The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 50 What an unprecedented event

Although Xiangyun is Shen Yuan's little fan girl, what she said is true and there is nothing exaggerated.

Mrs. Wang on the side glanced at the "annoying" girl Yun, who kept mentioning that Big Brother Shen all day long, not afraid of ruining her own reputation.

As she was thinking about it, a figure in green appeared in her mind again. It was the one named Shen Yuan, who had scolded her Baoyu here last time. He was not a good person either.

When Grandmother Jia heard what Xiangyun said, she didn't feel that she was being undermined. Although the old lady had many shortcomings, she was not narrow-minded. She smiled and said, "Well, then Yuan brother did a great good deed. He is a meritorious person."

After a pause, Grandmother Jia continued, "Come to think of it, since Yun and the others were sent here last time, Brother Yuan has never come to the mansion again, right? Find a time and ask Baoyu's father to invite them over to sit down, so that we can show our gratitude."

As soon as the old lady finished speaking, she heard Xiangyun reply, "The spring military examination will be held in two days. Brother Shen is preparing for it, so he may not be free recently."

After these words were spoken, Daiyu, who was standing next to them, couldn't help but feel a little strange.

How come this Yun girl dares to say anything? It seems like she is always following Brother Shen around.

If only the sisters were here at this moment, Daiyu would definitely not be able to help but tease Sister Yun.

Although she likes to choke people with her words, she also knows her limits and would never talk back at people in front of her elders. This is Lin Daiyu's character.

Baochai also broke out in a cold sweat for Sister Yun. The two of them had been going out of the house together recently, and many people in the Rong Mansion knew about it.

Considering Xiangyun's words at this moment, it is easy to wonder whether this girl went to meet Shen Yuan when she left the house?

Baochai herself is fine, as her relationship with Shen Yuan will soon be made public, but Xiangyun is different.

It would be bad if I got a bad reputation because of this. Sister Yun would always talk about me in the future.

Grandmother Jia glanced at her straightforward and romantic niece, her eyes moved slightly, and she smiled and said, "Oh? The Spring Examination is to select the top scholar, right? So, does Yuan have a chance to become the top scholar in martial arts?"

The women of the Jia family lived deep in the house and did not pay much attention to many things happening outside.

The old lady just remembered Shi Ding's last letter, in which he mentioned that he admired Shen Yuan very much and wanted to get closer to him.

Now seeing that Yun girl seemed to admire Shen Yuan, Jia's mother had an idea. If that young man really won the title of martial arts champion, perhaps she could pair Xiangyun with him.

In this way, the Jia family and the historians could gain great support.

Xiangyun said with confidence: "With Brother Shen's ability, he will definitely win the title of martial arts champion."

When Baochai heard this, her heart melted. After the Spring Examination, Shen Lang would come to propose marriage soon. Thinking of this, her pretty face couldn't help but blush.

Daiyu, Tanchun and other girls also deeply agreed with Xiangyun's words. They were still concerned about Shen Yuan and had also read the tabloids in Hanmozhai.

Li Wan, Youshi, and Qin Keqing knew very little about Shen Yuan. At this moment, they were more curious about what kind of young man he was who could compete for the title of No. 1 martial arts champion.

Wang Xifeng laughed and said, "You are too sure about what Yun said. To win the title of martial arts champion, you have to beat all the young heroes in the world."

Before Xiangyun could respond, Madam Wang beside her said in a clear voice, "Feng girl is right. It is not easy to get the top prize. Little do you know that there are people beyond people and mountains beyond mountains. The world is so big that there are many people who are more capable than Shen Yuan."

Normally, she didn't like to argue with these juniors, but for some reason, today she really disliked this girl Yun, and she didn't want to hear that the young man in blue became the martial arts champion.

Xiangyun was about to refute, but Baochai pulled her sleeve, indicating that she should not say too much.

