Great Song Dynasty Writer

Chapter 179 Riding Through the Streets in Celebration! [Seeking Monthly Tickets!]

"I hope you will use your pen and ink as a boat to carry your lofty aspirations," Prefect Liu added.

Lu Beigu bowed deeply, his clear voice resounding beneath the east wall of the prefectural government office: "Student Lu Beigu thanks the prefect for his generous gift! I will certainly remember your teachings, study diligently without slacking off, and live up to the expectations of my hometown!"

Sunlight shone on his dark blue school uniform and fell on his young and resolute face, reflecting the heavy silver medal, which shone with dazzling light.

"Excellent! Well done! You have lived up to the expectations of your hometown! You truly deserve to be called the savior of our hometown, Lu Lang!"

Someone in the crowd suddenly burst into loud cheers.

This cheer instantly ignited the atmosphere, and the scene in front of the prefectural government office was completely boiling over!
If the previous "seventeen-year-old top scholar" title mainly impressed the students of the prefecture, then at this moment, the title "Lu Lang of the Water Window" immediately awakened the memories of the ordinary people watching.

The shadow of the recent flood has not yet completely dissipated, but the kindness of Lu Beigu in creating the "water window" to drain the waterlogging and lock in the floodwaters at that critical moment, protecting half of the city's residents, has long been deeply engraved in the hearts of countless people in Luchuan City.

At this moment, the name of the benefactor was displayed at the top of the list, making him the top scholar in the province. This honor and gratitude instantly overlapped and resonated, turning into a frenzy like a tsunami!

"Benefactor Lu! Please accept my bow! If it weren't for the floodgates, my whole family would have been homeless long ago!" An elderly man with white hair and beard squeezed out of the crowd excitedly, and was about to bow tremblingly.

Many city residents benefited from Lu Beigu's courageous act during the flood. They surged forward, countless hands reaching out to touch the young scholar and express their gratitude.

Lu Beigu was instantly surrounded by the surging crowd and could not move an inch.

Even with his composure, he was somewhat caught off guard by the unexpected and heartfelt fervor of the support.

He could only keep returning the greeting with clasped hands, his face bearing a sincere yet slightly helpless smile, his dark blue school uniform slightly disheveled from the jostling.

Several classmates tried to step forward to protect him, but they were also swept away by the frenzied crowd and stumbled about.

Looking at Lu Beigu, who was genuinely supported by the people and radiant with brilliance, Cui Wenjing's eyes were filled with complex emotions. In the end, he let out a deep sigh and left silently.

"Make way! Let Scholar Lu get some fresh air!"

"Fellow villagers! Don't push and shove Lu Jieyuan!"

"This won't do! I'm afraid Lu Jieyuan won't even be able to go back to the prefectural school!"

Ji Yun squeezed his way to Lu Beigu's side and shouted at the top of his lungs, but his voice was immediately drowned out by even louder cheers.

In a moment of quick thinking, he jumped onto a vendor's cart and, ignoring the stunned vendors, addressed the crowd: "Fellow villagers! Lu Beigu's passing the provincial examination is a great event for Luzhou! We should congratulate him! However, this place is too small, and Lu Beigu can hardly move an inch. Is this how we treat a worthy person?"

Upon hearing this, another food vendor, who had come with a mule cart, untied his red mule from the cart and shouted, "I'll provide the mule, but why don't we invite Scholar Lu to parade around the city before returning to the prefectural school, to honor him and appease the people?!"

"good idea!"

"Paragraph them through the streets! Parade them through the streets!"

"Yes! Let the whole city see our top scholar!"

The crowd erupted in even louder applause, leaving Lu Beigu no room for refusal.

Without a word, they practically pushed and carried Lu Beigu onto the back of the chestnut mule, while the mule vendor led the way with the reins.

"Brother Lu, I can't refuse your kind invitation!"

Zhou Mingyuan winked and shouted excitedly from below, "Quick! Clear the way for Scholar Lu! Parade him through the streets! Let's parade him in glory!"

The first imperial examination parade of scholars began in the eighth year of the Dazhong Xiangfu era of Emperor Zhenzong of Song. In that year, Cai Qi performed exceptionally well in the palace examination and was personally selected as the top scholar by Emperor Zhenzong. Emperor Zhenzong was very fond of Cai Qi, so he bestowed upon him an imperial horse and dispatched imperial guards to clear the way for him to ride through the imperial streets of Bianjing (Kaifeng), a custom known as "kuaguan" (夸官). This gradually evolved into a fixed ceremony, namely "parading on horseback through the streets" or "kuaguan on the imperial street." It has only been forty years since then.

However, merely passing the provincial examination as the top scholar, rather than becoming the top scholar, would not normally warrant such a high-level public parade.

But Lu Beigu's previous ability to turn the tide during the flood had won him the hearts of the people of Luzhou!
Now that he has achieved the highest rank in the provincial examination, and the people have requested it, the yamen runners, seeing that the prefect and judge both smiled and tacitly approved, even with encouraging expressions, were happy to go with the flow. Not only did they not stop him, but they also took the initiative to clear the way in front of him with water and fire sticks.

The crowd spontaneously gathered on both sides and behind the red mule, forming a long, noisy, and ever-growing line of people.

The long line moved slowly, but the news spread quickly.

Windows on both sides of the street opened one after another, and many ordinary people in Luchuan City leaned out, scattering flower petals. Some even tore off red paper to use as streamers and threw them down.

The cheers rose in waves, as if the entire city of Luchuan was on fire.

Today, the entire city of Luchuan is deserted as everyone flocks to catch a glimpse of this young scholar who has achieved the highest rank in the imperial examinations.

Lu Beigu rode on a mule, still holding the heavy silver plaque in his hands. Looking at the completely out-of-control yet sincere and enthusiastic scene before him, he was filled with mixed feelings. There was emotion, but also a bit of helpless helplessness that was both funny and sad.

Anyone who has ever been on stage knows that when you're on stage, you can't really see the audience clearly.

So all Lu Beigu could do at this moment was to straighten his back, put on a smile, and wave repeatedly to the cheering crowds on both sides of the road while holding the silver medal.

"Lu Jieyuan! Look here!"

"Young Master Lu is so handsome! What a dashing figure!"

"May Lu Lang achieve top honors in all three levels of the imperial examinations!"

The red mule moved slowly forward amidst the cheering crowd. Lu Beigu sat upright on the mule, his dark blue school uniform contrasting with the mule's red mane, and his silver medal gleaming in the sunlight.

He looked around at the scene of the entire city boiling with excitement for him.

He looked at the excited, joyful, and expectant faces.

He felt an unprecedented surge of pride filling his chest.

Lu Beigu raised his head slightly, and under the clear autumn sky, he seemed to be able to see the road to Bianjing.

A sense of lofty ambition, looking down on the present and looking forward to the future, arises spontaneously, and the imagery of those well-known poems naturally comes to mind.

Riding a swift horse in the spring breeze, I can see all the flowers of Chang'an in a single day!

After circling the city, it was already noon when we returned to Luzhou Prefectural School.

The people reluctantly dispersed, and Lu Beigu dismounted his mule. He carefully wrote a gift for the vendor who had provided the mule and had been leading the way with the reins before entering the gate of the prefectural school.

Afterwards, Lu Beigu did not go to the dining hall or return to his own dormitory, but went directly to Mr. Baisha's residence.

Lu Beigu straightened his clothes under the eaves before gently knocking on the familiar wooden door.

"Come in," Li Tian's hoarse voice came from inside.

(End of this chapter)