Confucian and Taoist scholar

Chapter 223 Holy Temple Ceremony
Lu Zheng stood by the window, looking at the people on the street. The joys, sorrows, anger and all kinds of life were all in sight.

Of course, most people were like him, coming to watch the show.

"Today, everything will be clear!"

Zhang Bo was very excited and called the waiter directly to prepare wine and food.

Among the students in the private room, three of them passed the imperial examinations.

There were also a few people who participated in this year's autumn examination, but they knew that their level was a bit lacking, so they were not too disappointed and celebrated happily.

……

The list text in the air lasted for a full quarter of an hour before slowly disappearing.

An official from the provincial government announced in a loud voice, "Tomorrow at noon, an auspicious day, a grand ceremony will be held in the Confucian Temple to confer titles on successful candidates. Those who have passed the imperial examinations must be present... Anyone with a prestigious academic title or official position may also observe the ceremony in the Confucian Temple..."

Lu Zheng had been to the Confucian Temple once before, but he went there alone with Li Yuan, and the rituals were not that complicated.

He was curious about what this formal ceremony would look like.

"Tomorrow! I can't wait!" said a student who passed the imperial examination.

After a period of excitement outside the provincial government office, the onlookers gradually dispersed.

Chen Liang yawned and patrolled the streets back and forth.

There have been too many things going on recently. He has been busy from last night to this morning and has not had a moment to rest before coming here to maintain order.

Suddenly, he realized something, turned his head slightly, and saw Lu Zheng.

Chen Liang glanced around, strode towards the teahouse, and came to the private room where Lu Zheng was.

When Zhang Bo and others saw Chen Liang coming, they all stood up and greeted him.

Chen Liang nodded, poured himself a cup of tea, and stuffed another piece of cake into his mouth.

He came to Lu Zheng and said vaguely, "We arrested some Wu people last night. We also caught a few of the killers you were looking for. We don't know where the rest are hiding... They haven't dared to show up lately. You should stay in Hongzhou City and don't risk it alone. The governor is still very worried about you."

After hearing this, Lu Zheng didn't think there was anything wrong with it.

But Zhang Bo and the others looked surprised, and it was extraordinary that they could even make the governor worried.

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Risk? I don't think there is any danger."

Chen Liang rolled his eyes when he heard that. "Well, you want to show off your ability, right? When can we have a sparring match?"

When Chen Liang heard that Lu Zheng had escaped another attack, he was very curious about Lu Zheng's true ability.

Lu Zhengdao said, "We'll talk about it later when we have time. Chen Baiwei has been worried about me these past few days."

Chen Liang said quietly, "Yes, when you're done, you have to treat me to a good meal."

Lu Zheng took out a small bottle and said, "Chen Baiwei has been working hard. I have some tonic here. Take it and replenish your body."

"What do you mean? Am I weak? I'm fine!"

Chen Liang glared, then became curious, "What tonic? Let me see..."

Chen Liang took the bottle and opened it a little, and immediately smelled a strong scent of essence and blood.

His eyes lit up slightly, and he put it away. "Well, come to think of it, I really need to replenish my body recently. Given our relationship, I won't be polite!"

"Brother Lu, just have fun. With me here, no one in this city dares to do anything to you. If anyone messes up, I'll chop off his head!" Chen Liang patted his chest and vowed, "I won't bother you anymore. I still have to go on patrol!"

After saying that, Chen Liang strode away.

A student asked, "Brother Lu, are you and Chen Baiwei so close?"

The relationship between these young masters in the provincial capital and Chen Liang has never developed to this extent.

"It should be okay. Actually, we've only met a few times." Lu Zheng said with a smile.

Zhang Bo said, "Who wouldn't want to be close to Brother Lu?"

Everyone agreed with what he said. Those who were unwilling to get close to Lu Zheng were probably those who had something to hide.

The banquet ended quickly and everyone left the teahouse.

The other two students who passed the imperial examination said goodbye and went home. They had to go back home to receive celebrations and could not stay outside for long.

We all agreed to get together after we were done with our work.

Lu Zheng looked at the others and said, "Where in the city can I find a place that sells alchemy furnaces and elixirs? I want to learn alchemy..."

Zhang Bo was surprised and asked, "Brother Lu, why do you want to learn these?"

Lu Zheng smiled and said, "Learn more, it will be useful in the future."

Someone asked in confusion, "Brother Lu, you should focus more on your studies. How can we scholars spend our time on this?"

Lu Zheng nodded and said, "I have my own plans and will not delay my own cultivation."

"We have nothing else to do anyway, so let's go shopping with Brother Lu," someone said.

The group excitedly took Lu Zheng to visit the city.

After visiting several high-end shops, Lu Zheng bought a lot of supplies for himself and spent a lot of spirit stones.

When others saw this, they all felt that Lu Zheng was not from a small place at all. The amount of spirit stones he spent was more than the money they had saved.

Knowing that Lu Zheng obtained his wealth by slaying demons and ghosts, one can't help but be eager to try.

Until the evening, everyone dispersed and went home, preparing to rest early in order to attend the Confucian Temple ceremony tomorrow morning.

Lu Zheng and Zhang Bo passed by a restaurant and saw a group of students coming towards them.

When Jia Gu saw Lu Zheng, he couldn't help but greet him with a smile, "Brother Lu, Master Zhang!"

He also heard some of the things that Lu Zheng had done in the city and was very surprised at the time.

But now that he has passed the imperial examination, he has become much more indifferent.

