Do You Know?: Rule the World

"Let's go back home and have a banquet to celebrate!"

Soon, six or seven carriages slowly drove out from the dock, their wheels making rumbling sounds as they rolled over the bluestone road, and headed straight for Jiying Lane, which was only four or five miles away from the imperial palace.

Hualan, Wang Ruofu, and Rulan and her daughter were in the same plane.

"What did you say? Brother Zhao passed the imperial examination?!"

The round fan in Wang Ruofu's hand slipped into the carriage with a "snap".

The noise made Rulan, who was originally concentrating on playing cricket fighting, prick up her ears and listen carefully.

"Yes, it's a pity that my mother didn't hear it with her own ears."

When they were greeting each other just now, the lady was instructing the servants to pack up the household belongings in the back and missed this amazing news.

Wang Ruofu came back to her senses, moved closer to Hualan, and her voice trembled.

"This is a great joyous event. Back then, your father only ranked second, which was already glorious enough."

"This time, Yuan Lang will enter the Hanlin Academy. Hua'er, Hua'er, we have really found a treasure!"

Hua Lan lowered her eyes and smiled slightly. She was naturally happier than anyone else because her future husband would achieve great things.

"No, no, when I get home I will write a letter and send it to your grandparents to make them happy too!" Wang Ruofu's heart was beating fast and her face was full of smiles!

Please pursue reading and monthly tickets~

Chapter 37: Planning

The Wang family has been a distinguished and prestigious family for generations.

Wang Ruofu's father, the old Grand Tutor Wang, won the top three places in the imperial examinations when he was young and became the prime minister.

He died in the line of duty a few years ago. Because of his integrity and honesty, he was deeply loved by the people. When he died, the Wanmin Umbrella was received by the people several times.

The emperor was deeply impressed by his loyalty and granted him the right to be enshrined in the Taimiao. Wang Ruofu was always proud of this.

It’s a pity that her brother Wang Yan’s talent and ability are extremely mediocre.

In the past, he had the protection of Old Master Wang, and his official career was relatively smooth.

Ever since the old Grand Tutor passed away, his situation in officialdom has been getting worse day by day.

With Old Lady Wang plotting on the side, Wang Yan had to serve in foreign posts for many years and never had the opportunity to return to Beijing, and the gap between him and Sheng Hong became increasingly larger.

Soon, the carriage stopped steadily outside the gate of Sheng Mansion.

The newly hung plaque under the eaves glows with the unique luster of ebony in the sunlight.

As early as a month ago, Sheng Hong wrote a letter and instructed the people in charge of the mansion to repair and tidy up the house inside and out.

This five-courtyard house is very large and much more spacious than the Sheng Mansion in Yangzhou.

The bluestone corridor in the front yard alone is more than two meters wide.

Passing through the hanging flower gate, the front hall, central hall, back yard and back room are arranged in sequence on the central axis.

The left and right wing rooms and ear rooms are arranged in an orderly manner, and the winding corridors cleverly connect the courtyards together.

Old Mrs. Sheng’s residence is named Shou’an Hall, which means good fortune, longevity and health. There are two sturdy Podocarpus trees planted in front of the door.

Wang Ruofu's residence was called Weiruixuan, which was taken from "The orchid leaves are lush in spring, and the osmanthus flowers are bright in autumn", and it also secretly matched the name of Hualan.

Lin Qinshuang's place was Linqi Pavilion, and Wei Xiaoniang was arranged by Sheng Hong to live in Tingxue Residence.

When the steward of the mansion learned that Sheng Hong had returned, he hurried to greet him with a group of maids and servants.

Seeing that a distinguished guest had come to the door, without waiting for instructions, a smart servant had already gone to the kitchen to tell him to prepare tea.

Although everyone in the mansion was busy, everything was in order and there were no mistakes or omissions.

All the girls followed the old lady and Wang Ruofu to the backyard for tea.

Shulan was gentle in nature and got along very well with Hualan. The two of them sat on the soft couch by the window, whispering about interesting things in their boudoir, and chuckling from time to time.

Rulan completely inherited Wang Ruofu's temperament. Under the influence of her, she has always looked down on the eldest branch of the family.

He was bored and teased the crickets in the celadon jar alone, glancing at Minglan and Pinlan from time to time.

Molan was holding a collection of poems by Xie Daoyuan and savoring it by herself.

In the front hall, Sheng Hong still couldn't suppress the joy in his heart.

He looked at Zhao Han and said, "The palace examination will be held in a while. Fortunately, the emperor is benevolent and will not eliminate Jinshi candidates in the palace examination."

"However, my dear son-in-law, you should still prepare in advance to avoid making mistakes when reporting to the emperor."

After the yellow list is posted, the palace examination is usually held no later than one month to prevent scholars from forming private relationships with court officials.

Originally, the palace examination in the Great Zhou Dynasty was based on an elimination system.

Even if you are lucky enough to pass the imperial examination, you may be eliminated in the palace examination, which will shatter your dream of a career in officialdom.

There was even an incident where a scholar became dissatisfied after being eliminated in the palace examination and fled to Western Xia, becoming a serious threat to the court.

