northernbook Chapter 38: Imperial Examination Results
Chapter 38: Imperial Examination Results
"Girl, you can't do that. You're doing business here, so why wouldn't you accept payment?"
Lin Sangqian shook her head slightly, looked at the perfume in her hand again, and whispered, "Not to mention it's such a good thing."
"I just wanted to thank you, miss, just this once, how about that?"
Lin Sangqian, though seemingly quiet and gentle, was actually quite stubborn. Upon hearing this, she said, "No, if the young lady refuses to accept the money, then I won't take it."
After saying that, he stuffed the perfume back into Song Youan's hand.
But those eyes were staring at the perfume reluctantly and couldn't move away.
Song Youan had no choice but to relent: "Well, since the lady insists, then I will accept it."
One hundred taels is an average price if you don’t look at the number of milliliters.
At this time, a maid-looking person hurriedly ran into the yard. Her pretty face was flushed, and it was obvious that she was running in a hurry.
"Miss, ma'am!"
The maid rushed over to Lin Sangqian, startling her. "Wait a minute, what are you in such a hurry for?"
The maid took a few deep breaths before she said in a hoarse voice, "The results are out! They'll be announced today at the south wall of the Ministry of Rites!"
"What?" Lin Sangqian was startled and frowned as he thought, isn't today the 28th?
"Isn't the first day of next month the day the exam results are announced?" Another maid behind her also realized what was happening and looked at her and asked, "Did you hear wrongly?"
"No, Miss, please follow me quickly. The Madam and the Old Madam have already gone."
In this case, Lin Sangqian didn't care about anything else. All three of her brothers took the imperial examination this year, and she had to see them pass the exam with her own eyes.
He didn't even bother to say hello to Song Youan, and quickly followed the girl away.
Seeing this, Song Youan quickly asked the maid behind her, "Do you know where the young lady's residence is? I'll send the cake there tomorrow."
The maid smiled and said, "Listen carefully, young lady. My daughter is the granddaughter of the current Prime Minister, Lord Lin Chong, and the daughter of Lord Lin Tongze, the Minister of Justice. The only Prime Minister's Mansion in Kyoto is the place you are asking about."
Song Youan was shocked when he heard this. The grandson of the prime minister?
The prime minister is the highest administrative official under the monarch and the head of all officials!
Miss Lin's family background is so prominent that her status is far superior to that of the Duke of Su and the Marquis of Fuyang.
When she came to her senses, she was the only one left in the yard.
After calming down, she quickly left the house. She had heard from the maid that the imperial examination results would be announced at the south wall of the Ministry of Rites, and she wanted to go and see the excitement.
……
The Dazhao Imperial Examination was held every two years, hosted by the Ministry of Rites and assisted by the Ministry of Personnel. It consisted of the Tongsheng Examination, the Provincial Examination, the Metropolitan Examination, and the Palace Examination. The top three in the Palace Examination were selected by the Emperor, namely the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3.
During the prosperous era of Da Zhao, talented people emerged in large numbers, and the competition in each imperial examination was fierce, like the sands being washed away by the waves. Those who could pass the examination and gain fame had both strength and luck, neither of which could be missing.
A golden list hangs high on the south wall of the Ministry of Rites.
A crowd of people huddled together, looking up to find their own names among the many names.
Only the top three are the most eye-catching.
The column for the top scorer clearly reads: Liu Fengyan!
"Brother Fengyan! Brother Fengyan! Number one! Number one!"
Han Mo's voice was particularly abrupt in the crowd. He excitedly hugged Liu Fengyan and cried and laughed: "You won, you got what you wanted!"
Liu Fengyan had already stood there in a daze. The name written at the top seemed so strange and vague in his eyes. He seemed to be unable to recognize the three words "Liu Fengyan".
The people around him all looked sideways and recognized that this man was Liu Fengyan, the first place winner of the imperial examination.
Sure enough, he won the first place in the joint examination and was naturally chosen by the emperor in the palace examination.
Regardless of whether they knew each other or not, the candidates and students came forward to bow and congratulate him. This Liu Fengyan from Huainan would be a dragon in the sky in the imperial examination and would be promoted to the sixth rank when he entered the officialdom. He would definitely have a bright future.
Liu Fengyan's expression and movements were somewhat stiff as he nodded to the people around him, while Han Mo looked back for his name.
Finally, he found it on the second-class list!
"I got it too! I got it too!"
He got so excited that he turned around and hugged the dumb-faced Liu Fengyan again: "Brother, I got it too, 2nd Class 16, 2nd Class 16!"
Liu Fengyan finally came to his senses after hearing Han Mo's words. He smiled with red eyes: "We won, we all won!"
The two cried and laughed. All those years of hard study were not in vain. They brought honor to the family and added glory to their ancestors!
Not far away, Song Youan stood on a huge rock in the corner. She saw the names of Liu Fengyan and Han Mo, and also saw them hugging each other to celebrate.
Although this was the destined outcome for the two of them, she felt proud when she thought of their first meeting in the restaurant that day.
"Hey? Miss Song, you're here too?"
Because she was standing high, Zhu Ling saw her.
Song Youan quickly jumped down and said, "I came here to see the excitement. I haven't even seen the imperial examination results announced yet."
Zhu Ling nodded and said, "I heard that this year's top scholar is from Huainan."
Song Youan thought of Zhu Ling's older brothers and couldn't help but ask, "Miss, you're here to see the list too? I wonder if any of your brothers made it to the top of the list?"
Zhu Ling curled his lips, shook his head, and said in a dejected tone: "No."
Song Youan suddenly realized that she had spoken out of turn: "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."
Zhu Ling waved his hand and said, "Don't apologize. My brothers have a lot of ambition, but they don't have enough knowledge. Dazhao is full of talented people, and every imperial examination is like a sieve of sand. How can it be so easy to pass it?"
"But then again, I do feel sorry for my second brother. He's been burning the midnight oil every day, waiting for this final push. It's a pity that he had a stomachache during the joint examination and lost his form, so he wasn't allowed to take the palace examination. Otherwise, he would have had a great chance this year."
The little maidservant beside him heard this and whispered, "The second young master is young and promising. He will definitely be admitted to high school in two years."
"I hope so." Zhu Ling sighed softly and said goodbye to Song Youan. "Miss Song, I'm going back first. My father knows what's going on and he doesn't want to come. My mother and grandmother are waiting in the car for me to tell them the bad news."
Song Youan blinked when he heard that, and wanted to laugh but held it back when he heard Zhu Ling's words.
After Zhu Ling left, she watched the excitement for a while. Some were happy and some were sad. There were exclamations and wails from the crowd from time to time. Some people had taken the exam for many years but were never appreciated and failed to achieve their goals. They broke down and cried when they failed again. Song Youan could actually empathize with them when she saw this.
It was like this in ancient times. All things were inferior except reading.
How many people wanted to rely on studying to cross class barriers and bring honor to their family, but the imperial examinations at that time were much more difficult than the college entrance examinations in later generations.
When I returned to the villa, the system popped up on time.
Today's business income totaled 5400 taels of Dazhao silver notes. Song Youan exchanged 5000 taels for million and deposited it into her card. She kept the remaining silver notes in Youanju for her living needs in Dazhao.