On the day of the announcement of the results, Zhou Shuren was confident in himself. He did not go to the list to see it, but waited at home for the officials to come and announce the good news.
After Wu Ming's last experience, he didn't want to go this time. He was afraid that he would not be able to come back, so he stayed at home.
Zhou Shuren also wanted to know the rankings of other people on the list, so he asked his boss to copy a copy of the list.
Zhulan asked Lichun to wait at the street corner, waiting to see if any officials with music or dance would come to announce the good news.
Yang Zhumu was a little confused. Why were his brother-in-law and Wu Ming so calm? It was as if they knew the ranking!
Yang Zhumu found the girl, who was counting the money given as reward. She twitched her lips and asked, "Girl, did you know the rankings in advance?"
Zhulan raised her head and said, "No, why do you ask, brother?"
Yang Zhumu pointed at the silver in the basket and asked, "If you don't know the ranking, why did you prepare the silver in advance?"
Zhulan curled her eyes and said, "Because I have a clue in my mind!"
There is a genius student at home, and the genius student has affirmed Zhou Shuren. Zhou Shuren is very confident. As long as the emperor does not deliberately not give him a ranking, the ranking will be basically stable.
Lichun rushed back, "The official with the good news is here."
Yang Zhumu, “… … ..”
Well, he doesn’t need to worry about it anymore and just follows the girl to see who the good news is for.
Today is the day to announce the names of the successful candidates in the imperial examination. The officials who bring the good news have specific specifications and they wear red clothes. The first person to announce the good news is naturally the new number one scholar. The officials stopped at the gate of Zhou's house, and Zhou Shuren and Wu Ming stood at the gate.
Wu Ming was still young, and he could no longer control his expression. His eyes were fixed on the court robes in the hands of the official who brought the good news.
Zhou Shuren knew in his heart that he had no chance of becoming the top scholar. Even though there were many candidates for the palace examination, he had confidence in the emperor. You know, during the examination, the emperor often came down to stroll around. Although he could not remember the names and appearances of all the candidates, he would definitely remember those who he had seen.
For example, Wu Ming, who was sitting in the front row, and he, who was sitting in the second row, were originally sitting in the front row. The emperor came down for a stroll and stayed beside him and Wu Ming for a long time!
Moreover, based on his understanding of the emperor of this dynasty, these tribute scholars did not participate in the palace examination, and all of their information was in the hands of the emperor.
The official who brought the good news spoke a lot of official language before finally announcing the name. As expected, Wu Ming was the new top scholar.
Wu Ming was not a man who showed his happiness easily, but he could not help but grin. After thanking the emperor for his grace, he took the court robe and gave the prepared silver money to the official. The official smiled and took the money. "Tomorrow there will be a carriage to take the champion to the palace to thank the emperor for his grace. We will go back and report first."
Wu Ming bowed and said, "Thank you for your hard work."
The official hurriedly returned the greeting, "It's not hard, it's not hard."
This is a great job, the top scholar has a bright future!
Just as the official who brought the good news turned around and was about to leave, another team of official who brought the good news arrived. The two teams met and were stunned. This was the first time that the number one and number two in the imperial examination were in the same family!
Zhulan saw the official and thought, well, it's really the second place. She didn't expect the third place, but she did expect the first place. Although Zhou Shuren felt that Wu Ming's article was the best written according to ancient ideas, she felt that Zhou Shuren had a broad vision and his answers were very innovative, so he also had a chance to compete!
The subsequent procedures are basically the same. There are three people in Class A, and the treatment of the three is similar.
Zhulan gave the prepared silver and money to the official. Out of consideration for Wu Ming, the amount of silver and money Zhulan gave was not more than that given by Wu Ming.
The two pairs of officials left happily. The top scholar and the second place scholar were in the same family, which was a good reputation. They were going back to share the news.
Wu Ming waited for the official to leave, loosened his grip on his hand, turned around and bowed deeply to Uncle Zhou, "Half of what I have today is due to uncle and aunt. I have no way to repay you, so I want to recognize you as my godfather and godmother. Please help me."
Zhou Shuren, “… … ..”
No, he doesn't want to. He already has enough adopted sons. Even though you are the boss, he doesn't want to. Besides, he really doesn't want to help you. Who doesn't like to be number one
Zhulan, “… … ..”
Is it still possible to do this? There are so many people at the door of the house, it seems not good for them to refuse. Well, after all, Wu Ming is the top scholar!
Wu Ming was simply too excited, and he lost control of his mouth when his mind was hot. When he came to his senses after he finished speaking, he was stunned. He didn't really want to recognize Uncle Zhou as his godfather from the bottom of his heart. Who would want to find a father for themselves for no reason? Soon after he came to his senses, he felt that being impulsive was a good thing.
As a top scholar with no background at all, he would definitely be wooed by various major forces if he stayed in the capital. Although the Zhou family's foundation was also very weak, Uncle Zhou was good at dealing with people, and the two of them could fight for their own way out by working together.
However, Wu Ming listened to the discussions behind him and cursed himself in his heart. He was so stupid. He should have said it when there were no outsiders around, instead of at the door. It seemed like he was threatening. But then he thought, how could the news spread if there were not many people around? It was a mixed bag of pros and cons!
Zhou Shuren cursed in his heart and then calmed himself down, but he was still very angry. Well, if time could go back, he, forget it. With Zhulan around, his bottom line would still not be lowered too much.
Zhulan felt that it would not be good to delay the news for too long. The number one and number two were from the same family, and this news would definitely top the list in the capital. Zhulan tugged at Zhou Shuren's clothes.
Zhou Shuren pursed his lips. His intuition told him that there would be endless troubles in the future. He would rather have another silly son like Zhou Lao Da than a shrewd son who could analyze the pros and cons in just seconds.
Zhou Shuren took a deep breath. There were both advantages and disadvantages to acknowledging Wu Ming. The advantage was that Wu Ming had a lot of connections, and being a godparent was very reliable, which was more reliable than him having to work hard to make friends. The disadvantage was that once he and Wu Ming had a relationship, only one of them could succeed in the future, and those in power did not want to see that all the talented people came from the same family.
Wu Ming waited without straightening up. Now he was in a dilemma and it was all his own fault. He had never underestimated Uncle Zhou, and Uncle Zhou must have seen through his thoughts.
The people outside the gate who were watching the excitement stopped talking and were all waiting for the runner-up to reply. If they became godparents, the top scholar and the runner-up would really become a family.
The merchants around were excited, their eyes fixed on the Zhou family's house. The feng shui of this house was really excellent.