Chapter 16 The Emperor's List

After Fan Xian left this Tongfu Inn, the four scholars in the room looked at each other, as if they could not have imagined that such a big pancake would fall on his head.

"What should I do?" Yang Wanli sat on the bed stupidly. After Cheng Jialin and Shi Chanli congratulated him, he smiled and said, "From then on, Brother Yang has climbed to the prime minister and the Minister of Revenue. This career will be smooth sailing."

Yang Wanli's honest face showed a feeling of depression: "I have always admired Xiaofan and his talents. This spring exam is also thanks to the adults' convenience. I think I have come to the behind-the-scenes review. This Xiaofan also made a lot of efforts, but... I hope Xiaofan didn't come like this today."

Cheng Shi and the other two were speechless, knowing that Yang Wanli felt that Fan Xian seemed to be grateful to the city.

Hou Jichang, who has always been the leader of the crowd, smiled and shook his head, "If Mr. Xiao Fan is in a favor, you don't have to come here in person. Wanli has been worried too much. I have decided that from now on, I will take Mr. Xiao Fan as my thoughts in the court and will definitely make a career."

Shi Chanli was stunned and wondered why Brother Hou, who had always been aloof and self-proclaimed, suddenly changed his temperament?

Yang Wanli shook his head and said, "I also know that it is a routine for students to take every subject exam. But Brother Hou knows that I have always respected Xiaofan University's talent. Because of the inclusion in the exam, I also like Xiaofan's temperament very much. So I always hope that Xiaofan will be a little different from these imperial officials."

"I've been asking for it all, I've been asking for it all." Cheng Jialin rebuked: "Although Lord Xiao Fan has the immortal material in poetry, he is also an official in the court and a powerful child. It is not easy for Brother Wanli to come here in person. Does Brother Wanli hope that Lord Xiao Fan is a true immortal who is not fond of fireworks? Moreover, the true immortal is not necessarily better for this poor and poor world than a capable official who is skilled in planning."

Shi Chanli clapped his hands and exclaimed: "Although Brother Jialin is not talking about anything, he said this very thoroughly today." He turned to Yang Wanli and said: "If you talk about worship, Wanli is definitely not as good as me. I often recite the poems in Banxianzhai. The more than a hundred poems in it can be memorized like a stream, but today I am not disappointed when I see Lord Xiao Fan. Why? It's all because of the voice of the poem. This Lord Xiao Fan is indeed a free and easy person of our generation. How can we talk about the decaying officials in the court?"

He smiled and continued, "When I came over with a roast chicken, there were not many people holding umbrellas in the alley. I like to play a mess. I looked at the young man under the umbrella with a pretty face and a fresh and lovely atmosphere, and the comments were a bit novel and terrifying. So I got caught under his umbrella and walked all the way. If it were an ordinary powerful official, how could I allow me to be so rude? The little man Fan was smiling and walked with me, and his face was not unnatural. I knew that he was Fan Xian in the inn. To be honest, Brother Yu was really surprised. Fan Xian and Fan Xian did not disappoint me."

Only then did everyone realize that there was such a thing before. No wonder Fan Xian said that he had a half-umbrella relationship with Shi Chanli. When he thought of it, he couldn't help but smile. Yang Wanli touched his head awkwardly: "Maybe... I just feel a little disillusioned and silent? I always feel that Lord Fan should be the kind of noble person who lie idle on the grape trellis, wakes up and writes thousands of poems, and ignores dirty things in the court."

Hou Jichang shook his head in disagreement and said coldly: "That kind of character seems to be clear and silly, but it is useless to the country and the people. If Lord Fan really looks like a minister, I will look down on him."

"It may not be. It may not be." Yang Wanli sighed.

Hou Jichang smiled faintly and said, "I'm not afraid of all the jokes. How can scholars serve the country? Only by entering the court can one become an official. The difficulty of the government is terrible. How can outsiders like you and me understand it? So, when Mr. Xiao Fan comes today, it is not actually because he needs us, but he knows that we need him."

He paused and said, "Although I am a little proud, I am not a sour person who does not know how to advance and retreat. Since we have this opportunity, of course we must seize it. If we must follow a certain person in the court, then I think Lord Fan should be the best object. I want to be the one who will do the job in the officialdom in the future and be the one who will not conflict with our daily ideals."

Everyone said in unison: "Why?" Everyone was already a little surprised by Hou Jichang's firm attitude. At this time, I felt even more curious when I heard him emphasize it again.

Hou Jichang picked up the teacup from the table, looked at the remaining tea left by Fan Xian next to him, and was a little confused. After a while, he said: "A popular man on the road on a rainy day would pay attention to the water on the ground falling from his umbrella. He would rather get his body wet, and he would go to the side of the side. If such a careful and kind person is not a great traitor, he is a great sage."

