Fortunate Young Gentleman

Tang Ning looked at the crowd in front of him. He couldn't even see the wall where the list of the Imperial Examination was posted. He looked at Xiao Jue and said, "Why don't we come back later? The list is there anyway and can't be moved."

"There's no need to squeeze in to see it." Xiao Jue pointed in a certain direction and said, "Gu Bai and the others are already waiting there. Let's go over there."

Tang Ning followed him closer and found that a piece of open space in front of the Imperial Examination Hall had been cleared. Several carriages surrounded an area where Gu Bai, Cui Lang and Shen Jian were waiting.

"The results will be posted soon, why are you here just now?" Gu Bai came over, looked at Tang Ning, and said, "Brother Tang, this time, all of Gu's wealth is betting on you, please don't let us down."

Tang Ning looked at him and asked uncertainly, "You?"

Cui Lang came over and said in a low voice, "If Brother Tang doesn't get the first place this time, Brother Shen and I won't even have the money to go back to Jiangnan."

Tang Ning thought that only Xiao Jue and Gu Bai were shameless, but he didn't expect that the two Jiangnan champions would not bet on themselves, but would be shameless enough to bet on him?

Tang Ning looked at him and asked, "How much did you bet?"

Cui Lang smiled and said, "Brother Shen and I each bet one thousand taels."

Originally, the people thought that the first place in the provincial examination would definitely fall to Gu Bai, Cui Lang and Shen Jian. The odds of betting on them were very small. Although Tang Ning was also in the front, his odds were much higher than theirs. If someone bet a large amount of silver notes on him, it would be strange if the odds did not drop. Even if it was just a little lower, it would be his loss...

Cui Lang looked at him and asked, "Brother Tang seems a little unhappy?"

Gu Bai thought about it, and suddenly looked at Tang Ning and asked, "Brother Tang, did you also bet on yourself?"

"No." Tang Ning shook his head decisively and said, "Gambling harms others and oneself. I don't know how many people have been separated from their wives and children, and their families have been destroyed because of it. You should take it as a warning."

He leaned on a carriage and looked at Cui Lang and Shen Jian, as if he saw a thief who stole his silver.

Xiao Jue came over from the side and asked, "How much did you bet?"

Tang Ning looked up at the sky

Xiao Jue thought for a moment and asked, "One thousand?"

He bet one thousand in every gambling house. Counting the money, there should be more than a dozen gambling houses that ran away that day.

Xiao Jue saw that he was silent and asked again, "Five thousand?"

Tang Ning looked at the dark crowd again. He bet more than ten thousand taels by himself. If you count Tang Yaojing, he himself didn't know how much he had.

Xiao Jue's face was full of regret. He slapped his thigh and said, "If I had known earlier, I would have gone back to ask my father for more silver. I lost, I lost..."

Not far away, Gu Bai, Cui Lang and Shen Jian had attracted a lot of people.

"Brother Cui came so early, he must be confident about today's results."

"I bet a full 100 taels on Brother Cui this time, Brother Cui, please don't let us down!"

"I bet all my 100 taels on Brother Shen, even if he doesn't make the list this time, he can still earn some money."

Cui Lang bowed to the others and said with a wry smile: "Gambling harms others and oneself, I don't know how many people have lost their wives and children, their families have been destroyed, you should take this as a warning..."

Everyone looked at each other and wondered: "Brother Cui, what is this..."

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out in the crowd.

The gate of the Imperial Examination Hall slowly opened, and after a gong sounded, several officers walked out from inside.

"Someone is coming out!"

"The results are announced!"

"Quick, squeeze to the front and take a look!"

Under the walls of the Imperial Examination Hall, dozens of officers stopped the excited crowd a few feet away from the wall, and several other officers brought ladders and posted a list on the wall.

The originally noisy environment became somewhat quiet. Everyone held their breath and stared at the red list in the hand of the officer.

The list was posted from back to front, in reverse order, but no matter which list they appeared on, it meant that they only needed to take the palace examination to become new Jinshi.

According to the court's previous practice, new Jinshi, no matter where they were appointed, were also officials with ranks.

"Ah, I passed, I passed!"

"Did you see it, did you see it, the second one, the second one is my name!"

