March 18th is the day when the results of the palace examination will be announced.

Unlike the provincial and metropolitan examinations where the rankings were simply posted, a grand ceremony announcing the results was held at this time.

All civil and military officials in the capital must attend unless there are special circumstances.

At noon, civil and military officials walked out of the court room outside the Meridian Gate and began to enter the palace through the doorways on the left and right sides of the main gate according to their shifts.

The ceremony of announcing the imperial examinations was still held in front of the Huangji Hall.

At this time, the nine-dragon curved handle yellow umbrella cover was set up in the center outside the Huangji Hall gate.

Under the golden throne, there were ten groups of big generals holding ceremonial swords, long halberds, golden gourds, and bone spears, all on the third level of the red steps, and they reached the two steps in turn. Below the steps, the corridor was lined up with whips and horses.

The most eye-catching thing is that there are two elephants wearing gorgeous necklaces and carrying treasure vases inside and outside the Huangji Gate. Each of them is as tall as the city gate, making people worry that they will be trampled into a meat pie with one foot.

Those are the elephants kept in the elephant house, representing the most solemn royal ceremony.

After the officials had lined up in front of the Huangji Hall, the newly-appointed scholars who had been waiting outside the Chengtian Gate began to line up to enter the palace.

Just like during the palace examination, they were still divided into odd and even numbers according to their scores and entered the palace through the left and right side gates, but this time they all changed into brand new Jinshi uniforms.

This was what the new scholars received at the Imperial College the day before with their palace examination tickets.

There were 403 newly-appointed Jinshi, all wearing dark blue round-necked Luo gowns with wide sleeves and open mouths, black horn belts tied around their waists, holding locust wood tablets in their hands, and wearing Jinshi scarves similar to the black gauze hats on their heads. However, they were slightly different from the black gauze hats in that there was a pair of thin wings behind the scarves, and each wing tip was tied with a two-foot-long black gauze hanging belt.

The ribbons flutter when you walk, which is very cool.

The only drawback is that after the release ceremony in two days, I have to return it again...

~~

Zhao Shouzheng was naturally ranked last.

Because there was an odd number of Jinshi this year, there was no one standing side by side with him, so he felt very lonely.

But Mr. Zhao has a good attitude. He still feels like he is dreaming.

What I have experienced in the past year has been more exciting than the previous thirty years.

So this is called good luck, this is called good fortune, this is called the blessing of ancestors!

He thought that exactly thirty years ago, his father wore such a Jinshi robe and walked into the Huangji Gate with his head held high... Oh yes, it was called Fengtian Gate at that time.

Zhao Shouzheng still remembers that his father's ranking was 38th in the second class, and he was just a little bit away from being selected as a scholar.

Although I am definitely not as good as my father, being able to wear the same clothes, walk in the same places, and perform the same rituals as my father is a dreamlike feeling enough.

Before he knew it, tears began to flow down his face. Mr. Zhao didn't dare to wipe them away, so he could only let them flow down his face.

Fortunately, he saw that his classmates in the movie ahead couldn't help crying like dogs, so he didn't feel embarrassed.

~~

After the newly-appointed Jinshi entered the Huangji Hall square, they stood in the center under the Danchi according to the instructions of the officials of the Honglu Temple.

On the platform between the two sections of the imperial staircase, the imperial edict had been quietly placed on the imperial edict case.

After everyone stood still, the familiar entrance music sounded, and Emperor Longqing, supported by the Grand Eunuch Teng Xiang, appeared in the sight of his ministers with brisk steps.

Amidst thunderous cheers of "Long live the emperor", Emperor Longqing ascended the throne and his ministers bowed five times and kowtowed three times.

After Dai Ping, the Minister of the Honglu Temple came out and loudly announced the official start of the ceremony.

Then Zhang Juzheng, the Grand Secretary of Jianji Hall, came out to read the imperial edict.

In theory, this should be an honor for the chief examiner, but it was not known whether Lord Xu's body had not recovered or he was in a bad mood, so he took leave and continued to recuperate in bed.

It was up to the second examiner to enjoy the pleasure of this moment.

