Ming Dynasty Detective 1546

Chapter 168 Results Announcement Day (Second Update)
"Is this the capital of the Ming Dynasty?"

A convoy slowly drove into Zhengyang Gate. Mo Guangqi peeked out and looked at the enormous object shrouded in the morning mist, revealing a deep sense of curiosity and awe.

He is the fourth son of Mo Dengyong and the chief envoy of the Annam delegation.

The chief envoy who was sent to the Ming Dynasty before the New Year was killed en route. When the news reached Annam, Mo Dengyong was furious. In order to show his respect for the Ming Dynasty, he sent another envoy to the Ming Dynasty.

Mo Guangqi knew that there were many reasons for his father's anger.

In that year, the debate in the Ming Dynasty was not limited to the imperial court; the regions of Guangdong, Guangxi, Fujian, and even Hubei and Hunan had already entered the stage of preparing for war.

According to Mo Dengyong's scouts, the regions reacted differently to the imperial court's orders. Many officials in Guangxi were unwilling to start the war, especially the local chieftains who were outwardly compliant but inwardly defiant to the Ming court. Even Qiu Luan, the general in charge of the campaign against the barbarians in Guangdong and Guangxi, was worried about the war situation.

However, they could not resist the issuance of imperial edicts, which removed those officials who were passively waiting for orders, and then allocated military provisions, surveyed the terrain, built outposts, and prepared to advance into Annam from Pingxiang, Longdong and Silingzhou respectively.

This state of heightened military preparedness is what worries the Mohist regime the most.

Once war is formally declared, the Ming army will definitely come prepared.

In contrast, rebellions broke out one after another within the country, and the Mo family was never able to unify the whole of Annam. This was the fundamental reason why the second delegation set off in a hurry.

By the time they arrived in the capital, it was already September. Mo Guangqi thought of the Ministry of Rites personnel who had come to greet them—just a young clerk. Clearly, the Ming court didn't care about them. He sighed and looked at the burly man opposite him: "Wu Hu, we'll have to rely on you a lot on this trip!"

Sitting opposite him was a dark-skinned man with high brow bones, his arms were muscular and as if cast in iron, his shoulders were broad and his back was thick, making his tight-fitting clothes look angular. He was Mo Wuhu, the fifth-ranked of the thirteen bodyguards under Mo Dengyong.

Although his ranking may not seem high, everyone in Annam knows that he was once Mo Dengyong's personal guard. He is calm, rarely gets angry, and never underestimates his opponents. Even when facing seemingly harmless opponents, he will go all out.

Because of this mindset, Mo Wu not only protected Mo Dengyong's safety on the battlefield, but also secretly discovered three assassination attempts specifically targeting Mo Dengyong, thus preventing them from happening in the first place.

Sending him to protect Mo Guangqi clearly shows that they truly care about the prince's safety. Hearing the prince's worried words, Mo Wuhu said softly, "Your Highness, do not worry. Even in war, envoys are not killed. We have come to honor our lord; if anything were to happen to us, it would be the Ming court that would lose face..."

Mo Guangqi said, "But Li Weining's sister has already arrived in the capital. Now, many of the Li family's fugitives are clamoring to avenge Li Weining, and some even call him a grandson of the emperor. Humph! He is not a legitimate member of the Li family at all; he is just falsely claiming to be a prince. What gives him the right to act so arrogantly?"

Mo Wuhu frowned slightly. Li Weining was already dead, and he had died at the hands of Mo's assassins. It would be disadvantageous for them to dwell on this now. He reminded him, "Your Highness, if you encounter that Li woman after entering the Court of State Ceremonial, do not be provoked by her and lose your composure."

"Rest assured, I understand!"

Mo Guangqi nodded: "I have come here on behalf of my father to request the Ming Dynasty to bestow titles upon us. Arguing with that Li woman would only disrupt our plans and would be a losing proposition!"

As he said this, the convoy outside gradually slowed down, and finally came to a complete stop.

Mo Guangqi hurriedly lifted the curtain and looked outside, asking in a deep voice, "What's going on up ahead?"

In order to enter the capital, the delegation got up very early and entered the city just before dawn. Could there still be any obstacles?

"unfortunately!"

Xu Jie, the young official in charge of the Ministry of Rites, who was sitting upright on his tall horse, turned around and said: "Just to let everyone know, the results of the Shuntian Prefecture provincial examination have been released. The candidates for this year's examination are already waiting on the street ahead. We will have to take a detour!"

……

Today is the day the results are released.

By the third watch of the night, the area outside the Shuntian Prefecture Examination Hall was already packed with people.

The period between the end of the exam and the release of the results is the most difficult. After finally waiting for this day, I wonder how many students lost sleep last night.

Even those with a good mindset can't sleep, as they're often woken up in the middle of the night by the sound of announcements from the street. It's better to check the results early.

In ancient times, the ninth month of the lunar calendar was close to the eleventh month of later times. Beijing is in the north, and it gets cold much faster than the south. At this time, many students were already wrapped in cotton robes, and their breath formed a thin layer of frost on their eyebrows.

The most frustrating thing is that even if you arrive early, you still can't get a good spot.

Because every time the provincial and metropolitan examinations were held in the capital, there were always idle men who would specifically watch the results for wealthy families, and they would have already taken the best spots with ladders and lanterns.

"Excuse me! Excuse me!"

Wearing a mink hat and led by four strong servants, Zhao Wenhua arrived at the center and confirmed that the idlers he had arranged had occupied the place.