He smiled and said, "A seventeen-year-old young man cannot hide it so well anytime, anywhere, so I believe that Lord Xiao Fan is a great sage. My judgment is so simple, because I was moved by the scene in the rain."

There was silence in the room, and after a long time, a sigh came.

On the second day, on the red wall on the left side of the examination school, the yellow paper was finally posted on the red wall that the candidates were looking forward to. The rules for the candidates to be selected in the Spring Examination of the Qingguo People's School are not complicated. After the provincial examination, the candidates of the three firsts were taken out, but the rankings were not determined and they were arranged on the imperial list according to the strokes.

The number of people in the Three A is different in the past few years. Because the Enca was added in the third year of Qingli, the number of people who selected the students in the next two years was a little small. This year, there were only 108 names on the imperial list. Precisely because there were fewer candidates, both students from the Imperial College in Beijing and students from various counties and various tribute students coming to Beijing for the exam were a little nervous.

The westward direction of the Examination School is a bridge. If you want to go under the red wall to see the list, you have to walk across the bridge. At this time, the red wall is surrounded by students wearing long gowns, crowded with people, and are nervously looking for their names on the yellow paper.

On the other end of the bridge, Hou Jichang and Yang Wanli, who had already taken peace of mind, walked slowly. The rain stains left by yesterday remained on the bridge. The moss between the stone bricks seemed particularly slippery. As the four of them walked over there, Cheng Jialin almost slipped, causing everyone to laugh. Cheng Jialin laughed at himself. Although his steps and Shi Chanli were as slow as those of his friends, they were inevitably nervous deep inside.

When they arrived under the wall of the red wall, the four of them finally squeezed into the crowd and started to look from the left. I don’t know how long I looked, but listened to Shi Chanli’s cheers: “Brother Hou, Brother Hou! I’ve been! I’ve been!”

The other three people heard the sound and rushed to Shi Chanli. Sure enough, they saw Hou Jichang's name in the third row above their heads. They couldn't help but feel excited. Yang Wanli gently punched Hou Jichang on the shoulder and smiled.

Hou Jichang smiled slightly, trying to show a hint of self-pride, but what a big deal! Although he called himself aloof, he thought of the suffering of ten years of hard work and the eager expectations of his parents at home, and the envious eyes of many scholars around him could not help but feel a little fluttering, his lips couldn't help but open, showing a very happy smile.

At this time, the three golden names on the imperial list, "Hou Jichang" were written on the local name, which seemed to be shining in the sun, making it extremely precious and has an unlimited future.

The four of them stopped apart and simply looked to the right carefully. After a while, they finally found Yang Wanli's name on the imperial list. Only then did they truly believe the words of Mr. Xiao Fan yesterday. Yang Wanli was so excited that he saw that his name was indeed on the imperial list. His eyes were a little red, and he said to himself: "I really won, I really won."

He suddenly screamed strangely, rushed out of the crowd, ran to the bridge, and shouted loudly at the water surface under the bridge. The sound echoed in the bridge hole, making a buzzing sound.

The three friends looked at him with a smile and knew why he was so excited. Yang Wanli lost his mother at the age of eight and grew up alone in Quanzhou since childhood. It was all because of his father's hunger and coldness. He bought a lot of books for him. He also urged him to join the clan and study. He passed the provincial examination in great difficulty and came to Kyoto.

However, in January, Yang Wanli discovered that his own talent should have land, and his memorials and arguments were more realistic than those of the scholars. However, his family was remote and his tribe was simple, so he never learned the prosperous words of the students of Beijing middle school. He always wrote a policy and was so dry that he was not attractive at all.

So even the close friends of Hou Jichang and Shi Chanli thought that he could not win, and Yang Wanli himself had no hope, so he spent the last money to buy a shirt that was the most popular among students, and put Shi Chanli's article in it, trying to gamble.

Unexpectedly, before he even entered the examination school, he was caught out by the resident Fan Xian. At that time, Yang Wanli felt so sad that he had lost his time. He thought that his ten years of hard work had been wasted, but he did not expect that this little Mr. Fan gave him a second chance.

After being discharged from the hospital after the exam, he did not dare to use the sketches in his jacket. Naturally, his strategy and poetry were nowhere to be glorious, so he lost all the thoughts in the record. He just drank and had fun. He heard that Guo Shangshu was arrested and imprisoned and became more happy. Unexpectedly, yesterday, Mr. Xiao Fan came to Tongfu Inn to see him and secretly pointed out that he might be in the third grade.

After sorrow, there is joy, and after despair, there is hope. The impact of this emotional period continued until today during the day. After Yang Wanli crossed the bridge, he stood under the wall and realized that yesterday's visit was a dream and he could not have been able to win.

...But, I really got it!
Chapter completed!