Then, Baochai smiled and said in a clear voice, "Aunt and Sister Feng, you may not know, but my brother told me yesterday that people outside are talking about the martial arts examination this spring. It is said that a tabloid in Hanmoxuan listed Brother Shen as the person most likely to win the championship."

Baochai felt that it was inappropriate for Xiangyun to say too much, as it might damage the little maid's reputation, and that she should protect her lover.

After hearing this, Mrs. Wang's face turned ugly. She wondered why Bao Yatou was trying to ruin her plan at this time, but she didn't want to refute it anymore.

She was the elder, and if she argued with the younger generation one after another, it would be a bit embarrassing. She had to put aside her dissatisfaction for the time being and talk to her sister later. Aunt Xue sighed when she saw that her daughter had a rift with Mrs. Wang.

I don’t know whether her previous decision was correct. Everything depends on how far the boy can go in the future. I hope she won’t regret it.

The fifth day of the second month in the seventeenth year of Yuanzhen.

The much anticipated spring martial arts examination arrived as scheduled.

In order to improve efficiency, the Great Zhou Dynasty merged the provincial examination and the palace examination in spring, and compressed them to be completed in one day.

In the morning, there are examinations on literature, bravery and archery, and in the afternoon, there is an examination on horseback archery.

After everything is finished, a ranking will be made immediately. From the nearly two thousand new martial arts candidates across the country, the top 113 will be selected as Jinshi (Jinshi) and enter the palace to take part in the imperial examination. The emperor will set the test questions, and finally the top three will be selected, as well as the top three, the third place and the third place.

According to past practice, the first class was awarded the title of Military Jinshi, a total of three people. The top winner was awarded the fourth rank, and the second and third place winners were awarded the fourth rank.

There were ten people in the second class who were awarded the title of military scholars and were granted the fifth rank.

The top three were granted the same military scholar status, a total of one hundred people, and were awarded the sixth rank.

Of course, this is only the rank treatment. As for the specific official position, the Ministry of War still needs to select and appoint according to the actual vacancies.

At three quarters past five in the morning, shortly after daybreak, the sun in the east was about to reveal a hint of red.

Outside the martial arts garden in the eastern suburbs of Shenjing City, there was already a huge crowd of people who had come to watch the fun.

In the waiting area of ​​the garden, two thousand martial arts candidates from all over the country gathered here, waiting for the new spring examination to begin, and various discussions were heard from the crowd from time to time.

"Why are there so many people outside the garden? If not a hundred thousand, at least eighty thousand, right?"

"I'm here to watch the fun."

"They can't get in, so what's there to see? They're just waiting for the final results to be announced, so why are they here so early?"

"This brother doesn't know something." A red-faced man pointed to the entrance of the examination room and explained, "Do you know what those people wearing black square hats are for?"

"Isn't he an official sent by the Ministry of War to supervise the examination?"

"No." The red-faced man said mysteriously, "I just went to ask around, and those people were sent by Hanmozhai."

"Oh? You're from Hanmozhai? What are you doing here?"

"It is said that the current emperor attaches great importance to this year's martial arts examination. He asked the Ministry of War to find people from Hanmozhai to record all the details of the examination on the spot and announce them to the onlookers outside at any time."

In the crowd, Shen Yuan and Jiang Fan were not far from the red-faced man.

Because no portraits were released, no one in the waiting area recognized them.

After hearing what the red-faced man said, Shen Yuan still felt something strange.

He had already learned about some arrangements for this spring examination from Gao Yue in advance.

In order to maximize the popularity of this martial arts examination, the fourth prince not only pre-publicized it through tabloids in advance, but also sent dozens of people with excellent writing skills to write announcements in real time on the day of the examination.

This form
Shen Yuan had a strong sense of familiarity.

This is infinitely close to the text live broadcast in later generations.
Shen Yuan had to admit that the Fourth Prince was truly a publicity and promotion genius!
It is hard to imagine what an unprecedented grand occasion today's martial arts spring examination will be for the millions of people in the entire Shenjing City.
(End of this chapter)