254, Horseback Parade
254, Horseback Parade
"Long live the emperor—"
"My dear ministers, please stand up."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
This time, Lu Mingfei, Fu Lianxin and Zhang Lingxuan stood at the front of the team, leading the scholars behind them to thank the emperor for his grace.
The emperor on the throne immediately spotted the number one scholar standing in the middle of the team, as well as the second and third place scholars on his left and right. "I am very pleased to see you young talents today. We have many talented people in Dayan, and there are successors in the country. This is a blessing for me and Dayan, hahahaha..."
"It is your blessing to be able to serve the country, the court, and His Majesty." Lu Mingfei bowed.
Fu Lianxin and Zhang Lingxuan standing on the left and right also bowed together, and the other Jinshi scholars behind them also followed suit and kowtowed to thank the emperor for his grace.
The emperor glanced at the old eunuch standing beside him.
The old eunuch, receiving the emperor's gaze, understood what was going on and hurriedly stepped forward to announce the emperor's decree: "The top scorer in the imperial examination, Lu Mingfei, will be admitted to the Hanlin Academy and appointed a sixth-rank editor."
"The runner-up, Fu Lianxin, entered the Hanlin Academy and was appointed a seventh-rank editor."
"Zhang Lingxuan, the third place winner, was admitted to the Hanlin Academy and appointed a seventh-rank editor."
"The remaining second and third place Jinshi will be arranged by the Ministry of Personnel and granted official positions."
"Your Majesty, I bow to thank you for your grace. Long live the emperor." Lu Mingfei, Fu Lianxin, Zhang Lingxuan, and the other Jinshi scholars who followed saluted together.
In the hall today, in addition to the emperor and ministers, several princes were also present.
The Third Prince's gaze fell on the top scholar of the Jinke exam who was standing in the middle. Looking at the handsome man in front of him, he remembered that he was the young man who rejected his invitation on the street that time. The two faces overlapped, so aren't they the same person?
"So, it's you. I didn't expect that you would pass the imperial examination and become the top scorer." The third prince's mouth curled up into a smile. He was very interested in this top scorer who dared to refuse his invitation.
"Third brother, what are you talking about?" The Fourth Prince saw his third brother staring at the number one scholar, mumbling something inaudible. He came over and asked, "Why, third brother, do you recognize our new number one scholar?"
"Not really an acquaintance." said the third prince.
"What do you mean? If I know you, I know you. If I don't know you, I don't know you. How can you not count as knowing someone?" The Fourth Prince looked at his third brother with a curious look in his eyes, wanting to know whether his third brother and this year's top scholar had known each other privately for a long time.
How could the Third Prince not know the purpose of his younger brother's question? He just smiled and didn't explain it clearly.
The second prince, who was standing by, glanced at his two younger brothers who were talking and asked curiously, "Second brother, third brother, what are you two talking about? You seem so happy."
"My younger brothers are gossiping." The third prince dismissed his "good" brother's inquiry with just one sentence.
Faced with his brother's indifferent expression, the second prince was very angry, but he couldn't lose his temper on the spot.
At this time, the old tutor Fu, who was standing on the side of the civil officials, was also looking at his grandson. He was not very satisfied that his grandson only got the second place.
He had deliberately held his grandson back for three years before allowing him to take the provincial examination, hoping that he would have a chance to win the first place in the provincial examination, the second place in the imperial examination, and the first place in the imperial examination. However, he had never expected that Lu Mingfei would show up and force his grandson to take first place every time, from the provincial examination to the imperial examination and finally to the palace examination.
But even though he was unwilling to accept it, he had read the policy essay written by the top-ranked scholar in the imperial examination. He had also read the policy essay written by his own grandson. If there were no comparison with the top-ranked scholar's policy essay, his grandson's policy essay would also be very good.
It’s a pity that even with the golden imperial examination champion in front of him, the policy paper written by his grandson was not so interesting, so he was only selected as the second place by the emperor.
In fact, Old Master Fu himself understood that the emperor had chosen his grandson as the runner-up out of respect for his teacher. The essay written by the third place winner was actually no worse than his grandson's, and everyone chose his grandson as the second place simply out of respect for him, the emperor's tutor.
So, this is what makes him most angry!
The old master wasn't just angry at his grandson for not living up to his expectations, he was also furious at Lu Mingfei and Zhang Lingxuan, two guys who had suddenly appeared and blocked his grandson's path! How could the grandson he had painstakingly trained for over twenty years lose to the son of a merchant and a kid from a humble family?!
At this moment, Lu Mingfei and Zhang Lingxuan, who were standing in the hall to thank the emperor for his grace, had no idea that a pair of eyes full of anger were looking at them.
After these newly-minted scholars had kowtowed to express their gratitude for the emperor's grace, they left the hall, followed by palace maids and officials from the Ministry of Rites who led the way.
When they arrived at the palace gate outside, Lu Mingfei, Fu Lianxin and Zhang Lingxuan rode on the horses arranged for them by the Ministry of Rites.
