When the results of the provincial examination were announced, the fragrance of osmanthus was in the air, so it was called the Guibang. All students who passed the examination were called Juren, and the first one was called Jieyuan.
Wei Min happened to be the top scorer in this session.
…
The list was posted on the bulletin board at the entrance of the county government office. From the moment the yamen runners posted the list, it was surrounded by people in three layers.
Wei Lian came to the county early in the morning to wait for the announcement of the results. After Wei Min came back from the province, she seldom mentioned the provincial examination. She was afraid that her sister would not do well in the exam, and talking about this in front of her would touch her heart, so she seldom asked.
Although Wei Lian didn't ask, he was still thinking about it in his heart. Look, she left home before dawn.
It was still cold in the morning in late autumn. Wei Lian wrapped her clothes tightly, folded her arms and squatted beside the bulletin board, waiting. There were quite a few people squatting with her, most of them were servants from wealthy families.
The earlier you come here, the better the position you will get, so you can see more clearly when the results are announced.
Wei Lian arrived early and occupied a good view. A servant who arrived a little late scratched his head and negotiated with her, "How about I pay for your position?"
Wei Lian waved her hand, "No, my sister also took part in the provincial examination this year, so this position is not for sale."
Soon more people came and they were crowded together. If you didn't stand in a good position, you would be pushed out if you were not careful.
Even though this list is just hanging on the bulletin board and won’t go anywhere, the feeling of seeing it at first glance is definitely different.
When the time came, the door of the county government office was opened from the inside, and a bailiff with a knife on his waist came out holding an apricot yellow list, followed by two bailiffs who also had knives on their waists.
This list was sent from above yesterday and must be posted today.
"Make way, make way, the results are out." Two yamen runners shouted in a rough voice, stretched out their hands to push aside the crowd blocking the way, made a path, and protected the people in the middle to go in.
The apricot-yellow list was posted on the bulletin board, with rows of black names on it. The first place winner of the exam, who was at the top of everyone else, had a unique red name.
Wei Lian stared at the two red characters at the top of the list. She was so familiar with the names on them. Pointing at the two words in the air, Wei Lian pressed down his trembling right hand after confirming it again and again.
Wei Min passed the exam and won the first place!
At that moment, Wei Lian could no longer hear the sad or happy voices of others, and was left with only her own joy.
She had always been calm and composed. When she learned that Wei Minzhong had won the first place, she neither jumped up like those on the list nor hugged and celebrated with the people around her. Instead, she squeezed out of the crowd silently.
Wei Min also came to the county today, but she did not come as early as Wei Lian. When she arrived, the bulletin board was already crowded with people.
Wei Min simply didn't try to squeeze in, but stood outside and looked at the crowd. My brother-in-law came over this morning and said that my sister had come to the county early in the morning, but he didn’t know if she had squeezed in.
"Amin." Wei Lian saw Wei Min first, walked over and put his hand on her shoulder, shook her shoulder tightly, and then said: "Let's go to the vegetable market, let's buy some good vegetables today."
Seeing that his usually calm sister was now filled with joy, Wei Min roughly guessed his own ranking, "Is it Jieyuan?"
Wei Lian nodded heavily, groped into her bosom, took out some copper coins, and said, "Buy some wine later. Mother will be happy to know that you have passed the imperial examination."
The old couple scraped together money to support Wei Min's studies, all for this moment.
Passing the examination means that even if Wei Min fails the imperial examination in the future, she can still become a minor official. At least she doesn't have to farm for the rest of her life like herself and rely on God's favor for a living.
When Wei Min went out today, A Ruan also stuffed some money into her arms. Now the two of them pooled their money together and bought some wine and food to go back.
Before the meal, Wei Lian took Wei Min and brought a pot of wine to Wei's mother's grave to kowtow and offer a toast.
The news that Wei Min had passed the imperial examination spread quickly.
A villager saw Wei Min's victory in the imperial examination on the county bulletin board and told the village about it when he returned. By the evening, even the surrounding villages knew about it.
For a time, the threshold of Wei Min's house was almost trampled down by people.
The neighbors changed their usual sarcastic tone and began to praise him nonstop.
This one said, "I knew Wei Er was a capable person. Look, he has already won the title of Jie Yuan."
The one who said, "When I woke up this morning, I saw the red light in the sky was different from the past, so I felt that a distinguished person would appear in our village today. Sure enough, Wei Minzhong became Li Yuan, and from now on he will be an official, so he is also a distinguished person."
Everyone was chattering, one person talking at a time, and their words were becoming more and more bizarre, as if Wei Min's success in the imperial examination had something to do with them.
A Ruan can't speak and has never liked dealing with these people. But now so many people suddenly came into the house, all chatting with him intimately, making him a little overwhelmed, and he just pursed his lips and smiled.
Those people didn't care about his reaction and just kept talking about their own things.
Wei Lian raised her hand to hold down Wei Min who was about to move, shook her head in disapproval, and said in a low voice: "If you chase them out now and ruin their mood, who knows what they will say about you in the future."
