White-robed Minister

Chapter 111-0109 [Imperial Guards Lead the Way, Parading Through the Streets]

Perhaps because there was plenty of time this year, the newly appointed scholars were taken away for etiquette training the day before the announcement of their names.

On the day of the announcement, Xu Lai and Yang Shu rushed out early in the morning.

Yu Shanyuan also went out and joined other scholars from Guangdong on the street, waiting to see the exciting scene of the top scholar riding a horse through the streets.

In the past, those who failed the imperial examinations would have returned to their hometowns long ago and would not have stayed to watch the parade.

Isn't it earlier this year?

Halfway there, Yu Shanyuan sighed, "On the Xujiang River, the three of us shared our aspirations and composed poems; those moments are still vivid in my mind. I am overjoyed that my two virtuous brothers have passed the imperial examinations. I wonder when we will meet again after this parting."

Yang Shu comforted him, saying, "Brother, you can try again next year. You will definitely pass the exam."

"Only we know our own affairs," Yu Shanyuan said, waving his hand. "It was better when I was young, but now that I've been away from books for too long, it's too difficult to learn a lot of knowledge again."

Xu Lai remained silent.

He wanted to ask Yu Shanyuan to be his advisor, but he didn't know what official position he would be given.

Most official positions do not require staff members.

Yu Shanyuan walked and talked with Xu Lai and Yang Shu, escorting them to the outside of Donghua Gate.

There were already dozens of newly appointed scholars there, lined up and waiting to enter the imperial city to have their names called.

Xu Lai walked straight to the front of the procession, and the scholars bowed to him one after another, and he returned the bows and congratulations.

"Greetings, Top Scholar!"

Peng Ruli, Zhang, Zhang Shunmin, and others had gotten to know Xu Lai yesterday while practicing etiquette. Their current affectionate address of him as "Top Scholar" carried a slightly joking tone.

This year's top six are somewhat unconventional, coming from Guangdong, Jiangxi, Fujian, Shaanxi, Fujian, and other provinces.

Sichuan —

People from Guangdong and Shaanxi actually won first place in the first and second divisions, respectively.

The next "fundraising committee" was also established by these top six people.

After a while, the master of ceremonies shouted for silence, and all the scholars immediately shut up.

The master of ceremonies led them into the Donghua Gate and straight towards the Jiying Hall, which was equivalent to walking from the easternmost point to the westernmost point of the imperial city.

This arrangement was intentional, intended to demonstrate the majesty of the imperial family.

If you enter from the Xihua Gate, you haven't even warmed up yet, and it's just a few steps away, which seems too casual.

Lack of ritual!

After a long and arduous journey, the scholars finally arrived near the Jiying Hall and stopped outside the gate on its side.

A normal ordination ceremony involves a very complex procedure.

The list of names of those to be forgiven is much simpler.

"bye!"

"Bowing again!"

"The Emperor has arrived!"

Han Qi, holding the papers of the top three, walked to the imperial desk to make his presence known.

In a normal imperial examination, the top three essays would be read at this point, but this year only a formality is required.

Immediately afterwards, Han Qi announced: "Xu Lai, who ranks first in the first class, is hereby granted the title of Jinshi."

The gatekeeper standing to the west of the imperial desk announced, "Xu Lai, the top scholar in the first rank, is hereby granted the title of Jinshi!"

Six or seven guards below the steps shouted, "The number one person in the first rank—"

According to etiquette, after the guards called out three or four times, Xu Lai stepped forward and responded.

A guard asked, "Name?"

"Xu Lai."

"Hometown/Hometown".

"A native of Qingyuan County, Guangzhou, Guangnan East Road."

"Father's name".

"Xu Yongnian".

Two guards flanked Xu Lai as they continued walking toward the main gate of the Jiying Hall.

Upon reaching the jade steps, the master of ceremonies asked again, "Name—"

After repeating the previous question and answer, Xu Lai was led to the corner of the corridor outside the hall to receive his official robes and imperial edict. The edict was currently blank; his official title would be filled in later when he took it to the Ministry of Personnel.

