The Beacon of Kyushu

Half an hour later, outside Donghua Gate.

At this time, the sky was already bright, and the Imperial Street was crowded with people. As the time for Zhao Guangyi to announce the list was getting closer, more and more people gathered around. Among them were many candidates for this year's imperial examination, many common people who came to join in the fun, and many vendors who took the opportunity to sell goods. At a glance, there was a sea of ​​people, so crowded that there was no end in sight. Chen Tuan and Wan Jianfeng also followed the flow of people and rushed to the front of Donghua Gate, stopping to watch this grand event.

Soon, the Donghua Gate slowly opened, and Wang Jie'en, accompanied by several eunuchs, walked out of the palace with a whisk in his hand. When the common people saw them, they quickly made way for people and looked curiously in the direction they were going.

The people waited for a while, and then saw the eunuchs leading more than 300 new Jinshi to the front of Donghua Gate. Most of the people watching the excitement did not know these Jinshi, but they were just looking for something new. Among the candidates who did not pass the imperial examination, many knew these Jinshi and could not help but discuss them.

Wang Jie'en had participated in Donghua's roll call countless times and had long been accustomed to the discussions and noise. He only symbolically asked his eunuch to stop them and did not ask any more questions.

Although Wan Jianfeng had never read much and had never dreamed of taking the imperial examination to get a government job, he had always been active and not quiet. This was the first time since he was born that Donghua called out his name, so how could he not squeeze to the front to see it clearly?
He originally thought that he would not know any of these top scholars. However, he found that many of them were familiar faces, and even two of them had shared life and death with him. He laughed so hard that he could not stop. The people around him saw his crazy look and thought that he was crazy because he did not pass the exam, so they immediately stayed away from him.

Most of these scholars also heard Wan Jianfeng's laughter and looked in the direction of the sound. Some of them did not know Wan Jianfeng, and seeing his slovenly and crazy appearance, they thought he was a madman. Some were surprised and happy, and kept waving at him, calling him "Young Master Wan" or "Brother Wan" in a low voice.

Among them, the handsome Lu Mengzheng, the elegant Li Hang, the ugly Wang Dan, and the handsome Zhang Yong were particularly enthusiastic about Wan Jianfeng. If it were not for the urgent events, they would have gathered together to reminisce with Wan Jianfeng.

Wang Jie'en frowned slightly when he saw how enthusiastic these Jinshi were towards Wan Jianfeng. He thought to himself, "I see that this man is dressed in rags and looks plain. He is probably not a scholar. Why does he know so many Jinshi of this year's exam? I'm afraid it's not that simple!"

After a while, drums and music started playing on the top of Donghua Tower. Many guards walked up to the top of the city wall to the solemn music and guarded the four corners of the city wall tightly. Then, Zhao Guangyi, wearing a Tongtian crown and a crimson gauze robe, walked slowly up to the Donghua Tower with the list of successful candidates in this year's imperial examination. He had a smile on his face at this moment, and his eyes slowly scanned the people in front of the door, showing the majesty of an emperor.

No matter how close Lü Mengzheng and the others were to Wan Jianfeng, they dared not say a word to him at this moment. They stood with their hands down, waiting for Zhao Guangyi to call out their names. Zhao Guangyi saw that the Jinshi candidates had all arrived, held up the list, and said in a loud voice: "In the fifth year of Taiping Xingguo, the Jinshi candidates were re-examined and 306 candidates were selected. Three candidates were selected from the first class and were awarded the title of Jinshi Jidi, 113 candidates were selected from the second class and were awarded the title of Jinshi Chudi, and 190 candidates were selected from the third class and were awarded the title of Tong Jinshi Chudi."

Wan Jianfeng stood at the front of the crowd with a mentality of watching the fun. He had no burden in his heart and was not afraid of trouble. If someone did not do well in the exam and tried to commit suicide, or if someone did too well in the exam and jumped off the wall, throwing away his clothes and singing, he would be happy to see it.

Lu Mengzheng, Li Hang and other candidates were all nervous, their knuckles whitened when they clenched their fists, and their palms were covered with cold sweat. They were afraid that their rankings were not ideal, and they would not be able to become high-ranking officials in one fell swoop, and thus they would not be able to display their knowledge and realize their ambitions. But Zhao Guangyi continued to read: "Zhang Hanjing of Qizhou, third place, 190th. Wang Ruian of Yanzhou, third place, 189th. Li Jiang of Tanzhou, third place, 188th. Sun Boyang of Kuizhou, third place, 187th..."

Wan Jianfeng listened for a while and found that he didn't know any of the people on the list. He felt bored and returned to Chen Tuan, smiling and said, "Master, you have foresight. Can you figure out who will be the top scorer in this subject?"

Chen Tuan nodded slightly, slowly closed his eyes, and counted on his fingers for a moment. When he opened his eyes again, a gratified smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, "Wenqu descended to Luoshui, Kuixing shone in the old capital. When he was poor, he wrote poems in the cold kiln, and when he was rich, the world prospered. He was promoted to prime minister three times, and he was blessed with longevity. He died in the fourth year of Xiangfu, and the younger generation is also a hero."

Wan Jianfeng was just an ordinary man, so how could he understand Chen Tuan's prophecy? After pondering for a long time, he still couldn't figure out anything, so he simply asked again: "Master, who will be the runner-up?"

Chen Tuan seemed to be somewhat interested in the ranking of this subject. He counted on his fingers again and said, "Mingzhou hides heroes, and Tanzhou has a good reputation. He is magnanimous and generous, and governs Xianping with purity. His poems mention the Liuhe Pagoda, and his merits are painted in the paintings of Wenjing. He is truly worthy of being a saint, and his good name will be passed down through the ages."

Wan Jianfeng had already been unable to understand the prophecy of the champion just now, and he was even more confused by the prophecy of the runner-up this time. Even if he racked his brains, he would never be able to guess who the poem described. But he still did not give up and continued to ask, "Master, what about the third place?"

Chen Tuan had expected Wan Jianfeng to ask more questions, so he said leisurely, "The great writer made a name for himself, and compiled the literary classics in advance. Jingde guarded Bianliang, and Xiangfu ruled Yuqing. Once evil and treacherous disturbed, they would be criticized for a hundred generations. Looking back on his life, he lived up to the heroes of the world."

Wan Jianfeng scratched his head, trying to figure out who these people were from the prophecy in the heavenly book, but he couldn't find any clues. However, his curiosity was too strong, so he bit the bullet and asked the fourth person.

Chen Tuan said without hesitation: "It is common to go from Wu to Shu, and be busy putting out fires in banquets with singing and dancing. I beg for Nanjing to live a leisurely life..." Before he finished his prophecy, he suddenly heard someone not far away shouting to the sky, "Wang Qinruo, you despicable villain! It would be fine if I could never turn over in this lifetime, otherwise I will never let you go!" The man said this in grief and anger, and then fell to the ground with a bang.

Wan Jianfeng and the crowd were all shocked, and they had no time to listen to Chen Tuan's speculation. When Zhao Guangyi read out the name, they gathered around curiously. Almost none of the people knew the dishevelled and poor scholar in front of them, but Wan Jianfeng felt that he looked familiar. He squatted down and simply fixed his hair, and immediately exclaimed: "Isn't this the poor guy I saw by the Dongting Lake two or three years ago! I think his name is... Wang something?" (End of this chapter)