radicalducati Chapter 87 The Grand Ceremony of Announcing the Ranks
Chapter 87 The Grand Ceremony of Announcing the Ranks
The announcement of the results of the palace examination was no longer as casual as before. At this stage, all candidates could actually be considered as candidates for official positions.
Moreover, the palace examination was personally supervised by the emperor, so its standards were naturally different.
Therefore, a grand ceremony was held to announce the list of successful candidates in the palace examination, with Emperor Shun'an witnessing the announcement of the list of successful candidates.
On the day of the grand ceremony of announcing the results of the imperial examinations, before dawn, Wen Zongji and others, dressed in the court robes of Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), gathered outside the Meridian Gate to wait to enter the palace to participate in the ceremony.
Lu Nian'an stood beside Wen Zongji and said, "Brother Wen, if my ranking is too low, I'm afraid I'll have to bother Ruijintang for a while longer."
Only the top three newly appointed scholars (进士) would be directly granted official positions and receive salaries.
If Lu Nian'an hadn't passed the first-class examination, he would have definitely had to take the examination for the position of Shujishi.
As long as he stays in the capital, his food, drink, and daily expenses will be a problem.
Wen Zongji said, "Brother Lu is too modest. I'm looking forward to seeing you parade through the streets on horseback tomorrow."
The day after the announcement of the top three scholars, led by officials from the Court of State Ceremonies and the Ministry of Rites, would ride horses through the streets of the capital, receiving the blessings of the people at the pinnacle of their lives.
Other successful candidates in the imperial examinations would also travel together, but they could not ride horses, so it wasn't as glamorous.
For scholars, wearing a big red flower on their chest and riding a horse through the streets is everyone's dream.
Lu Nian'an laughed and said, "Then I hope we can ride through the streets together tomorrow."
"Thank you for your kind words, Brother Lu."
Not far away, a group of people had gathered around Wu Fengyuan. It wasn't time to enter the palace yet, and the group was chatting idly.
"After today, our Great Chu will produce another person who achieves the highest honors in all three levels of the imperial examinations."
"Indeed, with Young Master Wu's talent and ability, becoming the top scholar is a foregone conclusion."
"Young Master Wu, you must treat us to a meal after the grand ceremony of announcing the results of the imperial examinations."
Wu Fengyuan stood in the center of the crowd, his posture upright, his face full of confidence, and his tone tinged with humility: "The outcome is still uncertain. You're all praising me like this. If I don't win, shouldn't you treat me to a year's worth of meals to make up for it?"
"Young Master Wu is joking. Grand Secretary Wu is the chief minister. If Young Master Wu hadn't become the top scholar, would the Grand Secretary have kept quiet about it?"
After Emperor Shun'an finalized the list of candidates for the palace examination, it was necessary to hand it over to the Grand Secretariat to compile the list, write the imperial edict, and affix the imperial seal.
The cabinet definitely knew the list of successful candidates beforehand!
"I'm sorry to disappoint you, I did not see my father yesterday."
Wu Fengyuan had actually considered getting information from Wu Yangeng in advance, and spent the whole day waiting for Wu Yangeng.
As a result, Wu Yangeng stayed in his study after returning home from his shift.
He wanted to take the initiative to see Wu Yangeng, but he felt that he was already of age and should not be so impatient, lest he displease Wu Yangeng.
Therefore, Wu Fengyuan truly did not know the results of the palace examination.
Those around him remained optimistic: "The fact that the Grand Secretary did this precisely shows that Young Master Wu is the top scholar. He was worried that if he told Young Master Wu in advance, Young Master Wu would not be able to control his emotions. Perhaps he also intended to train Young Master Wu."
"That makes sense."
Upon hearing this, Wu Fengyuan felt that the guess was quite reasonable.
Wen Zongji and his companion were not far from them, and could faintly hear some of their conversation.
He glanced at Lu Nian'an out of the corner of his eye.
I wonder if Lu Nian'an will ever be destined to be number two.
……
As dawn broke, officials from the Court of State Ceremonial appeared outside the Meridian Gate, leading Wen Zongji and others into the palace and directly to the Taihe Hall Square.
At this moment, civil and military officials were already lined up on both sides.
The civil officials were headed by Grand Secretary Wu Yangeng, while the military officials were headed by the Minister of War.
In the past, the top military generals of the Great Chu were the Left and Right Commanders of the Five Armies Commandery.
