Chapter 220: The Hero Returns

For the next ten days or so, the work of grading papers proceeded in a flurry of activity.

Over these ten days, grading began at the hour of Mao in the morning and only barely concluded at the end of the hour of You; by rushing and hurrying, all the examination papers were finally graded.

Once finished, the Readers sealed the papers and, according to the scores from highest to lowest, selected the top four hundred Scholars for admission.

With all this done, it was just a matter of waiting for the results to be posted, and everything would be settled.

That evening, once the list was out, the County Magistrate Wei Ming took the admission list and hurried over to find Zhang Yunxiu.

The two met in the study, and Wei Ming performed a simple salute; without wasting words, he directly handed over the admission list: "Imperial Study Attendant Zhang, these are the four hundred Scholars admitted in this examination; please have a look."

Zhang Yunxiu took it and swept his gaze across the list, discovering that many of the Scholars were from Shandong, and he could not help but click his tongue in secret.

After reading it, Zhang Yunxiu smiled and placed the list on the table.

He turned to look at Wei Ming: "Not bad at all."

Wei Ming nodded slightly, following Zhang Yunxiu's lead: "Yes, especially that Zhou Jin; he is proficient in arithmetic, and although he is a man from Shandong, he is also exceptionally familiar with the geography of Songjiang Prefecture and the Great Ming."

"Hmm, he took first place in this examination; that is indeed quite good," Zhang Yunxiu said with a light laugh, then added, "How about this: your Huating County is large, and two Registrars are likely not enough. Just add one more Registrar and let this Zhou Jin fill the vacancy."

"Imperial Study Attendant Zhang's action truly resolves my urgent need!"

Wei Ming narrowed his mung-bean eyes and flattered Zhang Yunxiu with a face full of sycophancy.

Although Zhang Yunxiu felt uncomfortable inside, this fellow had helped him quite a bit after all, so he could not bring himself to interrupt him to his face. He made a half-joking remark and then yawned, signaling his intention to see his guest out.

Wei Ming was tactful; he stood up, found an excuse to take his leave, and turned to walk toward the door. As he crossed the threshold, he did not forget to look back and say: "The list will be posted tomorrow. Three days from now, I will host a banquet for the Scholars at a restaurant; I hope Imperial Study Attendant Zhang will do me the honor of attending."

"Rest assured, I will certainly go."

The next morning.

Before the gates of the County Government Office had even opened, the entrance was already crowded with Scholars.

Each of them had a flushed face and an excited expression, breathing heavily, staring straight at the tightly closed gates of the County Magistrate's office, just like beasts that had been starving for a long time.

About a quarter of an hour passed.

The gates of the County Government Office emitted a teeth-gritting "creak," and then the two doors slowly opened. An official wearing a black gauze cap walked out, followed by several Junior Officials carrying a large red list.

Seeing this scene, the Scholars outside held their breath and focused their attention, not daring to even breathe loudly.

The official glanced at these Scholars; he knew that this kind of anxious waiting was the hardest to endure, so he urged the Junior Officials to quickly hang the list on the high wall on the west side of the County Government Office.

The Junior Officials did not dare to delay; they stepped forward and hung the list on the wall with practiced ease.

They unfolded it downward.

It was as if the Scholars had been cast under a spell; their eyes were fixed on the list.

They all used every ounce of their strength, looking horizontally and vertically, determined to find their own names on it. Those who had passed were naturally overjoyed, shouting about going to a restaurant to feast.

Those who had not passed sighed, comforting themselves that there was still the Imperial Examination to pursue.

Zhou Jin was also in the crowd.

At this moment, he was staring fixedly at the first name on the list.

"Zhou Jin, a man from Qufu County, Yanzhou Prefecture, Shandong."

He could hardly believe it, so he rubbed his eyes again.

On the large red list, his own name became even clearer. Suddenly, a cry from the depths of his soul erupted from Zhou Jin's throat: "I passed, I passed, I passed!!"

