Chapter 173 [VIP]
"Boom..." Dark clouds surged and thunder roared as candidates in the Kyoto Examination Hall were making their final checks.
The nine-day imperial examination was a huge test for everyone. The chief examiner, Yan Song, the Minister of Rites, sat upright in his chair, looked up at the weather outside, and frowned slightly.
"What time is it?"
"Reporting to Your Excellency, it is already past 9 AM. We should be collecting the scrolls in two more hours."
The last day was tough for the candidates, and the examiners were no exception. As long as they could get through this day, the exam would be over.
Lord Yan stood up, stretched his limbs, and walked to the door with his hands behind his back. A fine drizzle was falling gently. Looking at the candidates writing furiously, he wondered which one would come out on top this year.
Chen Qingyan has finished answering the questions and is making the final copy. As expected, the last question in this year's imperial examination closely follows current events: The Qiang and Turks have repeatedly invaded the border and harassed the people. Now, if we want to achieve long-term peace and stability, what strategy should we use to deal with them?
Before the exam, he discussed this topic with Qinghuai and Changyi, and the three of them expressed their own opinions.
Chen Qingyan then wrote a lengthy policy essay outlining his proposed methods, such as using war to stop conflict, consolidating the foundation and guarding the strategic points, sowing discord and dividing power, and using barbarians to control barbarians.
With only a few words left to write, and a gong sounded, all the candidates put down their pens, sat upright on their stools, and waited for the examiners to collect their papers.
Because of the bad weather, four or five people carefully packed the scrolls into a box with oiled paper umbrellas to prevent them from getting wet, and then a special person escorted them to the Ministry of Rites for review.
After the exam, the candidates lined up and walked out of the examination hall one after another.
When Chen Qingyan came out, he saw that Qinghuai and Changyi had already come out and were standing next to the carriage waiting for him.
"Big brother."
How did the exam go?
Chen Qinghuai said, "It feels alright."
What about Changyi?
"It's definitely better than the provincial examination." Last time, Liu Changyi didn't get much rest during the provincial examination and fainted as soon as he left the examination hall. This time, there were fewer people around, he slept well, and his energy was much higher, so he naturally answered the questions much better than in the provincial examination.
The results of the provincial examination will be available in five days. Those who pass will have to participate in the palace examination, so the three of them need to rest and recuperate in the next few days.
After returning to the Liu family, Chen Qingyan took a bath, changed into clean clothes, and went to the experimental field to write a note to Wang Ying, telling him that he had finished the provincial examination and felt that he had done quite well. He would participate in the palace examination after the results were released in five days.
Wang Ying only saw the note at night; she had been so busy with the house these past few days that she had almost forgotten about the imperial examination.
After reading the note, he picked up his pen and wrote a message next to it: "Take a good rest after the provincial examination. Don't be nervous during the palace examination. I hope you will pass with flying colors."
After writing the note, Wang Ying took out another booklet containing the property deeds for Zhenghe Street.
In the past few days, a number of people from the West Gate have been arriving in Jizhou Prefecture. Ordinary people cannot enter the city without travel permits and documents, so most of these people have taken detours to various towns and villages to escape the disaster.
Merchants are different; they travel all over the country doing business, and they usually have travel permits and money from various places in their hands, so it is easy for them to enter Jizhou Prefecture.
As more and more people move to the city, the demand for housing is also rising.
All the inns in the city were fully booked, and the price of dormitory beds had risen to fifty coins a day. It was unknown how long this war would last, and staying in inns for a long time was not an option. Many merchants began to buy or rent houses in Jizhou.
I heard that a two-courtyard house on Zhengtong Street sold for more than six thousand taels of silver! That's more than double the original price.
Property prices on Zhengyang Street have also risen. The apartment that Wang Ying used to rent, which originally cost 180 taels of silver a year, has now increased to 400 taels.
But the wealthy are a minority, and small merchants, unwilling to spend hundreds of strings of cash to rent a house, are looking for a place to live on Zhenghe Street.
