A chamberlain came out of the palace and said loudly: "Xuan Qi Yongniu, Chu-Han Bridge Zhou Duxin. Zhuo Xilan enters the palace."

Zhou Du's confidence was overjoyed, he was stable, and he didn't have to worry about falling to the top three. He just didn't know if he was so lucky and his ranking improved by one or two.

Entering the palace, they were stared at by the princes, ministers and civil and military officials in court uniforms on both sides. The scalps of all ten of them were numb.

The tributes selected for this subject this year are all relatively young, with the oldest Chu Hanqiao only being twenty-seven years old.

The youngest is Zhuo Xilan, seventeen years old, more than one year younger than Zhou Duxin.

The emperor chatted with the ten people in an approachable manner, or made an allusion out of the blue and asked someone what book it came from?

Or they might publish the first couplet and ask people to read the second couplet, or they might ask about the customs and customs of Gongshi's hometown.

Zhou Duxin was asked to write the second couplet, and the emperor wrote the first couplet: "Looking forward to Nanyang, I think of the feather fan and silk scarf that loyally supported Ji Han."

This is about Zhuge Liang. Zhuge Liang was a loyal minister of the Shu Kingdom. He had noble moral character, outstanding talents, and was famous throughout the ages.

There are two ways of responding to this couplet, one is to continue to praise Zhuge Liang, and the other is to praise another loyal minister in history.

Zhou Duxin did not know that the emperor, besides Zhuge Liang, also admired that loyal minister, so he responded conservatively: "I love Zhou and Western Shu. I love this place with flowers and brocades and incense surrounding the temple."

"Are you from Chengdu? The official saying is correct." The emperor asked.

"Your Majesty, the student is from Hangzhou and has lived in the capital for a long time." Zhou Duxin replied.

"Have you ever been to Wuhou Temple in Chengdu?" the emperor continued to ask.

Zhou Duxin replied: "To answer your Majesty's question, when the student was young, he went there with his master."

The emperor asked him a few more questions, and then asked Zhuo Xilan: "Besides reading, what other hobbies do you have?"

"Your Majesty, the student is good at playing the piano," Zhuo Xilan replied.

The emperor asked him, "What are the nine virtues of Qin?"

"To answer your Majesty's question, the nine virtues of the harp are strange, ancient, transparent, quiet, smooth, round, clear, even, and fragrant."

The emperor did not favor one over the other. All ten people have inquired and tested, "I announce the first-class ranking of the new scholars, Zheng Yuncong is the number one, Chu Hanqiao is the second, and Zhuo Xilan is the third best."

Zheng Yuncong was overjoyed. He had been ranked third in the spring rankings, but now he was ranked number one. When he returned to his hometown to pay homage to his ancestors, he made sure to see if there was smoke coming out of his ancestral graves.

Qi Yongwen, who was originally ranked first on the Chunwei list, was not among the top three and looked pale.

The courtiers said in unison: "I respectfully obey the imperial edict, long live my emperor!"

The ten Jinshi exited the hall, and the rankings of the others were read out by the first person in the second class. This is the so-called "Chuanlu Ceremony".

Seeing ten people coming out, the others had different expressions, but even though they were curious, they did not dare to ask questions.

About a quarter of an hour later, the music started, and a chamberlain came out, holding a whip that was more than ten feet long, and waved the whip in the air, making three cracks.

After everyone is silent, you can hear the sound of worship from all the civil and military officials in the hall.

Then I heard someone inside say: "Xuan Xinke Jinshi has entered the palace."

The Chuanlu Ceremony began. Amidst the sound of music, they entered the hall, and the officials of Honglu Temple began to roll call: "Zheng Yuncong, the first in the first class."

Zheng Yuncong knelt down on the left side of the royal road.

Sing again: "The first and second place is Chu-Han Bridge."

Kneel on the right side of the imperial road when you come out of the Chu-Han Bridge.

In this dynasty, the left is respected, the number one scholar kneels on the left side of the royal road, the number two on the right kneels on the right, the top prize kneels behind the number one scholar, the number two on the list kneels behind the number two...and so on.

Zhou Duxin's luck is quite good, he is ranked first in the second class.

As the first place in the second class, it was up to him to do the roll call next, "The second place in the second class is Min Chengke, the third place in the second class. The seventh place in the second class is Qi Yongni."