If Wei Min wants to be an official in the future, and the higher-ups send people to the village to ask her about her character, the words of these people will still carry some weight.
Wei Min's face turned dark, and his eyes swept across the room, looking at A Ruan who had to smile along with these people. He felt depressed in his chest, and at the same time, an inexplicable expectation grew from the bottom of his heart. This expectation made her tremble with excitement every time she thought of it.
After the villagers reluctantly left, Wei Min saw that A'ruan still had a smile on his face, so he raised his hand and touched the corner of his mouth that had been pulled all afternoon, and said distressedly: "Those people have left, don't make it difficult for yourself to smile again."
Ah Ruan shook his head slightly and raised his hand to gesture:
——I am really happy.
The joy in Aruan's eyes almost overflowed from his eyes.
Wei Min lowered his eyes, and could not help but hold A'ruan in his arms, rubbing his chin against the top of his head, and said softly: "A'ruan, please accompany me to the Luming Banquet tomorrow."
After the results of the provincial examination were announced, the governor would host a Deer Singing Banquet and invite all successful candidates to attend. During the banquet, they would sing the poem "Deer Singing" and dance the Kuixing Dance.
In order to encourage students to work hard, the county magistrate said that the top scorer would be rewarded with three taels of silver.
For the poor "scholar" Wei Min, this was not a small sum of money.
Wei Min knew that she could bring her family members with her, and she wanted A'ruan to accompany her to collect the money. After the banquet, she took him to buy him new clothes and a hairpin.
Ruan has been married to her for so long, but she has never bought him any jewelry.
Wei Min's tone was filled with undisguised expectation, and he spoke softly and gently into A'ruan's ear. A'ruan's body suddenly went limp and he nodded in agreement spinelessly.
The next day, A Ruan took out the sky-blue robe that she wore when she first met Wei Min from her closet. This was given to him by Zhang because she thought his clothes were too old, so she picked them out from her own clothes.
This is the only piece of clothing that A'ruan can show off. She usually keeps it in the closet and doesn't wear it. She took it out today because she was going to accompany Wei Min to the Lu Ming Banquet.
When Wei Min saw A Ruan changed into this clothes in the morning, he immediately remembered the scene when he first met him.
At that time, she felt that the person in front of her was a fairy who had walked out of an ink painting, with her eyelids drooping and standing quietly, as if she was not of this world.
A Ruan turned around and saw Wei Min staring at her, and felt inexplicably shy. Being stared at by her with such a fiery gaze, A Ruan didn't know where to put his hands that had just been washed.
Ah Ruan coughed lightly, wiped her hands on the apron in front of her, raised her hand to tuck the loose hair hanging on one side of her cheek behind her ear, and brought the meal to her.
Wei Min looked at the steaming rice porridge in front of him, lowered his eyelids and smiled. The fairy when they first met is now married to her, adding a touch of human touch to her.
The two of them packed up, locked the door, and went to the county together.
When we were still some distance away from the village, we saw a group of people gathered at the door of a house. From the crowd came the sound of a man shrilly and abusive voices, each one louder and more unbearable to hear than the last.
What about a dissolute husband cheating on his wife, what about a shameless man seducing a woman... After listening to a few sentences, you can roughly guess what happened before.
A Ruan turned his head and looked at Wei Min. Wei Min shook his head at him, indicating that he did not want to join in the fun.
As the two were about to leave the village, someone looked back and saw them, and shouted, "Wei Jieyuan!"
Everyone looked back and suddenly Wei Min and A Ruan were unable to leave.
As the onlookers dispersed, A Ruan saw the person surrounded by the crowd.
The person inside happened to be someone A Ruan knew, so he didn't look unfamiliar. This person was none other than the foul-mouthed Wang.
But today, Wang was not the one who was scolding, but the one who was being scolded.
He looked like someone had dragged him out of the house, his hair was disheveled, his clothes were probably put on in a hurry, the straps were not tied properly, and they were twisted around his body, one of his shoes was untied, and the other was bare and standing on the ground.
Next to the man who was pinching his waist and cursing in front of Wang was a woman who was also not dressed properly like Wang.
When the man saw Wei Min coming, he immediately slapped his thighs as if he had seen an official, and cried, "I can't live like this anymore. Wei Jieyuan, you have to help me get justice."
A'ruan immediately understood why Wei Min wanted to walk over quietly just now.
Wei Min was only a provincial champion, not a county magistrate, so he didn't want to ask about such things at all, and didn't even want to look at them.
Besides, this is not the first or second time that Wang has cheated on her.
The author has something to say: I will write the last paragraph in the next chapter, I am so happy~
Small Theater
Wei Min: I don’t need their respect, I just want them to be afraid of me! Make them afraid to gossip about you, and make them dare not help but flatter you when they see you!
A Ruan: I feel a little excited just thinking about it (/▽╲)
Wei Min: (with a proud face) Humph, otherwise wouldn’t this imperial examination be in vain? Isn't this official's job in vain?
emperor:……
————
As for when Wei Min will become the top scholar and when he will become a treacherous prime minister, these things will definitely happen. Just listen to me and I will tell you. There is no rush.
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