February twenty-nine.
It was the day when the examination results were released.
This day is an unforgettable day for every candidate. The struggle, expectation, hesitation, and all the complicated emotions for more than ten days finally come to an end.
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 Gong Yuan 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, all wanting to be the first to see their name.
With three thousand people looking up from their necks, and more officials and wealthy households preparing to catch their son-in-law, the street more than 20 steps 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 family just to deal with this situation.
Come and try it quickly. 】
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 were 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 to the front: "Let's start from the back."
On the last page of the list, the last person whose surname is Sun is not Sun Shan, but Sun De. As for the second to last one, it was 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 his eyes were fine.
"Ah!" Chen Jun shouted, and then shouted excitedly: "I really hit it!"
This shout was immediately like fresh meat thrown into a pack of wolves, and dozens of people around him swarmed towards him. Before Chen Jun could react, he was submerged in the sea of people.
Wei Chen and other members of the Jingxi Club not only did not help, but also stepped back a few steps to make way for those people.
Seeing Chen Jun struggling in the sea of people, everyone had teasing looks on their faces.
"Haha, there's something good to watch now!"
"Who made Brother Chen yell so much? 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 is it that no one in Jingxi Club is worried about Chen Jun at all, and they even want to watch the fun?
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. Being a Jinshi is the basis for being promoted 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.
Moreover, for more than a hundred years, people in the Zhou Dynasty have been promoting that "everything is of inferior quality, but reading is the only one that is superior." 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 families, and this is why the craziness of trying to catch a son-in-law is aroused.
So why not wait until after the palace examination to confirm that he has won the imperial examination before arresting his son-in-law?
Just kidding, there are only a few good sons-in-law, some are quick and some are slow, and they can’t wait for a moment. After the palace test, the day lily was 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 on his face.
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 kept asking him so.
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 not common among candidates who look at the results.
Five thousand taels is the average price for catching a son-in-law, but Chen Jun, 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 outside the city covering an area of fifteen hectares."
The green robe worn by the old man was tribute silk. Anyone with a little knowledge would 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 performed smoothly, and it was obviously an expert who had 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 fate 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 everyone 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 and didn't scream, 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 the 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. Wei Chen couldn't help but smile when he saw Sheng Changbai pretending to be calm despite being so happy.
Heaving a sigh of relief, Wei Chen looked up at the last list recording the list of top candidates in the Five Classics Examination, and slowly moved his eyes from bottom to top.
"Fifth place, Yu Yannian, courtesy."
"Fourth place, Li Anyang, Spring and Autumn."
"Third place, Zhang Zuochang, Yi."
"Second place, Xu Lin, poetry."
"First place, Wei Chen, book!"
