Ming Dynasty: I, Yan Maoqing, am truly radiating auspicious energy!

Chapter 9 The Ceremony of Proclaiming the Ranks

The ceremony of announcing the results of the imperial examinations was held as scheduled early the next morning.

Yan Maoqing and a group of newly appointed scholars entered the palace together. After the officials read out the rules and regulations, they were led to wait outside the Hall of Literary Glory.

Soon, civil and military officials dressed in various court robes arrived. Led by officials from the Court of State Ceremonial, they performed the ritual of five bows and three kowtows before entering the hall together.

Then the "Chapter of Saint An" began to play, and Emperor Jiajing, Zhu Houcong, ascended the throne.

Throughout the entire process, Yan Maoqing and the other newly appointed scholars were complete outsiders, not even qualified to enter the Hall of Literary Glory, let alone have the honor of seeing the face of the true dragon emperor.

About half an hour passed in this way.

After the elaborate and ceremonial process was completed inside the Hall of Literary Glory, the names and hometowns of the three top scholars were filled in on the yellow list.

With the crack of three whips and the sound of "Qingping Chapter," the most important part of the imperial examination, the announcement of names, officially began, with the officials in charge leading the newly appointed scholars into the hall.

After three kneelings and nine kowtows, the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial, standing on one side of the steps, finally began to loudly proclaim the imperial edict:
"On the nineteenth day of the third month of the twentieth year of the Jiajing reign, an examination was held for all the candidates from across the country. The first-ranked candidates were awarded the title of Jinshi Jidi, the second-ranked candidates were awarded the title of Jinshi Chushen, and the third-ranked candidates were awarded the title of Tong Jinshi Chushen..."

Standing in the crowd, Yan Maoqing listened to the rhythmic voices of the officials from the Court of State Ceremonial and looked at the newly appointed scholars around him who were both nervous and excited. He felt somewhat out of place.

If he has any expectations for today's announcement ceremony...

That was just a wish to see the true face of this "loyal and filial emperor" before retiring and returning to his hometown, and to compare him with the later Bao Guo teacher, otherwise he would always unconsciously identify with him.

As for the so-called top score in the palace examination, he already had the answer in his heart.

Even Yan Shifan kicked him out of the Yuzhang Guild Hall overnight, let alone the attitude of Xia Yan, Wang Tingxiang and other relatively upright examiners towards that answer sheet.

Therefore, Yan Maoqing was certain that even if he wasn't last in the top three, he would definitely be among the last few.

Unfortunately, even this one and only expectation in my heart could not be fulfilled today.

After entering the Hall of Literary Glory, he secretly glanced at the center of the steps and discovered that a gauze curtain was hanging directly in front of the dragon throne, with Emperor Jiajing, Zhu Houcong, still behind it, maintaining his aloof and mysterious aura.

Fortunately, there will be other opportunities later.

Today's announcement ceremony is not the end of the day; tomorrow there will be the Qionglin Banquet, and the day after tomorrow there will be the Thanksgiving Ceremony.

This ceremony of expressing gratitude required the top scholar to lead all the other scholars in presenting a memorial of thanks at the Fengtian Hall. It was the first time that the newly appointed scholars had submitted a memorial, and the Jiajing Emperor would have to show his face to receive it to show his respect and favor. How could he possibly run away?

Oh, right.

It is said that during the ceremony of expressing gratitude, the emperor would also bestow five taels of silver upon each newly appointed scholar, and this reward would be paid in full...

Just as he was thinking this, the officials of the Court of State Ceremonial finally began to call out the names:
"The first place in the first class, a tribute student from Huai'an Prefecture, Southern Zhili, is Shen Kun."

As soon as the name of the top scholar was announced, although the Hall of Literary Glory remained quiet, Yan Maoqing could still clearly feel the intense fluctuations in the atmosphere.

Almost everyone's eyes lit up instantly, and each person's expression was different; silence spoke volumes here.

Only Yan Maoqing remained calm.

He had long known that Shen Kun would become the top scholar in this imperial examination, and that he would become one of the most tragic top scholars in the entire Ming Dynasty.

"Shen Kun is here!"

Not far away, Shen Kun, with his fair complexion, was stunned for a moment before he reacted. Then, his voice trembled with excitement, and his eyes instantly filled with tears.

"Leave the class."

An official stepped forward and led him out of the crowd to the left side of the imperial road, where he knelt down to express his gratitude.

"Pan Sheng, the second-place winner of the first class, is a tribute student from Shaoxing Prefecture, Zhejiang Province."

