By a twist of fate, the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family marries the county princess.

After the top three in the first round were announced, it was time to announce the second round.

When the second-ranked students are called out, they do not need to step out of line and kneel like Wen Zongji and the other two. They only need to respond with "Here" from within the queue.

Even so, quite some time had passed by the time the names of the three hundred newly appointed scholars were announced.

Afterwards, Wen Zongji and other newly appointed Jinshi (successful candidates in the highest imperial examinations) were required to go to the Imperial Academy to pay homage to Confucius.

As the grand ceremony of announcing the results of the imperial examinations concluded, officials from the Ministry of Rites, carrying the large golden list of names, arrived outside the Meridian Gate under the protection of the Imperial Guards. The list was then hung above the Dragon Court for the many people of the capital to view.

This large golden list will be displayed for three days!

The people of the capital who knew about this process had been waiting nearby for the results to be announced.

Once the officials and guards who had posted the list of successful candidates had left, a large group of people immediately swarmed forward.

Before anyone could see clearly, someone announced, "The top scholar is Lu Nian'an, the second-place scholar is Wu Fengyuan, and the third-place scholar is Wen Zongji."

These words immediately caused a sensation among the crowd.

"It's such a pity that Young Master Wu didn't achieve the highest honors in all three levels of the imperial examinations!"

"Young Master Lu ranked second in both the provincial and metropolitan examinations, so his talent and learning must be quite outstanding. He was personally selected by the Emperor as the top scholar, so his essay for the palace examination should be better than Young Master Wu's."

"Sigh, I thought I'd witness the grand spectacle of all three achieving the highest honors in the imperial examinations. Why didn't His Majesty grant that wish?"

"Hmph, that's not right. His Majesty has always valued the imperial examinations. How could he disregard the fairness of the examinations just to force a triple crown of top scholars?"

Upon hearing this, the voices expressing regret that Wu Fengyuan had failed to achieve the highest honors in all three levels of the imperial examinations became much quieter.

"By the way, who is this Young Master Wen Zongji? He sounds unfamiliar."

Upon hearing this, the person in the know immediately said, "This name may be unfamiliar, but you are definitely familiar with his deeds. This man is the illegitimate son of the Marquis's family who married the Princess of Anhe County."

"Oh—so it was him. I used to think that Princess Anhe was blind to have fallen for a illegitimate son of a marquis, but now it seems that he is quite talented to have achieved the third-highest rank in the imperial examination."

"Tomorrow I'm going to find a good place to watch them parade through the streets on horseback and see the demeanor of this husband of Princess Anhe."

"Let's go together! I've been curious about this Young Master Wen for a long time."

"Me too!"

For a time, Wen Zongji became the center of attention, and many people became even more curious about him.

Thanks to Emperor Shun'an's good reputation for being diligent and caring for the people over the years, no one suspected that Wen Zongji's ranking was rigged.

Even if someone had doubts, no one dared to say them aloud.

After all, Emperor Shun'an had quite a few loyal supporters. If anyone were to publicly question the fairness of the imperial examination, the government wouldn't need to intervene; Emperor Shun'an's supporters could easily overwhelm them with their spittle.

……

"Third place in the imperial examination?"

The many women of the Marquis of Zhongyong's household gathered together, playing mahjong while waiting for the results of the imperial examination.

Even Wen Shuxuan is back.

The results of the final examination were completely unexpected.

Zhong subconsciously looked at Pei Rujing, then quickly looked away. A fleeting suspicion crossed her mind, and she herself felt it was impossible.

Wen Shuxuan congratulated Pei Rujing: "Congratulations, Third Sister-in-law! Third Brother has become the third-highest scholar in the imperial examination!"

Wen Shuyu was also overjoyed and stunned, and couldn't help but grab Pei Rujing's sleeve: "Sister-in-law..."

Pei Rujing snapped out of her shock, a wide smile spreading across her face: "Rewards! Everyone in the household will be rewarded!"

Jiang didn't mind Pei Rujing's overstepping her bounds and quickly added, "I'll add another three months' worth of monthly allowance!"

