"No wonder he's so calm. He actually already knows he's won the top prize."
"I heard he's only sixteen years old and will be the youngest number one scholar in history."
"It seems that the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion is going to produce a civil official."
"The Zhenbei Marquisate was founded on military power, and now it has produced a civil official, a man who is both civil and military, which is also a good story."
"Zhao Jingzhou has always wanted to join the civil service, and now his wish is finally coming true."
"I have to consider my relationship with the Zhenbei Marquisate in the future..."
Many civil servants still looked down on Zhao Jingzhou.
But Zhao Chenhan was about to become the top scholar, and then a Hanlin, squeezing into the highest circle and becoming the second Bai Shiyuan. No one dared to underestimate the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion anymore.
Just then.
Following the eunuch's shout.
Cheng** is here.
"Long live His Majesty."
Civil and military officials, along with three hundred tribute students, all knelt and saluted before standing up.
Cheng** swept his eyes over everyone and said, "Announce it."
Zhu Zhongyan picked up a golden object from a tray held by a young eunuch.
“That’s the gold list.”
One of the candidates couldn't help but whisper, "There are two gold lists. The small one is announced here, and the big one is hung outside Donghua Gate for everyone to see."
All the tribute students were in a state of nervous commotion.
The moment that determines their fate has finally arrived.
Zhu Zhongyan's smiling eyes swept over everyone, lingering on Zhao Lin for a moment. He opened the gold list and said in a long voice:
"In the 24th year of Chengping's reign, the palace examination results showed that there were 240 people in the top three. From back to front, they are Ma Yong at 300th place, Sun Jitong at 299th place, and Li Chuling at 2898th place..."
The top three will be announced first, then the second place, and finally the top three.
This suspense makes many people hate it.
Many tribute students breathed a sigh of relief but also looked disappointed when they heard their names.
The top three were only granted the same status as Jinshi, which means Zhao Lin attended a third-tier university in his previous life.
Although I am a college student, I am restricted in many areas.
After all 240 names in the top three classes were read out, the candidates who did not hear their names breathed a sigh of relief but also became nervous.
Zhao Chenhan was very disappointed when he didn't hear Zhao Lin's name.
"Well, you are the champion after all, so I will give you the second place. But don't even think about the top spot, because that is mine." Zhao Chenhan thought.
He glanced at Zhao Lin and found that Zhao Lin's face was calm, neither happy nor sad, as if it had nothing to do with him.
"There are 57 people in the second class. From back to front, they are Bai Shicheng (60th), Qu Shuyuan (59th), Tang Yuze (58th)... and Han Qingfeng (4th)."
When hearing their own names, some people are happy and some are sad.
I was happy that I got the second place in the exam, which meant I was a real Jinshi. My hard work for more than ten years had finally paid off.
The worry is that if I get second place, I will have no chance of getting first place.
Zhao Chenhan suddenly turned his head and looked at Zhao Lin.
This idiot's name hasn't appeared yet?
Could it be that he is also a top-ranked player?
And Sudi's name didn't seem to appear either.
How is this possible?
The only names that haven't been read out now are these three.
Many civil and military officials on both sides who had been paying attention to Zhao Lin for a long time also noticed the news.
They all looked at Zhao Lin.
"This boy, a beggar, not only passed the imperial examination, but also won the first place. How rare! How rare!"
"What's even more commendable is his composure. Even Lord Zhao's son couldn't help himself, yet he remained so calm. He will surely achieve great things in the future."
"The wind starts from a tiny seed, yet it soars to the sky. How rare!"
"What a shame, why is he a eunuch?"
Many people described Zhao Lin as rare.
Li Xingye stroked his beard and smiled.
Li Wei blinked her beautiful eyes.
Fu Chengwang had a blank expression on his face.
Zhao Jingzhou frowned deeply.
Zhu Zhongyan glanced at Zhao Lin again and said:
"In the 24th year of Chengping's imperial examination, third place, Tanhua, Sudi!"
Sudi clenched his fists tightly.
"Second place..."
Zhu Zhongyan deliberately stretched out his voice, and under the angry glares of many people, he read out the last word: "Second place, Zhao Chenhan!"
"Zhao Chenhan is the runner-up!"
Many people were shocked.
Wasn’t it confirmed that he was the top scorer?
Why is he the runner-up?
What went wrong?
Those who received the invitation from the Zhenbei Marquis Mansion looked at Zhao Chenhan and Zhao Jingzhou with strange eyes.
I thought you guys had already confirmed it, but you ended up popping champagne at halftime?
Zhao Chenhan's face turned pale and he looked at Zhao Lin suddenly.
I found that Zhao Lin was still standing there calmly, as if everything had nothing to do with him.
Everyone knew who the top scorer was without any announcement.
Now only Zhao Lin's name has not appeared.
Li Xingye stroked his beard and smiled, Fu Chengwang remained indifferent, Li Weibai leaned forward slightly and looked at Zhao Lin with surprise.
Others also looked at Zhao Lin with various eyes.
At this moment, thousands of eyes were focused on Zhao Lin.
Zhu Zhongyan's voice sounded again.
…
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