Chapter 775 Palace Examination (2)
When the Guangnan folks saw Sun Shan, they made "tsk tsk" sounds.
Sun Shan still smiled and greeted him charmingly: "My fellow countryman, nice to meet you."
The fellow villager across the street also said: "Brother Sun, after the palace examination, let's go out for tea and get together."
What is the purpose of getting together?
Humph! Sun Shan figured it out with his toes.
He, Sun Shan, was indeed famous. He was a famous internet celebrity who had become famous and many people wanted to know him.
After chatting with the fellow villager, I suddenly heard a sound, and then heard someone shouting: "Du Huiyuan, you are here."
Ouch~
The legendary "other people's children" are here.
Sun Shan had no interest because he had met Du Liubo a long time ago. Moreover, after the imperial examination, various tabloids in Beijing compared him with Du Liubo, which made Sun Shan even more upset.
Although black and red is also red, Sun Shan does not want to become famous in this way.
He wants it to be “bright red”, “pure red”, “dark red”, not “reddish black”!
Han Jieyuan pointed at Du Liubo and said with admiration: "Du Huiyuan is indeed a very elegant man. What a handsome man. Brother Sun, what do you think?"
When did Han Jieyuan become so nice to me?
They just met by chance and happened to be in the same year for the provincial and imperial examinations.
What's more, Han Jieyuan, you were born into a good family. When the provincial examination was held, everyone speculated that you would be the Jieyuan of this session. Sure enough, you lived up to everyone's expectations and became the Jieyuan.
Sun Shan looked calm, nodded in agreement and said, "Indeed, I admire Du Huiyuan's talent and learning. I am deeply moved to have the opportunity to see Du Huiyuan's style today."
Han Jieyuan's mouth twitched.
Why do I feel that what Brother Sun said is so hypocritical? Don’t you feel upset when he says such words while blowing rainbow bubbles?
Also, Brother Sun, didn’t you feel angry and embarrassed when you saw the tabloids comparing him to Du Huiyuan?
Han Jieyuan didn't know what Sun Shan was thinking, but looking at Sun Shan's performance at the moment, he could only describe it with the word "calm".
After Du Huiyuan's arrival, many people looked around.
After seeing Du Huiyuan's demeanor, they praised him repeatedly.
After that, many people looked for Sun Shan.
In particular, a candidate standing next to Sun Shan widened his eyes when he learned that the person in front of him was Sun Shan.
If it weren't for the prohibition of making noise outside the palace gate, the examinee would have shouted loudly: "Everyone, come and see, Sun Shan is here, Sun Shan is next to me. Everyone, please walk by and take a look, don't miss it."
Sun Shan smiled, and then remained speechless.
Why are those eyes so wide open? Do you want to eat me?
Humph! You little brat, I already know why you're so surprised.
Sun Shan chose to ignore it and quietly hid in the corner waiting to enter.
For some reason, Sun Shan, hiding in the corner, still felt countless eyes staring at him.
The candidates were whispering in twos and threes.
Sun Shan looked like a dead pig that was not afraid of boiling water, and he admired the night sky calmly.
Then a gust of cold wind came out and I couldn't help but shiver.
Candidate A whispered, "Look, that's Sun Shan. He always ranks last in the exam. Will he rank last in this exam?"
Candidate B also whispered, "I think he will definitely be the last one. But will Du Huiyuan be the top one?"
Speaking of being the top scholar, who doesn’t want to?
Candidate C whispered, "I think it's very likely that Du Huiyuan will be the Du champion. Oh, I'm convinced. I just glanced at Du Huiyuan quietly, and I envy his demeanor."
From this expression and tone, it is obvious that he is a die-hard fan of Du Huiyuan.
And this candidate's ranking must be very low, because it is low enough so as not to be jealous.
If it is Yayuan or Jingkui, maybe "literati look down on each other".
Sure enough, candidate Ding said, "Hey, forget about getting first place. For those of us who are ranked lower, we'll be thankful to get second place."
Sun Shan pricked up his ears and listened to them quietly.
Tsk tsk, second place? You’re dreaming!
Your ending is similar to mine, it's good enough to be in the top three.
Speaking of not being dismissed from the palace examination, it was all thanks to the "successful rebellion" of their predecessors, which benefited them, the younger generations.
It is said that during the reign of Emperor Renzong of Song Dynasty, there was a candidate named Zhang Yuan. After passing many tests, he failed the palace examination. He was very angry and fled to Western Xia, which was hostile to the Northern Song Dynasty at that time.
He contributed his abilities to Western Xia and eventually even became Western Xia's first strategist, causing huge losses to the Northern Song Dynasty.
In the end, because of the sacrifice of their senior Zhang Yuan, they, the younger generations, suffered.
When Sun Shan thought of this, he wanted to thank the predecessors who "resisted fate".
Sun Shan eavesdropped stealthily at the corner, but didn't hear much. At the hour of Mao, someone came and told them to move forward.
Sun Shan followed the crowd and quickly passed through the Qianbu Corridor and arrived at Chengtian Gate.
Suddenly someone said, "Teachers, please line up according to your ranking and accept inspection."
Sun Shan saw about two hundred burly men lined up neatly on both sides of Chengtian Gate. They were dressed like the Jinwu Guards.
Sun Shan knew from his neighbors that the person who had just spoken was the Minister of Rites.
I looked at the sky and it was almost dawn.
Sun Shan quickly found his position according to the ranking.
No need to consider what's in front of you, just line up at the end that's farthest from the palace.
There is no need to check the ranking with anyone.
Sun Shan was followed by a guard.
Sun Shan pretended not to know that he was looking at him, and lined up calmly, waiting for the routine search.
The candidate in front, ranked 500th, looked back at Sun Shan and smiled.
Sun Shan also smiled in response.
The result for the last and the second to last person is the same, they are all in the same boat.
The examination for the palace examination was not as strict as that for the provincial and metropolitan examinations. After Sun Shan was thoroughly examined, he was allowed to pass.
After the search was completed, the candidates followed the Minister of Rites through Chengtian Gate, walked straight ahead through Duanmen, and looked up to see Wumen.
Here, the candidates rushed to line up according to their odd and even numbers in the examination.
Odd-numbered people go through the Zuoye Gate on the east side, and even-numbered people go through the Youye Gate on the west side.
Sun Shan was ranked 501st, so he followed the main group through the Zuoye Gate on the east side.
After passing through the Meridian Gate, what comes into view is the "Huangji Gate", the largest gate in the entire palace.
Sun Shan looked at the solemn vermilion gate, which was locked tightly.
For the first time, I felt the meaning of "strict hierarchy" so shockingly.
He might never be able to pass through the "Huangji Gate" and move forward again in his entire life.
Sun Shan couldn't help but sigh that this was the imperial power, this was the palace gate that was out of reach.
Sun Shan stood quietly outside the gate, not daring to utter a word.
Not only him, but all the candidates and officials stood there quietly, not daring to utter a word.
He was afraid that his voice would blaspheme the imperial power and he would be killed.
The world suddenly became very quiet, and everyone's breathing became extremely faint.
Suddenly, there was a ray of light in the sky, and it was already noon.
There was a sound of drums and music coming from all around, and with a heavy and powerful clang, the vermilion door slowly opened.