sjar Chapter 886 Beating Horses and Parading the Streets
Chapter 886 Beating Horses and Parading the Streets
After the palace examination, a tense and long wait began again.
Of course, those candidates who performed poorly in the previous joint examination and failed to take part in the palace examination have lost the qualification to compete in the new round.
Many candidates have returned to their hometowns, while some have stayed in Beijing to wait for the results of the palace examination.
After the palace examination, all the examination papers were sealed and kept. On the day of examination, these examination papers were handed over to at least eight examiners for review.
Each examiner will add five marks such as "○", "△", "\", "1", and "x" on the test paper of the examinee. The one with the most "○" marks will be the best paper.
Afterwards, the examiners selected the ten most popular papers and presented them to the emperor, who would personally select the first, second, and third place winners, namely the top scholar, the second place winner, and the third place winner. The top three winners were called "Jinshi Jidi" or "Sandingjia".
When the marking reached the final stage, after the examiners sorted out the top ten, they all began to discuss Lu Cheng's answer sheet, which was considered the most perfect.
"This paper is indeed extraordinary. The questions and answers are sharp and aggressive, yet thoughtful and steady. It is really rare."
"In my opinion, he might be the top scorer in this year's exam."
"Everything still needs the dictatorship of your Majesty's holy heart."
Soon, the test papers of the top ten candidates were sent to Emperor Changtai's desk.
Emperor Changtai read through the papers one by one, and deliberately put Lu Cheng's paper last. After reading the other papers, he looked at Lu Cheng's paper again, and nodded repeatedly unconsciously: "Good, good, good!"
When the eunuch Dai Quan below heard Emperor Changtai say three good words in a row, he knew that the top scholar in this exam had been decided.
Afterwards, Emperor Changtai called together the examiners and asked, "My dear ministers, I want to make Lu Cheng the top scorer of this year's exam. What do you think?"
"Reporting to your majesty, Lu Huiyuan is extremely talented and deserves to be the first. Congratulations, your majesty, there will be a champion with six poems this year. This is your majesty's contribution to educating the world and a sign of the prosperity of culture and education in the Ming Dynasty!"
"I congratulate Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, I think we should be more cautious. It may not be a good thing for Lu Cheng to become famous at a young age. If he can be polished a little more, he will definitely become a pillar of the country."
"Mr. Yang is wrong. Since ancient times, people with great ambitions have never been too old. Wen Ji could distinguish the sound of a zither at the age of six, Cao Chong could weigh an elephant at the age of seven, Gan Luo became prime minister at the age of twelve, and Guanjun Hou could lead 18 elite cavalry deep into the northern desert at the age of 800.
Now, this Lu Cheng is worthy of the title of No. 1 scholar, why should he be suppressed? The young man is rising up, just like the rising sun, if he is suppressed by force, it will be counterproductive! "
"I second the proposal. The imperial examination is for selecting talents for the country, and Your Majesty is for selecting talents. This is fair and just. Moreover, six number one candidates are indeed auspicious signs, and a sign of the prosperity of our Ming Dynasty!"
"Alright, my dear ministers, there is no need to discuss this further! I have made up my mind. Lu Cheng will be the top scorer of this year's exam! Send the order to draw up the list!"
Emperor Changtai has been on the throne for fourteen years. His power is growing day by day, and he has always wanted to realize his ambitions. However, there is still a retired emperor above him. Although he has abdicated, he still has many supporters in the court. Even many noble families have always been loyal to the retired emperor, which makes Emperor Changtai very unhappy. He does not trust most of the old ministers in the court, and prefers the talents he has promoted.
Although Lu Cheng is young, the questions in the test paper are very much to the liking of Emperor Changtai. Naturally, Emperor Changtai is bold in appointing him. He wants to focus on training Lu Cheng as a talent and also take the opportunity to suppress those old ministers who are loyal to the emperor.
In fact, the decline of the Jia family and the confiscation of their property were closely related to the fact that the Jia family bet on the emperor. It could even be said to be the main reason.
Although Lin Ruhai was considered the son-in-law of the Jia family, Jia Min was already dead, and Lin Ruhai had always been loyal to Emperor Changtai and had never had any contact with the retired emperor, which was completely opposite to the political stance of the Jia family.
