It's the day when the examination results will be released.
This day, for every candidate, is an unforgettable day of struggle, expectation, and hesitation. The complicated emotions of more than ten days have finally come to a conclusion.
Before dawn, most of the scholars in the Zen courtyard of Da Baoen Temple had already gotten up and went to the outside of Da Zhou Gongyuan to wait for the news of the release of the results.
Everyone in Jingxi Society also got up early and made an appointment to go to Gongyuan to see the list.
The closer we get to Gongyuan, the denser the flow of people becomes. When we get to the place where the results are released outside Gongyuan, it becomes even more crowded.
Wei Chen heard Zhuang Jun say that every year when the rankings were released, there would be many scholars who came to wait in the middle of the night, and there were quite a lot of them. They all wanted to be the first to see their names.
With three thousand people looking up, and more officials and wealthy households preparing to catch their son-in-law, the street more than 20 paces wide in front of the Gongyuan Gate was blocked by carriages and horses.
Fortunately, Wei Chen and others had experienced the crowds during the rural auditions and were well prepared. They specially picked out a dozen big and round men from the household just to deal with this situation.
Come and try it soon.]
Relying on the help of these servants and their attendants to clear the way, Wei Chen and others arrived at Huangbang smoothly.
Five large yellow lists are posted on the wall, densely packed with names and places of origin, occupying most of the paper space.
The first few lists were almost packed with people, and there was no space at all. Even Ding Changsui, the servant brought by Wei Chen and Sheng Changbai, couldn't squeeze in.
Wei Chen tried several times to no avail, so he had no choice but to point forward: "Let's start from the back first."
On the last page of the list, the last one’s surname is Sun, but it’s not Sun Shan, but Sun De. As for the second to last one, it’s Chen Jun.
Chen Jun read these two simple words once, twice, rubbed his eyes, and then read them a third time before he dared to confirm that there was nothing wrong with his eyes.
"Ah!" Chen Jun yelled, and then shouted excitedly: "I really hit it!"
This shout was like fresh meat thrown into a pack of wolves, and dozens of people around him swarmed forward. Before Chen Jun could react, he was drowned in the sea of people.
Wei Chen and other members of the Jingxi Club not only did not help, but also took a few steps back to make way for those people.
Seeing Chen Jun struggling in the sea of people, everyone had teasing looks on their faces.
"Haha, now there's something good to watch!"
"Who made Brother Chen make such a fuss? It's hard not to attract attention!"
"Anyway, Brother Chen is not married yet, so I would like to take this opportunity to choose a good one."
"There are so many people, and they don't seem to be from the same family. They won't start fighting soon, right?"
"It's really hard to tell..."
Why are the people in Jingxi Club not worried about Chen Jun at all, and even have the intention to watch the excitement?
Because this is Chen Jun’s reserved program when the rankings are released in every session - he catches his son-in-law at the bottom of the rankings!
Only one-tenth of the civil servants in the world are Jinshi, and being a Jinshi is the basis for promotion to high officials in the future. For the sake of the family, wealthy families all want to have a Jinshi son-in-law to support their appearance. p>
Moreover, for more than a hundred years, people in the Zhou Dynasty have been preaching that "everything is inferior, but reading is high". After years of brainwashing, the respect Jinshi received far exceeded their true abilities.
Whether it is actual benefits or publicity, Jinshi has become a favorite in the eyes of officials and wealthy households, which is why the craziness of trying to catch a son-in-law is born.
So why don’t you wait until after the palace examination to confirm that you have won the Jinshi before you capture your son-in-law?
Just kidding, there are only a few good sons-in-law. They are quick and slow. They can’t wait for a moment. After the palace test, the day lilies were already cold.
At this time, Chen Jun was stared at by dozens of pairs of fiery eyes, as if he was a strong man who accidentally entered the widow's village, with a look of hesitation and helplessness.
Among the people surrounding Chen Jun, a fat man who looked like a wealthy businessman shouted first: "My daughter has a dowry of five thousand taels. She is twenty-eight years old. She is as beautiful as a flower, gentle and virtuous, and has both political integrity and talent..."
Before the wealthy businessman finished speaking, he had already received countless looks of contempt, and they all came to catch his son-in-law, and they were still asking for help.
If you catch a son-in-law under the ranking list, you will definitely catch a future Jinshi. After that, it will depend on your age and appearance.
Chen Jun is only in his early twenties, and he has taught in Yi Xue for several years, and his demeanor is quite refined. Such conditions are rare among candidates who look at the results.
Five thousand taels is the average price for a son-in-law, but Chen Jun, an official who looks young and promising at first glance, can win with just five thousand taels?
At that moment, a thin gentry shouted: "My daughter has a dowry of eight thousand taels, and there is fifty acres of irrigated powder fields outside the city!"
"Ten thousand taels!"
Another old man in green robes shouted angrily: "In addition, there is a village covering an area of fifteen hectares outside the city."
The green robe worn by this old man is tribute silk. Anyone with a little knowledge will know that this family is closely related to the royal family.
But even so, the people around him were not afraid at all and still did not stop bidding. During the bidding process, Chen Jun was pulled and pulled, and the hat on his head fell off.
The old man in green robe was also a ruthless man. As soon as he waved, five or six strong men came over. Some were opening the way, some were blocking people, and some were carrying people. They dragged Chen Jun horizontally and vertically and lifted him into the air. In a blink of an eye, he rushed towards him.
Out of the crowd.
This set of operations was done smoothly and smoothly, obviously by an expert who has been immersed in this skill for a long time. Before Wei Chen and others could react, Chen Jun was stuffed into the carriage and disappeared in an instant.
"Is this to catch a son-in-law or to kidnap a meat ticket?"
Wei Chen was dumbfounded, turned around and asked Sheng Changbai: "Brother Chen..., will he be okay?"
"Probably not..."
Although Sheng Changbai said this, he didn't have any confidence in his heart. He immediately ordered several servants to follow him quickly to prevent Chen Jun from having any accidents.
The remaining members of the Jingxi Club continued to look at the list, and from time to time they could hear shouts of "I won", and then they encountered the same situation as Chen Jun, being surrounded by a group of people who wanted to capture his son-in-law.
The dozen or so servants Sheng Changbai had on hand were all used up in the blink of an eye, and they were all sent to follow the captured commune members.
"If I had known better, I would have brought all the people at home with me!" Sheng Changbai was quite annoyed, but also sincerely happy.
But not everyone is qualified to be arrested. The more people who are arrested, the more people in Jingxi Society will be Jinshi!
With this happy worry, Sheng Changbai looked at the list from back to front. He saw the names of many friends on the list, such as Tao Dazhi at the 101st place, Tang Henian at the 43rd place, and Tang Henian at the 43rd place.
Weng Dingfan ranked 29th, and Wang Yaochen ranked 12th.
Finally...
"Sixth place, Youyang Shengchangbai!"
Sheng Changbai's eyes were full of excitement and joy, but he held back his voice and even deliberately pretended that nothing happened.
He didn't want to be like Chen Jun and others, who were carried away and stuffed into a carriage before he could react, mainly because he couldn't afford to lose this person.
Wei Chen, who was looking at the list, of course also saw Sheng Changbai's name. Seeing Sheng Changbai pretending to be calm despite being so happy, Wei Chen couldn't help but smile.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Wei Chen raised his head and looked at the last list recording the list of the top five classics candidates in the Jinke Examination, and slowly moved his eyes from bottom to top.