I saw handsome Zhang, his silky beard fluttering in the spring breeze, slowly unfolding the yellow pages of the book, and then reading in his magnetic voice with a built-in subwoofer:

"The Emperor's grace is great. He has opened the imperial examinations to select talents for the country, regardless of their origins. Today, the palace examinations of the Wuchen year of the Longqing reign have ended. Your Majesty has tested the candidates from all over the country and has awarded the first and third place Jinshis, seventy-seven second-class Jinshis, and three hundred and twenty-three third-class Jinshis. Those whose names are called out should come out and express their gratitude!"

Mr. Zhang had a loud voice, and every new scholar could hear it clearly.

Many people secretly looked at Wang Wuyang, wanting to see what expression the new top scholar would have when he heard their names.

Wang Wuyang was very calm, as if someone else would be called later.

At this time, Zhang Xianggong said slowly in a solemn tone:

"The first place winner is Zhao Shouzheng!"

With a "buzz" sound, the newly-appointed scholars showed an incredible expression and turned back to look at Zhao Shouzheng, who was at the end.

Mr. Zhao was even more confused and completely stunned.

What's going on? Did I hear you right? You didn't drink yesterday?

When Zhao Shouzheng was in a daze, an official from the Honglu Temple with a very loud voice repeated:

"The first place winner is Zhao Shouzheng!"

On the lower platform, another official from the Honglu Temple repeated it again!

"The first place winner is Zhao Shouzheng!"

Pushed by his peers, Mr. Zhao walked out of the court in a daze. Officials from the Honglu Temple pinned a pair of red flowers on his Jinshi scarf and led him to the steps to pay homage to Emperor Longqing.

Zhao Shouzheng's head was buzzing, and he was like a puppet, being directed by the officials of the Honglu Temple to kowtow.

Seeing Zhao Shouzheng's confused look, Emperor Longqing felt a lot more comfortable.

Yesterday he ordered Wang Wuyang, Wang Dingjue and others not to reveal the changes in rankings, just to make the new number one scholar embarrassed today.

How can it not be embarrassing? If anyone were to go from the last to the first, they would pinch themselves and ask, am I dreaming?

And this is only after it is determined that there is someone else in first place.

When Zhao Shouzheng raised his head, Emperor Longqing took a closer look at this evil deed that had taken away his sister's soul.

The man had sharp eyebrows, a nose like a hanging gallbladder, and a pair of big, bright eyes, but he was not aggressive at all, instead he gave people a gentle feeling. His neatly trimmed lip mustache added a bit of mature man's charm to him.

'He has a good appearance...' Although he looked at this guy with a very critical eye, Longqing had to admit that he was much more handsome than his dead brother-in-law.

After expressing his gratitude, Zhao Shouzheng was led to the platform and stood there.

Zhang Juzheng was ranked second again.

"Wang Dingjue, the second in the first class!"

The officials from the Honglu Temple repeated the same thing twice, and then put on a red flower in their hair, went up to the Danbi and kowtowed to express their gratitude.

Next came Yu Shenxing, the third place in the first class. His name was also called out three times, and he came forward wearing a flower in his hair to express his gratitude.

Afterwards, only 'The first place in the second class, Hua Shuyang, and seventy-seven others' and 'The first place in the third class, Lu Weizheng, and three hundred and twenty-three others' are sung. The names of the two examiners are sung only once, and they are not introduced.

As for the other Jinshi, they were all in the "waiting" line and could not even sing their names, let alone come out and perform the ceremony individually.

When Zhang Juzheng finished singing, the top three candidates on the platform once again kowtowed to thank the emperor for his grace, and the other Jinshi outside the hall thanked him again. Then the emperor returned to the palace to the sound of his exclusive exit music.

Afterwards, the Minister of Rites Gao Yi held the golden list on a cloud disk and led the way through the Huangji Gate and the Wumen Gate with umbrellas, drums and music. All the Jinshi scholars, princes and officials followed the list and went out until it was hung outside the Chang'an Zuomen Gate.

In front of them, the palace gates were all opened. The official from the Honglu Temple led the three top candidates to the final imperial road and sang to them with an extremely envious tone:

"The top three will leave the palace through the middle gate!"

ps. Third update, please give me monthly votes and recommendation votes~~~