Fortunate Young Gentleman

After the provincial examination, all candidates' papers are transcribed and their names are covered before being handed over to the examiners for review.

The provincial examination is extremely important. Those admitted are the foundation of the court, so it is also highly valued, and no mistakes are allowed in every link.

Because the number of candidates and the number of papers vary from year to year, the difficulty of reviewing also varies, so the time of the provincial examination results is uncertain, but it will not exceed late April at the latest.

The number of candidates admitted to the provincial examination is roughly around 200 each year. These people are already Jinshi, because the palace examination only ranks, and no one will be eliminated.

The palace examination is held in the palace, but it is not presided over by the emperor. It is also reviewed by temporarily appointed examiners. Finally, ten people are selected and their names and test papers are handed over to the emperor. The emperor himself decides who will be the champion and the first-class Jinshi.

Tang Ning was no longer a novice in the imperial examination. He answered all three provincial examinations fairly well. He had not found any omissions in the comprehensive examination. His poems and essays were all famous works of the ages. He also followed Li Tianlan's teachings on policy essays without deliberately showing off his skills. The possibility of failing was very small.

On the night of the provincial examination, Tang Ning took his family to Tianranju. These days, except for him, everyone else must have been worried.

Even though the waiter of Tianranju refused again and again, he still insisted on paying the money.

First, he was not short of money now, and second, he could not always take advantage of Su Huli. There was no free lunch in this world. The more you owe, the more you need to pay back.

I don't know where Su Huli went. I haven't seen her for more than a month.

It's still early for the provincial examination to be posted. Although there are still some things to do, such as the decoration of the house, and discussing with Tang Yaojing about opening a bookstore to make money, you have to relax and work hard in everything. He plans to relax for two days before doing these things.

So when Xiao Jue came over at night and asked him to go out for a drink, Tang Ning did not refuse.

"The provincial exam is over, and my father will finally stop nagging me this time." Xiao Jue put his hands behind his head and said with a relaxed look: "How did you do in the exam this time?"

"Not bad."

"You are the champion of Lingzhou, you said it was okay, so the ranking must be at the top." Xiao Jue shook his head and said: "I don't know what official you can be appointed in a few days, but I have to enter the palace anyway. My father has already agreed with His Majesty to let me be a lieutenant in the palace first..."

The promotion of powerful children like Xiao Jue is still different from that of ordinary people, especially for military families. The imperial examination is just a process. They can directly enter the palace through family relationships, and the starting point is a lieutenant. For example, Lu Teng, who was kicked away by Tang Yaoyao, took this path.

It is almost impossible for ordinary people without a background to serve in the palace.

Tang Ning followed Xiao Jue and saw him walk into a certain building. He looked up and stopped.

Xiao Jue looked back and asked, "What are you doing there? Why don't you come in?"

"Didn't you say we were going to drink?" Tang Ning looked up to confirm again. There shouldn't be any restaurant named Qunfang Pavilion, right?

Xiao Jue waved his hand and said, "There's no place where you can't drink. Drinking alone is boring. I've said before that I'll take you to all the fun places in the capital..."

"You two came early. Why don't you go in?"

Before Tang Ning could speak, a voice came from behind. Liu Jun, Mu Yu and others came over and escorted them in.

"Mr. Liu, you haven't been here for a long time. Oh, Mr. Xiao is here too. Oh, Mr. Mu, Mr. Huang..." A charming woman came running over from a distance and said with a smile on her face, "I heard a magpie calling early in the morning. I was wondering what the good news was. Now I finally know..."

Tang Ning moved to the side and stood with the young man named Gu Bai. Although he was a bit reserved, he looked polite and gentlemanly, much better than Liu Jun and the others.

Liu Jun waved his hand and said, "Bring up the good wine and food, and call a few girls up, the prettiest ones, don't fool me..."

The madam smiled and said, "What are you talking about, Mr. Liu? I will call the best girls to you..."

Seeing this scene, Tang Ning regretted coming here and hesitated a little. At this time, Gu Bai turned his head to look at him and asked in surprise, "Brother Tang, is this your first time in a brothel?"

Tang Ning nodded. He had never seen such a scene in his previous life, and this was his first time in this life.

"As a man, I can't even imagine how Brother Tang has been living these years without even being in a brothel." Gu Bai shook his head and said, "If that's the case, Brother Tang should have a good time today. It will be inappropriate to come to such a place again after you pass the imperial examination in a few days."

"Hehe, I didn't expect Brother Gu to be here..." As soon as Gu Bai finished speaking, a voice came from behind.

"Cui Lang." Gu Bai looked at him and smiled, "I thought it was someone else, it turned out to be Brother Cui, hey, Brother Shen is here too."

Gu Bai said this, then looked at Tang Ning and introduced, "This is the champion of Jiangzhou, and this is the champion of Mingzhou."

Jiangzhou and Mingzhou both belong to Jiangnan, and Jiangnan and the capital are both major educational provinces. The value of the champions of these two states is far beyond that of ordinary states. Together with Gu Bai, the champion of the five states in the capital, they are considered his three strongest opponents in the provincial examination.

The champion of Jiangzhou looked at Tang Ning and asked, "This brother looks familiar, may I know your name?"

Those who can be with Gu Bai are naturally not simple people. Although they are unlikely to pose a threat to them, it is always good to make friends with them.

Tang Ning looked at him and said, "Please tell me your surname is Tang, Tang Ning."

"Tang Ning!" Cui Lang's face changed slightly when he heard this, and he asked uncertainly: "Tang Ning, the champion of Lingzhou?"

Gu Bai couldn't help laughing and said, "What do you think? Are you scared? Even if you can beat me this time, I'm afraid you will fall into Brother Tang's hands."

As one of the most popular people in this imperial examination, Cui Lang naturally knew his opponents. Shen Jian was familiar with him, and with Gu Bai, the three of them were about the same. If they had to decide who was better, luck also played a big part.

But this legendary champion of Lingzhou was different.

It is said that this person was well-informed and had a strong memory. He answered all the questions correctly in the first state examination. Cui Lang thought he didn't have this ability.

In addition, his title of "Poetry Madman" was known to everyone in the capital, and no one was better than him in the second round of poetry and prose.

Although the last round of policy essays was Cui Lang's strong point, the policy essays of this Lingzhou Jieyuan seemed to be unique. At least Cui Lang's policy essays were not qualified to be brought to the hall for discussion by all officials.

Of course, the state examinations in Lingzhou could not be compared with those in Jiangzhou, but the achievements of this Tang Jieyuan still made him alert enough.

He bowed to Tang Ning and said, "Brother Tang, I have admired your name for a long time."

Gu Bai looked at him and said, "Don't stand outside anymore. Since we meet by chance, let's have a drink together."

The few of them went up the stairs. Cui Lang looked at Gu Bai and asked, "The first round of the provincial exam has more questions than in previous years. I wonder if Brother Gu has finished answering them?"

Gu Bai shook his head and said, "How can I finish answering them? My hands are almost broken from writing, and I only answered 80% of them."

Cui Lang breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "Brother Shen and I are about 80% of them."

He turned to look at Tang Ning and asked, "How about Brother Tang?"

Tang Ning thought for a while and said, "About the same as you."

Cui Lang was completely relieved. If he didn't fall behind them too much in the first round, he would have the confidence to catch up in the policy essay. After all, the most important thing in the provincial exam is the policy essay.

Gu Bai looked at Tang Ning and asked, "How much is the difference?"

Tang Ning smiled and said, "About 20%."

Cui Lang stepped onto the stairs and stumbled. Fortunately, Shen Jian helped him up and he didn't fall.