Jia Yujing of Red Mansion

Chapter 120 The No. [-] Scholar
As the sun set, other students had already handed in their papers and left, and Jia Qiong finally finished writing.

He put down his pen, gently dried the ink on the test paper, read the article through, nodded with satisfaction, and then stood up to hand in the paper.

Because he had been kneeling for too long, his legs were numb. He limped forward and handed the paper to the examiner.

He bowed to all the marking officials, then came back and packed up the things on the desk and put them into the basket of snacks.

Then he staggered out of the examination room and walked outside the palace under the guidance of a forbidden soldier.

Just after leaving Fengtian Gate, I happened to meet my cousin Xu Shan who was waiting outside. He said to the imperial guard leading the way: "You go back, I will send him out."

"Yes, General."

The imperial guards agreed and turned around to retreat. Xu Shan stepped forward to support Jia Qiong and asked with a frown: "What did you do? It's not a martial arts test. Why are you still injured after taking the imperial examination?"

Jia Qiong waved her hands and said, "No, no, I just sat on my knees for too long and my legs are numb.

Just walk around and your qi and blood will be clear. "

Xu Shan's expression softened and he asked with concern: "How did you do in the exam this time? Why did you come out so late?"

Jia Qiong said casually: "I don't know, it doesn't matter.

Anyway, I am Huiyuan, and at worst I can get a second-class Jinshi. "

Xu Shan smiled and said: "What you said is very light. Everyone is looking forward to your passing three yuan."

Jia Qiong pretended to be indifferent and said: "It has been hundreds of years since the Chu imperial examination was held, and I have only heard of the small and medium-sized three yuan. No one has ever won the big three yuan."

Just let it happen, I won't force it.

By the way, cousin, I heard from Wei Rui the day before yesterday that my sister-in-law is pregnant. Congratulations. "

Xu Shan smiled when he heard this and said: "Yes, I only found out about it two days ago.

Speaking of this, you have to hurry up. You've been married for so long, why haven't you heard anything from your younger siblings? "

Jia Qiong didn't expect that Xu Shan would urge him to have a child, so he said helplessly: "I'm young, so there's no need to be so anxious."

Xu Shan said with a straight face: "There is no need to worry about this matter. If my sister and I still can't conceive, you should quickly find a doctor to see if there is something wrong with your health.

If there is a problem, it must be treated quickly, sooner rather than later..."

Jia Qiong endured Xu Shan's nagging, finally reached Zhengyang Gate, and ran away quickly.

At this time, Tian Li and Ping An were already waiting there with their horses beside the palace wall. Song Mian and Lu Yu were also standing beside them.

The classmates were concerned about Jia Qiong's exam situation, but they listened to Sheng Jiajia's advice, so only two of them were left here to wait for him to come out.

Knowing that Jia Qiong's palace examination went well, the two of them returned to the guild hall with peace of mind, and Jia Qiong also rode back to Osmanthus Alley.

Outside Fengtian Hall, all the candidates had left, and the marking officers could finally get off work. All the test papers were sealed by the marking officers.

Early tomorrow morning, the marking officers will go to the Wenhua Hall to the east of Fengtian Hall to mark the marks together.

The papers for the palace examination are first reviewed by ten examiners. Although it is not as rigorous as the provincial examination, there are many tricks.

If the marking officer thinks it is very good, he will put a circle on the paper; if he thinks it is acceptable, he will put a sharp point (inverted V) on the paper.

If you think the article is mediocre, just click a dot; if you think it's not good, put a vertical line; if you think the article is nonsense, just put a cross.

Generally speaking, the top three papers, that is, the first-level papers, must have at least eight "circles", the ones with lower grades must be second-level, and the ones with sharp and vertical points must be third-level.

Finally, they will select the ten best articles and present them to the emperor, ranking the final first-class articles and the top two.

The rest are basically arranged according to the marking officer's wishes. Whoever has more circles will be ranked higher.

Of course, the ranking of the palace examination is mainly decided by the emperor. Some diligent emperors will read all the papers and check them.

Therefore, the marking officers of the palace examination generally do not dare to go too far, and most of the time they still review the papers in a fair manner.

Early on the next morning, ten marking officials gathered in the Wenhua Hall.

Everyone sat down in front of a long case one by one. The examiner first took out the first examination paper and handed it to Zhang Chunyang, the chief assistant who was sitting in the first place. He was the chief examiner.

After reviewing the article, he wrote his name at the beginning of the volume, clicked a bit, and passed it to Li Shirui, the second-ranked assistant.