Xu Lai was too lazy to take off his clothes, so he simply wore his official robes on the outside and waited to enter the palace to see the emperor.

Before long, Peng Ruli, the second-place finisher, also arrived.

Peng Ruli asked curiously, "Where is the 'brown coat' that Xingzhi changed out of?"

"Inside," Xu Lai said, pointing to his chest.

Peng Ruli laughed heartily and, like Xu Lai, didn't take off his clothes, but simply put on the official robes he had just received.

More and more scholars came to receive their official robes and imperial edicts, and the officials in charge of ceremonies guided those who had already changed into their robes to line up on the side.

Only a little over a hundred scholars were selected, and the announcement of names was quickly completed.

"A top-ranking scholar has entered the palace to meet the Emperor!"

Xu Lai, holding a tablet, strode into the Jiying Hall, followed closely by Peng Ruli and Zhang.

The three men bowed four times and stood in the hall.

Xu Lai stole a glance at Emperor Yingzong of Song, then carefully lowered his head.

This is a matter of etiquette; one cannot look directly at the emperor.

Of course, once they become close, they won't care about these things anymore, and it would be normal for them to spit on the emperor.

Zhao Shu said, "Xu Lai."

"Your subject is here!"

Xu Lai stepped forward and looked up at the emperor.

This time he did not bow his head again, because the emperor's calling of names was to see the appearance of the top-ranking scholar.

Zhao Shu vaguely remembered Xu Lai's face and nodded, saying, "Okay, I understand."

Xu Lai bowed and retreated outside the hall, standing alone in the queue, with no one next to him. This was somewhat similar to the top scholar in the Ming and Qing dynasties, who stood alone at the top of the list.

Zhao Shu then said, "Peng Ruli."

"Your subject is here." Peng Ruli also stepped forward to pay his respects.

The second and third place winners must retreat outside the hall together, and the two of them will be placed in the same group.

Next came the seven second-class graduates who entered the Jiying Hall to see the emperor. But the emperor would not call them by name again; after their audience, they were dismissed.

Then came another twenty Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations).

As for the fourth and fifth-class graduates, they didn't even qualify to enter the Jiying Hall.

Yang Shu was quite disappointed. He ranked last in the fourth class and stood outside the hall in the cold wind the whole time.

The successful candidates from each class stood in their respective groups, except for Xu Lai, who occupied a separate spot. Guided by the official in charge of ceremonies, he bowed again. Afterward, they left in turn and retreated outside the palace gate to pay their thanks.

The low-ranking civil and military officials who served as ceremonial officials set up a table there to receive gifts.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, Xu Lai took out a memorial from his robes and placed it neatly on the table. He then picked up his brush and wrote:

The top scholar, Xu Lai, submitted a memorial requesting the cessation of the silver reward for the emperor's favor.

The officials were stunned and didn't react for a moment, watching Xu Lai turn and leave.

Peng Ruli then stepped forward and handed over the prepared silver, only to discover what Xu Lai had written when he signed it.

Moreover, Peng Ruli astutely noticed that Xu Lai wrote "beg for cessation" instead of the normal "beg for exemption."

The act of begging for exemption simply means not paying any money.

The phrase "begging ceases" means that from now on, no one will pay silver.

Peng Ruli chuckled, signed the document, and left with a subtle expression.

Although Peng Ruli's background was much better than Xu Lai's, he was still just a clerk in the prefectural government.

If we compare a state to a city, then Kongmu is like the powerful section chief of the municipal government.

The son of a section chief in the municipal government may have some connections in the local area, but in the context of the entire Song Dynasty, he is nothing.

This year has been really interesting.

The son of a fifth-class mountain dweller became the top scholar in the imperial examination.

The son of a section chief in the municipal government ranked second in the college entrance examination.

It's likely that you couldn't find a more down-to-earth list of the top-ranked scholars in the entire Northern Song Dynasty.

Then Zhang Zi stepped forward to hand over the silver. Upon seeing the words Xu Lai had written, Zhang burst into laughter. He was amused and found Xu Lai quite interesting.

This fellow comes from the Zhang family in Fujian.

