The Marquise: I Earn My Own Worship

The next day

Outside the Taiji Hall, officials from the Honglu Temple and Guanglu Temple arranged the canopy (bright yellow cloth) in advance and set up a yellow list case inside the hall.

As the Shaoqing of Guanglu Temple, Huang Jingtong was one of the persons in charge of the layout of the court hall. When he was inspecting the yellow list and the clothes of the Jinshi candidates, he saw Duan Jingzong who had not appeared for a long time.

That's right, Duan Jingzong also held a sinecure, the head of the Honglu Temple, which was responsible for writing and copying notes.

In the past, Duan Jingzong would never show up, and would only occasionally wander around the government office. After all, everyone knew that he was just holding a sinecure and was dispensable.

Therefore, this was the first time that Huang Jingtong saw Duan Jingzong in the court. He couldn't help but feel curious and walked towards that side.

Duan Jingzong also met Huang Jingtong, and the two greeted each other.

"Brother Zong, what are you doing?"

Huang Jingtong looked at the pen in Duan Jingzong's hand, somewhat confused.

Duan Jingzong smiled faintly and said, "I've been feeling better recently. A few days ago, Brother Zhiyang said he was looking for someone to take charge of the Yellow List nominations, so I contacted him. He's currently compiling the list of the second and third place Jinshi candidates."

Huang Jingtong finally understood that the Brother Zhiyang that Duan Jingzong mentioned was Zhen Zhiyang, the Langzhong of the Ministry of Rites who was mainly in charge of the clerical section and was also Duan Jingzong's immediate superior.

Huang Jingtong had other things to do, so he only carefully reminded Duan Jingzong to send someone to find him if he felt unwell. Duan Jingzong continued with the nominations only after he sent him away.

Duan Jingzong had almost finished writing the names of the second-place finishers, but hadn't seen his fourth brother's name yet. He felt a sinking feeling in his heart, thinking that his ranking would be after the third-place finishers.

I secretly took a deep breath and comforted myself.

It’s okay, as long as you have the title of Jinshi, you can use your connections to get a better job.

But the names of the top three were all written down, and Duan Jing'an's name was still not there.

Duan Jingzong's heart sank to the bottom. He had heard in the past that some people's articles were not liked by the emperor and were not given any rankings. Could it be that their family was so unlucky?

As for the top three in the first class and the first in the second class, Duan Jingzong never even thought about it. It was not that he didn't want to, but that he didn't dare to think about it.

At this time, the left and right prime ministers, as well as the four examiners, the Minister of Punishment and the Minister of Revenue, all came to the Taiji Hall. The supervisor opened the test papers of the three people in the first class and the first place in the second class determined yesterday.

The Emperor of Chu had already sat on the dragon throne, and everyone held their breath and waited.

First Class Scholar: Xie Qingyang from Beiyang Yuzhang

First-class runner-up: Pu Mingdan from Luohe, Dongyang

First Class and Third Place: Liu Huaian from Yuanning, Xiyang

And the second-class ranking: Duan Jing'an from Jiangping, Dongyang

The official in charge of ceremonies and the official in charge of imperial decrees wrote the names and hometowns of the four top-ranked scholars on a piece of yellow paper and handed it to the nominating official, Duan Jingzong, who filled in the yellow list with the information of the second and third places and wrote the announcement.

Duan Jingzong was shocked because he looked at the name list carefully again. His youngest brother's name was not among the second and third place. Either he was crossed out, or... This thought kept spinning in Duan Jingzong's mind, and he didn't dare to think about it too deeply.

It was not until he got the yellow paper with the first and second place names written on it that Duan Jingzong's heart started beating wildly. For a moment he was motionless, his eyes fixed on the familiar name on the paper.

Duan Jing'an was ranked second in the list.

He! He really wasn't mistaken. Duan Jing'an from Dongyang Anping was his youngest brother.

Smoke is coming out of the Duan family's ancestral tomb, as their family has produced a Jinshi who ranks first in the second class of the imperial examination.

Seeing that Duan Jingzong had not made any move, the people nearby quickly and calmly pushed him.

"Why are you standing there? Write quickly. The time for the imperial examination will soon be up. Don't waste time."

