The first time in history

More and more people gathered outside Xuande, and Xiaocui's petite body had been squeezed out of the crowd. She pouted and looked at these big men, and simply stood aside where there were fewer people.

"I can't read anyway, so even if I'm at the front, I wouldn't know whether the young master has won or not." Xiao Cui comforted herself.

At this moment, a row of soldiers came out of the palace gate. The leader shouted loudly: "Everyone, don't crowd. Step back five steps."

The row of soldiers stood in front of the imperial edict, creating a space for them. Soon, an official walked in front of the imperial edict, looked back at the still crowd, and slowly pulled down the yellow cloth.

Although Xiao Cui was illiterate, she jumped up and down to look at the yellow cloth.

"The second year of Jianyan." Xiao Cui heard someone reading the list aloud, "The first place in the top three of the imperial examination..." Xiao Cui was extremely nervous. "Lin'an Prefecture... Lü Zhengyi. Lü Zhengyi of Lin'an Prefecture is the top scorer in this year's imperial examination."

"Lü Zhengyi..."

"Is it Lu Zhengyi who has won two prizes in a row?"

"It's not just two wins in a row, it's three wins in a row..."

Xiao Cui turned around and left the crowd, "My son won again, this time he won three prizes in a row. My son won three prizes in a row."

Xiao Cui yelled all the way back to the inn. She took out the key, but her hands were shaking with excitement. The more anxious she was, the harder it was to open the door.

So Xiao Cui ran towards the main entrance of the inn, "My son won three prizes in a row. My son won three prizes in a row."

There were only the shopkeeper and a waiter in the deserted inn early in the morning. It was not until Xiao Cui ran into the backyard that the two men recovered from their surprise.

"Hurry up," the shopkeeper shouted, "Wake up those people who haven't gotten up yet, and tell them to clean up the snow outside. Sweep all the way to the street corner. Make sure there's not a drop of blood on the ground."

Xiao Cui ran to the gate of the other courtyard, only to find that the gate was locked from the inside. She stamped her feet and turned to run towards the small gate in the backyard.

"Miss Xiao Cui, why are you running around?" She bumped into the guy who came into the backyard to call for help. "You just ran in, why are you running out again?"

Xiao Cui didn't bother to talk to him, and ran to the small door panting. This time, after poking for a long time, she finally opened the door.

She knocked gently on the door of the east room, "Miss, Master. Are you up?"

"Get up." Li Shishi opened the door and looked at Xiao Cui who was excited. She had already guessed the result.

"Young Master is the top scholar, Young Master is the top scholar!" Xiao Cui said excitedly, "Young Master is the top scholar of this year's exam."

Qian Mingduo lay on the bed. Although this was expected, his heart was still beating wildly.

Ling'er also stood behind Xiao Cui. Li Shishi looked back at Qian Mingduo. She nodded to the two maids and led them to the bed. They all bowed to Qian Mingduo and said, "Congratulations, young master. Congratulations to the number one scholar."

Qian Mingduo stood up and asked, "What are you doing?"

"We need to dress up the number one scholar!" Li Shishi held Qian Mingduo's hand, "Hurry up and get dressed. Someone may come to announce the good news soon."

The gate creaked open, and the shopkeeper and his assistants walked to the door. They knelt down and saluted, ignoring the snow in the yard. "Congratulations to Mr. Lu for winning the first place in the imperial examination, and congratulations to Mr. Lu for winning the third place in the imperial examination."

Qian Mingduo walked to the door and said, "Thank you, shopkeeper and the young men." Li Shishi walked over slowly and handed Qian Mingduo a ten-liang silver ingot.