Red Mansion: Fuyao River and Mountain

Chapter 212 When the Enke Results Are Announced

Rongguo Mansion, Qingzhizhai.

After the provincial examination, Jia Cong finally relaxed. The past six months of hard work and study day and night have finally come to an end.

Apart from practicing calligraphy and swordplay every morning, I stopped all my usual study and homework to allow myself to have a good rest.

The joyous atmosphere in the East Palace began to spread and gradually reached the West Palace. Wang Xifeng also received instructions from her grandmother and often went to the East Palace to help Youshi with the affairs of the government.

Because the second day of next month is the wedding of Jia Rong, the prince of the Eastern Palace.

Jia Cong seemed to be doing fine as usual. Sometimes he would go out to meet up with his classmates, or chat with his sisters at home to relieve his boredom.

Wu'er, Qingwen and Yinglian knew the story of Anding Temple in Jinling and knew that there was no solution to this matter. Although Jia Cong did not say it, he must be uneasy in his heart and most of the time he pretended that nothing had happened.

Wu'er and Qingwen were more gentle and considerate than usual, and paid attention to every detail of her food, clothing, and daily life.

Yinglian usually takes care of the study. When Jia Cong takes a break from his studies, she also has some free time. When Jia Cong walks around the mansion, she follows him in and out, never leaving his side, never letting him be alone.

Finally, even Zhishao noticed something was wrong, because she didn't know about the things happening in Jinling at the beginning. Wu'er and Qingwen knew the risks of this matter in the mansion and didn't dare to say anything about it.

It was not until Zhishao asked about it that Wu'er quietly told her the reason, and then she understood.

Her heart was filled with Jia Cong, so naturally she considered everything for him.

She also knew that the woman who married into the East Palace was a stranger to Jia Cong and would only cause him trouble, so she did not point it out to him. She just accompanied him more attentively in daily life.

Gradually, even Jia Cong could sense that as the joy in the East Palace grew, his own Qingzhizhai became more and more affectionate, with sweet whispers and intimacy.

……

In the Donghua Building of the Ministry of Rites, the marking of the provincial examination papers is about to come to an end. Thousands of students taking the examination in the capital city are eagerly waiting.

As the day of the announcement of the results approached, Zheng Yan, as the chief examiner of the Yongzhou Enke County Examination, became more and more popular, because he held the power to decide the candidates' rankings.

Although the marking process involves copying the papers with names covered, there are still some loopholes between the revealing of names and the announcement of the results, which can allow some filth to hide. No place where there are people can be completely clean.

Those who have sons taking the exam naturally know about the private affairs of the officialdom.

During these last few crucial days, there were often carriages and horses stopping in front of Zheng's mansion, and people often came to visit in simple clothes and with gifts, but no one could enter the mansion and could only leave their names.

In the past few days, both Donghua Tower and Zheng Mansion have become the focus of public attention for thousands of students taking the provincial examinations in Shenjing City.

Those who bring gifts to a house, no matter how low-key they try, or even just ask the housekeeper to come to the house, their origins will most likely be discovered by others.

In fact, this kind of situation occurs every time before the announcement of the results of provincial and imperial examinations, and it is somewhat commonplace. However, it is very rare for it to develop into a real risk or even lead to cheating in the examinations.

Since the imperial examination is a national ceremony for selecting talents, those who can serve as the chief examiner of a state's provincial examination are all people of outstanding talent and wisdom.

As long as such people are not blinded by greed, they naturally have enough means and strategies to avoid these risks of asking for favors.

There were even some curious people who found out exactly which families those people who came to Zheng's house were from.

After the provincial examination, Jia Cong and Cai Xiaoyu and other classmates got together and heard Fatty Cai, who was always gossipy, talking about this matter. Among them were the nephew of the assistant minister, the nephew of the minister, the son of the court official, and so on.

Fortunately, he did not have such an experience. Except for Jia Zheng, none of the elders in the Jia family would care about his provincial examination. They just knew that he was busy taking the exam in recent days and that was it.

……

The thirteenth year of Jiazhao, the second day of June.

Before dawn, Zhishao, who was resting on the couch in the main room of Qingzhizhai, was awakened by a noise coming from the other side of the bed.

