Chapter 29.029 A sixth-rank censor, parading through the streets adorned with flowers.
Before today, only three people had actually seen Xiao Yu's examination paper: Xiao Yu himself, Emperor Yongcheng, and Prince Fu, who picked up the paper.
Everyone guessed that Xiao Yu had offered frank and harsh advice in his answer sheet, but they were also curious about just how harsh his advice was.
Xiao Rong was the only one who wasn't curious. In fact, as soon as Emperor Yongcheng finished speaking, Xiao Rong's legs went weak, his straight back slumped, and he was about to collapse!
Oh, what a terrible child! For over twenty years since he came to the capital, he has been single-mindedly trying to support his family and protect his wife and children. His wife and eldest and second eldest sons are very understanding of him. But this third son, who is the most learned, not only doesn't appreciate it, but also tries to manipulate him all day long!
Unable to stand up straight any longer, Xiao Rong simply knelt down. He figured he had to kneel eventually anyway, there was no escaping it.
Xiao Yu had just received his answer sheet from Eunuch Ma after receiving the imperial decree when he saw his father kneeling down in shame beside the military officer.
Xiao Yu clenched his fists slightly, then withdrew his gaze, took the scroll, and walked to the front of the long steps leading to Emperor Yongcheng. He turned to face the assembled civil and military officials and his fellow graduates. To outsiders, the more bent the back of Xiao Rong, the father, knelt, the straighter Xiao Yu, the son, stood. Even the Left Chancellor, with a sullen face, turned away, clearly displeased with Xiao Yu's posture, yet Xiao Yu remained calm and composed.
The palace examination answer sheet was too long and had to be unfolded and folded up one fold at a time to read. After reading two folds, Xiao Yu suddenly closed the answer sheet completely, raised his head and faced the crowd to read it aloud.
Before putting pen to paper, Xiao Yu had already considered the answer sheet more than ten times in his mind. During the seven days he was locked in the cell, Xiao Yu not only wrote on the ground with a straw as a pen, but also reviewed it in his mind again and again during sleepless nights, so he remembered every word clearly.
If Xiao Yu dared to write it, then what did he have to fear if the emperor ordered him to read it aloud in public?
The top scholar not only read it, but he read it with great intonation and force. When he read about the wise ruler stopping the war, his gaze swept over the military officials and dukes led by Li Gong; when he read about the foolish ruler executing the upright officials, he looked around at the civil officials led by Yang Sheng. Finally, Xiao Yu turned to face the emperor and, with the same resounding momentum, recited the lines that had enraged Emperor Yongcheng and made Prince Fu sweat profusely: "...Your Majesty should worry about how to defend against the feudal lords dividing up the weak Zhou state after the three defeats in the war, thus leading to the downfall of the country. There is no need to think too much about reviving the country!"
All the civil and military officials in the court took a deep breath in unison, and nearly two hundred newly appointed scholars were all stunned.
On the long white marble steps, Emperor Yongcheng calmly watched this scene. Behind him, the fourth prince, Prince Fu, stood quietly with his eyes lowered. The crown prince, who had just heard this, secretly wiped his sweat. The third prince, Prince Shun, frowned. The second prince, Prince Qi, shouted angrily, "Insolence!" and was about to rush down the steps to beat that damned top scholar, but was stopped by a look from his father.
After glaring at Prince Qi, Emperor Yongcheng looked down at the Xiao family father and son below the steps.
Xiao Rong had already crawled out of the ranks of military officers on his knees, kowtowing and weeping as he confessed his guilt for failing to properly educate his son.
Xiao Yu also knelt down, first placing his examination paper in front of him, then prostrating himself and kowtowing, and proclaiming: "Xiao Yu is arrogant and conceited, using alarmist words to attract Your Majesty's attention. Xiao Yu knows his crime and begs Your Majesty for punishment."
Emperor Yongcheng sighed, and as he descended the steps, he glanced at the civil and military officials, saying, "Xiao Yu is indeed arrogant, so arrogant that I imprisoned him in a fit of anger. But in the days that followed, I reviewed his answers dozens of times and was shocked to find that Xiao Yu's claims about the empty treasury of the Great Zhou, rampant banditry, and the suffering of the people were not mere alarmist talk. This was all because I was obsessed with conquering Yin and neglected the people's livelihood!"
Yang Sheng immediately knelt down and earnestly said, "Your Majesty's purpose in attacking Yin is to unify the world. Only when the Central Plains are completely returned to our Great Zhou can the war truly end and the people of the world truly live in peace. Therefore, Your Majesty's attack on Yin is an inevitable trend. What is wrong with it?"
