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Chapter 74: Posting the List (Part 1)

  After coming down from the floor, these two girls were still trembling and refused to let Miss live in this building with herself. Lan Ji suddenly came back to her senses and asked: "Is this matter settled like this?"

  "It's settled, from now on you can recite this scripture more often and also receive the protection of the goddess." Fang Xin said, handing her the scripture from earlier. Lan Ji carefully took it over, the earlier incident had given her a great shock.

  Although it's said that ghosts and spirits are not rare in this world, those who have seen them with their own eyes are still few and far between.

  Fang Xin smiled and said, "This house is really not bad. In fact, 2,000 taels of silver were to be sold, now it's cheaper for my family. You bring back all your dowry, and from now on, this land and the silver will all belong to you."

  "How can this be good, it should be the husband who handles it." Lan Ji couldn't help but take a breath of cold air, all the wealth of the Lu family was worth at least 5,000 taels, half of which belonged to Lan Ji herself and the other half was also due to Fang Xin's share. A concubine having control over such great wealth was unprecedented, even in large families, they wouldn't divide the family assets like this.

  "Your husband won't mind this little bit of silver, take it!" Fang Xin, after all, was not a person from this world, and he instructed as if it were nothing: "Besides, having passed the imperial examination, the customary gift of silver would also be around this amount."

  Juren and Xiucai are different, Juren can be directly appointed to the Ministry of Officials, the 30 mu of land granted by the government is nothing, the key is that after becoming an official, not only the county's scholars but also the county magistrate will congratulate.

  On earth, as soon as Fan Jin passed the imperial examination, Zhang, a former county magistrate, came to congratulate him with 50 taels of silver and gave him a house with three courtyards and three rooms on East Gate Street. The local gentry also presented congratulatory silver, and some declining families even came to offer their services. Within two or three months, Fan Jin's family had land, servants, money, rice, and houses.

  It actually makes sense, people of the same identity will send a congratulatory gift as an example. Although there are big and small, light and heavy ones, but together they add up to a considerable amount. This is not only about pulling relationships, but also for letting new Jinshi quickly adapt, having some assets and dignity, so as not to lose face as a Jinshi.

  Lan Qi smiled and said: "Husband, are you so confident?"

  "Is there anything wrong with Lord Lu's vision?" Fang Xin said with a smile, and then ordered: "There are still three days before the list is announced. Let someone clean up the yard, so that people can move in."

  Lan Qi had by now completely calmed down. Seeing the two maids in that state, she couldn't help but laugh and scold: "Still not quickly going to wipe your faces, go do things, don't lose face."

  These two servant girls may have slept in Fang Xin's bed, but they were nothing more than maids. In the future, even if they became concubines, it would be no big deal. Fang Xin only understood the true meaning of being a concubine after entering this world - every day, she had to greet the first wife and the second wife, without any authority over household matters. Being beaten or scolded was normal. If she gained favor, that was good. If not, even if the first wife beat her to death, it would be no big deal. Or being given away to someone else as a plaything was also normal.

  Su Dongpo often gave his concubines to others and then swapped them for fun. This is a historically verifiable fact.

  So I am just a commodity, not even human.

  It wasn't until then that I realized, this one wife of Ping, to Lan Ji's significance, without her, no matter how good her martial arts were, no matter how good her talent was, she would still be just a commodity, being beaten and scolded without daring to fight back even half a point, unless she wanted to rebel against the family and be pursued by the authorities, as well as suffer from the ridicule of the public.

  And without mentioning that the two girls were busy inviting people, like bees, while in the Gongyuan, the examiner was nervously selecting the papers one by one.

  First, look at the copied volume, select according to the level of the article. This selection is not a one-handed cover, but three identical volumes, selected by three groups of examiners. The number of people who passed the imperial examination in this province is fifty, so ten people were selected for the first list, fifteen for the second list, and twenty-five for the third list.

  The selected papers, however, were fixed at sixty copies, leaving some room for maneuver. Of course, when everyone selects papers, at least half are the same, and generally one-third to one-half are different. After collecting them, there are also about 100 copies of papers.

  This hundred-volume set was collectively reviewed, and a first, second, third, and supplementary list were evaluated.

  In this evaluation, Fang Xin's paper had already been discovered: "This paper is error-free, with a smooth and articulate writing style, and the argumentation is very clear. It can be selected as one of the top papers!"

  The examiner held the test paper and evaluated it. Of course, good papers were not only this one, but also several others. After discussion, it was temporarily ranked sixth.

  When everything was ready and the ranking had been decided, not only did the examiners arrive on the scene, but even local officials in charge of education had arrived to open the sealed envelopes.

  This is mainly to check the handwriting and whether there are any mistakes in the grid.