She had thought that Wen Zongji would have to go through the same process as Wen Zongren, first becoming a probationary official and spending three years in the Hanlin Academy. But she didn't expect Wen Zongji to be so ambitious and skip this process altogether.

That's even better!

Wen Zongji will be able to enter the court more quickly, and he and his brother Wen Zongren will be able to support each other better.

Pei Rujing remembered something and said urgently, "Granny, immediately send someone to reserve the best spot. I want to watch my husband parade through the streets on horseback tomorrow."

She remembered that the top three in the first-place competition were allowed to be paraded through the streets on horseback.

Wen Shuyu's eyes lit up: "Sister-in-law, I want to go too."

Pei Rujing was in a good mood and readily agreed: "I'll take you with me... and my aunt too."

Wen Shuyu stood up excitedly and said, "I'll go tell Auntie about this right away."

"Mother, Shuyu is leaving now."

After exchanging greetings with Madam Jiang, Wen Shuyu hurriedly ran away.

Madam Jiang smiled and said, "Shuyu's personality is much more lively than before."

Wen Shuxuan chimed in, "It's like he's become a completely different person."

"Mother, Mother, Third Brother has become the third-highest scorer in the imperial examination!"

As they were talking, Wen Zongqi ran in excitedly.

Wen Zongqi was determined to be a parasite, and for the sake of his own comfortable life, he was also very concerned about Wen Zongji's performance in the imperial examination.

Upon hearing the news brought back by the servant, he immediately came to tell Madam Jiang the good news.

Jiang smiled and said, "We all know. Zongji has set a good example for you; you should learn from your third brother."

"I know," Wen Zongqi replied casually, then added enthusiastically, "With such a joyous occasion in the manor, shouldn't we hold a grand banquet to celebrate?"

Pei Rujing's eyes lit up.

Jiang's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly stopped him: "Nonsense! Although Zongji has achieved the third-highest rank in the imperial examination, there are still the top two scholars ahead of him. If they don't celebrate lavishly, what would it look like if we threw a huge banquet?"

Pei Rujing frowned.

She wanted to celebrate grandly, to let those who secretly laughed at her see that her husband had become the third-ranked scholar in the imperial examination.

Let's see who dares to say she married a useless illegitimate son; they're doomed from now on.

Jiang knew she didn't have much authority as a mother-in-law in front of Pei Rujing, so she cursed Wen Zongqi in her heart and said, "We'll have to wait for the Marquis and Zongji to return before we can discuss the specifics of this matter."

Even if she couldn't persuade Pei Rujing, she believed Wen Zongji could.

Wen Zongqi said with a regretful look, "If Young Master Wu becomes the top scholar in the imperial examination, achieving the highest honors in all three categories, the Wu family will definitely hold a banquet to celebrate, and we can also take the opportunity to hold a grand banquet."

Jiang glared at him: "Go back to your studies! Zongji has already achieved the third-highest rank in the imperial examinations, and you're not even a scholar. Aren't you ashamed!"

Which pot is not open to mention which pot!

You damn bastard!

Wen Zongqi was completely confused. Why was his mother suddenly angry?

……

Princess's Residence

"Hahaha--"

The eldest princess made no attempt to hide her joy, laughing heartily.

"This son-in-law of mine is truly unexpected; I never imagined he could achieve the third-highest rank in the imperial examinations."

Aunt Wan smiled and said, "The county princess is a blessed person. Even if there are villains plotting against her, Heaven is on her side."

The eldest princess wholeheartedly agreed: "You're right. My Jing'er is a person of great fortune; the best days are yet to come."

"Prepare a congratulatory gift carefully and send it to Zongji. I congratulate him on passing the imperial examination with the third-highest rank."

Aunt Wan replied, "This servant will go right away."

"A second monthly stipend will be awarded to the entire household for the first and second halves of the year!"

"On behalf of the entire Princess's household, this servant thanks the Princess for her generous gift."

Aunt Wan said.