The man who was being pulled away looked completely bewildered; he had never even heard of Changfeng Village.
However, he still said, "Congratulations!"
Zhao Tingzhang was as excited as if his own son had passed the imperial examination and become a scholar; tears were about to fall. If it weren't for the crowd blocking his way, he would have wanted to go up and hug Zhao Yan tightly.
Zhao Tingzhang followed behind eagerly, shouting, "Zhao Yan, Yan'er!"
The noise of the gongs and drums was so loud that it completely drowned out his voice. Zhao, the village head, had no choice but to follow behind and return to the government office.
As a county magistrate, Magistrate Liu was naturally very proud that a scholar had emerged from his jurisdiction!
Besides, he had long heard that Zhao Yan was quite literate. If he were to pass the imperial examinations and become a Juren or Jinshi, his official career might even surpass that of him, a mere county magistrate.
If Magistrate Liu doesn't cultivate good relations now, when will he ever get around to it?
Zhao Yan rode his horse to the entrance of the government office and carefully dismounted. It was his first time riding a horse, and he was so nervous that his clothes were soaked with sweat.
If it weren't for the large red silk cloth covering his chest, he would have been humiliated.
Magistrate Liu was already waiting at the entrance of the government office. Zhao Yan stepped forward and respectfully bowed to Magistrate Liu.
"My name is Zhao Yan, and I pay my respects to Magistrate Liu."
Magistrate Liu sent his advisor, Zhang, to quickly offer Zhao Yan a helping hand.
"Excellent, excellent! Our Changning County has produced a scholar after so many years! Guards, reward him."
As soon as Magistrate Liu spoke, a servant named Xiaoya quickly brought up a plate.
When the red silk cloth was lifted, it revealed snowflake-shaped silver inside, roughly estimated to be around fifty taels.
"This is Magistrate Liu's heartfelt wish. From now on, if anyone in Changning County passes the imperial examination and becomes a scholar, they will all receive a reward of fifty taels of silver!"
These words were spoken to the onlookers.
Sure enough, the people underground were very happy. Those with children in school will probably have to push them even harder when they get home.
Fifty taels of silver! That's enough for an ordinary family to live on for more than ten years!
"Thank you, Magistrate!" Zhao Yan was also very excited, his eyes were red.
That's wonderful! With the money, his parents won't have to suffer anymore. They can pay off all their debts and live a more comfortable life.
"Yan'er, I'm your Uncle Zhao!" When the crowd finally quieted down a bit, Zhao Tingzhang called out to Zhao Yan again.
This time, Zhao Yan heard it.
Not only Zhao Yan heard it, but Magistrate Liu's gaze also fell on Zhao Tingzhang.
"Uncle Zhao, you've come to the county too?" Zhao Yan stepped forward and greeted him.
“Oh, oh… your mother would be so happy if she knew how successful you are,” said Zhao Tingzhang.
“Uncle Zhao, let’s go back together. There’s a carriage here, you can come with me.” Zhao Yan pointed to the carriage behind him, which was indeed an open-air carriage.
It was a gift from the governor to him when he was in Quanzhou, and he was given the job of carrying his luggage.
However, Zhao Yan didn't have much luggage, and there was still a lot of space in the carriage.
"Alright, then I'll wait here for a while." Zhao, the pavilion chief, gripped his pipe tightly. He wouldn't dare to smoke so boldly in front of the government office.
The crowd of onlookers gradually dispersed, and Zhao Yan still needed to return to Bailu Academy. Having passed the imperial examination, he naturally wanted to thank the academy and his teachers who had nurtured him.
Zhao Tingzhang sat in the open-air carriage and swayed all the way to the entrance of Bailu Academy.
Although he had been to the city many times, this was the first time he had come to such a sacred place for studying.
For some reason, looking at such a sacred academy, Zhao Tingzhang felt an overwhelming sense of awe. He secretly vowed that when he had a grandson, he would also cultivate his love of reading from a young age.
No, the other children in the village also need to go to school.
If their village produced more scholars like Zhao Yan, that would be truly prestigious and impressive.
Zhao Yan didn't come out of the academy for quite some time. Almost all the students in the academy knew that he had passed the imperial examination and become a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the lowest level of the imperial examinations). Scholar Shang also said that once he had settled his family, the academy would hold a grand welcoming ceremony for him in the county.
It's similar to a modern awards ceremony, rewarding students who excel in their studies and encouraging other students in the college to strive for excellence.
"Uncle Zhao, let's go home." Zhao Yan had changed into his usual clothes, and he had also taken off the big red silk flower on his chest and put it in his hand.
The procession, accompanied by gongs and drums, escorted him to the entrance of Bailu Academy before returning home. They had come all the way from Quanzhou on the orders of the Governor-General.
Now that the matter has been settled, we naturally dare not delay any longer.
Zhao Yan and Zhao Tingzhang were just immersed in joy, but now they are about to face a thorny problem.
This carriage was a gift from the Governor of Quanzhou, and the Governor had sent people to drive it all the way here. Now that the people are gone, neither of them knows how to drive.
The two looked at each other.
"Hey, I just saw you riding a horse. Why don't you give it a try?" Zhao, the pavilion chief, asked tentatively.
Zhao Yan's forehead was covered in sweat. "Although I was riding a horse just now, the horse was led by a yamen runner."
After recalling for a moment, Zhao Tingzhang realized that... that was indeed the case.
Good heavens, what are we going to do? He's never driven a horse-drawn carriage before; he'd be better off driving an oxcart.
However, he wondered if the method of driving an oxcart was the same as that of driving a horse-drawn carriage. Thinking about it, Zhao Tingzhang was actually quite interested in giving it a try.
He nervously rubbed his hands together. "Well, I've only ever driven oxcarts before. If you don't mind, I'd like to give it a try?"
Zhao Yan nodded, "But let's go outside the city to catch the carriage. There are too many people here, and it would be bad if we accidentally hurt someone."
So the two of them carefully pulled on the horse's reins, and with great effort, they finally managed to lead the chestnut horse out of the city.
Once outside the city, the number of pedestrians indeed decreased.
The two found an open space, and Zhao, the pavilion chief, sat in the carriage, hesitatingly weighing the rope in his hand.
"Get in the car, Yan'er, we're leaving."
With a mix of trepidation and excitement, Zhao Yan slowly got into the car.
Mustering his courage, Zhao Tingzhang yanked the reins and shouted, "Giddy up!"
The carriage sped off with great force, almost throwing both of them off.
Zhao Yan clutched his luggage tightly, gripping the carriage frame with both hands, his heart pounding as he said, "Uncle...slow down, slow down..."
He felt like throwing up the food he had just eaten.
In just a short while, Zhao Tingzhang was so anxious that sweat beaded on his forehead.
He gripped the reins tightly with both hands. Slow down? How slow? He didn't know how...
The horse was taller than both of them and had tremendous strength.
After fumbling around for a while, Zhao, the pavilion chief, pulled hard on the reins with both hands, almost lying down backward.
"Brother Ma, Brother Ma... slow down, don't tire yourself out."
It took a lot of effort for the carriage to gradually become stable.
Both of them were deathly pale, and Zhao Yan's newly changed clothes were soaked through again.
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