As for Qin Zhaolin, his talent and learning were the most average among the few people, but he was tall and had long legs, and was handsome.
It can be said that he is the best-looking candidate except Ling Jiheng.
In addition, his father was the Minister of Works, and the young man was young, and his words were full of tact.
Compared to Ling Jiheng, he seemed like a seasoned official. Although he lacked much energy, he was perfectly suited to this mixed crowd.
After much consideration, Emperor Zhou picked him out and prepared to leave him to Princess Zhaohe as her consort.
Thus, the top three were announced, and the rest were divided into second and third place according to their ranking.
Emperor Zhou did not hide his thoughts and summoned the Minister of Works to the palace to ask his opinion.
Lord Qin was quite conflicted when he learned that the emperor was interested in marrying into his family.
First, he felt that this was a rare opportunity and that he could take a step further with the Royals.
Second, he was afraid that Princess Shang would affect Zhaolin's future.
Emperor Zhou seemed to have guessed his thoughts and gave him a reassurance.
"Your son is extremely talented and will surely make a name for himself in the imperial court in the future."
Lord Qin understood what he meant and went back immediately to prepare for the wedding.
When Princess Showa found out, she was somewhat unhappy.
He found the Qinzheng Palace and asked Emperor Zhou, "Father, since you want to grant Zhaohe a marriage, why don't you choose the most outstanding champion?"
Emperor Zhou explained, "Ji Heng has been married for many years. His first wife is pregnant and will give birth soon."
Princess Showa didn't care: "What's the big deal? She's just a commoner's girl, just divorce her.
At worst, I can be the wife and she can be the concubine. I can register her child under my own name and raise him well.
Or maybe we can take a step back and let her be my equal wife, with me being older than her."
Emperor Zhou slammed the table in anger when he heard his little daughter's nonsense.
The force was so great that it knocked the teacup to the ground.
The eunuchs and maids in the Qinzheng Hall fell to their knees on the ground, trembling.
Even Princess Showa's face was pale and beads of cold sweat were oozing out.
Only then did I realize that she was too arrogant.
Although she was a princess, she was born out of wedlock after all.
The emperor felt a little more sympathy for her because they hadn't seen each other for many years.
But this does not mean that she can be so arrogant as to question the emperor's decision.
Princess Showa hastened to apologize: "Father, I was wrong. You must have carefully considered the selection of the third-place winner as your consort.
It was my ignorance that prevented me from understanding your intentions at first sight."
Emperor Zhou softened his expression and said, "As the royal family, we enjoy supreme power in the world. We should restrain ourselves and work for the benefit of the people.
As a royal princess, you were originally supposed to marry a foreign prince.
It is me, your brothers and nephews, and the soldiers on the frontier who have used their sweat and blood to stabilize the Great Zhou Dynasty, so that you can have the good life you have today.
Showa, be grateful for what you have!"
Emperor Zhou did not utter a single threat, but every word he said expressed his attitude.
He then explained, "Ling Jiheng's wife is the Princess of Le'an County in the Great Zhou Dynasty. As long as I am alive, I will not allow anyone to bully her!"
Princess Zhaohe was shocked and kowtowed to Emperor Zhou: "I understand!"
She knew that she couldn't win and had lost completely.
Chi Xingyue, a woman who couldn't be more ordinary, was able to discover the high-yield crop of sweet potatoes, which gave them the confidence to overthrow the Dayong Dynasty.
Although these cannot be written into history books, everyone in the Zhou family is grateful for Chi Xingyue's contributions.
She was confused, thinking only of the amazement she felt when she first met Ling Jiheng, and forgetting his wife's contribution to the Great Zhou Dynasty.
Princess Showa apologized again before leaving the Qinzheng Hall.
The chief eunuch poured Emperor Zhou some more tea and asked, "Your Majesty, wasn't this sweet potato discovered by the number one scholar?"
Emperor Zhou took a sip of tea and looked at Deshun: "Do you think so too?"
After saying that, he burst into laughter.
Deshun looked terrified, not understanding what he had said wrong.
He cleaned up the porcelain pieces on the ground and retreated outside at Emperor Zhou's signal.
The words "You think so too" are still ringing in my mind.
Suddenly, Deshun turned his head and looked at Qinzheng Hall in disbelief.
Could it be that the sweet potato was really found by the wife of the top scholar?
Could it be that the original purpose of naming Chi Xingyue as the county lord was not to hide Ling Jiheng?
Deshun's heart was pounding wildly, and he had a lot of thoughts, but no answers.
I can only bury my doubts deep in my heart.
On April 28th, all the candidates gathered outside the Golden Palace, and the emperor announced the names of the candidates and selected the top three.
Ling Jiheng was standing at the very edge, and when he heard that the emperor had chosen him as the top scholar, he was completely stunned.
I quickly kowtowed and thanked him, but my heart was pounding.
I wondered if he was really that talented?
That shouldn't be the case. Master Wen clearly said that there is a lot of room for improvement.
Although in the examination room, he seemed to be inspired by God and wrote fluently.
But I know that my writing style is a bit sharp and may not be liked by the examiners.
Ling Jiheng had already prepared himself to only get a Tong Jinshi degree, but who knew...
Before he could think about it, the names of the second and third place winners were announced in the hall.
The two of them kowtowed together, and finally Ling Jiheng led all the Jinshi to express their gratitude and go to the left gate of Chang'an to watch the posting of the gold list.
From the Golden Throne Palace to the left gate of Chang'an, one has to pass through Taihe Gate, Wumen Gate, Duanmen Gate, Chengtian Gate, and Dazhou Gate.
The scholars were silent at first, but after they were away from the Golden Palace, they began to chat with each other.
Ling Jiheng listened to the congratulations from those around him and smiled modestly. He was not arrogant at all, but rather exuded kindness.
Make those who are jealous feel embarrassed to be sarcastic.
Of course, they didn't dare. After all, Yijia would be joining the cabinet in the future.
When we arrived at the Da Zhou Gate, we saw that it was already crowded with people watching the fun.
The officers and soldiers separated out a piece of open space here, and everyone was excited when they saw the tribute students coming out.
But they didn't know the result, so they could only stare at the leaders with burning eyes.
Ling Jiheng and Qin Zhaolin were calm, but Jiang Yuanyang felt as uncomfortable as if hundreds of ants were crawling on his body.
The others were the same, always feeling that the onlookers were going to tear them apart and eat them.
But when they thought of their current status, they subconsciously straightened their chests and looked a little defiant.
The guards quickly brought the golden list and pasted it up from the back to the front.
The top three are not very attractive. After all, as long as you pass the imperial examination, you can at least be a Tongjinshi.
The second class is different. They are real Jinshi and have the opportunity to enter the Hanlin Academy and the Six Ministries. They have a bright future.
As for the first place, needless to say, he is a role model for scholars all over the world.
Ling Jiheng looked at his name appearing in the most conspicuous position, and listened to the onlookers reading his name loudly, and a smile appeared on his face.
No matter what, he did it. The young wife's status rose, and from now on she would not have to bow to everyone she met.
As for how this top scholar came about?
Well, just think of it as his ancestral grave on fire.
After all, every family has a powerful ancestor!
After the golden list was posted, Ling Jiheng and others were taken away by the governor of Shuntian Prefecture. They changed into red robes, rode red horses, and wore black hats with golden flowers.
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