"Pan Sheng is here!"

"Leave the class."

"Third place in the first class, Xing Yifeng, a tribute student from Yingtian Prefecture, Southern Zhili..."

According to Yan Maoqing, Pan Sheng and Xing Yifeng's official careers were much better than Shen Kun's, the top scholar. If he remembered correctly, Pan Sheng eventually rose to the position of Minister of Rites and Junior Guardian of the Heir Apparent, while Xing Yifeng also became the Vice Minister of the Court of Imperial Sacrifices.

However, none of this concerned him; he only hoped to see the true face of the Jiajing Emperor before retiring and returning to his hometown.

At this very moment, many people inside the hall were eagerly waiting to catch a glimpse of Yan Maoqing's true face. These people were almost all important officials from the cabinet and the six ministries, and they wanted to see if this wicked young man was truly as wicked as he seemed.

Some people even wanted to find a suitable opportunity to ask him face to face whether he had read all the classics and sages but never understood them.
However, there are exceptions.

For example, Guo Xun, the Duke of Yi.

He had not seen Yan Maoqing's examination papers, only his book "Xuan Po Cang Qiong".

Given that Yan Maoqing was able to pass the imperial examination with the eight-legged essay and write captivating stories, his literary talent was undoubtedly exceptional. Even though he was no longer a contender for the top three, Guo Xun believed that he could still easily achieve the second rank.

What's most commendable is that "Xuan Po Cang Qiong" also caters to the Emperor's concerns, making its future incredibly promising!
If we can win this person over and make good use of him, we can definitely further solidify his position in the emperor's heart. Last year, the alchemist Duan Chaoyong, whom he introduced to the emperor, had a remarkable effect.

Take Yan Song for example.

Yan Song didn't care at all about who Yan Maoqing had absorbed the classics from, and he had no interest in Yan Maoqing as a person.

He had already heard about what happened yesterday from Yan Shifan. Although he scolded Yan Shifan for his rash and impulsive actions, he didn't really take it to heart at all.

It's just expelling a Jinshi who ruined his own future. Even if he climbs up to Duke Guo Xun, what difference does it make?

With Xia Yan and his self-proclaimed upright officials obstructing them, not to mention Guo Xun, the Duke of Yi, even the current emperor might not be able to support him, and naturally he would never become a problem for the Yan family.

They're nothing but ants. Even if he holds a grudge, what can he do about it?
"..."

"The third place in the second class, a tribute student from Kaifeng Prefecture, Henan, Gao Gong..."

"Second place, fourth place..."

The naming ceremony is proceeding smoothly.

Starting from the second class, they no longer went out to express their gratitude individually like the first class. Instead, they were divided into groups of six and went out together in batches.

When it comes to the third grade, they will be divided into groups of twelve to go out together, and the level of importance is obviously different.

Yan Maoqing had some reservations about this rule.

However, it wasn't because of favoritism; in his view, the rule was perfectly fair.

Could we possibly reverse this and value the top three while belittling the top scholar? Wouldn't that be going against the natural order?

What he was really thinking was that if he were to go out alone, based on his understanding of Jiajing, he could probably come up with some little tips that wouldn't offend the Jiajing Emperor in this situation, but would still annoy him enough to prevent him from ever being employed again.

In this way, with two approaches working in tandem, his plan to retire and return to his hometown became even more secure.

However, if the group consists of twelve people, and there is a gauze curtain separating them from the Jiajing Emperor, making it impossible for him to accurately identify them, it certainly wouldn't be so easy to operate...

However, Yan Song and Xia Yan, the examiners who knew the number of candidates in the first, second, and third ranks of the imperial examinations very well, did not think so.

because……

A total of 298 scholars were admitted to this program.

Among them, there were 3 people in the first class, 90 people in the second class, and 205 people in the third class.

The second-level students were divided into groups of six, which made up 15 shifts.

If the top three students are grouped into 12 groups, after being divided into 17 batches, there will be exactly one person left over.

Isn't this a coincidence?

They didn't say who would be the last one left.

However, this was not something they did intentionally. It was simply the established rule for the ceremony of issuing decrees. How could the rules set by our ancestors be changed so easily?

They were simply happy to see it happen.

The top three scholars (first, second, and third place) would stand out from their class to express their gratitude; that was considered showing off.

Yan Maoqing, who came last in the top three, stood out alone to express his gratitude; this was an embarrassment.

This fiend possesses all five evils and deserves this calamity; it is the will of Heaven!

(End of this chapter)