"Your Majesty, this is the list of successful candidates for this imperial examination. Please have a look." The chief examiner of the imperial examination stood in the imperial study, holding the list of candidates respectfully in his hands, waiting for Xu Hai to present it to Emperor Liang Ping for his review.
Xu Hai took the list, checked it and handed it to Emperor Liang Ping. Emperor Liang Ping looked through the list with a smile on his face. The imperial examination held every three years was the main method for the court to recruit talents. The names listed on this thick memorial were all the backbones of the Liang Dynasty in the future.
After flipping through two pages, he paused, looked at the fifteenth person on the list, and whispered, "Pei Che from the Duke Zhong's Mansion?"
Xu Hai's heart skipped a beat, and he was about to speak, but he saw Emperor Liang Ping began to turn the pages again, seemingly not taking the previous episode to heart. Xu Hai turned his head to look at the examiner standing below, and he understood that the emperor's dislike for the Pei family was a personal grudge, and he could not show it in front of the court officials.
"My dear Lord Lu, you have spent a lot of effort in selecting talents for the court during this period. It is really hard work. After the examination is over, I will reward you according to your merits." Emperor Liang Ping said.
Lu Xiuming was touched: "Your Majesty, it is a blessing for me to take on this important task. I dare not take on the word hardship, let alone say that I have any merit. These are the duties of a minister. How dare I take credit for this?"
"Tomorrow is the day when the results will be announced. Have you made all the arrangements?" Emperor Liang Ping just praised casually, and when he saw that Lu Xiuming was very sensible, he changed the subject.
"Don't worry, Your Majesty. The list has been copied and will be posted on the wall tomorrow morning for them to review." This was not the first time that Lu Xiuming served as the chief examiner. Although he had presided over the provincial examinations before, the process from supervising the examinations to announcing the results was no different.
"That's good. You go back and prepare. The imperial examination is a serious matter and there must not be any problems." Emperor Liang Ping said.
"Yes, Your Majesty. I'll take my leave." Lu Xiuming bowed, took a few steps back, then turned and left the imperial study.
As soon as he left, the voice of Emperor Liang Ping was audible.
"Xu Hai."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Prince Pei has been studying in the Imperial Academy since he was young. He did not participate in the previous provincial examinations in the past few years because he was in mourning. This time, he ranked eighth in Liangjing City..." Xu Hai told what he had learned in the past few days.
Although Emperor Liang Ping no longer paid attention to Pei Che's every move as before due to his busy state affairs after Pei Che got married, Xu Hai still habitually checked on them every few days, just in case something like today happened.
Emperor Liang Ping nodded. It seemed that Pei Che was quite talented. He ranked eighth in the provincial examination and fifteenth in the imperial examination. Although he was not the top, he was also among the best. It was a pity. If he was not Pei Shijie's son and ranked in the top ten in the palace examination, Emperor Liang Ping would have to give him the title of Tanhualang to justify his appearance.
Xu Hai looked at the various emotions that flashed across Emperor Liang Ping's face, thought again and again, and finally did not speak. This Prince Pei was born in a noble family before, and now he has entered the court and has the qualifications to be an official. If he doesn't control his mouth, he may get into trouble in the future.
"Crackle, crackle..."
The deafening sound of firecrackers echoed throughout the entire street, and the ground was covered with a thick layer of exploding red paper, showing the festive atmosphere and the inner joy of the hosts everywhere.
Someone who couldn't hear clearly came over and listened for a while before rubbing his ears and asking the people around him.
"What happened with such a big scene just now?"
"Don't you know?" The person being asked was a little surprised. He looked closely and found that the man was carrying a bag, and it was obvious that he had just arrived. "Prince Pei of the Duke of Zhongguo Mansion passed the imperial examination, and he is going to host a big banquet today. It's a pity that you came too late. Before setting off the firecrackers, the servants in the mansion brought out a basket of wedding money to distribute!"
The person who was talking was still not satisfied, and was obviously very satisfied with the part of scattering the money. The person carrying the bag also felt a little regretful, thinking that if he had come earlier, he might have been able to share in the good fortune.
In the Duke's Mansion, Pei Che and Jiang Miao were already very familiar with entertaining guests. The standard of this banquet was held according to the standards of the provincial examination. The guests and hosts were very happy at the banquet. Almost everyone's attitude was better than the last time they attended the banquet. The way they looked at Pei Che was no longer just looking at a junior.