No matter how much Lu Zheng makes a fuss, it will not help his studies and will only make the gap between him and him grow wider.

Lu Zheng saw Jia Gu and smiled, "Mr. Jia, congratulations on your admission."

Jia Gu's eyebrows were filled with a hint of pride. "Fortunately, I knew I could pass the imperial examination this year. Brother Lu, you have to work hard too. It's not good for you to cause trouble outside every day. Why don't you find a college in the state capital to study hard..."

Jia Gu spoke in a condescending and lecturing tone. Making trouble? Lu Zheng thought to himself that he had never made trouble, he just didn't like some things.

Jia Gu continued, "I have prepared a few tables for dinner. Would you two like to have a drink?"

Zhang Bo refused, "The ceremony will be held tomorrow morning, and we are going back to rest."

"Is that so?" Jia Gu nodded slightly. "Okay, see you tomorrow morning."

After saying this, Jia Gu left with everyone.

Zhang Bo frowned slightly and whispered, "Li Zhao is right. This Jia Gu has a bit of a mean streak."

Lu Zheng just smiled faintly and didn't take it to heart.

The two returned to their residence, had a simple meal, and then went to rest.

The next day, it was still dark.

Zhang Bo had already gotten up, washed, and changed into a clean and tidy set of Confucian clothes, with a crown on his head and a jade pendant on his waist, revealing his scholarly temperament.

Lu Zhengze was wearing casual clothes. After all, he was just going to watch the ceremony, so there was no need to dress too formally.

Zhang Bo stood in front of Lu Zheng and turned around. "I haven't dressed like this in a while. Brother Lu, can you see if there's anything wrong?"

Lu Zheng looked at him carefully and helped him tidy up his appearance.

Then the two of them took a carriage to the Confucian Temple.

The Confucian Temple of Hongzhou City is located on a green hill in the northern part of the city.

The Confucian Temple is also much more luxurious than the one in Kaiyang County.

When Lu Zheng and his party arrived at the foot of Wenmiao Mountain, a group of officials from the state capital had also arrived early.

The governor and the provincial governor led the way up the mountain on foot, carrying the ritual vessels, sacrificial offerings and other items needed for the ceremony.

The students who were conferred the title followed behind.

Lu Zheng and others were a little further behind.

When they arrived outside the Confucian Temple, Lu Zheng was inspected and was allowed to enter the temple to watch the ceremony.

Even though there are some restrictions, many people can enter the Confucian Temple and it is quite lively.

In a sacred place like the Confucian Temple, no one dares to make noise and everyone speaks in a very low voice.

"Hey, Brother Lu, here!"

Zheng Yu is qualified to enter the Confucian Temple, and is at the forefront.

When he saw Lu Zheng, he waved to him.

Seeing this, Lu Zheng walked over, and the officers and soldiers maintaining order did not stop him.

Zheng Yu whispered, "Is this your first time?"

"Yeah, it's quite lively." Lu Zheng nodded slightly.

Zheng Yu said with a smile: "Then you must take a good look at it, you may need it in the future."

Is it necessary? Lu Zheng thought that he no longer needed to take the imperial examination.

In the Confucian Temple, there are musicians playing music, the sound is melodious and solemn.

The entire Confucian Temple fell silent, and no one dared to speak.

The governor and the provincial governor first entered the main hall of the Confucian Temple to hold a worship ceremony.

In the square outside the temple, dancers in simple costumes performed more classical dances, accompanied by loud singing.

After half an hour, the group of waiting students who were about to pass the imperial examination finally entered the hall and performed a grand ceremony in the hall.

Su Ming stood before the statue of the saint, raised his hand, took out a scroll of silk, and read aloud: "In the An Dynasty... Hongzhou, there are fifty people who have passed the imperial examination. Wang Xiao of Hongzhou and Li Ji of Changshui County... request to be conferred the title of National Saint."

The list of fifty people had been submitted before and passed the court's inspection without any problems.

Now, it’s just a formal process.

After finishing reading, Su Ming shook the silk book, and the words in it turned into strands of golden light and sank into the statue of Saint Anguo.

But in a moment, the statue of the saint began to waver.

A shadow of a saint appeared in front of the saint's statue.

All of a sudden, everyone in the entire Confucian temple felt a divine power.

Everyone lowered their heads and did not dare to look directly at the saint.

Lu Zheng was a little curious, but he suppressed his curiosity and lowered his brows.

The shadowy figure looked at everyone in the hall and said slowly, "Yes!"

Suddenly, a strong literary aura appeared in the Confucian Temple, enveloping the students who had passed the imperial examination and enhancing their literary aura.

The literary spirit of each student was influenced and overflowed.

Zhang Bo stood in the hall with his head down, feeling his literary energy rising rapidly, and even that trace of righteousness gradually condensed and turned into a trace of righteous energy.

But after a while, his literary energy reached 13 feet and then stopped growing.

Zhang Bo originally had a literary aura of more than seven feet, and now that he was canonized by the court, his literary aura increased so much that it was beyond his expectations.

He carefully observed his surroundings and found that some people had actually increased their height by 15 feet, but most people were not as good as him.

Soon, the literary atmosphere in the Confucian Temple subsided.

These students who passed the imperial examinations all stepped from the realm of scholars to the realm of juren, and each of them had a look of joy on their faces.

When Su Ming and the governor saw this, they also smiled.

However, they found that the saint's shadow was still there.

But the saint's shadow raised his hand slightly, and a colorful air flew out, flying straight towards Lu Zheng.

(End of this chapter)