It stands to reason that the ranking of the Jinshi can only be known on the day of the imperial examination in the Golden Palace, but in fact the day before, the emperor will summon the top ten in the imperial examination at the Jiying Palace, commonly known as "Xiao Chuanlu".
The purpose was, of course, that the emperor wanted to conduct an interview in person to avoid any unexpected situations.
The day before Xiao Chuanlu, Honglu Temple sent officials to notify relevant candidates and tell them what they should prepare for.
Wei Chen was from Huiyuan, so it was natural for him to be among the top ten in the imperial examination, so neither he nor Zhuang Jun were too excited when they received the news.
But when the Sheng family got their reward, the whole family was overjoyed. Sheng Hong couldn't believe it. He felt that his son was lucky to be in the top two, but now he was in the top ten. Could it be that God opened his eyes?
Early the next morning, Wei Chen and Sheng Changbai arrived outside Donghua Gate. After a while, the other eight people also arrived. After everyone greeted each other, they quietly waited for the summons with excitement and anxiety.
Compared to the extremely grand Chuanlu Ceremony, the entire process of the Little Chuanlu was extremely quiet, with no ceremony or music.
The official of Honglu Temple held the green sign with the name of the candidate written on it and presented it to the emperor, who then called the candidate by name.
The emperor would look at the candidate's appearance, ask a few questions, give him some gentle words of encouragement, and give him a jade belt. At this point, the interview would be over, and the whole process would not take more than half an hour.
After the first nine candidates were summoned one by one, the Honglu Temple official finally called Wei Chen's name.
Wei Chen's heart skipped a beat, wouldn't I have fallen to tenth place?
However, Wei Chen, who was still complaining secretly, didn't know that after he was summoned into the palace, the remaining nine people were sent out of the palace first by officials from Honglu Temple.
In other words, Wei Chen was left alone.
While Sheng Changbai and the other nine people who left early were thinking about it, Wei Chen had already entered the Jiying Hall and saluted the emperor who summoned him.
On the throne, Zhao Zhen played with a green lottery, looked at Wei Chen, His Majesty Dan, and asked softly: "Name, place of origin, third generation?"
Wei Chen calmly replied: "Wei Chen, a humble minister, is from Jingxi, Youyang. His grandfather is taboo Zhan, and his father is taboo Ming Zhao."
"My grandfather was a child student and my father was a student member. Your Wei family can be considered an heirloom of farming and education. However, it is your generation that can truly be regarded as the lintel of Guangmen."
Zhao Zhen smiled and nodded, and had several rounds of conversations with Wei Chen. Most of them were Zhao Zhen asking questions and Wei Chen answering.
The questions Zhao Zhen asked were also very common, including articles, poems, current affairs and policies, as well as local customs and customs.
Wei Chen lowered his head and played correctly, with clear logic and dexterous articulation, without any mistakes or omissions.
"It's great to be young!"
Feeling Wei Chen's vigorous vitality, Zhao Zhen couldn't help but sigh with emotion after asking: "Although I am young, I still have high aspirations, uphold the principles of loyalty to the emperor and love the people, and promote the style of a true and honest gentleman."
"I sincerely obey your Majesty's teachings."
Wei Chen was "excited" for the emperor's encouragement and bowed to thank him again.
Just when Wei Chen thought the interview was over, he saw Zhao Zhen holding up some tea, moistening his throat and saying, "It's getting late, please stay and have dinner with me."
Seeing Wei Chen stunned on the spot, the steward next to him quickly reminded: "Master Wei, this is your Majesty's favor. Why don't you thank me quickly?"
Only then did Wei Chen react, and he quickly thanked you with sincerity: "My lord, thank you for your grace!"
Zhao Zhen smiled slightly, waved his hand and told the waiter on the side: "Pass the meal."
Not long after, the dining table was set. There were two tables in total, one simple and one sumptuous.
Zhao Zhen sat down at the simple table, pointed to the other table of exquisite dishes and said to Wei Chen: "That table is yours. I know that no one can eat well when eating with the emperor, so I specially asked the imperial kitchen to I’ll give you a seat alone.”