Pei Che was not proud of all this. Passing the exam was something he expected. From the moment he saw the questions, he was full of confidence and felt that he would definitely pass. He just didn't expect that he would rank so high.
Jiang Miao's reaction to this was that he could finally have a good night's sleep. From the time Pei Che took the exam to the time the results were announced, he had not been sleeping well, fearing that the test results would hurt Pei Che's fragile heart. Now that the dust has settled, he no longer has to worry. Because all students who pass the examination and get the status of Gongshi will at least have the same status as Jinshi when they participate in the palace examination, so there is no need to worry about the risk of failing.
At night, the two of them were lying in bed. Jiang Miao was busy all day and was about to fall asleep. Pei Che suddenly asked, "A Miao, if I were sent out of Beijing, would you be willing to go with me?"
"...Huh?" Jiang Miao took a while to react before he understood what Pei Che said.
"Are you going to be sent out of Beijing?" He felt a little sleepy.
Pei Che turned around and faced him: "It's very likely. Generally speaking, except for the top two and third place winners selected by the emperor, who can stay in the capital, the rest must be sent out to serve as officials for some experience." Then, people with backgrounds can be transferred back to the capital in one year or three years, while people without backgrounds can only work hard to gain experience, or seek refuge with powerful officials in the court by means of marriage and bribery. Very few people can turn things around by their political achievements.
Pei Che waited nervously. In his heart, he naturally hoped that A Miao could accompany him. But he also felt that he couldn't be so selfish. Liangjing was under the feet of the emperor, and the prosperity and bustle were incomparable to other places. How could he ask A Miao to suffer with him
Jiang Miao sighed, and Pei Che's heart tightened. He could almost hear Jiang Miao's rejection. He comforted himself, it's okay, at most three years, he will return to Liangjing, and it will be okay for the family to reunite at that time.
"If I go with you, do Xiao Shitou and Mu'er have to come with us?" Jiang Miao asked.
Pei Che said: "Of course I have to follow. I don't feel comfortable leaving them alone in Liangjing to study."
"Doesn't that mean I have to transfer schools again?" Jiang Miao frowned. It's not good to change schools again and again, right
Pei Che forced a smile and was about to speak when Jiang Miao spoke again.
"Oh, forget it. I don't know if the teachers outside are good or not. But it doesn't matter. Anyway, you are knowledgeable, so there should be no problem teaching them. Isn't it said in the book? Reading ten thousand books is not as good as traveling ten thousand miles—" As Jiang Miao was talking, Pei Che beside him suddenly pulled him over and kissed him on the mouth.
Jiang Miao was so frightened by such a beastly act that he quickly reached out to push him away: "Don't f*cking come here. I'm exhausted after a day of work and my body is about to fall apart!" He didn't have the energy to do anything stupid.
Pei Che buried his head in his neck and laughed softly.
"Hey... don't think you can just act like a spoiled child!" Jiang Miao felt like she was about to be burned by his breath, and her neck turned red all the way to the tips of her ears.
"A Miao."
"Um?"
"I'm so glad."
"Ah? Why are you so happy?"
"Are you willing to go forward and backward with me, abandon the prosperity of Liangjing, and go to other places to suffer." Pei Che hugged Jiang Miao tightly. You know,
When the sons of noble families were sent out of the capital, their wives would almost never accompany them. At most, they would send one or two concubines to take care of them.
Jiang Miao was amused by him: "I'm not that noble. It's not like you can't spend your money outside the capital, so how can you say you're suffering? Besides, it's great to be able to go out and see the world. If it weren't for you, I'm afraid I would never be able to go anywhere else in my life. It's all thanks to you."
Reality's words did not change Pei Che's expression, but instead moved him even more. Miao said this because he must not want him to blame himself too much!
Thinking of this, Pei Che kissed Jiang Miao on the mouth again to express his gratitude.
"Hey, is that enough? I want to go to sleep!"
"Pah!" Another kiss, this time on the left cheek.
"I'll get angry if you keep making trouble!"
"Bang!" There was also a bite on the right cheek.
"Oh my god! Are you not listening?" Jiang Miao got angry.
"Bang!" A wet kiss was imprinted on the forehead.
"I think you deserve to be punished!"
Jiang Miao jumped up and rolled over to press on Pei Che, performing a scene of a vicious sheep pouncing on a wolf. His previous tiredness had already vanished during the play.
(End of this chapter)