Chapter 151

The beautiful lady introduced herself again: "I am the head steward of the Yong'an Marquisate manor. I don't know if Young Master Zhang is married yet?"

Zhang Lu's eyes widened, about to speak, but then he saw several other eager women not far away also walking over.

"Young man, I am the stewardess of the Zhenbei Marquisate manor..."

"This young man, we are relatives of the He Yushi household..."

At this moment, many women chattered and pulled Zhang Lu up, each with a smile on her face.

Earlier, they had spotted him in the crowd for quite a while; judging by appearance, this young man of the Zhang family stood out among a few, not to mention they had already inquired clearly: this Zhang family youth, at the age of weak crown, had already passed the provincial examination as a xiucai, a noted young scholar of Fengyang Prefecture.

Being a young xiucai is wonderful, with limitless prospects.

Zhang Lu was drenched in sweat from being pulled by the women, staring at this group of bold, open-minded women, his arms held by several women, truly unable to break free; after great effort he wrenched himself loose with brute strength, and nearly flew as he hurriedly ran away.

This scene was not only happening to Zhang Lu; many examinees' families nearby also found themselves stopped and questioned by women from noble and official mansions, or matchmakers.

The practice of snatching grooms from the examination list had already begun in advance.

Especially for those examinees with hopes of becoming jinshi.

Meanwhile, in the Guozijian examination courtyard, the four chief examiners wore solemn expressions; the chief examiner leading them was Zhu Ying, Grand Secretary of the Censorate.

The Grand Secretary of the Censorate is one of the Three Dukes, high in rank and weighty in authority.

He stands alongside the Grand Commander and the Chancellor.

He is quite tall in stature, with a stern, unsmiling visage; the three deputy chief examiners beside him respectively come from various prefectures and ministries, or are vice-prefects and vice-ministers.

But they share a common identity: all hold the title of Grand Scholar, having once written for the Hanlin Academy, the emperor's own institution, and having lectured the emperor on the classics.

At this moment, the four chief examiners were also patrolling the various examination halls.

Among the three examinations, usually the first is the most important.

The first examination separately tests the binding of the classics and their meanings; in fact, it is simply the meaning of the classics; the second is the discussion of rites and music; the third is the discussion of current affairs.

Of course, since each examinee specializes in different classics, the examination halls are also divided according to which of the Six Classics each examinee studies.

Though they write the essays of sages and worthies, what is actually compared is the intent and grasp of the current situation.

In fact, such essays, when written, must to some degree align with the chief examiners' political views; otherwise, even if one passes, the ranking may not necessarily be high.

A low ranking will affect one's standing in the palace examination.

When the emperor presides over the palace examination, he will to some extent use the metropolitan examination rankings for comparison; unless one is extremely lucky, being selected by the emperor from among hundreds of examination papers, but that probability is actually quite low.

Indeed, it exists, but is rare.

In the examination hall, Zhang Jian wrote with divine ease; whether it was the binding of the classics or their meanings, traces of them were in his mind; at this moment, he wrote neither too fast nor too slow, using proper calligraphy to write line after line of characters.

The binding of the classics, about five hundred characters, was completed in one go; the meanings that followed were no difficulty for him.

But he did not make it overly outstanding.

Rather, he was moderate and conventional.

He also did not greatly display his calligraphy.

Among the thousands of examinees present, those who had painstakingly practiced calligraphy for ten or more years could be said to be eight or nine out of ten; regarding calligraphy, if one said they could stand out from so many, it would truly be difficult.

He actually could do it.

Possessing the grand and righteous qi, if one were to infuse the grand and righteous qi, it would easily attract the chief examiners' eyes, producing a radiant spirit that would catch the eye.

But for the simple binding of the classics and their meanings, it is unnecessary.

Instead, the second examination's discussion of rites and music and the third's discussion of current affairs can slightly be infused with a portion of the grand and righteous qi.

At that time, naturally one could attract the attention of several chief examiners.

Fengyang Prefecture, Qi Manor

When the spring examinations began, many sisters within the Qi manor also discussed this matter; as a military family, the Qi manor in previous years had not paid much attention to the spring examinations.

Even if they did pay attention, it was merely a passing mention of one or two, just like ordinary families hearing which examinees participating in the spring examinations inside and outside the prefecture had outstanding talent.

Which examinee might become a jinshi.

If unmarried, it was fine enough; if married, they merely mentioned a few sentences, then promptly forgot.

But this year is different; the future brother-in-law by marriage, the future brother-in-law by marriage, are now taking the examination in the Guozijian examination courtyard; the Qi family, upper and lower, have many sisters who are somewhat concerned.

In the second chamber, Qi Yuhua was indifferent, merely sitting by the window embroidering the great cloak in her hands; Qi Yuzhu, however, could not sit still, walking back and forth in her boudoir.

"Second sister, do you think the second brother-in-law will pass this time? I heard them say, a fifteen-year-old jinshi in our Great Qian, even in the previous dynasty, is not many!"

"If one becomes a jinshi of the first class, the Three Dukes and Nine Ministers are within reach! As second sister, as the future mistress of the manor, you will then surely be able to obtain an imperial decree, bringing glory to the ancestors!"

Qi Yuzhu counted on her fingers, her eyes full of enthusiasm.

Qi Yuhua shook her head and said: "The Ministry of Rites' spring examination is like thousands of troops crossing a single-log bridge; although the Zhang family brother has outstanding talent, he cannot guarantee passing on the first try; many child prodigies also only pass after two or three attempts!"

Every session of the Ministry of Rites' metropolitan examination in the Great Qian dynasty is a gathering of talent, with literally thousands competing for those two hundred to three hundred slots.

When luck is good, the number at most approaches around four hundred slots.

Almost one in ten.

And among the many examinees, it is feared that throwing a stone would mostly hit a zhuangyuan, bangyan, or wujing kui.

Who could guarantee that they themselves would certainly stand out?

Though she said so, Qi Yuhua's eyes nevertheless revealed a trace of composure; she indeed has great confidence in Zhang Jian.

Though she comes from a military family, she is not unlearned in the classics; on the contrary, she has also read many books following her clan's brothers, and has even inquired about poetry societies and academies in many prefectures; Zhang Jian's talent in Fengyang Prefecture is also widely praised; many old teachers in the academies are full of praise, believing that this spring examination he will surely pass.

Although she has confidence, Qi Yuhua remains extremely humble and cautious.

This can also avoid making enemies for Zhang Jian.

Qi Yuzhu, seeing this scene, instantly felt bored, and she muttered.

"Second sister, Mother said your brother-in-law has a great chance of passing the imperial examination this time, yet you are so cautious—aren't you afraid of being so dull that the Zhang family's young man won't like you?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Yuhua gave her blunt-spoken younger sister a white-eyed look, spat, and softly snorted.

"Mother said that when taking a wife, one must choose virtue; what matters most is the big picture, for the words and deeds of the principal wife will affect the master's image abroad, unlike concubines who can be willful and petty all day long, frivolous and dissolute!"

Saying this, she let out a slight sigh.

If she could, who would willingly be so cautious? It is this world that has taught her caution, to handle affairs carefully.

There are too many lessons from past mistakes around her.

At this moment, Qi Yuhua did not know that, in the Dragon Palace of the deep well within the Qi residence, Bai Liying had heard all of Qi Yuhua's various words, her beautiful eyes showing some astonishment.

At this time, she lightly stroked her abdomen, yet in her eyes appeared a hint of relaxed expression.