The house that Wang Ying had recently acquired has seen its rent increase dramatically, tripling from ten taels of silver a year to thirty taels a year.
That's not all. If someone wanted to buy a small courtyard house that originally cost eighty taels of silver, it could now be sold for two or three hundred taels of silver, more than doubling in value in the blink of an eye!
Wang Ying didn't sell the house; instead, she tried renting out a few rooms first, planning to sell it later when prices rose.
*
The results of the imperial examinations were released on the third day of the third lunar month.
The weather wasn't very good this year. It started to drizzle early in the morning, and the three of them walked towards the Ministry of Rites early with their umbrellas. The spring rain was fine and gentle, sprinkling on the umbrellas and making a pattering sound.
"I don't know if I can pass the exam." Liu Changyi was a little uneasy. Only the top 150 people were selected for the provincial examination. Based on his previous provincial examination results, he was very likely to fail.
Chen Qinghuai said, "Don't think about it too much. The exam is over anyway. We have to accept the result no matter what it is."
"Yes, it's already quite an achievement that I was able to pass the imperial examination and become a Juren. Many scholars never manage to pass it in their entire lives."
Liu Changyi was content with his lot. He didn't have much ambition or aspirations. He was spoiled by his family from a young age, and the only hardship he ever experienced was probably the hardship of studying.
It doesn't matter if I fail the imperial examination. I can go back to Jizhou and have my parents use their connections to arrange a minor official position for me. I can stay by my wife and children's side and live a simple and peaceful life.
There were quite a few people looking at the list today. Besides the recent graduates, there were also many people just there to watch the excitement. Everyone was eagerly waiting for the list to be posted.
Around 7:00 AM, the official in charge of posting the red notices arrived, and everyone automatically dispersed to let the official go in and post the notices.
As the red cloth slowly descended, Chen Qingyan's pupils instantly contracted. First place: Huang Yuanzhou... Second place: Chen Qingyan from Jizhou Prefecture!
"Big brother is second place! You got second place!" Chen Qinghuai and Liu Changyi jumped up excitedly, attracting the attention of onlookers.
Chen Qingyan took a deep breath, suppressing his excitement, and said, "Okay, you two keep your voices down."
After the initial excitement, the two quickly looked for their names. Chen Qinghuai looked forward, while Liu Changyi looked backward. He hadn't performed well in the provincial examination and had ranked last, so he thought that even if he passed the metropolitan examination, his ranking wouldn't be very high.
Chen Qinghuai found himself in eleventh place, a full ten places higher than when he took the provincial examination!
Don't underestimate these ten people. If they don't perform poorly in the palace examination, their ranking will remain unchanged. Only the top three in the first class and the top ten in the second class can enter the Hanlin Academy.
The Hanlin Academy was also known as a place for cultivating talent and storing up prospects. Only those who entered the Hanlin Academy would have the opportunity to stay in the capital and serve as officials in the future.
Take my fourth uncle, Chen Jing, for example. Although he passed the imperial examination with a second-class degree, he did not enter the Hanlin Academy. Over the years, he served as an official in various places, and even though his political achievements were outstanding, he could not enter the capital.
Chen Jing had high expectations for his son, hoping that he could pass the imperial examination and stay in the capital. Chen Qinghuai lived up to expectations and finally achieved a good result this time.
Chen Qinghuai burst into tears of joy. Chen Qingyan patted him on the shoulder and said, "You did really well on the exam this time. Write a letter to your fourth uncle when you get back and tell them."
"Um."
Liu Changyi, who was next to him, hadn't found his name yet. He scratched his head and counted backwards one by one, but he had already counted to more than fifty names and still couldn't find his own.
"No way... Could it be that I wrote too badly and failed the exam?" Even though I was prepared, I still found it hard to accept.
Undeterred, he searched again and finally found his name in the seventy-second place. "I won! Big brother, Huai-di, I won!"
How many?
"Seventy-two!"
Chen Qingyan took a closer look and indeed saw that it was ranked seventy-second. "You did really well on the exam!"