Other civil and military officials also knelt down and loudly echoed this statement.
The second-place scholar, Cui Han, and the third-place scholar, Pei Xingshu, also knelt down along with all the other successful candidates.
Emperor Yongcheng smiled and said, "There's no need to whitewash my situation. I should indeed attack Yin, but the attack shouldn't be rushed. As you all know, the Yin emperor is ambitious and has promoted a group of virtuous ministers and generals. He even ceded territory to the Donghu to form an alliance in order to resist the Great Zhou. If I were to launch an attack in July and successfully destroy the Yin Kingdom, it would be a Pyrrhic victory. However, the Western Hu are still eyeing the northwest of the Great Zhou, and the Dian Kingdom is frequently invading the southwest. Even if I can send troops to defend the borders, I will not be able to send troops to suppress the bandits that are rising up all over the land. To allow bandits to run rampant in the Great Zhou and the people to suffer because of the attack on Yin is not the behavior of a wise ruler!"
"The reason I appointed Xiao Yu as the top scholar is because his essay came at the right time. It was like a wake-up call, reminding me of my original intention when I raised an army to establish the country. I did not establish the country to become emperor and lord it over others, but to create a peaceful and prosperous world to protect the people. As long as I ensure that the people of the nine provinces are well-fed and clothed and enjoy peace, why should I worry that the people of Liaozhou will not come to join me?"
"Only when the people are at peace and prosperous can the nation prosper. Therefore, I have decided to suspend the campaign against Yin. I will only launch another campaign against Yin when the territory of Great Zhou is once again prosperous and stable. If I do not live to see that day, I will let my descendants inherit my great ambition. I believe that as long as the hearts of the people belong to Great Zhou, Great Zhou will eventually unify the world and end the war!"
The emperor spoke with great passion, which brought tears to Yang Sheng's eyes. Yang Sheng was the first to shout, "Your Majesty is wise! Your subject is willing to devote himself wholeheartedly to assisting Your Majesty!"
All the officials and scholars expressed their loyalty in unison.
Emperor Yongcheng stood alone before the Taiji Hall, looking at the princes and ministers, old and new, kneeling around him, and finally exhaled the breath that had been churning in his chest for days. Xiao Yu's frank remonstrance was a good reputation; he, a dignified emperor, could even tolerate such arrogant words, so naturally he could also gain the reputation of "humbly accepting advice"—a win-win situation.
Having announced the decision to suspend the Northern Expedition, Xiao Yu's transgression during the palace examination could also come to an end. Emperor Yongcheng exempted everyone from the formalities and continued to encourage the newly appointed scholars according to the normal procedures of the Imperial Banquet. He also personally conferred official positions upon three of the top-ranking scholars.
Pei Xingshu, the third-ranked scholar, was appointed as a junior scholar in the Imperial Academy, with the official rank of the ninth grade.
The second-place scholar, Cui Han, was appointed as a proofreader in the Secretariat, with the official rank of the ninth grade.
The top scholar, Xiao Yu, was appointed as a censor in the Censorate, with an official rank of sixth grade.
As soon as the three official positions were announced, some hushed discussions immediately arose among the ministers and the newly appointed scholars.
In this dynasty, the Secretariat, the Academy of Worthies, the Hongwen Academy, the Bureau of Classics, and the Chongwen Academy all had the official position of Proofreader, responsible for collating and compiling classics. Although the Proofreaders' official position seemed lowly, they were close ministers of the emperor and often had the opportunity to accompany him and gain his favor. With favor, it was easy to be promoted. Therefore, Proofreaders were mostly selected from the newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations), and were regarded as a good choice for scholars to start their official careers.
Take the Jixian Academy, where Pei Xingshu works, for example. The Jixian Academy is in charge of collating and editing classics, collecting the works of famous scholars from previous dynasties, and recruiting talented people from all over the country. Now, the position of Academician is concurrently held by the Left Chancellor Yang Sheng. As a collator in the Jixian Academy, Pei Xingshu will not only have the opportunity to accompany the emperor, but will also be able to deal with Yang Sheng at close range. Yang Sheng is the Left Chancellor who directly manages state affairs. If Pei Xingshu is clever enough to win Yang Sheng's favor, even if Emperor Yongcheng does not know him, Yang Sheng can arrange a good place for Pei Xingshu and he will rise rapidly in rank.
Therefore, the official positions that Emperor Yongcheng gave to Cui Han and Pei Xingshu were normal appointments. However, the official position of a sixth-rank "high official" directly given to Xiao Yu was an unprecedented honor for a Jinshi (successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) in this dynasty. But on second thought, Xiao Yu dared to speak frankly and satirize even the emperor. It was indeed most appropriate to send him to the Censorate as a supervisor and impeachment official in the capital.
