Yu Jun

Chapter 217
On the ninth day of February in the 29th year of Yuanzhang, the provincial examination started.

Tens of thousands of students poured into the grand and majestic Gongyuan, huddled in the densely packed dormitories, and answered the papers in the cold wind, hoping to fight for a future in this one-in-a-thousand spring.

On the first day of March, Chunwei released the list.

This spring, a total of 290 eight scholars were selected, Wang Jinghua was unnamed on the list, Qi Chang was the No. 70 sixth fellow Jinshi in the third class, and Wu Jin was the first class Huiyuan.

On the ninth day of March, the imperial examination.

The emperor came to the court examination in person, sat inside the curtain, and published the titles of "Ode to the Minjian" and "On the Difficult Way of the World". Wu Jin's kind words were like pearls piercing through the curtain.

On March [-]th, the emperor summoned the Jinshi of this list to gather outside the Wenzheng Hall to listen to the biography.

Except for less than 98 Jinshi fellows, the other 200 people all entered the palace, wearing white colorful shirts, and standing outside the Wenzheng Hall.

The spring day is getting warmer, the clouds outside the hall are wide and the sky is high, there is no shelter, the sun shines directly down, falling on the yellow glazed tiles, on the turquoise colored paintings, on the red walls, red doors, red pillars, red windows, and on the white stone platform.

Near the high-rise building, the spring breeze occasionally lifts the gauze curtain, and the bright light from pearls, agate, glass, and coral jewels swayed on the high-knot of the female family members in the palace, turning into peeping eyes, gazing at this grand roll call.

Such brilliance made the scholars silent, and the officials of Honglu Temple led the scholars to listen to the transmission on both sides, waiting for the first sound of the transmission from the group in the hall.

The hall was empty, and the emperor's roll call came out through the servants: "The No. 1 Jinshi of the First Class, Wu Jin of Kuanzhou."

Immediately afterwards, the two and three of the first class got up and left the class. They were led by the officials of Honglu Temple and knelt down to thank the emperor. The rest of the Jinshi were called by the ministers.

As the number one scholar, Wu Jin was at the head of all Jinshi during his actions. After changing his clothes, he knelt down and received the wine and food given by the emperor. The joy of others was beyond words, but after saluting, he straightened his posture and looked into the hall from a distance, with a calm and calm expression.

During the palace examination, he focused on answering the papers, and the emperor was sitting behind the curtain, he hadn't seen clearly, but now he looked from afar, not afraid of offending Longwei, but he could watch it calmly.

There is no wind in the hall, and the sky light shines in. You can see that the smoke is falling in the smoker, and the handrails, brains, and columns on both sides of the palace collapse, and the dragon pattern is painted with gold.

Under the emperor's imperial fall, the ministers stood on both sides, full of nobles and purples. One of them was wearing a purple official uniform and standing at the front, holding an ivory fluorene board. It should be the young Donggong.

And behind the crown prince, holding the scroll of the golden list as usual, the person also wearing the purple official uniform is old and should be the governor.

He blinked these faces into his eyes calmly, and because he had never seen Wei Fan, he speculated in his heart that there might have been a dispute between the court and China about the matter of the Spring Festival and the recommendation of the chief examiner.

Although the court clearly prohibits Jinshi from worshiping court officials as mentors, Jinshi are called "students of the Son of Heaven", but among the students, they will still regard the chief examiner as a "mentor" and send a letter of thanks for their kindness. Therefore, the selection of chief examiners is very important to both the East Palace and the vassal king.

Under the surging undercurrent, King Wei lost the game.

During this short period of time, he thought about the court situation, and when the ceremony was over, the emperor bestowed the champion with a white horse with a golden saddle, and the second place with a horse with a red mane.

A servant sent out the golden list, and the officials of Honglu Temple took it in their hands, led all the Jinshi out of the palace, and posted the list on the Dragon Pavilion.

Inside the palace, although the Jinshi were ecstatic, their every move was restrained by the majesty of the Forbidden Palace. When they left the gate of the East Palace, they immediately smiled, chatted with each other, and rushed to call Wu Jin's name.

But outside the city gate, the spectators were mighty and excited, fighting to see the top three.

This court has also selected young champions before, but there has never been someone as handsome as Wu Jin. What's more, he is clear and upright, as bright as the morning glow, with outstanding grace, and countless people follow him at once. There are also women throwing begonias, peonies, roses and other flowers in a bun at Wu Jin from a tall building, which caused a sensation.

The Imperial Army shouted in front of them, they finally reached the wall of the Longting Pavilion, and countless people came upon hearing the news. They turned over to the Imperial College next to the Longting Pavilion, broke through the thorn fence, and rushed forward like a tide, eventually knocking down the wall of the announcement.

The imperial army had to clear the way with difficulty, and immediately sent the champion home. When Wu Jin was sent outside the Taoist Temple in Yuntai County, the imperial army's feet were swollen from being stepped on.

When Wu Jin entered the Taoist temple, the onlookers saw that the Taoist temple was dilapidated and the sky was dark, so they had to return angrily, so as to restore the tranquility of this back-to-basics place.

Wu Jin tied the horse, put in the whip, and breathed a sigh of relief. When walking inside, he saw the oldest Taoist priest standing among the wild flowers and weeds.

The Taoist priest waved his hand, didn't care, just smiled and said: "Zhuangyuan Lang has a good demeanor."

Wu Jin also smiled, took off the head covering, and reached out to touch a bruise on his forehead: "The number one scholar has to be in good health."

I don't know which girl, with a strong hand, threw a hydrangea from a distance. He was being blinded by the flowers, and he couldn't dodge it. A lump appeared on his head.

Seeing that he picked out many flowers from his bosom and skirt, the Taoist priest immediately laughed and said, "Not bad, not bad."

He pointed to the kitchen: "The fire has not been extinguished, and there are food and hot water left, go and use them."

Wu Jin hurriedly cupped her hands in thanks.

The Taoist priest patted him on the shoulder: "Enter the room with a full stomach of learning and literature, Sanyuan and the first triumphant return. From now on, the sorrow and boredom will be relieved, and there will be a thunder on the ground of joy."

Wu Jin was taken aback when she heard this: "Master..."

The old man laughed and left.

Wu Jin went to the kitchen to have dinner, made a pot of hot tea, returned to the guest's room, took off her green robe, changed into a long gown, stood in front of the table, lit the oil lamp, stretched out a pen, and wrote the words "No Ji Tai Lai" with the remaining ink.

What Taoist Priest Cai said just now is the image of the Tai hexagram in the "Book of Changes".

The hexagram says: small to big, lucky and prosperous.

Those who get this hexagram, everything will be smooth, the way of the gentleman will grow, and the way of the villain will disappear.

He finally smiled comfortably and looked out the window.

The sky is already dark, but there is a moon, and it is also a spring day, and the sky is as warm as the spring breeze.

He re-studied the ink, spread out a piece of bamboo paper, and thought about reporting to his parents.

"My son, Wu Jin, respects my parents.

My son was No. 1 on the [-]th day of March, and everything in Beijing is not complete. I can't take my parents here to fulfill my filial piety. I hope my parents will eat more frequently, sit and sleep more, don't work hard, and take care of your body.

There is no need to reply. It is not easy to live in Kyoto. I am renting a place in the city. My son will write again later. "

After the ink dries, he puts the paper aside and lays a new one on it.

Before the pen was written, there was a knock on the door outside the Taoist temple, and they patted three times in a row, and then shouted "Young Master Wu".

(End of this chapter)