The beloved baby has a space

Chapter 543 Sending the Imperial Edict

The sound of gongs and drums echoed all the way from the prefectural government office to the prince's mansion, attracting many onlookers.

"Why is the Wang family making such a fuss again? Has someone in their family passed the imperial examination again?"

"Speaking of which, this Prince's Mansion is really strange. Last year, their lord, who was a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination), passed the Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examination) examination and was supposed to go to the capital to be appointed to an official position, but he insisted on turning it down."

"Oh, how come I've heard of that?"

The prefectural city has never lacked wealthy families or scholarly families. Among the twenty-two prefectures and thirty-six major cities of Dachang, Wangbei Prefecture ranks among the top five, and the prefectural city is the best of the entire prefecture.

But the Wang family's fame in the prefectural city stemmed from last August, when the Wang family's only scholar, who had passed the imperial examination, returned to the prefectural city looking dejected. Everyone who saw him said that the scholar must have failed the imperial examination and had not obtained the Jinshi degree.

But soon after, everyone heard that the scholar had passed the imperial examination and become a Jinshi!

Wang Chuangui went to Wanning City full of confidence, thinking to himself that he was definitely not as good as those outstanding students who had studied hard for more than ten years. Even if he could not get into the top three, getting into the second place would be good.

Unexpectedly, after the results were announced, he only got a third-class Jinshi degree, and he was two or three places short of the required number, so he failed the exam!
Wang Chuangui was deeply affected, and even the comforting words of Madam Ma and the new page who had been specially bought for him were of no use.

He imagined his mother rolling her eyes at him when he returned to the prefectural city, saying, "I knew you were useless, but I didn't expect you to be this useless. You only got a third-class degree and you still have the nerve to come back to see me? Your face is as thin as a city wall!"

Those who passed the second-class examination could be immediately appointed as officials, usually as seventh-rank county magistrates, which was better than the ninth-rank fake county magistrates who were bought with money, but it was also more difficult to climb the ranks.

It's difficult, but not impossible. If you grit your teeth and work hard, it's possible to climb to the fourth rank.

However, if one only ranks in the top three, then one's career path in this life can only reach the sixth rank at most, or at most the fifth rank.

How can I then ask my mother for an imperial title?

Not only that, he also wanted to find a title for Tao Niang, since his wife had been by his side for so many years and had worked so hard, and he wanted to give her a real token of his gratitude.

The title of "Lady of the Imperial Decree" is far more substantial than any sweet words.

But he failed the exam!
"I'll go ask if I can retake the exam." That evening, Wang Chuangui left home with red eyes.

The next day, the students of Wanning City discovered that the original list of successful candidates had changed, and one person's name had been removed.

Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that a person born into a poor family had voluntarily given up his chance to obtain the degree and requested to retake the exam three years later.

Dissatisfied with his ranking, he gave up the imperial examination and became the first person in history to do so!
It should be noted that the difficulty of the imperial examinations only increases every year, and the number of candidates never decreases. There are several thousand candidates from all the prefectures who go to Wanning City.

These thousands of people are all outstanding individuals from their respective regions, including many exceptional talents, yet only the top 200 will be selected.

Passing the exam is a matter of both ability and luck.

When Wang Chuangui returned home, he told his grandmother about it. He thought he would be scolded, but to his surprise, his grandmother even smiled.

"Well, he's not hopeless yet." The speaker made no mention of Wang Chuangui's decision to drop out of the exam.

Wang Chuangui was inexplicably praised (though he thought it was a compliment), and he was completely bewildered. He ran to share it with Ma Shi and then went to ask Old Wang.

"Dad, is Mom placing high hopes on me again? Does she also believe that I can still get a top-three ranking in three years?"

At this moment, Old Wang was inside the house, with a huge stone on the table, and he was hammering and banging it.

Upon hearing this, he didn't even look up: "No, it's just that if you bring back a rank at the very bottom of the third class, your mother might remove you from the household register."

Wang Chuangui's smile froze: "...It's not that serious, is it?"

"So embarrassing."

If he abandons his official career, people will at most laugh at him for being foolish; but if he returns with his official career, they will laugh at the entire Wang family for being so pathetic.

The old lady couldn't stand it. Wang Chuangui: "..."

On another note, a group of people arrived at the gate of the Prince's Mansion with gongs and drums, but the reclusive Wang Chuangui didn't hear a thing.

Wang Erlang and Jiang Wujing, who stayed at home, went outside first and saw someone carrying a large object covered with a red cloth.

The thing was incredibly tall, and there was more than one of them; a huge group of people were carrying similar things.

Wang Erlang looked completely bewildered: "What is this?"

The person at the front was beaming from ear to ear: "Congratulations, congratulations to the Prince's Mansion!"

Wang Erlang hurriedly asked, "May I ask what brings you this joy?"

"Do you still have any elders in your family?" The man didn't answer, but instead asked in return.

"Yes, Your Excellency, please wait a moment. I will go and call my grandmother right away." Jiang Wujing recognized the badge on the man's body and knew that he held an official position. She immediately turned back into the house to call Old Madam Wang and the others.

A large crowd had gathered at the entrance of the Prince's Mansion, all eager to see what was going on.

When Old Madam Wang and the others arrived, she only glanced at them before turning to Wang Silang, who was standing guard to the side, and said, "Have your father come out and set up the incense table."

Wang Chuangui naturally learned various etiquettes at the academy. When he heard that an incense table was to be set up, he knew it was no small matter, so he hurried to tidy it up.

After giving Wang Chuangui his instructions, Old Madam Wang then asked Jiang Wujing and Zhou Chuchu to prepare the red envelopes.

The family had prepared some, but the old lady specifically instructed that we should naturally make an extra large one.

Jiang Wujing is currently the most knowledgeable person in the family, and knows which grade of red seal is best, while Zhou Chuchu knows what is more affluent. The two of them are naturally a better match.

Seeing how sensible the Wang family was, the leader thought to himself: They are a family with good judgment; no wonder they can raise such an outstanding child.

After everyone was ready, the leader stood at the main gate of the Prince's Mansion, clasped his hands, and said: "By imperial decree of Emperor Minghua: In the face of the Dongyue City disaster, we have suffered misfortune. The four virtuous sons of the Wang family, Wang Zilang, Wang Zizhao, Wang Zilan, and Wang Ruyu, were quick-witted and wise, and remained calm in the face of danger... They have rendered meritorious service in eliminating the chaos. Therefore, we hereby bestow upon them a 'Loyal and Brave' memorial archway, a pair of jade ruyi scepters, a tree of blood coral, and a letter of imperial decree... to illuminating future generations. This is the imperial decree!"

Old Mrs. Wang did not kneel down, but stepped forward to receive the envelope and also slipped a large red envelope to the man.

The man held the thick red envelope in his hand, a smile playing on his lips, and didn't bother with the old woman's lack of manners.

After the imperial edict was read, the crowd tore off the red cloth and discovered that it was indeed the top structure of the archway.

It's made entirely of stone!

All that's needed is to build a base underneath, and it can be used directly.

But everyone was stumped: "Where should we put this archway?"

Grandma Wang pointed to a large open space outside the door and said, "Let's do it here."

"Grandma, but there are two other households on this street that don't belong to us. They're just taking over the street. Isn't that a bit inappropriate?"

Unexpectedly, the two families immediately jumped out and said, "Great, great, let's stand here!"

Another family said, "No, no, no, I think it's a bit cramped here. How about we tear down our front door and move it back a meter to make room?"

Everyone: "..."

The Wang family: "..."

Next chapter: Going Home
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(End of this chapter)