After Li Shirui reviewed it, he wrote his name, drew a sharp mark on it, and handed it to the next Minister of Civil Affairs, Xiao Mo, and passed it on in turn.

This ranking is based on the official status of the ten people. Among them, the first three people have the most important positions. They are the ones who set the tone.Under normal circumstances, the evaluation of the marking officer cannot be too different. For example, circles and verticals appearing at the same time are not acceptable.

When such a paper comes out, it will be collected by the invigilator and reported to the emperor alone.

If the emperor thinks the article is good after reading it, then those who give it a low score will be punished, and vice versa, so the marking officer will try to avoid this happening.

The chief marking officer is the first to evaluate, so he plays the biggest role.

For example, if he draws a circle on a paper, the person behind him can only draw a dot at least, otherwise he will definitely be taken away by the invigilator.

If the chief marking officer draws a dot, the role of the second marking officer will be highlighted.

If he draws a circle, then the people behind him can only choose from the sharp point of the circle, so there is still hope for the top two.

If he draws a cross, then the people behind him can only choose a sharp cross, and it will definitely be the top three.

The third marking officer has the same idea. If the first two people draw sharp points, he will draw circles or vertical lines to set the tone for the people behind.

Each policy essay in the palace examination is basically about a thousand words. For these important ministers who have read poetry and articles, it takes less than 2 minutes to read one article, so the examination speed is very fast.

The Fujian Party and the Royal Party check and balance each other, and no one dares to make too outrageous comments.

The previous grading went smoothly until Zhang Chunyang saw Jia Qiong's article.

He frowned and looked over it, hesitated, and drew a sharp point on it.

Zhao Junze's mistakes were right in front of him, and he didn't dare to go too far. He was too sharp but others couldn't criticize him.

Li Shirui took it and read it over, snorted coldly, drew a circle without hesitation, and passed it to Xiao Mo, the Minister of Civil Affairs.

After Xiao Mo finished reading, he pondered for a moment, drew a circle, and handed it to Luo Jin, the Minister of Household Affairs.

After reading it, Luo Jin hesitated for a while between sharp points and dots, but finally drew a sharp point.

Later, Yang Sicheng, Xie Qian and Sheng Jingbin all drew circles without hesitation.

Ji Lianhai, the censor of Zuodu, hesitated for a while after reading it, and finally just gave it a thumbs up.

Zuo Yimin, the Minister of Punishment, gave the tip without hesitation, and Jiang Yungong, the Minister of the Ministry of Industry, gave the circle.

In this way, Jia Qiong's paper only scored six circles, and he was directly excluded from the first class.

Of course Li Shirui and others were not satisfied with this result, but they couldn't help it.

Not long after, Emperor Longqing came to the Wenhua Hall. Zhang Chunyang presented the papers for the top ten. Jia Qiong only got six circles and was not among the top ten.

However, Emperor Longqing always read all the palace examination papers.

Although for the sake of the grading officials, he rarely changes the ranking.

But he must be aware of the level and thoughts of each Jinshi.

This time was no exception. He read all the palace examination papers.

The ministers did not know that Emperor Longqing had already agreed with the Supreme Emperor that the Supreme Emperor would grant Jia Qiong a marriage after the palace examination.

This determined that he must be ranked among the first, so that the royal family could be more dignified when granting marriage.

Even if Emperor Longqing didn't like Jia Qiong, he still had to get him into Yijia.

As for whether he is the number one scholar or Tan Hua Lang (Tan Hua Lang has a nice name), it all depends on Emperor Longqing's thoughts.

Soon he saw Jia Qiong's paper. When he saw Jia Qiong's clever connection between reform and diligence, Emperor Longqing couldn't help but his eyes lit up. After reading the entire article carefully, he was even more delighted.

He looked at the names and comments at the beginning of the volume, and smiled to himself: These people in the Fujian Party are really ugly. When Jia Qiong enters the court, I'm afraid there will be good things to see.

It just so happens that I have promoted Jia Qiong's rank this time, which can be regarded as a favor to him. My father can also explain it to him, which is killing two birds with one stone.

Thinking of this, Emperor Longqing said: "Jia Qiong's article has true insights and is deeply in line with my wishes. I recommend him as the number one scholar.

Jiang Wuji’s article is a bit radical, so it ranks sixth.

Han Wei Dian ranked second, Song Mian ranked third, Fang Yu fourth, Gongsun Yue fifth, Xu Mu seventh, Zhou Xi eighth, Gao Yunsheng ninth, and Li Chong tenth.

The ranking of the others will be based on the opinions of the ministers. "

(End of this chapter)