One was a perfect score of eight “○”, and the emperor also selected as a reward a goldfish, which symbolizes first place in the imperial examination; the other was only given seven “○” and one “△” after much consideration, and the emperor selected as a reward a golden rooster, which had nothing to do with the palace examination.
Besides, Ouyang Zishi came here in the sedan chair of Lord Yan...
Therefore, in everyone's mind, it was almost determined that Ouyang Zishi was the top scorer in this imperial examination, and most people surrounded Ouyang Zishi and complimented him.
Amid the crowd's compliments, the drum on the Meridian Gate tower of the Forbidden City began to be struck. Three drum sounds, "dong dong dong", broke the silence of heaven and earth.
As soon as the drum sounded, the group of civil and military officials in the front quickly lined up according to their ranks and positions, waiting patiently for the palace gate to open.
At the reminder of the officials from the Ministry of Rites, Zhu Ping'an and the other 400 newly admitted Jinshi also lined up in the order of the palace examination.
Zhu Ping'an and Ouyang Zishi stood at the head of two rows respectively. Zhu Ping'an smiled slightly and bowed to Ouyang Zishi next to him as a friendly greeting. Ouyang Zishi just nodded slightly to Zhu Ping'an with a look of superiority on his face, as if he was a swan that could dance ballet looking at a fat pig that could only roll in the mud.
At five o'clock in the morning, the bell rang, and the locked palace door unveiled its mysterious veil.
Civil and military officials, royal relatives and nobles lined up in neat rows and were the first to step into the Meridian Gate. Zhu Ping'an and Ouyang Zishi, under the instruction of the officials from the Ministry of Rites, followed closely behind the civil and military officials and also entered the Meridian Gate.
The ten-meter-high wall is like a mountain. Zhu Ping'an stepped into the Meridian Gate and was deeply impressed by the wall of the Forbidden City. The Meridian Gate is the main gate of the Forbidden City. When you enter the Meridian Gate, the first thing you see is not the rows of palaces. Instead, it is a wide open space, like someone's courtyard magnified hundreds of times.
The warriors in armor and armed with sharp weapons lined up in their respective positions, watching everyone who entered like eagle eyes. It seemed that if they were not careful, they would attract swords and axes.
Going further, you will see the Jinshui River flowing through the Forbidden City, winding between the Meridian Gate and the Gate of Supreme Harmony. There are five bridges on the Jinshui River, made of white marble, intricately carved, and extremely gorgeous, collectively known as the Jinshui Bridge.
Arriving in front of the Jinshui Bridge, the civil and military officials once again adjusted their court robes and reorganized their ranks, preparing to enter the Jinshen Hall.
After entering Taihe Gate, Zhu Ping'an clearly felt a solemn atmosphere, as if the entire palace had become serious. When he first entered the Wumen Gate, only warriors in armor were responsible for security. Now the security intensity was significantly strengthened, and the guards in charge of security were obviously much stronger in terms of clothing, equipment, size, and number.
In addition to the guards, the censors among the civil and military officials also began to take charge of the supervision.
Since entering Taihe Gate, all civil and military officials, including Zhu Ping'an and other newly admitted Jinshi, have been under surveillance. Every move they make is watched by countless eyes, and any inappropriate words or deeds will be recorded and dealt with later.
The magnificent palace and the vast power were displayed one by one before the new scholars such as Zhu Ping'an.
Deepen step by step. Shock step by step.
By the time they arrived at the Jinshen Hall, the newly admitted scholars were already grinning from ear to ear.
The main hall is located on a seven-meter-high white marble foundation, which is divided into three layers. Each layer has more than a thousand finely carved dragon heads sticking out, which is shocking. The main hall is nearly 30 meters high and covers an area of about 1,000 square meters. The golden pillars of the dragons rise from the ground, and the top of the hall is like a mountain, which is very noble.
Because the main hall is located on a white marble foundation more than seven meters high, stone steps are set up to lead to the main hall. In the middle of the steps, there is a more spectacular imperial road stone than the one in the West Garden. It is nearly twenty meters long and four meters wide. It is engraved with nine dragons playing with pearls in the sea, which is vivid and lively, and makes people breathe faster.
The stone steps leading to the main hall are called "步". The stone steps are not as narrow as our stairs. There is a flat ground between the stone steps, and then there are stone steps again. This flat ground is called "墀". The stone steps are painted red, which symbolizes joy.
All the civil and military officials stood on the red "step" in order of rank. Zhu Ping'an and other 400 new scholars were not qualified to stand on the red "step". They were ranked behind the civil and military officials and stood on the red "step".
Looking at this clearly divided scene before our eyes, I wonder how many new scholars have set their sights on grand ambitions.
