Early that morning, Gu Nanjiao was hanging up the washed clothes to dry when she heard the sound of gongs and drums outside the door.
Gu Nanjiao smiled and asked, "Is someone getting married nearby?"
Lu Siniang said, "I'll go out and take a look!"
As soon as Lü Siniang reached the door, she saw Gu's father rushing over: "He passed! My Yanzhao passed!"
Lu Siniang asked, "And you? Did you pass?"
Father Gu patted his chest, very proud: "Of course I passed, although I came in last place, but I might still become a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). And my son-in-law came in first place. Hahahaha."
He was even happier than Lu Yanzhao when his son-in-law passed the exam.
Gu Nanjiao stood up happily and said repeatedly, "Father, Mother, hurry up and exchange some copper coins. When the onlookers arrive, we can scatter the coins so everyone can share in the joy."
The two hurriedly went to prepare. Gu Nanjiao came to the door and saw the procession with gongs and drums in the distance.
There were about a dozen officials who came to deliver the good news, followed by a group of people who had come to watch the excitement. The leading official came up to Gu Nanjiao and looked at the sign on the courtyard: "Lu Yanzhao, from Hama Village, Luozhuang Town, Luoshui County, Yuzhou City, first place, the top scholar in the imperial examination."
"This is my husband, this is my home!" Gu Nanjiao exclaimed excitedly. She ran into the house and pulled Lu Yanzhao out.
Lu Yanzhao remained extremely calm, as if passing the imperial examination with top honors was something he had expected.
At this moment, Gu's father came over excitedly carrying a basket of copper coins. Lu Siniang stuffed the loose silver into Gu Nanjiao's hand and gave her a wink.
Gu Nanjiao understood immediately and quickly stuffed the silver into the officer's hand.
"Sir, you've had a long day. Please come in and have some tea."
The head constable took the silver, weighed it in his hand, and smiled with satisfaction, saying, "No need, we still have to go to the next place."
"Congratulations, Lu Huiyuan! Your wife is truly blessed," the official said with a compliment before leaving. Lu Yanzhao smiled and politely saw him off.
Father Gu was overjoyed and scattered handfuls of copper coins. The onlookers scrambled for the money, all hoping to share in the good fortune. Some women even brought their children to Lu Yanzhao so he could touch their heads.
The family was overjoyed. Gu Nanjiao prepared a large table of dishes, and Jiaoniang Pavilion made an exception and gave them two days off.
In early March, Lu Yanzhao was to enter the palace to participate in the imperial examination.
Gu's father was ranked last and was not qualified to participate in the palace examination. However, he was already very satisfied.
After the imperial examination, the roadsides were packed with people, young and old, all wanting to join in the fun and watch the top scholar parade through the streets.
Gu Nanjiao was slender but strong. Taking advantage of her natural strength, she squeezed and weaved her way to the front.
"The top scholar is parading through the streets!" The sound of gongs and drums came from ahead. With a shout from the officials, the crowd surged forward, everyone craning their necks and standing on tiptoe to see what the top scholar looked like.
Lu Yanzhao, dressed in a red robe that accentuated his extraordinary handsomeness, wore a black gauze hat adorned with gold flowers, held an imperial edict in his hands, and rode a red-brown horse with a golden saddle. He was surrounded by a large entourage, with flags and drums clearing the way, creating a lively and bustling scene. The signs clearing the way all read "Silence" and "Avoidance".
A dashing scholar in fine clothes, riding a spirited horse—life couldn't be more wonderful.
But the enthusiasm of the people could not be resisted. The long street was packed with people, and countless girls fell in love with the handsome young man on horseback.
Lu Yanzhao raised his eyes and scanned the crowd, finally landing on Gu Nanjiao. He saw her smiling happily at him, her eyes full of pride. His lips finally curled into a slight smile, causing the girls in the crowd to momentarily lose their composure.
On the second floor, Chu Luoxun looked out the window.
As expected, Lu Yanzhao lived up to his expectations, achieving the highest honors in all three levels of the imperial examinations, becoming the top scholar.
Remembering Lu Yanzhao's request a few days ago that someone be secretly following him, he asked Zheng Shiyi to investigate.