"Luckily, I've learned horseback riding from Zhao Lang before, so riding today won't be a problem for me." After Lu Mingfei climbed onto the horse, he grabbed the reins himself, not letting the guards help him. He sat securely on the horse, feeling quite proud.
Fu Lianxin and Zhang Lingxuan had both learned to ride horses, so they did not ask the guards to lead their horses.
After Zhang Lingxuan mounted his horse, he turned to look at Lu Mingfei, and his gaze met Lu Mingfei's. When their eyes met, they both smiled.
Fu Lianxin, who was standing on the other side, happened to see this scene and felt a little unhappy. "You two have such a good relationship!" He squeezed his legs together and rode away on his horse.
Lu Mingfei and Zhang Lingxuan behind reacted and caught up with Fu Lianxin on horseback.
The first-class Jinshi can ride horses in the parade, but the second-class and third-class Jinshi can only follow behind on foot.
With officials leading the way for them, a group of newly-appointed scholars began to parade through the streets.
At this time, the streets of Kyoto Prefecture were filled with people watching the fun. Many unmarried young ladies from wealthy and official families had booked private rooms upstairs in restaurants and teahouses, and were waiting upstairs for the new scholars to pass by.
Of course, on such a lively day, there are also many young men in Kyoto who love to join in the fun.
It can be said that on such a lively day today, adults and children, young ladies and gentlemen from the entire Kyoto Prefecture all came out to watch the fun.
"Look, look, the number one scholar is here!"
"Wow, our new top scholar this year is so handsome!"
"Our runner-up and third place winners are not bad looking either."
"Look, look, it's Master Fu Lianxin!"
“Ahhh… Master Fu!!!”
The noble ladies of the capital upstairs immediately recognized Master Fu Lianxin as he rode his great horse, and they went wild for a moment. The title of "top scholar" sounded nice, but after all, he was from a humble family. How could he compare to the status of the grandson of the Grand Tutor, the legitimate son of the Grand Tutor's family, who came from an aristocratic family?
As soon as these noble ladies in Beijing saw Fu Lianxin, they all gave up their image as rich and noble ladies. Many girls called Fu Lianxin "Master Fu" and threw the bouquets, purses and jade pendants in their hands to our Master Fu.
"Zhuangyuanlang, look at me, look at me."
"Tanhua Lang..."
There are also voices calling out "No. 1 Scholar" and "No. 3 Scholar."
At this time, the top three scholars, as well as the second place scholar, were riding on their horses and became the primary targets of these noble ladies and girls in the capital. For a moment, almost all the things thrown from both sides of the road were thrown at the three of them.
"!!!" Seeing something thrown at the three of them, Lu Mingfei's eyes widened. Hidden weapon! He subconsciously turned his head to avoid the object thrown at him and rode forward on his horse.
Fu Lianxin was also an excellent rider. When he saw Lu Mingfei running away on horseback, he quickly followed him on horseback.
Zhang Lingxuan, whose riding skills were not very good, reacted a beat late and did not run as fast as he should have. He was hit by the jade pendant thrown from the upstairs and was almost knocked off his horse.
"You two wait for me!" Zhang Lingxuan realized that Lu Mingfei and Fu Lianxin had left him and ran away, so he quickly rode his horse to catch up with them.
Suddenly, the number one and number two candidates were seen on the street riding their horses in front, while the third place candidate was riding his horse chasing the two in front.
The other scholars who followed saw the top three candidates on horseback and they could not keep up with the four-legged ones. So they walked slowly at their own pace, enjoying the envious glances and praise from the crowd, as well as the flowers and purses thrown by the girls.
There was a newly-minted scholar in the team who took something thrown by the girl, which meant that he intentionally accepted the girl's admiration.
If the girl's family sends someone to find him later and the two sides can reach an agreement, it will be another beautiful marriage.
But today, Lu Mingfei had no intention of accepting the gifts and affection thrown by the girls. He was a jealous person at home, and he was afraid that if he accepted the girls' gifts carelessly, his jealousy would overturn itself.
It was not until he arrived near Xianglai Pavilion that he slowed down and looked up at the building.
Someone was leaning out of every window upstairs calling him, but he still saw the prince standing on the third floor at a glance.
I don’t know if the prince wanted to wear couple outfits with him today, but he also wore a red dress.
"Our young master looks so handsome in red." Lu Mingfei looked at the people upstairs and smiled.
The two people's eyes met in the air, and Zhao Lang threw the peony flower in his hand down, aiming at Lu Zhuangyuan who was riding on a horse.
At this time, many flowers and purses were thrown down from the upper floors on both sides, but Lu Mingfei reached out and only took the one that Zhao Lang threw down to him. He took the peony flower and sniffed it, "Hmm, it's quite fragrant."
Then he pinned the peony flower on his ear, showed a bright smile to the people upstairs, and rode away on horseback.
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