Because Emperor Jiajing will be here in person today, the etiquette outside the hall is followed. In the middle of the eaves of the hall there is a yellow umbrella with a nine-dragon curved handle. On the east and west sides there are whisks, stoves, boxes, pots, plates, bottles, chairs, stools, etc. There are also several teams of musicians in gorgeous clothes standing on the eaves of the hall on standby. In addition, the emperor's guards holding ceremonial long swords, bows and arrows and long spears stand on both sides of the steps. The layers are awe-inspiring, making the hall look particularly majestic and grand today.
Soon, Emperor Jiajing arrived in person surrounded by ceremonial guards.
"Whick!"
When the Jiajing Emperor's procession was about to approach the Jinshen Hall, an imposing guard shouted "whip!" and then took out a long whip woven in a ring with yellow silk, the tip of which seemed to be coated with wax, and swung it hard, then hit the ground heavily, a total of three times.
The sound of the whip was extremely loud, like a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
This is the legendary whip, used to warn me.
Soon Jiajing's procession arrived, and palace music sounded continuously. Zhu Ping'an only saw the procession vaguely, and could only imagine the scene of Emperor Jiajing ascending to the dragon throne in the main hall.
When the music stopped, Zhu Ping'an vaguely heard a eunuch shouting something, and then he saw the civil and military officials in front of him began to perform the three kneelings and nine kowtows ceremony, so he followed suit and knelt down to salute.
After kneeling three times and kowtowed nine times, I could vaguely hear an official from the Honglu Temple reading out the "Edict". Although I couldn't hear it clearly, it had a fixed format and I could roughly guess that it was saying "On March 15, the 30th year of the Jiajing reign, the imperial examination was held. The first class was awarded the title of Jinshi, the second class was awarded the title of Jinshi, and the third class was awarded the title of Tong Jinshi."
After the official from the Honglu Temple finished reading the "Edict", a young eunuch handed the sealed imperial list of rankings for the palace examination to the Cabinet Scholar. The Cabinet Scholar knelt down with the imperial list in his hand and saluted the Jiajing Emperor who was sitting on the dragon throne. Then he stood up and walked to a table on the east side of the hall and opened the imperial list.
Seeing this scene, the newly admitted scholars standing behind the civil and military officials were extremely excited.
Of course, the most excited person was Ouyang Zishi who was standing in the front. Ever since he finished reading the "Edict", Ouyang Zishi had been looking at the hall in front of him with an excited and eager look on his face.
quick
quick
Please read out the imperial edict quickly! My legs are so itchy that I can't wait to be the first!
Ouyang Zishi's face turned red with excitement, his clenched fists were still shaking, and his eyes were filled with tears. His emotions were already brewing, and he had even prepared a draft of his speech for winning the top prize in his mind.
Ouyang Zishi, you did it!
Ouyang Zishi's eyes fell directly on the hall...
Ouyang Zishi was not disappointed. The officials from the Ministry of Rites in the main hall walked to the table and opened the golden list. The officials from the Honglu Temple stood in front of the golden list and began to read out the list, starting from the first place, that is, starting with the top scorer.
"The first place in the first class of the imperial examination of the 30th year of the Jiajing reign... Zhu Ping'an!" The voice of the official from the Honglu Temple reading out the list broke the silence of the hall.
Although the official from the Honglu Temple's voice was loud, it could not be heard outside the hall. But it didn't matter, he was not fighting alone.
As soon as he finished speaking, the guard on duty repeated it loudly, and the voice spread from inside the hall to outside. Every few guards repeated it until it reached the last guard outside.
First place... Zhu Pingan!
Hearing the voice of the list being announced, the excited Ouyang Zishi's first reaction was, well, the list is finally announced, starting with the first place, top scholar, well, I should go to the imperial road in the middle to express my gratitude, haha, this imperial road can only be walked on by the emperor, and only the top scholar today can do so, it is a huge honor, I am so excited.
Then, uh, I must have sung it wrong, my name is Ouyang Zishi, not Zhu Ping'an.
Then, ah, what, the first place is Zhu Pingan! The first place is actually Zhu Pingan, what's going on, he Zhu Pingan only got seven "o", I got eight, all "o"! It must be wrong, it must be wrong!
Ouyang Zishi had already taken a step forward in his first reaction, and he was still taking steps mechanically in his third reaction, with a pale face, as if he had pulled his eggs and broken them while walking.
When the list was read out, the top three places in the first and second place were announced three times in succession to express their commendation and distinction. At this time, the second reading of the list came again, and the guards took turns to repeat loudly:
"First place in the first class... Zhu Ping'an!" (To be continued.)