Since the founding of the Great Chu, a cabinet has been established. Now, more than a hundred years later, the cabinet's power has been increasing, gradually suppressing the power of the Five Military Commissions. The Minister of War has gradually become the leader of the military group.
Wen Zongji and the others took their positions as arranged by the Court of State Ceremonial.
As the Vice Minister of Rites, Wen Chuanhong was positioned relatively close to the front, and Wen Zongji spotted him at a glance.
Coincidentally, Wen Chuanhong was also looking for Wen Zongji!
The father and son met eyes, and Wen Chuanhong nodded slightly to him before looking away.
An official standing nearby offered a quiet congratulation: "Congratulations, Your Excellency, another member of your household has passed the imperial examination and entered the court."
Wen Chuanhong returned the greeting: "Thank you."
Once everything was arranged, Emperor Shun'an, accompanied by the Crown Prince, personally visited the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
Upon seeing Emperor Shun'an take his seat, a young eunuch who had been prepared beforehand stood on the steps and cracked his whip three times. Immediately afterwards, music and rituals resounded throughout the Hall of Supreme Harmony.
The crowd bowed and said, "Your Majesty, we pay our respects! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor! Long live the Emperor!"
"No need for formalities!"
Everyone stood up.
Then, the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies stepped forward.
The newly appointed scholars who noticed this scene held their breath, waiting to hear who the top scholar was.
The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies loudly announced the names: "First place in the first class, Lu Nian'an from Pingluo County, Shuntian Prefecture!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere in the newly appointed scholars' group became strange, and everyone's eyes couldn't help but fall on Wu Fengyuan.
Wu Fengyuan clenched his hands, which were hidden in his sleeves, barely managing to maintain his composure, and lowered his eyes, not looking at anyone.
Wen Zongji had only one thought in his mind—the perennial runner-up was gone.
Suppressing his surprise and joy, Lu Nian'an stepped forward, knelt down, straightened his body, bowed slightly, and said in a loud voice, "Your subject Lu Nian'an respectfully listens to Your Majesty's decree."
After responding in this way, Lu Nian'an received a signal from the Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies, kowtowed to Emperor Shun'an, and then rose and returned to the ranks.
The Minister of the Court of State Ceremonies continued announcing the names: "Second place in the first class, from Xing'an County, Shuntian Prefecture, Wu Fengyuan!"
Wu Fengyuan also stepped forward and knelt down: "Your subject Wu Fengyuan respectfully listens to Your Majesty's edict."
He dared not look directly at the throne, but his gaze fell on Wu Yangeng, the civil official at the front of the line.
Wu Fengyuan was filled with confusion. His father clearly knew all along that he wasn't the top scholar, so why didn't he tell him beforehand?
Today, as he received blessings from everyone outside the Meridian Gate, he looked like a clown.
If he had known about this beforehand, he certainly wouldn't have given others the opportunity to say those things.
Wu Yangeng remained calm and composed, seemingly unaware of his youngest son's gaze.
Wu Fengyuan received no response and got up in frustration to return to the queue.
"Third place in the first class, from Wanqing County, Shuntian Prefecture, Wen Zongji!"
Wen Zongji was stunned.
The eyes of the others also fell on him. Compared to Lu Nian'an and Wu Fengyuan, Wen Zongji's results were obviously more surprising, and they couldn't help but have doubts.
Is there something fishy going on here?
After all, everyone knew Wen Zongji's true identity.
This person was the luckiest person in Beijing last year.
However, due to the majesty of Emperor Shun'an, no one dared to voice this question.
Even Wen Chuanhong was stunned, and his usually stern expression couldn't be kept up for once.
Even though he hoped his son would become a dragon among men, he never imagined that Wen Zongji would be able to achieve the third-highest rank in the imperial examinations.
Of course, he had no doubt that Emperor Shun'an had given Wen Zongji preferential treatment.
Having served as an official for so many years, Wen Chuanhong knew very well that Emperor Shun'an would not act out of personal favoritism in the selection of officials through the imperial examinations.
That means he underestimated his own third son!
Wen Zongji quickly composed himself, stepped forward, and knelt down: "Your subject Wen Zongji respectfully awaits Your Majesty's decree."
Once he returned to the queue, he had time to think about how he could be appointed as the third-ranked scholar. It seemed that Emperor Shun'an valued his proposal to publish the Beijing Gazette.
That's good!
Only if the Beijing Daily is established can the civilian newspaper he wants to run be successfully implemented.