Wang Neng, who was to the side, was also all smiles. He grabbed Zhou Jin's hand and said excitedly: "You passed, first place, Brother Zhou!! You passed; now you can directly become an official."

When the surrounding Scholars heard this, they all turned to look at Zhou Jin, their eyes filled with envy.

This first place meant one could directly enter the ranks of officials. It was equivalent to being a promoted scholar.

Facing everyone's envy, Zhou Jin maintained his composure until he and Wang Neng retreated to a small alley near the County Government Office.

"Hahaha, I passed, I passed." Zhou Jin was so excited he was dancing and incoherent. Suddenly, he remembered Wang Neng beside him: "By the way, Brother Wang, did you find your ranking?"

Wang Neng waved his hand and smiled shamefully: "I cannot compare to you; I was lucky enough to get two hundred and seventieth."

"It is good that you passed, it is good that you passed. As long as you passed, there is no distinction between rankings."

Zhou Jin's face flushed red; he grabbed Wang Neng's hand and walked out of the alley.

In the past, this brother had always taken care of him; today, he was finally holding his head high, and even if he had to puff out his cheeks to look fat, he had to put on a brave front.

They waited in joy for three days.

On the evening of the third day, County Magistrate Wei Ming personally hosted a banquet at a restaurant in the city to entertain the Scholars who had passed.

As the standout of this examination, Zhou Jin naturally had the honor of sitting at the same table as Zhang Yunxiu.

The rest of the Scholars were seated on the first floor.

As the banquet began, Zhang Yunxiu glanced at the top scorer of this examination and saw him sitting upright with a cautious expression, unable to help but laugh inwardly.

Shaking his head with a smile, Zhang Yunxiu looked at Zhou Jin and pointed at Wei Ming and the others, teasing: "Registrar Zhou, everyone sitting at this table is an official of your Huating; Registrar Zhou, you are keeping such a straight face—could it be that you look down on these colleagues?"

"Ah, I, no, this subordinate, this subordinate has absolutely no such intention." Zhou Jin was so frightened he became incoherent, his speech even stuttering.

"Hahaha!"

Everyone present burst into laughter, and the air was suddenly filled with a cheerful atmosphere.

This made Zhou Jin even more nervous, and beads of sweat crawled across his furrowed brow: "This subordinate... this subordinate is seeing all you superiors for the first time; if the hospitality... the hospitality is lacking, I ask that you superiors please forgive me."

Zhang Yunxiu smiled warmly, signaling him not to be nervous, and then introduced the officials at the table one by one.

Every time someone was introduced, Zhou Jin bowed to that person like a young bride meeting her parents-in-law, and offered a cup of wine.

After one round, Zhou Jin's face was red, and he was already thirty percent drunk.

Zhang Yunxiu noticed that this fellow could not hold his liquor, so he winked at Wei Ming and the others not to force drinks on him. If they were to drink him under the table, it would be a real mess.

The scene upstairs was quiet and harmonious.

Downstairs, it did not look quite as refined; these Scholars had been suppressed for many years, and today they had finally obtained a good position, so their long-suppressed emotions suddenly erupted.

It was exactly the time to drink and sing, for how long does life last?

After getting drunk, reciting a couple of doggerel poems became the best game for these scholars.

Amidst the frolicking of the Scholars, the sky had unknowingly turned completely dark.

Han San burst into the restaurant with an excited look on his face, not even glancing at the rowdy Scholars, and ran straight up to the second floor with a "thump, thump, thump."

Bursting into the private room, the moment he saw Zhang Yunxiu, Han San immediately shouted, "Young Master, the fleet you sent out to search for treasure has returned."

"The ships of Zhao Dalong, Li Erhu, and the others are now docked at the pier in Songjiang Prefecture."

"Really?!"

"Yes."

Upon receiving confirmation, Zhang Yunxiu immediately slapped his thigh and, under the gaze of Wei Ming and the others, rushed out of the private room as if his eyebrows were on fire.

(End of this chapter)