"I am the 23rd on the second list, Amitabha, Wuliang Tianzun, thank all the gods and Buddhas for blessing, thank all the gods and Buddhas for blessing..."

...

The scene of the provincial examination was much more lively than the state examination. After all, those who could appear on this list, if nothing unexpected happened, were all new Jinshi this year. The significance of the palace examination was just to select the top three from these people.

"Shen Jian, I saw Shen Jian's name, Shen Jian's name is the first one!" A voice suddenly shouted in the crowd, "I bet one hundred taels of silver that he is the first, haha, I won!"

Someone beside him patted his shoulder and said, "Don't worry, there is still a list that has not been posted."

The man's laughter stopped abruptly.

On the last list of the provincial examination, there are only three names. If these three people are on the palace examination, they will be the first class of this imperial examination. The first place will be the champion of this imperial examination.

If there is another list, doesn't it mean that Shen Jian is fourth and his one hundred taels of silver are gone?

"Gu Bai and Cui Lang's names have not come out yet. The first place in the provincial examination must be one of them!"

"I don't know who the other person is. He actually squeezed Shen Jian out. Could it be the champion of those states?"

"Even Shen Jian can be squeezed out of the top three by him. This person is so secretive..."

After the list was posted, everyone couldn't help but look at it.

Then the look on their faces turned to confusion.

Downing.

This is the first name on the list.

Most people have never heard of the name Tang Ning. Compared with Gu Bai, Cui Lang and Shen Jian, this name seems to be too little known. After all, according to the practice of previous years, Jieyuan from Jiangnan and Gyeonggi will be on the list. It leaves Jieyuan far behind other state capitals.

But this time it's different.

There were only three names on the first list.

Downing.

Gu Bai.

Cui Lang.

The order of names is the order of the top three in this provincial examination.

The first place is not Gu Bai, Cui Lang, or Shen Jian, which means that most of them will lose all their money.

"Ah, my money, that's what I saved to get a wife!"

"I pledged all the land deeds!"

"That's nothing, my house deed!"

…

Cui Lang and Shen Jian looked at each other with wry smiles and were speechless.

After that night, they had no hope of winning the first place in the provincial examination. Their dream of winning three yuan in a row also came to nothing under his ruthless attack.

Fortunately, there is still the palace examination. Without the advantage of the first and second games, they may not lose to him.

"Ahem, Brother Cui, Brother Shen, your rankings are already very good, there is no need to lament too much..."

"Yes, after the imperial examination, if you perform well, you will still have a chance..."

"Yes, yes, a provincial test means nothing at all."

Although the people around him felt sorry for Yinzi and had tangled and painful expressions on their faces, they still offered words of comfort.

Someone beside Gu Bai patted him on the shoulder and said, "Although Brother Gu is not the first, he is still second. There is no need..."

The man originally wanted to say that there was no need to be sad, but when he saw the smile on Gu Bai's face, he was suddenly stunned.

The top spot was snatched away, but he still managed to laugh?

He turned back to look at Cui Lang and Shen Jian, and found that they didn't seem too sad. Shen Jian didn't even make the first list, but he was still talking and laughing with Cui Lang...

Gu Bai looked around and suddenly asked: "Where is Brother Tang?"

Cui Lang came over and said in surprise: "Did he leave? I remember when Brother Tang posted the list just now, Brother Tang seemed to have told us to be careful. What should we be careful about?"

Shen Jian was equally surprised and said: "After the list was posted just now, he seemed to have told us to leave quickly."

Gu Bai was stunned and asked, "What do you mean?"

At this time, there was a huge uproar among the crowd in Gongyuan.

"Where's Gu Bai? I lost a hundred taels on him!"

"Where is Cui Lang? What about Jiangnan Jieyuan? I lost five hundred taels in vain!"

"Shen Jian, I want to find Shen Jian and return my wife's book!"

Countless people turned their heads and looked around with red eyes, looking fierce.

Gu Bai and the others were stunned on the spot, their faces turned pale instantly. Cui Lang trembled, pointed at the gate of Gongyuan not far away, and said hurriedly: "Quick, go to Gongyuan!"

In the distance, Xiao Jue was sitting on the carriage. He looked back in surprise at the crowds and the uproar at the gate of Gongyuan, and said in surprise: "What's going on over there? Why are we leaving? What did you just say to Cui Lang and the others?" "