As the rankings of the first, second and third place in the imperial examination were all determined, officials from the Ministry of Rites immediately began to draw up the golden list, prepare various rituals, and assign notification tasks.
One day, there were sudden sounds of gongs, drums and firecrackers at the entrance of the alley where Lu Cheng lived. An official in red robes led a team and headed straight for the entrance of Lu's alley.
Behind this group of people, there were many people who came to join in the fun.
Soon, the group walked into the alley where the Lu family courtyard was located, and it suddenly seemed a bit crowded.
The people in the alley heard the noise outside and rushed out to watch. Many people guessed what was going on and looked towards Lu Cheng's door. Some of them were quick to react and had already run to the door of Lu Cheng's house and were waiting.
Soon, the team arrived at Lu Cheng's house and knocked on the gate.
"Congratulations to Mr. Lu, a Jinling scholar, for winning the first place in the imperial examination in the Gengxu year and becoming the top scholar! Please bathe, change your clothes, put on the top scholar robe, ride a horse through the streets, and enter the palace to meet the emperor!"
Lu Cheng took the invitation to announce the good news, and then took a complete set of formal attire including the number one scholar robe and the number one scholar cap from the official behind him. He then asked Lai Wang and Lai Shun to give tea money to the officials who came to announce the good news, and give congratulatory money to the villagers who came to congratulate him.
Afterwards, Lu Cheng returned to the house, took a bath, changed his clothes, put on the top scholar robe, wore a black gauze hat with square wings and golden flowers on his head, rode a horse with a golden saddle and red mane, held the imperial edict in his hand, and a big red flower hung on his chest, with gongs and drums leading the way in front of him.
It is really like "the spring breeze is so strong that the horse gallops and all the flowers in Kyoto can be seen in one day."
This scene can be completely referred to the scene of Xu Shilin as the top scholar in "The Legend of the New White Snake". It is really: A spring thunder sounded in the plain, and the top scholar rode back on horseback. The emperor's grace is so great that the east wind dances, and I am happy to see the strong gate today.
Today was destined to be a lively day. Most of the people in Kyoto gathered in the streets to watch the parade of the top scholar of this year's imperial examination. Even many people from the noble families came out to watch.
It is naturally impossible for the unmarried young ladies from prominent families to show their faces in public and come to the streets to watch.
Some daughters of ordinary families and small households did not have so many requirements, and many of them came out with their families to watch the current number one scholar.
Soon, two rows of human walls formed on both sides of the street. In the middle of the road, officials rang gongs to clear the way and walked in front holding signs that read "Silence" and "Avoid".
Lu Cheng sat high on his horse and could still hear the discussions of the people on both sides of the road.
"Look, the new champion is indeed as handsome as his reputation says."
"As expected of the God of Literature, he is indeed a god-like figure."
"If I can marry him, even as a concubine, I am willing to do so."
"Don't dream, you won't even be able to be my concubine."
On the outskirts of the crowd on the side of the street, an old woman led two young and beautiful women, also looking at the extraordinary champion sitting on the horse. One of the young women couldn't help but say: "He is indeed as handsome as Pan An and Song Yu, and he is admired by everyone."
"How can such a person exist in the world? I want to marry such a person in the future. Even if it means I have to live 20 years less, I will be willing to do so."
"Third sister, stop talking nonsense."
"Second sister, I'm not talking nonsense. Look at our eldest sister. Although she married into the Ningguo Mansion, she is just a man who doesn't care about anything. She has to face an old man with a wretched appearance every day. It's better for her to be a concubine to a young man like this. Even if she only sees him once or twice a day, she will feel happy."
The parade went northwards. When it passed a crossroads, a convoy came from the east. When it saw the wall of people at the intersection ahead, it stopped immediately.
A gentle voice came from a sedan in the convoy: "Brother, what's going on up ahead?"
"Sister, the new number one scholar is passing by and is riding a horse in the parade."
"Then quickly let our team move aside and don't block the road."
At this moment, the crowd at the intersection began to cheer: "Look, the top scholar is here."
"What a handsome champion."
"Isn't it possible that this year's No. 1 scholar is even more handsome than the No. 3 scholar?"
At this time, the sedan chair in the carriage team also opened its curtain and looked forward. He happened to see the number one scholar riding his horse past. He couldn't help but feel touched: a good man should be like this.