Liu Changyi was overjoyed. If this ranking were followed, as long as he performed normally in the palace examination, he would be guaranteed a second-class spot!
It's important to know that there's a big difference between the second and third rank. Normally, the second rank graduates can be directly appointed to official posts outside the capital, while the third rank graduates who are also Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) only have the opportunity to fill vacancies.
"I must hurry back and write a letter to my wife and parents!"
"Let's go back and write a letter!" The three of them got into the carriage with smiles on their faces.
When they returned to the Liu family, they happened to run into Liu Yao, who was returning from court. He stopped the three of them and asked about their examination results.
Needless to say, Chen Qingyan and Chen Qinghuai are both very capable. I didn't expect my nephew to perform so well and actually make it into the top 100.
"Study hard for the palace examination." After saying that, he hurriedly went to his study.
Everyone has noticed how busy he's been lately. Every day after court, his house is flooded with visitors, all discussing the war situation in the Northwest. Sometimes the noise can be heard from a great distance.
The three of them were unable to share his burden, so they had to return to their rooms to rest and prepare for the palace examination the next day.
*
The next morning, before dawn, Chen Qingyan got up early. Today was the day of the palace examination, and they needed to gather at the palace gate at 3:45 AM.
The three of them boarded the Liu family's carriage and headed north toward the imperial palace. Along the way, they could see many tribute students heading there.
When they arrived at the palace gate, the three of them got off the carriage. The chilly spring air made them shiver.
Because the imperial examination lasted a long time, everyone was afraid to eat or drink anything in order to avoid any accidents. It would be a serious crime to break the rules during the examination.
"Qinghuai, over here!" Cai Jingqi waved to the group from a short distance away.
The three of them walked over; these people were all students from Laizhou.
"I knew you'd all pass the exam!"
Chen Qinghuai smiled and said, "Brother Jingqi also performed well this time. I saw that he ranked thirteenth when the results were released yesterday."
"No, no, I'm far inferior to Brother Qingyan."
Chen Qingyan ranked third in the provincial examination, which caused a stir in many schools at the time, because he was previously unknown and only had a little reputation in Jizhou. Unexpectedly, he was able to surpass a group of talented people and enter the top three.
He performed exceptionally well in this imperial examination, ranking second, which made many people curious to see who he was.
After a brief reminiscing, everyone lined up in order of their examination rankings, with Chen Qingyan, who came in second, standing alongside Huang Yuanzhou, who came in first.
Both were young talents with handsome features, and their blue scholar's robes and hats made them even more dashing.
At 1:15 AM, roll call began, and palace officials, carrying lanterns, led them into the palace through a side gate to learn etiquette.
The palace was pitch black, illuminated only by a few palace lanterns, and shrouded by high walls, it had an air of mystery.
Passing through the palace gate, the group of people lowered their heads and followed the palace servants silently toward the outer hall. No one dared to speak; only the clatter of footsteps could be heard.
Those who have reached this position are not fools; if they offend someone important, they might be in deep trouble.
The palace staff stopped outside the Wuyang Hall and said, “Please wait here for a moment, scholars. An official will teach you the proper etiquette for meeting the Emperor.”
Everyone bowed and clasped their hands in greeting. The palace attendants returned the greeting and left. Only the more than one hundred candidates remained in the large courtyard. They dared not move around freely, and stood still, stamping their feet to keep warm, waiting for the master of ceremonies to come over.
At the end of the Yin hour, as the sky began to lighten, the etiquette officer arrived. This man was the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites, and he taught everyone how to kneel and pay homage to the Emperor upon entering the palace, as well as various other etiquette practices. Everyone studied diligently and dared not slack off in the slightest, continuing until the third quarter of the Chen hour.
The Chamberlain told them to rest for a while and wait to enter the main hall for the examination.
Chen Qingyan wiped the sweat from his forehead, looked at the sun slowly rising outside the window, his body trembling slightly with excitement. He would soon be able to see the current emperor!
A note from the author:
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