He got up in a daze and saw that Jia Cong had already opened the curtain. He hurried over to help him hang up the curtain.

"It's not even daybreak yet, and you don't even need to get some more sleep. I've been studying so hard for the past six months, so I should take some time to rest."

Jia Cong smiled and said, "The results of the provincial examination will be announced today. I can't sleep, so I might as well get up early." Zhishao saw that he still looked tired and knew that he must not have slept well last night. The announcement of the results of the provincial examination was just an excuse. He had never worried about passing the exam.

Today is not only the day for the announcement of the provincial examination results, but also the day for the wedding in the East Palace.

Zhishao sighed slightly in her heart.

When Jia Cong saw her in a small dress, with her long hair loose, and her eyes full of tenderness and concern, he felt a little warm in his heart.

Jia Cong is still looking forward to the announcement of the results today.

Only by passing the provincial examination and obtaining the title of Juren can one truly enter the ranks of the literati and be eligible to be selected as an official. In addition to the strict family rules and ancestral laws, one is also blessed by the national laws.

He will also have greater ability to protect the things he cares about and the people around him who have always cared for and protected him.

……

The capital, the Imperial Examination Hall.

When Jia Cong arrived, many students had gathered under the west wall of the Imperial Examination Hall, waiting for the announcement of the results.

This time when he went out with Jia Cong, in addition to Jiang Liu who drove the coach, Jia Zheng also asked two smart servants to follow him, and asked them to return home as soon as possible to report the news if they got any.

In the Jia family, except for sisters like Daiyu and Tanchun, people like Grandmother Jia and Mrs. Wang were indifferent whether Jia Cong passed the provincial examination or not.

First of all, noble families don’t have to rely on studying to ensure their future.

Secondly, although they came from wealthy families, they were illiterate and naturally did not attach much importance to studying, otherwise how could they allow Baoyu to waste his time like this.

Since Jia Cong moved to the West Mansion, Jia She and Lady Xing almost treated this evil son as if he was gone, and no longer cared about his stupid studies.

Jia Zheng is the only one in the Jia family who attaches great importance to studying and learning. After the death of his eldest son Jia Zhu and the disappointing Baoyu, all hopes are placed on his nephew Jia Cong, which is a pity.

In Jia Zheng's opinion, as Jia Cong ranked first in the Yongzhou Academy Examination and had outstanding knowledge of classics, he had a great chance of passing the provincial examination.

No matter what, the Jia family is about to produce a candidate for the provincial examination. This is the first time in more than 20 years, and he is very much looking forward to it.

Not long after Jia Cong arrived at the entrance of the Imperial Examination Hall, he met Cai Xiaoyu, Cui Anzhi, Liu Xiaoping and others who came to see the list together.

When they got together the day before, Jia Cong knew that they all performed well and had a good chance of making the list, so everyone was full of expectations.

Just after the Si hour, the drums of success in the Imperial Examination Hall began to rumble. The sound of the drums was continuous and thrilling, and the hearts of all the students who were looking at the list were lifted.

Children of officials have strict family traditions and high hopes. If they fail to pass the imperial examination, they will have difficulty seeing their parents.

Children from poor families study hard in the hope of passing the imperial examination to change their destiny. Success or failure depends on this moment. If they fail, another three years will be wasted. How many three years can we have in our life?

As the sound of drums echoed, a stagnant atmosphere enveloped the entrance to the Imperial Examination Hall, making it hard to breathe.

After the drums sounded, hundreds of imperial guards in brightly colored armor entered the gate of the Imperial Examination Hall to maintain order and prevent riots or trampling.

Finally, a sixth-rank official from the Ministry of Rites, accompanied by a team of runners in red wedding attire, began to post the list at the western wall of the Imperial Examination Hall.

The list is posted from low to high according to the ranking of candidates.

The first list posted is the last list.

The most exciting moment of the special provincial examination in the 13th year of Jiazhao is about to begin!
A familiar scene appeared before Jia Cong again.

After the last place list was posted, a few people in the crowd screamed in surprise. These were naturally the famous people on the last place list.

Among them, the young ones were extremely happy, and the older ones, who had wasted years of effort and finally succeeded, were so happy that they cried.

But more people just remained silent, and looked at those who made the list with envy.

(End of this chapter)