Chapter 51
From that night on, Yunxi felt terrified whenever she thought of Chen Rang.
Fortunately, Shen Rang was busy as soon as the scientific expedition began, and he returned home exhausted every day. Yun Wan couldn't keep bothering him at this time, so Yun Xi also got a few days of rest.
The autumn imperial examinations were divided into three sessions, each lasting three days. But the real busyness only began after the exams were over.
While the officials in charge of sealing and copying were busy anonymizing and changing the names of the characters, the imperial envoys, carrying the emperor's decree, rushed to various places to oversee the replacement of the officials in charge of sealing.
All the post stations along the way had prepared fast horses and dry rations in advance to ensure that the imperial envoy could travel at the fastest speed.
The incident happened suddenly, catching everyone off guard, and for a time, some were happy while others were sad.
Those families who had started preparing for the banquet early in the morning were silent, while those of ordinary backgrounds but with considerable talent were all beaming with joy.
Leaving aside the future, this exam for them is probably the most enlightened one since the late emperor!
For a time, the support of scholars for the imperial court reached its peak.
When the news reached the palace, the emperor was naturally pleased and bestowed many rewards upon the eldest prince. Even the eldest prince's birth mother, Consort De, gained status because of her son. In addition to the rewards, she also received the emperor's favor for four or five days, enjoying a period of great prestige in the harem.
The Empress and the Crown Prince took in the sight of the mother and son in their glory.
"Your Highness, those two, mother and son, stole our glory! Are we just going to let this go like this?" the Empress said in a somber tone.
The Crown Prince cupped his hands in greeting: "Although I arranged for men to take action against those officials along the way, Father Emperor mobilized the local army to escort them, so there was really no opportunity to take advantage of the situation."
The Empress gave a heavy, cold snort: "This eldest prince is really lucky; someone else is cleaning up his mess!"
"Mother, please don't be angry. Be careful not to upset yourself."
How could the Empress not be angry?
The idea was clearly conceived by the Crown Prince, but the credit was stolen by the First Prince. The Crown Prince was originally prepared to take action to stop it, but unexpectedly, the Emperor sent troops to escort them, leaving no room for error!
"I always have a way to deal with Consort De!" The Empress slammed her hand on the table.
——
Several days passed in the blink of an eye, and the list of successful candidates was released in various places.
Early that morning, Duan Huaichuan arrived at the Chen family's private school.
At this time, apart from the Chen couple, all the students of the private school had arrived.
They waited from early morning until nearly noon, and just when everyone thought the good news was unlikely, a gong suddenly sounded outside. Everyone looked up and saw the village headman with a happy face leading several unfamiliar people over.
The messenger approached and cupped his hands in greeting: "May I ask which one of you is Young Master Duan Huaichuan?"
Duan Huaichuan returned the greeting with a cupped-hand salute: "It is I."
The messenger's smile widened: "Congratulations, Young Master Duan, on passing the imperial examination with top honors! Congratulations!"
After the messenger finished speaking, a deathly silence fell over the surroundings.
A moment later, gasps of surprise erupted from both inside and outside the building.
Top scholar!
He came in first place in the provincial examination!
The person reporting looked at Duan Huaichuan with nothing but awe.
As soon as the list of successful candidates was released, people from all over the country began to speculate about the background of the top scholar. They had assumed he came from a powerful and influential family, but it turned out he came from such a small village!
In an instant, the entire Xikou Village was in an uproar.
Their village produced a top scholar!
Some even suggested on the spot that the village should no longer be called Xikou Village, but should be renamed Jieyuan Village!
Jieyuan Village, how magnificent!
The crowd in the private school were making a ruckus, demanding money as a token of their joy. Madam Chen happily handed out one sum after another, without showing the slightest sign of distress.
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