After the official appointments were completed, the banquet officially began, followed by eating, drinking, and praising the emperor.
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In a private room of the restaurant, thanks to Yang Yanzhen's prior arrangement, the women of the Xiao, Yang, and Li families gathered together, including Luo Lan, all waiting to catch a glimpse of the top three scholars.
During the banquet, since the top scholar Xiao Yu and the third-ranked scholar Pei Xingshu were not present, the relatives' praises all fell on the Luo sisters, Luo Fu and Luo Lan.
Luo Fu hadn't laughed as many times in the past ten days as she had during this meal. Her cheeks were almost stiff from laughing so much. Finally, the banquet ended, and the elders sat together calmly, drinking tea and chatting. The young ladies, however, had already gathered their friends by different elegant windows to wait.
Luo Fu's group included Luo Lan, Yang Yanzhen, and Li Huaiyun. Li Huaiyun was also holding Yingjie, who had come to watch her third uncle's parade.
As the commotion of the people on the street rose, the women guarding the windows also perked up.
Luo Fu imitated her elder and second elder sisters-in-law, holding up a round fan to shield her face, revealing only her eyes. The main figures of the parade had not yet arrived, and the streets were crowded with people who came to watch the excitement, especially women, ranging from elderly women with gray hair to six or seven-year-old girls being led by their elders. The restaurants and teahouses on both sides of the street were also filled with daughters of officials and wealthy young ladies.
The Prime Minister's wife, Madam Xu, smiled and said to Madam Deng, "Those young girls who are waiting to find a husband don't know yet that this year's top scholar and third-ranked scholar have already married beautiful women. They're going to be disappointed."
Madam Deng looked at the Luo sisters with pride: "It's a pity that my mother-in-law is far away in Yangzhou and couldn't see the grand spectacle of her two sons-in-law parading through the streets together."
Lady Liao, the wife of the Duke of Dingguo, glanced at the Luo sisters. One was slender and beautiful like an orchid, and the other was plump and rich like a peony. She nodded and said, "The Luo family is already a blessed family to have raised such a pair of beautiful sisters. Now that they have found two excellent husbands, they are blessed on top of blessed. Their future will be bright."
Just as a smiling junior is more likable than a junior with a sour face, a family with good fortune is more favored by relatives and friends, because everyone wants to share in the good luck.
"They're here! They're here!"
Beside the fourth window, several young girls from the Li family spoke excitedly, causing Mrs. Liao to shake her head helplessly.
Seeing that Madam Xu and Madam Liao remained seated, Madam Deng could only regretfully revert to her composed demeanor and not go to see her youngest son's graceful figure as he paraded through the streets adorned with flowers.
Luo Fu, who was covering her face with a fan, saw that Xiao Yu had a large red peony flower pinned to one side of his Jinshi hat. Her shoulders trembled and she almost burst out laughing. Her gaze skipped over the second-place scholar in the middle and landed directly on her brother-in-law's head. Seeing that her brother-in-law also had a red peony pinned to his head, Luo Fu's smile widened. She turned to her sister who was standing next to her, but saw that her sister's eyes were full of tenderness as she looked at her brother-in-law.
Recalling the loving scenes between her sister and brother-in-law, Luo Fu slowly stopped laughing and looked again at the top scholar riding a horse at the front of the street.
He was dressed in blue, with a face and figure that perfectly captured her heart.
As he was looking around, Yingjie called out a crisp "Third Uncle," and the top scholar on horseback looked up in their direction.
Luo Fu wanted to hide, but her husband, who had become the top scholar in the imperial examination, was too handsome, so Luo Fu didn't move, since she had a fan covering most of her face anyway.
But Xiao Yu recognized his wife by the window at a glance; her bright eyes glared at him with a mixture of joy and reproach.
He couldn't take his eyes off his wife, and his horse continued to trot forward on its own. Soon, the people noticed the scholar's strange behavior. Someone shouted, "The scholar is so dazed by the beauty that he's lost his mind!" A burst of laughter erupted from the roadside. Xiao Yu snapped back to reality, glanced at the crowd, and then looked at the window on the second floor of the restaurant. His wife had already disappeared.
Xiao Yu gripped the reins tightly, no longer wanting to be paraded through the streets; he only wanted to find her.
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Author's note: Some official systems are modeled after those of the Sui and Tang dynasties, but all characters and plots are entirely original and fictional.
Here they are! 100 little red envelopes. See you at midnight tonight!
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