It turned out that they were from the Minister's residence. Given Consort Yue's ruthless nature, Gu Nanjiao would not escape being killed.
He didn't want Gu Nanjiao to die prematurely. That wouldn't be fun. Besides, he needed Lu Yanzhao to be his man, so after he found out the truth, he also took care of the mess at the Minister's residence.
He should be the one playing this game; how can he let some nobody ruin his plans?
However, Chu Luoxun underestimated Consort Yue. On the day Lu Yanzhao was paraded through the streets, an imperial edict was sent to the Crown Prince's Eastern Palace.
"Zhou Wan, the eldest daughter of the Zhou family, is gentle and virtuous, and is hereby bestowed upon Crown Prince Chu Luoxun as his concubine. This is the imperial decree!"
"Thank you for your great favor, Your Majesty!" Chu Luoxun accepted the imperial edict with both hands. The knuckles of his fingers gradually turned white from the restraint he had endured. The moment he knelt down, he closed his eyes. When he opened them again, his eyes were bloodshot.
The old fox is still the most cunning. Crown Prince Chu was cautious in every step and finally returned to the capital with great success, but unexpectedly, Consort Yue pulled a fast one.
Marrying the Zhou family's illegitimate daughter to him seemed like a good match, but in reality, it was a scheme to have people monitor Chu Luoxun's every move.
After the eunuch left, Chu Luoxun smashed a fine porcelain vase in the room and shouted to the steward, "Summon Lu Yanzhao to see me."
The steward exclaimed in alarm, "Your Highness, this is unacceptable! Lu Yanzhao has just become the top scholar in the imperial examination. To summon him so openly would be telling everyone that Your Highness is trying to win him over!"
"Then how can I get him to come see me?"
The steward was silent for a moment, then said, "Why don't you relax the protection of his wife? That way, the people from the Minister's residence will have an opportunity to take advantage of the situation."
Chu Luoxun pondered for a moment and said, "But I promised him I would protect his family, and I can't go back on my word. Otherwise, he will turn against me."
Chu Luoxun still feels lingering fear when he recalls his last conversation with Lu Yanzhao.
He hadn't expected that Lu Yanzhao would guess that the bandits and the rumors in the capital were related to him. Faced with Lu Yanzhao's desperate threat, he had no choice but to temporarily suspend his plan to use Gu Nanjiao to bring down Consort Yue.
The steward narrowed his eyes: "Your Highness, it's not like we're withdrawing protection from her. If our people show up again at the crucial moment to save her, Lu Yanzhao will surely be extremely grateful to Your Highness."
"We'll do it your way!"
...
In the Chu Dynasty, a top-ranking scholar who passed the imperial examination could be directly granted an official position after their name was called in the main hall.
The top scholar (状元) could directly serve as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy, a sixth-rank official. The second and third-ranked scholars (榜眼 and 探花) would serve as editors in the Hanlin Academy, a seventh-rank official. Although there was only a one-rank difference, the top scholar's starting point was much higher.
Those who passed the imperial examinations in the second and third ranks needed to pass an internal examination to enter the Hanlin Academy. Gu's father was lucky; he was not sent to a small county to serve as an official, but stayed in the capital and became the low-ranking Censorate Treasury Officer.
Now, Lu Yanzhao has become the top scholar in the imperial examination and has been appointed as a compiler in the Hanlin Academy. By imperial grace, Lu Yanzhao is specially permitted to return to his hometown to pay respects to his ancestors after participating in the grand ceremony of announcing the results of the imperial examination and the Qionglin Banquet.
One happy event after another; Gu Nanjiao felt like she was in a dream.
She rushed to Jiaoniang Pavilion, finished her business, and was looking forward to returning home as soon as possible.
As night fell, Gu Nanjiao had just closed the wooden door of Jiaoniang Pavilion with a wooden board when a dark shadow flashed past behind her.
Gu Nanjiao was so frightened that she quickly ran away, but the dark figure slowly approached her. Under the reflection of the moonlight, a blinding white flashed by.
That's a knife! Gu Nanjiao turned and ran, with the people behind her close behind.
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