The roosters hadn't crowed, the dogs hadn't barked, and it was pitch black outside the window, without a single light.
Zhu Ping'an got up, washed up, and had breakfast brought to him by his maid Baozi with a lantern. With the help of the maid Baozi, he put on his new crown and clothes, then left the Linhuai Marquis Mansion and headed towards the Forbidden City.
Breakfast consisted of meat buns with porridge and side dishes. It tasted great and you could tell it was the work of Li Shu's rapidly improving chef. The bun skin was flexible and the filling was delicious, and the side dishes were refreshing and tasty, leaving a lingering fragrance in the mouth.
By the way, the chef of Li Shu's family is also very hard-working. He has to get up at least half an hour earlier than me to prepare such a breakfast. I must thank the chef of the Li family in person some other day. I am very grateful for the culinary care of the chef of the Li family recently.
After Zhu Ping'an left the Linhuai Marquis Mansion, he headed straight for the Forbidden City, because the place for the announcement of the results of the examination, as notified by the officials of the Ministry of Rites when they delivered the crown and robes of the Jinshi yesterday, was the Jinshen Hall in the Forbidden City.
The Forbidden City, this city within a city, is the modern Forbidden City. Of course, the Forbidden City during the Ming Dynasty is very different from the modern Forbidden City. After all, the modern Forbidden City was rebuilt during the Qing Dynasty. Unlike the modern Forbidden City, where people can go in and play around after paying for tickets, the Forbidden City during the Ming Dynasty was a forbidden area. It was an imperial palace, inhabited by the most distinguished group in the world.
Chuanlu refers to the ceremony of announcing the rankings of the palace examination.
When Zhu Ping'an reached the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City, there was gradually a hazy light in the east. The sky was turning white, the flowers were turning red, the willows were turning green, and the golden glazed tiles of the Forbidden City were spreading a golden light, full of splendor and wealth.
The crowd outside the Forbidden City was roughly divided into two groups. One group was the civil and military officials in court robes. These people were divided into two camps, which were further divided into several small camps. The other group was the newly-appointed Jinshi like Zhu Ping'an, who wore brand new Jinshi crown and robes and a black gauze hat with flowers on his hairpin.
Both groups were very excited. The civil and military officials were excited because they had not seen Emperor Jiajing for a long time. In the last palace examination, many of them were not qualified to go to the Western Garden. It was rare that Emperor Jiajing suddenly showed interest. In the Jinshen Hall of the Forbidden City, these civil and military officials were able to see the emperor for the first time in a long time. How could they not be excited? As for the newly admitted Jinshi who were ranked behind the civil and military officials, they were excited because today was their big day. The Jin Hall was the moment when they finally reaped the rewards of their ten years of hard work.
Because it was still early, the gates of the Forbidden City had not yet been opened. Everyone was waiting outside and chatting, their excitement evident in words.
When Zhu Ping'an arrived at the Forbidden City, he joined Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen among the 400 new Jinshi.
The hottest topic among the newly admitted Jinshi was who would be the top scorer. At this time, not only did they not know the ranking of the top 20 in the first class, even the many civil and military officials in front of them did not know the ranking of the top 20, including the eight ministers who read the papers, including Yan Song and Yan Ge Lao. They only knew the ranking of the Jinshi after the 20th place.
The top 20 rankings at this time have been sealed since they were decided by Emperor Jiajing, and will not be opened until today when the rankings are announced.
Of course, even if the exact ranking of the top 20 is unknown, there is still a lot of inside information circulating. Many of these 400 new Jinshi were born in the families of dignitaries, or were related to dignitaries. Through connections, many new Jinshi learned some information about the eight ministers who read the papers.
In addition, yesterday, the news that Emperor Jiajing summoned the top 20 people also spread among the crowd.
It is precisely because there are some knowns amidst the unknowns of the top scorer that everyone is talking about it so enthusiastically.
"Logically speaking, our last imperial examination champion has a great chance." A newly-appointed Jinshi wearing a black gauze hat with a flowered hairpin, a set of Jinshi crown and clothes, and holding a locust wood tablet expressed his opinion in the crowd.
As soon as this person finished speaking, someone smiled and shook his head.
"I'm afraid this young man only knows one side of the story." The man shook his head and smiled, his face full of gossip.
"Oh. I'd like to hear more about it." The first newly admitted Jinshi bowed to the man and asked for advice.