Therefore, the government of this dynasty announced the abolition of the elimination system.

All the scholars whose names are on the yellow list will be recruited and appointed as officials by the court, and the palace examination is only used to rank them.

In other words, even if Zhao Han was the top scorer, his ranking might drop during the palace examination because his essays did not meet the emperor's expectations, or his writing style was inappropriate, or other factors.

The ranking is also directly related to the official rank and the starting point of the official career.

If one passes the imperial examination, he can directly enter the Hanlin Academy or be appointed to an important official position in Beijing, and there is hope that he will become a prime minister in the future.

Most of those who were Jinshi graduates were sent to serve as magistrates in prefectures and cities, and it took them many years of experience before they could be promoted.

With the same Jinshi degree, he might only get the official position of a lieutenant in a remote county, or even be on the waiting list for a vacancy.

"I understand, son-in-law. I will make good preparations when I get back."

Zhao Han bowed in response. After all, he had come this far, and it was impossible for him to fail in the palace examination.

Then, Sheng Hong turned his attention to Sheng Changbai and Sheng Changfeng.

"With such a precious gem before you, you two should be even more diligent and motivated. Don't slack off and prepare well for the next autumn exam."

Sheng Changbai nodded solemnly.

"My son understands. He will follow his elder brother-in-law's example and study hard day and night, striving to pass the imperial examination in the autumn."

Sheng Changfeng also quickly agreed, but his tone was a little lighter, and it was obvious that he didn't take Sheng Hong's words to heart.

"Don't worry, father. I will definitely follow my elder brother-in-law's example and will never let you down!"

"I'm relieved that you have such ambition. It makes my efforts to persuade Zhuang Xueji to come all the way to Beijing with us worthwhile."

Sheng Hong stroked his beard and smiled, then turned around and asked about Sheng Wei.

Sheng Wei said, "Marquis Mu Yu gave his reply yesterday. I will serve under Chang Wu once he arrives in the capital."

"Changwu is a steady kid. He will definitely make a name for himself in the army in the future."

"When Changwu settles down in the capital, I will definitely bring him to the mansion for a visit."

"The old lady was still talking about it a few days ago, saying that she hadn't seen her nephew for a long time."

Sheng Hong stroked his beard and smiled. He knew very well that the eldest branch of the family would rise and fall with him.

He always tried his best to intervene in matters concerning the eldest house.

Nearing noon, two tables of exquisite banquets had been set up. The Sheng family has always had separate seats for men and women.

But because today was a family dinner, he set up the banquet in one place and only asked the servant to bring a screen to separate the inside and outside.

Outside, Sheng Hong was drinking and chatting happily with Zhao Han, Sheng Wei and others.

Behind the screen, the women were talking and laughing.

Hua Lan sat next to Wang Ruofu, and from time to time she glanced at Zhao Han through the screen.

When she saw that he was still wearing the sachet she had given him, the blush on his face lingered for a long time.

Zhao Han naturally noticed Hua Lan's gaze, but unfortunately, because Sheng Hong was here, he couldn't say much.

The old lady was the best at reading people's minds. As she picked up some food for Hualan, she whispered, "If you don't serve more food, your soul will almost fly into someone else's body."

Hua Lan smiled, with a hint of coquettishness in her eyes.

"Grandma is always making fun of people. Can't I just eat my vegetables?"

The old lady chuckled and whispered in her ear, "Next time the Zhao family's son comes to Shou'an Hall to pay his respects, I'll send Fang Mama to tell you secretly without letting your father know."

"Grandma, is this really okay?" Hua Lan lowered her head, but the corners of her mouth couldn't help but rise.

"The old lady misses her granddaughter. Can't she call her over to chat with her?"

Hua Lan smiled and said, "Of course you can. Daddy is most afraid of Grandmother."

Because everyone was happy, they drank and chatted with each other, and the meal lasted for half an hour.

After leaving Sheng Mansion, the first thing Zhao Han did was to write a letter and send it to Yangzhou as quickly as possible.

Now is the time to buy a property in the land-scarce city of Bianjing!

It's a new month soon, please vote for me and read my books.

It is said that Tuesday's follow-up reading is related to the next round of recommendations. I am begging the big guys not to support the book~

Chapter 38 The Palace Examination Begins

On March 15th, the east wind thaws the ice and spring is in the air.

On the day of the palace examination, the sky was just breaking at dawn, and the morning light penetrated the mist.

Officials of the Great Zhou Dynasty above the third rank wore purple, those above the fifth rank wore red, those above the seventh rank wore green, and those above the ninth rank wore blue.

The white color symbolizes the innocent status of the tribute scholars before they were appointed as officials.

Therefore, all the successful candidates in this year's examination wore plain white robes and, led by eunuchs, lined up and passed through the numerous palace gates to meet the emperor in Jiying Hall.

As the champion of the exam, Zhao Han naturally ranked first among all the scholars. On both sides of the imperial road, the guards stood with spears in their hands, looking solemn and majestic.

"Announce—the present ministers are entering the palace!"