Duan Jingzong reacted quickly, thanked him quickly, and began to write down the names of several people stroke by stroke.

When it came to Duan Jing'an, Duan Jingzong was particularly solemn. The reason why he asked his good friend to serve as the nominating officer was for this moment. He thought that even if he would be unknown in the future, at this moment Duan Bo's Mansion would be back in the eyes of the court again.

Soon the ceremony of announcing the results of the imperial examinations officially began. These newly admitted Jinshi gentlemen changed into the Jinshi outer robes prepared for them. Everyone's clothes were similar, with only the top three in the first class and the second class having slight differences in details.

At this time, a drum sound accompanied by the sound of seal music rang out, and a solemn and strong guard waved his whip three times and hit the stone seal.

After everyone knelt three times and kowtowed nine times, the chief official of the Honglu Temple began to announce: "On April 27th, the 17th year of Mingde, the imperial examination was held for the tribute candidates of the whole country. The first class was awarded the title of Jinshi Jidi, the second class was awarded the title of Jinshi Chuan, and the third class was awarded the title of Tong Jinshi Chuan."

"First Class, First Place, Beiyang Yuzhang Xie Qingyang"

"First Class, First Place, Beiyang Yuzhang Xie Qingyang"

......

"First Class, First Place, Beiyang Yuzhang Xie Qingyang"

The announcement of the first-class scholar was passed down from the main hall by officials one by one, until the last official finished reading and led the number one scholar Xie Qingyang out of the queue and knelt on the left side of the Huagai Imperial Road.

Then:

"First Class Second Place: Pu Mingdan from Luohe, Dongyang"

.......

"First Class Second Place: Pu Mingdan from Luohe, Dongyang"

The last person to be sung at this time was the number one scholar Xie Qingyang who had just knelt on the left. Xie Qingyang handed the name card of the runner-up to Pu Mingdan. Pu Mingdan took his name card and knelt on the right side of the imperial road.

Next came the third place winner Liu Huaian. It was the same as before. Pu Mingdan finished singing at the end, handed over the third place winner’s name card, and knelt on the left side of the imperial road.

As time went by, the heartbeats of the tribute candidates became faster and faster, and tension spread.

After all, the top three in the first class have been announced, but the more critical question at this moment is who will take the top spot in the second class?

These candidates knew very well that the top three in the first class were all from various counties and prefectures. They were all famous talents, and all of them were the top scorers in their respective counties and prefectures.

This means that they are not only talented, but also the best who have emerged from layers of selection.

Everyone couldn't help but secretly wonder who would take the top spot in the second class, which was just after the first class.

"The second-place winners, including Duan Jing'an of Jiangping, Dongyang, and others, were granted the title of Jinshi, and the third-place winners, including Zou Yongqi of Shuzhou, Xiyang, and others, were granted the title of Tong Jinshi."

The imperial edict was handed by the officials to Duan Jing'an, who then read out the names of the second and third class Jinshi scholars.

Duan Jing'an felt a little dizzy at this time. He took the list of successful candidates in a daze and began to read out the names of the people on it. By the time he finished reading, Duan Jing'an's throat was a little dry.

But he became much more awake. After waking up, Duan Jing'an was shaking with excitement. He was actually the first in the second class.

God bless you, he has brought honor to the Duan family.

Unlike Duan Jing'an's excitement, many people were inexplicably curious about who Duan Jing'an was from Jiangping County, Dongyang. They had no impression of him and had never heard anyone mention him.

They all have an impression of the outstanding tribute scholars every year, but they have never heard of Duan Jing'an, so he must be a not very outstanding person.

This person was extremely lucky, he managed to surpass so many county champions and get the first place in the second class.

All eyes were on Duan Jingan.

After the singing ended, everyone knelt down to express their gratitude. After the ceremony, the scholars were led in a parade. The top three scholars rode on horses in the front, followed by Duan Jing'an.

As Duan Jing'an paraded through the streets, his heart was still restless. He kept thinking back to the scene at the imperial examination. He desperately wanted to return home immediately to tell his mother the good news. His mother had always held great expectations for him. He wondered if she knew now, if she would be proud of him. And his aunt...

I was wandering in my mind when suddenly...