  Generally speaking, if it's a handwriting issue, it won't affect the ranking too much, but once there is an error in the grid, that's it, even if you write well, you will only be eliminated.

  The first one was opened, checked mutually, the handwriting was neat and there were no mistakes, so it was still placed on the front page. However, when they looked at the second one, the characters were round and had spirit, surpassing the previous one, but unfortunately, there was a typo.

  "This person is a pity, having wrong words, can only settle in the two lists." This is also the imperial court's rule, if there are wrong words, within three words, move to the next list, outside of three words, will not be admitted.

  When it came to the third place, the words were also good and there were no typos, but the grid was wrong. There's nothing to say about this, and I was directly eliminated. The examiners present were also very regretful.

  "It seems this person is not destined for good fortune, let's stop here for now!" said Chief Examiner Zhao Yangbin, and with that, the matter was settled.

  Eliminated two at once, and when it came to the fourth and fifth places, there were not many mistakes. When it came to the sixth place, the scroll was opened, and suddenly, the chief examiner Zhao Yangbin praised: "Good writing, really good writing!"

  When Zhao Yangbin was so praised, all the examiners were extremely surprised and took a look. After taking a look, there was nothing to say.

  "The strokes are neat, yet reveal a free spirit; the turns and twists show character. Truly excellent calligraphy! Among all the entries I've seen so far, this young man's calligraphy can be ranked first! This piece deserves to be moved up one rank." said Zhao Yangbin.

  After checking again, there were no mistakes in characters or format, and the examiners had nothing to say, so Fang Xin's paper was ranked third.

  Later, the ranking was naturally carried out in this way. There were seven people with wrong words and three people with wrong grids. As a result, they either fell down or dropped off the list directly, and the subsequent rankings naturally filled the vacancies.

  Fifty people were already full, and after checking the age of the examinees, although it was a bit cruel, if an examinee was over forty years old and still had a good ranking, they would drop several places, but still be considered to have passed. If their ranking was among the top three, they would directly fall off the list, and those who originally didn't have a chance would naturally fill up the remaining spots. By the time it got to the last fifty names, there were three people with similar scores, and for a moment, no decision could be made. The chief examiner, Zhao Yangbin, didn't even bother to look closely, simply picked up one of the papers and said, "Let's just go with him!"

  The name was actually Ning Boqiu.

  Then he turned to Xue Ping and said: "Sir, what do you think?"

  Xue Zheng remained silent, he was here to supervise, not to decide. Seeing the normal procedure, he smiled and said: "Zhao's actions are very good, then let's copy the yellow list!"

  This empire also attaches importance to yellow, and it is not easy to use the color yellow, especially bright yellow. However, this list is an exception, and what is called a golden list refers to a list on yellow paper.

  At the moment, among the examiners, there was one who was good at calligraphy. He ground the ink and then wrote down name after name in a list of colleagues. The chief examiner Zhao Yangbin and the educational official listened as he did so. After finishing writing the first list of ten names, he wrote two or three more lists. Once all were written without error, the examiner presented them saying: "Please have the two gentlemen apply their seals."

  Chief examiner Zhao Yangbin carefully examined the three lists, and did not speak for a long time, nor did anyone else urge him.

  Before printing, this ranking can still be adjusted, once printed, it's settled.

  After a moment, Zhao Yangbin made up his mind and solemnly took out a seal. This was the imperial seal used by the court when presiding over the examination, which had to be handed in after the exam was completed. He applied the seal paste and stamped it heavily.

  While studying politics, he also used the great seal, applied the ink pad, but first did not go up, instead, he smiled bitterly at the crowd and said: "Once this seal is affixed, fate will be decided."

  Those present, having all passed this barrier, smiled wryly and said: "Yes, in one province, there are three thousand candidates, with so many hopes pinned on them, yet only fifty can be selected. Those who pass will rise to great heights, while those who fail will fall into the mud - it's just too unequal."

  "We preside over the exam, it's impossible to be unfair, but as long as we ask our conscience and feel no guilt, that's all that matters!" Zhao Yangbin said.

  Xue Zheng heard this and did not hesitate, heavily stamping the great seal on it.

  With two stamps, fate was sealed, and the government immediately issued an order, opening the gate and firing a salute.

  The firecrackers were heard, and the crowd waiting nearby immediately swarmed up, but there were soldiers blocking them, unable to get close to the wall near the Gongyuan, only waiting for officials to come out with papers and paste them on it.

  At this time everyone was desperately looking around, and the soldiers were forced to retreat step by step. The soldiers desperately held on until the officials came out, posted a notice, and then went back in before lifting the blockade.

  Suddenly, with a loud "boom", the crowd rushed to the front of the list.

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