Hiss~~
Looking at Zhao Zhen's tender smile, Wei Chen couldn't help but take a breath.
As expected of someone who has been an emperor for decades, this act of confiding in one's heart and being courteous to a virtuous corporal is too clumsy.
Fortunately, it was Wei Chen. Any young man who had never experienced anything in the world would definitely be moved to tears by receiving such courtesy, and he wished he could have been moved to pieces for Zhao Zhen.
Of course, Wei Chen did act like this at this time.
Wei Chen's eyes were slightly red, his right hand holding the silver chopsticks was trembling slightly, and his voice was slightly choked: "Your Majesty's kindness, I have nothing to repay, I can only spare my life to serve Your Majesty."
Seeing Wei Chen's true feelings revealed, Zhao Zhen was also very happy. He captured the loyalty of a courtier with just one meal. It was really a favor without any cost.
Zhao Zhen is getting older and his appetite is not very good. His meals on weekdays are indeed very simple. Today, because he was happy, he ate half a bowl of pearl rice.
Seeing this, the chamberlain who had been accompanying Zhao Zhen all year round was a little surprised, and looked at Wei Chen with a more cautious look.
After having a pleasant lunch together, the relationship between the monarch and his ministers unknowingly became much closer.
Zhao Zhen looked at Wei Chen with gentle eyes and said: "You have helped me a lot this time. I accept your favor. If you have any wishes, as long as I can make it happen, just put it forward."
Helped you?
Wei Chen was a little confused when he heard this. With his thin arms and legs, how could he help the emperor?
Although Wei Chen was full of doubts, looking at Zhao Zhen's appearance, he had no intention of explaining to himself.
Of course, as someone who is the most respected person in the world, there is no need to deceive oneself.
Wei Chen couldn't figure it out after much thought, and could only attribute everything to Zhao Zhen's further overtures to him.
"But no matter what, I can make a request to the emperor. This is a big deal, so I need to make good use of it!"
Wei Chen's eyes lit up, and he suddenly thought of a difficult problem that had been bothering him for a long time, and he could just ask the emperor in front of him for help.
…
The next day.
At the fourth watch of the morning, when the Bianhe River was still covered with gauze-like morning mist, Wei Chen and Sheng Changbai boarded the carriage bound for the imperial city.
The thoroughfare leading to the imperial city gradually began to become noisy. Cars and horses were passing by, dust was flying, shouts and the sound of horse hooves were noisy, and they gathered towards Donghua Gate.
Today is the day when Jinshi are called and awarded their titles. Not only the court officials will be present, but also the clan members, consorts, and lords will be present.
Women from various families were also invited to accompany the queen to watch the ceremony on the stage.
Due to Sheng Hong's official position, the female members of his family were not qualified to participate in such a grand event. However, this time, the old lady of the Sheng family received an invitation from the queen for the first time.
The palace specially sent a palace car to pick her up, so Mrs. Sheng brought her daughter Juan to the palace to watch the ceremony. The old lady and Wang Ruofu were in a car, and her three granddaughters were in a car.
In the palace carriage with the curtains closed, Mrs. Sheng looked at the nervous Wang Ruofu and asked with a smile: "Is this your first time entering the palace?"
Wang Ruofu blushed when he heard this: "I have seen Aoshan at Xuandemen on Shangyuan Festival, but I have never been to the palace."
"You'll get used to it in the future."
Old Mrs. Sheng said calmly: "Actually, there is nothing good in the palace. There are many people and it is noisy. I prefer to be quiet at home on weekdays."
"That's what mother said." Wang Ruofu responded, and then said with some confusion: "I just don't know why the Queen invited us to watch the ceremony this time. It has never happened before?"
"Maybe it has something to do with Changbai's participation in the imperial examination." Mrs. Sheng smiled calmly: "In short, it is a blessing, not a curse. It is a curse that cannot be avoided. We will know when the time comes."
