Chapter 245: Top Three, No. 1 Scholar

The Minister of the Ministry of Rites looked back somewhat nervously, and seeing his colleagues looking at him expectantly, he licked his lips, and a sense of heroic spirit of sacrificing his life for justice suddenly rose in his heart.

Today, he will stand in this golden palace and speak for all men in the world!

"The questions in the imperial examination essays are supposed to be fair and just for all candidates. However, this time the questions are too biased towards the issue of women entering the government. I think this is not fair to the male candidates..." He paused, then mustered up the courage to say, "It's not fair."

Zhu Lan understood what the other party meant. It was difficult for men to understand the subtle details of women's entry into officialdom. Such test questions would naturally be more favorable to female candidates.

Even the candidates around Zhu Lan nodded silently in their hearts.

When they saw the questions during the palace examination, they felt a little aggrieved. There are differences between men and women, and they are not women, so how can they understand the feelings of women studying?

Many people believed that the court was using this topic to make it easier for women to enter officialdom.

Emperor Liang smiled faintly, his eyes slightly lowered, falling on the answer sheet in front of him.

Then he signaled the eunuch in charge to read it.

The eunuch in charge took the answer sheet and read it aloud. Everyone in the hall listened attentively.

After hearing the beginning, everyone knew that this was the answer to the second question of another candidate. However, when they continued to listen, Zhu Lan raised his eyebrows slightly.

This is because the article also mentioned the many difficulties faced by women in official positions, not only wrote about maternity leave, but also advocated that the court provide assistance to women who were unable to study smoothly due to family and social pressures. It can be said that the considerations were very thorough.

Zhu Lan couldn't help but glance sideways at Zhu Qingyan beside him, only to find that Zhu Qingyan was also listening attentively.

After the eunuch in charge finished reading, many court officials also looked at Zhu Qingyan.

There were only two women in the hall, her and Zhu Lan. This policy paper was not written by Zhu Lan, so it could only have been written by Zhu Qingyan.

"Master Wenren, please tell me how you came up with this plan."

Emperor Liang's voice floated into everyone's ears, and everyone looked at Wenren Yuebai, who had been sitting silently in the wheelchair, in some surprise.

He actually wrote it! ?

How could a prime minister's son, who lived a secluded life, be so aware of women's plight?

Thinking of this, many court officials looked at him with a bit of strangeness in their eyes.

Wenren Yuebai looked calm, "Your Majesty, it's nothing more than putting yourself in their shoes and thinking about them."

Emperor Liang smiled slightly and looked at the Minister of the Ministry of Rites.

The Minister of the Honglu Temple opened his mouth, but was speechless. Wenren Yuebai was a man, but he could see through the difficulties of women. Just this sentence "put yourself in their shoes" was enough to silence the crowd.

The other tribute students also remained silent. As they were also men, they could not think of this while others could, and they could only feel ashamed of themselves.

Zhu Lan couldn't help but look at this famous young man with a new respect.

As the last part of the palace examination, candidates who can stand here are all excellent in knowledge and eloquence. The imperial examination is a further test of their eloquence, thinking and adaptability. As for the political views put forward in their policy papers, they do not have to be implemented immediately.

Although Emperor Liang did not make a final decision on the issue of female officials taking maternity leave, the performance of the students in the court had already made a clear difference.

Emperor Liang returned his gaze to the list in front of him and ordered the eunuch in charge to bring a red pen.

The tip of the pen was dipped in cinnabar, and it paused for a moment on Wenren Yuebai's name, before finally moving slightly to the left.

With a wave of the imperial pen, the name Zhu Lan was chosen.

The five-year journey of the imperial examination finally ended with Zhu Lan passing the imperial examination with six consecutive top scores and being named on the list of successful candidates.

Afterwards, Emperor Liang ordered the Honglu Temple to prepare for the ceremony of announcing the imperial edicts.

…

On April 25th, the ceremony of announcing the names of the successful candidates was held as scheduled in the Anhe Hall, with the emperor in person.

According to the system of Daliang, the list of all those who have passed the palace examination will be announced at the ceremony. Before the announcement, everyone does not know the results yet, so they still wear scholar's clothes to attend the banquet.

Court robes will only be issued after one officially becomes a new Jinshi.

Zhou Xianqing was still the ceremonial officer for the grand ceremony. He first led all the hundreds of tribute students to kneel before the emperor, and then began to read the imperial edict with a beaming face:

"The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, proclaims:

The state governs the world with culture and virtue, and the imperial examination is intended to select talents to assist the king in governing. Now the imperial examination is over, and the top three are awarded.

The following three persons in the first class were awarded the title of Jinshi:

The third place in the first class is Zhu Qingyan.

The second place in the first class is Wenren Yuebai.

First place in the first class——Zhu Lan!"

Zhou Xianqing called out the name of Zhu Lan, the first place in the first class, three times in a row, which is called "roll calling".

Under the guidance of the officials of the Honglu Temple, Zhu Lan stepped out from the crowd, came before Emperor Liang, and performed the ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows.

Next, Wenren Yuebai and Zhu Qingyan also came out one after another. Wenren Yuebai had difficulty with his legs, so Emperor Liang granted him exemption from kneeling before the emperor.

Afterwards, Zhou Xianqing began to read out the names of qualified candidates in the second and third classes. Those in the second class were awarded the status of Jinshi, and those in the third class were awarded the status of Tong Jinshi. The qualified candidates did not have to stand out.

Even when Zhu Qingyan walked out of the Anhe Hall after the ceremony of announcing the names of the successful candidates, he still felt it was not real.

At this moment, she, Zhu Lan, Wenren Yuebai, the three top-ranked candidates, were about to set out together with the officials of the Ministry of Rites holding the yellow list to transport the yellow list with the jade seal on it to the Dragon Pavilion in the capital, where it would be displayed for three days.

The warm sunlight shone on her body, making her feel warm. She turned her head to look at Zhu Lan and Wenren Yuebai who were traveling with her. Both of them were looking straight ahead, but it seemed that they were looking beyond the high wall in front of them and seeing somewhere farther.

At this moment, Zhu Qingyan suddenly wanted to write a letter.

She wanted to write a letter to her mother, Mrs. Su in Jiangzhou, to Mrs. Pei, and to Ajing who was far away in the northern border.

She was the third best student in high school, and she did it!

…

The next day, a banquet of grace and honor was held at the Ministry of Rites, where the emperor entertained the new scholars.

However, Emperor Liang was unwell and unable to attend in person, so he ordered the Crown Prince to go on his behalf and preside over the banquet.

"Give—to the newly crowned number one scholar Zhu Lan, a set of court robes and a sixth-rank hat."

The eunuch held a tray with a set of dark blue court robes and a glittering hat on it. Zhu Lan took a deep breath, took it respectfully from the eunuch, and thanked him for his kindness.

In addition, the emperor also gave an additional reward of 100 taels of silver and two pieces of silk cloth, which was called "distribution to the inside and outside."

Qiao Youyou, Xiao Wan, Liang Zhou and Zhou Da also passed the imperial examination and were ranked second in the class, while Liang Zhou was only in the third class.

The smile on Liang Zhou's face was so bright at this moment that those who didn't know him would think he had won the top spot in the imperial examination.

Zhou Da took the opportunity to get close to him and whispered, "If you hadn't insisted on going to the snack street in the capital the day before the palace exam, how could you have run to the toilet at night and exhausted yourself, affecting your state for the palace exam and only ended up in third place?"

Liang Zhou winked at him.

“Brother, you don’t understand, the less ability you have, the less responsibility you have.

I will be given a small and leisurely official position later, which will be much easier than yours."