"Although I heard it from others, the news is very reliable. A good friend of my father works in the Dali Temple, and his superior, the Dali Temple Minister, is one of the ministers in charge of reading the papers. Yesterday, when we were drinking at my house, he mentioned to my father that the marking was completed. The top 20 papers were presented to the emperor for his review. When the emperor opened the sealed envelope during the review, he found that our Zhu Huiyuan only got seven 'o's' in this marking, and was ranked only eleventh before the papers were presented to the emperor." The man who shook his head and smiled said with a gossipy look on his face, looking at the surprised expression of the man opposite him with satisfaction, having satisfied his gossiping addiction.
"Eleventh, this ranking is not even high enough for the first place, let alone the second place." The crowd started talking.
"Even this was taken care of by Prime Minister Yan. I heard that after the first review, there were only six 'o's on this test paper, which ranked among the top three. Prime Minister Yan valued talent, so he asked the examiner to review it again, and only then was there one more 'o'." A new scholar who knew more inside information added the inside information he knew.
How exciting! The first place only got seven "o"s, and the second place was not even in the front! Forget about the first place. Everyone was excited for a while, especially those who felt that they had done well in the exam, thinking that they had a chance again.
Uh, you're talking about me. Zhu Pingan listened to everyone's discussion with a calm face. He just smiled slightly when everyone looked at him sympathetically. He didn't look depressed at all.
In the eyes of everyone, Zhu Ping'an felt the greatest sorrow, the greatest happiness from the extreme sorrow, and the feeling of holding on... ...
After hearing the news, Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen kept comforting Zhu Ping'an, asking him to relax and not think too much, as the result was not out yet and everything was possible, even though they both felt in their hearts that it was impossible.
"Don't worry, I have already achieved what I wanted today. As for the top scholar, if I get it, I am lucky; if I don't, it is my fate."
Zhu Ping'an smiled calmly and calmly.
"What a great saying: If I get it, I'm lucky; if I lose it, it's my fate. Zihou is so broad-minded and open-minded, which is really admirable." Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen admired Zhu Ping'an's optimistic attitude towards life. This sentence: If I get it, I'm lucky; if I lose it, it's my fate, simply made them bow down.
Zhang Siwei and Wang Shizhen’s view does not mean that everyone else sees it this way: Go ahead and pretend, just keep pretending and see how long you can get away with it. When the results come out, you will cry.
"In my opinion, the number one scholar in this special examination must be Brother Ouyang. I heard that Brother Ouyang received unanimous applause, and all the eight ministers who read the papers gave him high praise." Someone in the crowd confidently concluded that Ouyang Zishi must be the number one scholar.
This conclusion was recognized by the majority of people present, almost everyone in the audience, and then the people standing next to Ouyang Zishi began to compliment Ouyang Zishi, as if the top scorer in the imperial examination had already been taken.
Under everyone's flattery, Ouyang Zishi said that he was not worthy of it and that the results were not out yet and everyone should not joke around. However, his face was full of smiles, he looked very proud and radiant, and he looked like he was completely confident.
"I heard that the emperor asked the top 20 candidates to choose a reward. May I ask what you guys chose?" A Jinshi who was among the top 20 and was summoned by Emperor Jiajing asked the crowd.
Soon someone responded and said it was a golden carp, and several people followed suit and said it was a golden carp.
Someone asked Ouyang Zishi, and Ouyang Zishi also replied that it was the goldfish. The carp jumping over the dragon gate was the most appropriate phrase.
Then someone thought that although Zhu Ping'an was ranked eleventh, he was still blessed by the emperor and was summoned, so they asked Zhu Ping'an what he chose.
"Golden Rooster." Zhu Ping'an answered sincerely.
Well
After hearing this, everyone was silent for a few seconds, and then they started to whisper again. Many people couldn't help but laugh quietly. They didn't expect Zhu Ping'an to choose the Golden Rooster. The carp leaping over the dragon gate means good results in the imperial examination. Obviously, the carp leaping over the dragon gate is the most suitable for the imperial examination, but he chose the Golden Rooster! The test paper only got eleventh place under the special care of Yan Shoufu. Now that the Golden Rooster has been chosen, hehe, forget about the top scholar, it's impossible. In their eyes, the top scholar is Ouyang Zishi. Anyway, in their eyes, Zhu Ping'an is impossible.
Ouyang Zishi heard this and a sneer appeared on his lips. He whispered, "Playing the piano randomly." Then, the confidence in his eyes became even stronger. (To be continued.)