Chapter 686: What to do?

Bai Lang didn't lie. Everyone admitted this point. Anyway, in the 276 years of the Ming Dynasty, the total number of metropolitan graduates from Shaanxi was less than nine hundred, which could be considered a poor province for the imperial exam. Among them, there were more than six hundred metropolitan graduates from Xi'an Prefecture, and the other Shaanxi scholars only produced less than two hundred. Everyone knew this, so they could only sit here with their hearts scratching. "Wine! Wine!" Someone couldn't hold it anymore and simply called the association to serve wine to relieve worries with drunkenness.

Generally speaking, Shaanxi scholars could pass ten on average per term, so everyone still had some hope. Watching the runners announcing the good news running around, and hearing firecrackers faintly in the distance, everyone in the hall was restless. Sure enough, someone came in beating gongs and drums, "Which one is Mr. Bai Yuzhu, Mr. Bai? Congratulations, congratulations!" Bai Lang almost didn't hold the wine glass, "What! Is the brain of the chief examiner Ouyang problematic? Actually took me? It must be blind, absolutely blind!"

Bai Lang himself was shocked, while Yue Buqun was both overjoyed and lost. What was lost was, "Damn, now I have to call my disciple a senior." In the imperial examination, age didn't matter; the one who passed first was the senior. What was overjoyed was that the Huashan Sect had taken off. Both master and disciple passed, which had already made the Huashan Sect a scholarly giant in Huayin County. Now, a "Gongshi" (metropolitan graduate) had come out directly, and at worst, a "Tongjinshi" (equivalent to metropolitan graduate) status was in hand. The officialdom network had been opened.

Afterward, three more waves of good news came. In the spring exam of the 29th year of Jiajing, there were only these four metropolitan graduates from Shaanxi, which was truly a "small year." There was no doubt that Yue Buqun didn't pass the metropolitan exam, but he was still very happy—the Huashan Sect had taken off, so what was there to be sad about? You know, he still had a chance to pass the metropolitan exam, but even if he did, I'm afraid his future in officialdom would be limited. And Bai Lang's future in officialdom could be said to be a sunny road.

The metropolitan graduate who passed this term, with Bai Lang being the youngest, could certainly be sure that his future was broad. Not long after the results were posted, the threshold of the Shaanxi Association had been trampled—they were all families of officials and nobles in the capital, and the family members sent out were prepared to catch Bai Lang to be a son-in-law. Bai Lang was miserable, so he had to use his lightness skill to escape, leaving Yue Buqun to take the blame. As a result, Old Yue had no choice. In less than a cup of tea, he also slipped away.

These were all people who couldn't be offended. Old Yue directly said to Bai Lang, "

The foundation was too shallow; any official or noble family in the capital was something a scholar from Huayin County could not withstand, so he had no choice but to abandon Bai Lang and let him solve it himself. In any case, no matter what happened to Bai Lang, wouldn't a successful official family eventually form ties with the Huashan Sect? "Such a young tribute scholar—there is no woman in Huayin County, or even Xi'an Prefecture, worthy of him." As they walked, Yue Buqun was still muttering, "I fear my junior sister's plans will come to nothing, and I worry she might even run to the capital to cause trouble—no, I must return quickly!"

Bai Lang, meanwhile, was acting furtively; he really did not want to be dragged away by a group of people to some duke's mansion or the home of a powerful official to be married off. However, he still had to appear to pay respects to his mentor and attend the gatherings with his fellow graduates. Among his cohort, Bai Lang was the youngest, though he did not look it, and his physique and appearance were the most striking, though his ranking was actually quite average—he was the two hundred and thirty-seventh tribute scholar. But as long as he had passed, it was fine; the true ranking would only be decided in the palace examination.

His mentor was a follower of the Ouyang school of thought, and the examiners were very satisfied when they saw a man of Bai Lang's tall stature and imposing appearance. A scholarly man with a martial bearing was a bonus, and Bai Lang could even be described as having a beautiful beard. Among the four criteria of appearance, writing, speech, and judgment, the score for appearance was certainly maxed out. Just looking at this, Bai Lang's palace examination ranking would likely not be low; his youth and good looks would definitely be a huge advantage when it came to official appointments.

Naturally, the teachers had to ask if Bai Lang had taken a wife. "I have truly never taken a wife, nor am I betrothed. In my daily life, I study literature and practice martial arts; where would I find the time to think of such things?" Bai Lang was not prepared to hide anything and said so quite bluntly. At this, the teachers' eyes lit up; they were likely calculating which daughter or granddaughter of their own, or perhaps the daughter or granddaughter of a close friend, would be a match. This was normal social interaction, and Bai Lang could not escape it, so he could only laugh it off.

Of course, everyone was a man of letters and had a reputation to maintain; they couldn't just come out and say, "My daughter is sixteen, beautiful, gentle, and virtuous; hurry up and betroth her, take her home, and consummate the marriage today..." They still had to probe a little and be tactful—if it were a noble family, they would likely just slap their palms and say, "One, two, three, four, five, you are marrying my daughter; here is the dowry, here is the wealth for the son-in-law," and finally, they would light the torches, summon the servants, and forcibly bind the man to the bridal chamber... though, of course, they didn't dare do that quite as much nowadays.

In short, on the fifteenth of the third month, the palace examination took place. The tribute scholars filed into the Forbidden City and stood in the Fengtian Hall early in the morning. Bai Lang was the most striking among the candidates, with his arched brows, tiger-like whiskers, and tall stature; calling his eyes like bright stars and his nose like a hanging gall bladder was no exaggeration. Most importantly, this fellow walked with the stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger, naturally exuding the authority of a great general. The officials from the Ministry of Rites and the Grand Secretaries saw at a glance that this man was born to be an official. In their hearts, they had already arranged for him to be in the Ministry of Rites...

The palace examination was just that. However, he hadn't expected the Jiajing Emperor to really look like Chen Mouguo, and the Chief Grand Secretary Yan Song really did look like Ni. It was a pity he didn't seem to see the Young Grand Secretary, which left Bai Lang feeling quite regretful. As for answering the questions, it was just that; Bai Lang drafted them casually and then just wrote them out. After finishing, he went through the motions of handing in his paper. The lunch was actually not enough to fill him up—just two steamed buns and a bowl of soup. Afterward, he went to the east end to hand in his paper and cleared off.

For someone like Bai Lang, the palace examination was completely stress-free. Of course, the Jiajing Emperor also saw the appearance of this year's tribute scholars, and naturally, he noticed the extremely conspicuous and prominent Bai Lang, Bai Yuzhu. That such a fierce general, a man with the look of a Great Han General, was actually a tribute scholar almost made one think he was taking the martial examination... And after the Jiajing Emperor paid special attention, he flipped through the records and learned that this was the Bai Lang whom the whole city was trying to catch for marriage—this was what the eunuchs said, and he just smiled.

On the day the results were announced, Bai Lang waited outside the palace with the other tribute scholars—this damned custom was annoying to death, though others enjoyed it like honey, Bai Lang was actually impatient. "As expected, it wasn't my turn to top the list, which shows the Grand Secretaries still have discernment!" he muttered to himself while listening to the names being called. Bai Lang was doing quite well; his final ranking was forty-seventh in the second tier, granted the status of Jinshi... It seemed he had taken the first step on the path of a powerful minister of his generation.

"So, what about The Smiling, Proud Wanderer?" Bai Lang thought.