He didn't care whether or not he paid the gratitude money, but deep down he loathed it. Moreover, he had been an official for many years and was already mature enough not to become hostile because of Xu Lai's actions.

Historically, Zhang defeated the Western Xia so badly they were completely routed!

Like Zhang Heng, he was a ruthless character who could personally draw a bow and shoot arrows.

One after another, the successful candidates lined up to present their thanksgiving silver, and they all saw the words written by Xu Lai.

Some people secretly admired his audacity, calling him a true hero.

Some people despise him for seeking fame and fortune.

Some people were already dissatisfied with the ranking and jealous of Xu Lai's achievement of becoming the top scholar. Now, they felt even more resentful, believing that Xu Lai wanted to avoid paying money while also gaining a reputation for speaking out and offering honest advice.

After all the successful candidates had paid their money and left, the officials in charge of ceremonies looked at each other in bewilderment.

"What should we do? Should we submit the memorial?"

"Do you dare to withhold the top scholar's memorial without authorization?"

"This is too—too—"

"Hey, what are you doing?"

Suddenly, a court official took Xu Lai's memorial and stuffed it into his own pocket.

This person was arranged by Ouyang Xiu to prevent any unexpected incidents from occurring during the memorial to the emperor.

This was also the main reason why Xu came to Ouyang Xiu for help: to ensure that his memorial would be seen by the emperor and the prime minister.

Xu Lai was queuing in another place at the moment. After all the Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) had handed over their thanks, he led the group toward the Donghua Gate.

"Scholar, please mount your horse!"

The guards of the Imperial Guard were already waiting inside the Donghua Gate.

They could be considered as the Golden Guard, if not more so.

Xu Lai, Peng Ruli, and Zhang rode out of the Donghua Gate one after another.

Xu Lai was accompanied by seven Golden Guard Knights as his personal attendants, who then led the way with shouts and commands.

Peng Ruli and Zhang each had two Imperial Guards who walked to lead their horses and escort them.

Yang Shu watched Xu Lai's departing figure from afar, his eyes filled with envy. Because the remaining scholars couldn't exit through the Donghua Gate, they could only use the nearby side gate, and they had no horses to ride.

Only the top three finishers can ride horses!

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way! The top scholar is parading through the streets; all bystanders, get out of the way immediately!"

Seven Golden Guard knights cleared the way for Xu Lai, banging gongs and shouting loudly all the way.

The purpose of this shouting is twofold: first, to prevent traffic accidents, and second, to attract onlookers.

Sure enough, upon hearing the gong and shouts, residents who hadn't planned to go out also rushed out of their homes to see what was happening.

The shopkeeper, the shop assistant, and the customers all stood on the street waiting for the top scholar to appear.

Some people leaned on the railings and windows of the second, third, and fourth floors, waving and cheering at Xu Lai. Xu Lai heard the cheers and waved back, which immediately drew another round of cheers.

Fanlou is not far ahead.

The singing girls of Fanlou, even in broad daylight, didn't sleep; they were frantically throwing handkerchiefs and fruit at Xu Lai from the windows.

The Golden Guard Knight barked, "Don't throw anything! What if you damage the top scholar?"

"Hahaha!"

The singers laughed and chatted, discussing how young and handsome this year's top scholar was.

My old friends from Guangdong haven't left the capital yet. Anyway, they don't need to take the palace examination; they just need to wait a few days.

They waited for quite a while before Xu Lai's Golden Guard knight finally appeared.

"Xu Sanlang actually became the top scholar in the imperial examination."

"How impressive!"

"When he first entered the state school, he didn't even own a robe. Who could have imagined that?"

"I just remembered, his essay on the state school entrance exam was really well written."

"Is the top scorer your friend?"

"Of course! We were classmates with the top scorer!"

"The top scholar looks so young."

"Haha, you'd never guess, the top scorer is only eighteen years old this year!"

"Hiss! The eighteen-year-old top scholar—"

7

On this day, the focus of the entire city was on Xu Lai, and even the runner-up was completely ignored.

As Xu Lai rode on horseback, looking at the cheering crowd, he felt as if he had been transported to another world.