Qi Yongwen fell from first place to tenth place. Although his ranking is not low, it is far less impressive than the first place.

He didn't understand why the emperor didn't want to see him, but King Jin knew the reason very well.

Yong Ni has the same pronunciation as Yong Zhou, and the emperor hates him, so Qi Yong Ni becomes the unlucky scapegoat.

King Jin narrowed his eyes slightly, this matter could be used to some advantage.

The roll call lasted for an hour, and Zhou Duxin's throat was a little hoarse. The last person was called out, and the ceremony was over. It was almost noon.

Next, comes the most glorious moment for students all over the world: being nominated for the gold list, and the number one scholar is paraded through the streets.

When the new scholars were parading through the streets, people would watch them, and the whole street was very lively.

In order to express their love for these Jinshi scholars, the people watching would throw flowers, sachets, handkerchiefs and other things.

When passing a three-story teahouse, Zhou Duxin suddenly heard someone shouting: "Zhou Duxin, Zhou Duxin."

Zhou Duxin's eyesight was very good. He immediately saw Zheng Mingzhu, the head of Xiaochang County, standing on the second floor. He frowned slightly and was about to look away.

Zheng Mingzhu shouted: "Catch the flowers I gave you."

As soon as she finished speaking, she threw a bouquet of flowers towards Zhou Duxin.

Zhou Duxin did not reach out to pick up the bouquet. He even pulled the reins, causing the horse to sideways, and let the bouquet fall from his side and onto the ground.

He patted his horse and moved forward without looking at Zheng Mingzhu again.

Zheng Mingzhu was angered by his attitude and shouted: "Zhou Duxin! You bastard."

Zhou Duxin turned a deaf ear, and Zhuo Xilan beside him reminded him, "Zhou Chuanlu, someone called you."

"Don't pay attention to boring people." Zhou Duxin said calmly and authentically.

"Zhou Chuanlu, don't be so hard-hearted, be kind to women." Chu Hanqiao said with a smile.

Zhou Duxin glanced at him and did not answer, but he knew that he and Chu Hanqiao were not on the same page and could not become friends.

In addition to Zheng Mingzhu, there were also sisters Wen Ziju and Wen Zisu who came to watch the parade. Of course, the two sisters did not go together. They each booked private rooms in the teahouses along the street.

As it happened, the two of them booked private rooms across the street from each other, and they both saw each other.

When Zhuang Zike passed by on horseback, the two of them threw sachets to him in unison.

One shouted: "Brother Zhuang."

One shouted: "Zizhi."

Zizhi is Zhuang Jike's nickname, so calling her by the nickname is naturally more intimate than calling her Fourth Brother Zhuang.

Wen Zisu stared sharply at Wen Ziju, this bitch.

Wen Ziran raised her eyebrows proudly, and Zhuang Zike reached out to catch the sachet she threw.

But before her proud smile fully unfolded, she was dumbfounded, and Zhuang Jike caught Wen Zisu's sachet.

Zhuang Zike didn't think there was anything wrong with this at all. He also waved to the other women, which attracted enthusiastic cheers from the women.

A lot of handkerchiefs, sachets, silk flowers, and flowers were thrown at his head as if they were free of charge.

His ranking improved by two places to one hundred and eighty-one.

His ranking is not high, but he is handsome. He looks even more elegant in his Jinshi uniform, and his appearance is very attractive to women.

An hour later, they finally returned to the No. 1 Scholar's residence, and the whole horse-riding parade was over.

The excited and unfinished new scholars did not disband immediately.

They look for people with whom they share the same temperament and talk and make friends.

Being in the same department is a kind of network, which may help you in the future.

There are people in the court who like to be officials. The second- and third-generation officials in Xinke Jinshi are surrounded by many people.

For example, around Zhuang Jike, there were several new scholars who ranked higher than him.

They are complimenting him. After entering the official career, the ranking is not important at this time. The capable people in the family will be promoted faster.

Zhou Duxin exchanged a few words with a few acquaintances, then found his carriage and left this noisy place.

Note: The couplet between the emperor and Zhou Duxin is borrowed from the couplet at Wuhou Temple in Chengdu.

Mengshi: the teacher of enlightenment.
Chapter completed!