Temple in Chengdu.
Mentor: a teacher who teaches children first.
(End of this chapter)