If his idea were followed, a temporary colorful tent could be erected not far away, and people could hold hot drinks on a late autumn morning and wait for the list to be revealed.

However, he knew that most of the members of the Yixin Society came from poor families, and this move might not please them, as it would backfire. So he simply sent an idle man to fetch the person and hurriedly went back to greet them.

As expected, Haiyue, Hairui, Lin Daqin, and Yan Shifan were standing outside the crowd, lost in thought.

"Chief! Chief! This way! Excuse me...excuse me! Ouch!!"

Even with four strong servants protecting him, Zhao Wenhua was covered in sweat. Seeing Hai Rui and Lin Daqin's stunned expressions, he laughed and said, "Don't be fooled by today's excitement. When the results of the imperial examination are announced, scholars from all over the country will gather. That will be truly awe-inspiring!"

Hai Rui and Lin Daqin clicked their tongues in amazement. They couldn't have imagined such a scene, let alone in Qiongshan, even during the Guangzhou Prefecture era. Hai Yue tugged at Yan Shifan, who was forcing a smile, "Let's go in!" Zhao Wenhua also glanced at him. Ever since the provincial examination, Yan Shifan had seemed somewhat dejected. Seeing his unhappiness made him incredibly happy. He also pulled Yan Shifan from the other side, "Brother Donglou, quick! Quick! Let's go see where you ranked! Ha!"

'You son of a bitch! You want to see me make a fool of myself!'

Yan Shifan gritted his teeth in anger, but a feeling of wanting to escape welled up inside him.

No matter what, Zhao Wenhua is a Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations). If I can't even pass the provincial examination, how can I face him? How can I face the other members of the Yixin Society?
Everyone else achieved top honors in the imperial examinations and became famous among scholars, but he was just a student of the Imperial Academy.
Forget about being second in command, he feels like he can't stay here any longer!
Regardless of his turbulent thoughts, the crowd squeezed into the throng, found the best vantage point, and waited.

Time passed slowly, feeling especially long.

Not to mention others, even Lin Daqin's breathing became heavy, and he was no longer as calm as before.

at last.

"clang--!"

The sound of gongs came from inside the gate of the examination hall, and the crowd immediately surged like boiling water.

"It's time to put it on! It's time to put it on!"

When the first piece of yellow paper was pasted on the screen wall, the scholars surged forward like a tide, and many were so crowded that their feet almost left the ground. The bailiffs, used to this, began to hold people up to prevent them from being trampled.

Haiyue and her companions were initially in a good position, but now all the students in front of them were standing on tiptoe, some even riding on the backs of their servants, obstructing their view. All they could hear were shouts erupting all around them: "Got it! Got it? Didn't it? Didn't it!!" "Look again! It's definitely there!" "Move aside! Let me see!"

"Let's go up and take a look!"

Yan Shifan couldn't contain himself any longer and leaned forward, only to hear the announcer's voice drifting over from afar: "—Hai Rui of the Imperial Academy—"

"Shishiro! Shishiro! Can you hear that? They're singing your name!"

Yan Shifan was shocked and screamed, "That's the first list, among the top thirty!"

In the mid-Ming Dynasty, the number of people who passed the provincial examination in Shuntian Prefecture each time was about 150, which meant that 150 new candidates for the imperial examination were born. This was the treatment in the capital. In some places, there were not even 100 people who passed.

The 150 people were divided into five lists, posted in descending order.

The first person to be called out was the thirtieth on the first list, and so on, until the top scholar of the current imperial examination was announced.

This honor is usually only given to this list; those ranked lower should just look at it themselves, as they don't have the opportunity to have it read out in public.

At this moment, Hai Rui's name was already mentioned, indicating that he not only passed the high school entrance exam, but also ranked among the top students!
Was that me?

Hai Rui seemed to hear his own name, or perhaps he was hallucinating. He was somewhat dazed, and only the blurry figure of his father and the kind face of his mother appeared in his mind.

His father, Haihan, was a government-subsidized student who passed the county-level imperial examination at a young age and began to receive government pay. Unfortunately, he failed the provincial-level examination twice and passed away when he was four years old. The only thing he left behind was an inkstone with patterns of the moon palace carved on it.

Hai Rui knew that it was his father's expectation and unwillingness, and he kept it in his heart. However, his mother, Xie, only let him see it once and did not use it as a burden to force him to pass the imperial examination.

And now, it seems he really did win!

"Fourteenth brother, go!"

He heard his brother's encouraging voice from behind, and Hai Rui instinctively squeezed toward the source of the sound.

As he walked, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder. He turned around and saw an old man with white hair gripping his shoulder tightly, his cloudy eyes bloodshot: "Young man... help this old man take a look... Wanping... Wanping Fan... Fan..."

"I'll help the old man!"

Seeing this, Hai Rui quickly helped him up, fearing that the old man might faint. He supported him all the way to the list and actually checked the old man's name first.

Unfortunately not.

The white-haired old man muttered to himself as he waited for the next list of names on the yellow scroll. Hai Rui composed himself and began searching for himself.

He had actually seen a few familiar names earlier, but now he could see them much more clearly—

The twenty-seventh was Hai Rui, a student of the Imperial College, from Qiongshan, Guangdong.

The names written in vermilion ink are arranged in vertical columns on yellow paper, each one seemingly leaping into life.

In a daze, the ridge beasts on the roof of the examination hall gleamed in the rising sun, much like the toad palace carved on my father's inkstone.

He stood there stunned for a long time, then broke into an unprecedentedly radiant smile:
"Father! Mother! Your child has passed!"

(End of this chapter)