The journey of the only child of a peasant family to take the imperial examination

Chapter 436: Imperial Examination Results (Part 2)

Another classmate, Luo, said with disdain, "Tsk, you still want to be an official like this!"

Zhang Pingan knew that these two classmates had never gotten along well.

He smiled and tried to smooth things over, "It's almost time. We've been sitting here for so long!"

Green Bean Eyes stretched lazily, looked at the sky and said, "It's already bright daylight, it should be almost dawn!"

After saying that, he complained again: "Oh my god, I never knew there were so many people in Lin'an City!"

Hua Wanli was also shocked by the dense crowds of people on the street below, and agreed: "I've come to see the list before, but this time must be the most crowded!"

Classmate Luo ate some peanuts and glanced at it, saying casually, "It's nothing surprising. After all, things are different now. Lin'an's population has almost doubled."

As they were talking, they finally heard the sound of gongs and drums coming from a distance, and the pedestrians on the road moved aside to make way.

The results are about to be announced!

Everyone perked up and immediately sat up straight.

Even classmate Gu, who was going to the toilet, hurried upstairs and it was not known whether he went there or not.

The list was now placed in a yellow silk pavilion, accompanied by drums, music and ceremonial guards, and escorted by more than sixty soldiers on both sides to the place where the list was posted on the south wall of the Ministry of Rites.

After the results are announced, soldiers will be sent to guard the list, and it will usually be collected and archived three days later.

Zhang Ping'an also saw his elder brother-in-law inside, and his tall stature made him conspicuous.

The crowd suddenly became agitated.

"Get out of the way, get out of the way, the results are about to be announced, don't miss the auspicious time, you can't afford it," soldiers shouted on both sides, looking very fierce.

There’s nothing we can do, there are just too many people!

Everyone looked at the rolled-up list eagerly.

The second floor of the teahouse where Zhang Ping'an was located suddenly became much quieter.

He even saw that classmate Gu was secretly pinching his thigh, with veins bulging, and it seemed that he was using quite a lot of strength.

After a while, the escort team passed the teahouse and headed towards the south wall of the Ministry of Rites.

After arriving at the place, the ceremonial officer began to call out the names while standing on a high stool.

However, the noise was so loud that even if the people in the teahouse held their breath and concentrated, they couldn't hear clearly.

After a while, the ceremonial officer finished reading out the names, got down from the high stool, and handed the list to the soldiers to post.

Everyone in the teahouse looked at each other in confusion. Green Bean asked uncertainly, "Did you hear that?"

Luo, a straightforward student, took a long sip from his teacup, wiped his mouth, and said, "What the hell? It feels like there are hundreds of thousands of mosquitoes buzzing around my ears. How can I hear anything?"

"Just wait for the servants to report," Zhang Ping'an sat back in his original seat.

I was also a little nervous.

You have to keep your composure!

"Alas, my heart is tormented, and I am filled with worry," Hua Wanli sighed, unconsciously tightening the teacup in his hand.

Classmate Gu couldn't help wanting to drink tea again. Perhaps he was afraid of having to go to the toilet again and miss the good news, so he picked up the teacup and put it down again.

The inner torment of the crowd was evident at this moment.

The situation of the other candidates on the second floor was similar.

There was not even the sound of conversation.

After a while, servants and hangers-on began to squeeze out of the crowd to report the good news.

There were also runners from the Ministry of Rites walking out, beating gongs and shouting the names and rankings of those who had passed the exam.

This situation generally indicates that the candidate lives not far away, near the Ministry of Rites.

Because some candidates are not from Lin'an, they live in inns.

A total of 180 people were admitted to this imperial examination, and there were more than 3,000 people who took the exam. Those who passed the examination were already well-educated, and it was extremely difficult for them to stand out from the crowd of outstanding candidates.

After more than a quarter of an hour, the person who reported the good news had already reported the 145th place, and there was still no one on the second floor of the teahouse who had made the list.

Everyone couldn't help but feel restless and irritable.

"What's going on? We on the second floor can't be so unlucky that no one is on the list," someone nearby couldn't help but say.

Someone pretended to be nonchalant and advised: "Wait a little longer, good news is always announced in reverse order, there are still more than a hundred places to go, you won't be able to eat hot tofu in a hurry!"

"I think the feng shui of this teahouse is bad. There are already two people on the list in Xuezhuxuan across the street," someone raised his head and gestured to look across.

Zhang Ping'an then noticed that there were two large jars of Zhuangyuanhong on the table at the entrance of the teahouse opposite.

This can be regarded as an established rule.

Every year when the results are announced, teahouse owners compete with each other. The teahouse with more customers on the list means that the teahouse has good fortune and feng shui.

The teahouse owner will place Zhuangyuanhong in quantity at the door and customers can take it themselves.

This is all free.

There are now two jars of Zhuangyuanhong placed opposite, which means that two guests there have already won the prize.

Luo's family was originally a military family, and they didn't really believe in feng shui. Upon hearing this, he said, "You can't say that. Xuezhuxuan is the best teahouse in Lin'an. The people who go there are either rich or noble. It's a natural advantage of time and place. Isn't it their family that always takes first place every year? What's the point of comparing them?"

Someone quietly replied, "That's right, if you're not good at something, don't blame the road for being uneven."

"You, you guys!" The person who spoke at the beginning was almost mad!

"Everyone, stop arguing. It seems like someone's servant has returned and is heading towards us," Zhang Ping'an said loudly.

Everyone looked out the window together.

Classmate Gu was overjoyed: "It's me, it's me, my servant is back!"

After a while, the servant, who was running out of breath, finally reached the second floor.

"Young...Young...Young Master!" The servant ran too fast and shouted intermittently while holding his legs.

"Oh, don't be so sir, did you win?" classmate Gu asked hurriedly.

"No...no...I didn't hit it!" said the servant unhappily.

"Tsk!" Upon hearing this, classmate Luo relaxed and sat back in his original seat.

Classmate Gu was a little angry and scolded, "Didn't hit it?! Why did you run so fast if you didn't hit it? You must have eaten too much!"

The servant lowered his head and dared not answer. Whatever he said at this time would be wrong.

Since he didn't win, there was no point in staying any longer. Classmate Gu quickly said goodbye and left with the servant. Even the sound of his footsteps going downstairs was filled with resentment!

After a while, another servant came upstairs: "You won...you won...you won! Master, you won! 110th place!"

Zhang Pingan looked up and saw a candidate he didn't recognize. He was probably coming from somewhere else to take the exam.

"Really! Hahahaha, I won, I won! Tea on the second floor will be my treat today, no one can snatch it from me," the man said happily upon hearing this.

He was obviously a man of great temperament. After he finished speaking, he stood up with a smile and greeted the others present: "I am Yu Xiyan, from Minzhou. I was lucky enough to win the lottery today. Let's celebrate together! Let's celebrate together!"

She smiled so hard that her teeth were showing, which is really enviable!

Immediately afterwards, as if a switch had been pressed, two more people on the second floor passed the test, and the ranking had reached 75th.

Zhang Ping'an was secretly anxious. What was going on? Whether it succeeded or not, the servants had to come back and report the news!

So I couldn't help but take a sip of the cold tea in the cup to cool down.

In just a moment, the 65th place was reported.

Green Bean Eyes slumped in the chair and said angrily, "Don't dream about it now, I'm definitely not there!"

Zhang Ping'an's eyes were about to pop out sparks when he finally saw his servants running towards the teahouse.

After a while, the servant went upstairs.

Zhang Pingan couldn't help but stand up and asked, "Did you win?"

"Hit...hit...hit," the servant panted, smiling broadly, "Master, you're number 38!"