Chapter 134 Reprimand
"What? 9th in the first class?"
Upon hearing this, the people nearby who were watching the list and the fun all looked at Qi Heng and Sheng Changbai.
Although the final ranking of each imperial examination is determined by the palace examination, the ranking of the joint examination is not completely useless.
Anyone who scored first in the imperial examination would at least be ranked second in the palace examination. Although this was not an absolute rule, there were few exceptions.
In other words, as long as Sheng Changbai doesn't do anything stupid in the palace examination and doesn't write anything sensitive, he will almost certainly get at least second place in the examination.
Don’t underestimate the second class. How many people are there in the first class?
There are only about a dozen or twenty each time.
And this is just the lowest. If it is higher, it’s hard to say.
If things go well, you might even get top spot in the imperial examination.
The wealthy businessmen in the crowd who were waiting to find a son-in-law were very excited when they heard this. However, when they saw the two men's attire and thought about Sheng Changbai's ranking, they looked displeased.
People like this simply look down on wealthy businessmen like them.
Sheng Changbai didn’t know what others were thinking. When Qi Heng saw his name, he actually saw it too.
Even though he was mature beyond his years, he was still a little stunned when he saw that he had passed the exam and ranked very high.
Qi Heng's exclamation brought him back to his senses, and he regained his composure almost instantly. He said, "Yuan Ruo, find your name."
His expression was calm as he spoke, with only the corners of his mouth slightly raised, showing his happiness.
"okay!"
Qi Heng was slightly startled when he saw Sheng Changbai's calm expression.
He asked himself, how happy would he be if he got ninth place in the first class?
Thinking of this, he felt that he was a little too unstable.
"Yuan Ruo, you got it too!" Sheng Changbai said with a smile.
"where?"
"There, the 26th place in the second class."
Qi Heng's mood, which had just calmed down, became excited again. Following Sheng Changbai's finger, he saw his name and said excitedly, "Zecheng, I really won!"
"Yeah!" Sheng Changbai was also happy for Qi Heng. After he calmed down a little, he said, "Let's go home and report the good news."
Qi Heng nodded, and the two of them pushed through the crowd and separated, each running towards their own carriages.
Duke Qi and Princess Pingning did not get out of the carriage. The servants outside the carriage saw Qi Heng coming from afar and reported excitedly: "My lord, my lady, the young master is back, and his face is full of joy. He must have won the prize."
Upon hearing this, Duke Qi and Princess Pingning quickly got off the carriage. Looking at their son approaching, they excitedly took two steps forward and asked, "Did Henghe pass the exam?"
Qi Heng bowed and said, "I have lived up to my parents' expectations and passed the exam and ranked 26th in the second class!"
"Good! Good! Good!"
Princess Pingning shouted "OK" three times in a row, her voice trembling.
She was proud and arrogant, and she was extremely strict with her only son. Now he finally did not let her down.
"Let's go back first, let's go back and celebrate properly." Duke Qi saw that many people were looking at them, so he suppressed his excitement and said.
"Yes, yes, we must celebrate properly. Before, I said that we should book Fanlou for the celebration, but Henger refused to let me." Princess Pingning said.
Before Qi Heng took part in the imperial examination, she wanted to book Fanlou for a day on the day the results were announced and hold a buffet to celebrate.
As the most famous restaurant in Bian Jing, Fanlou is expensive to book for a whole day, but their family is not short of money at all.
However, Qi Heng sternly rejected it.
If it were the Qi Heng of the past, he would naturally not refuse, after all, he had lived a life of luxury since childhood.
Although he would not look down on ordinary people, he would not think it was inappropriate to book Fanlou for celebration.
However, under the influence of Zhao Xing over the years, Qi Heng has matured a lot and feels that doing so is not only too extravagant, but also too high-profile. When Princess Pingning proposed to book Fanlou to celebrate, he refused.
Princess Pingning did not refuse her son on these small matters.
On the other side, Sheng Changbai also told Rulan Minglan that he had won the ninth place in the first class.
Both of them were happy for Sheng Changbai.
The three of them drove back to the Sheng family, where Sheng Hong and Madam Wang were already waiting outside the door.
Even Hualan went back to her parents' home today to wait for news.
Upon learning that her son had ranked ninth in the first class of the exam, Mrs. Wang hugged Sheng Changbai and cried with joy.
It took him a while to control his emotions after Hua Lan and Sheng Hong's persuasion.
He ordered people to set off firecrackers, scatter money for porridge, and set up a buffet.
After giving the order, the whole family accompanied Sheng Changbai to Shou'an Hall to announce the good news.
When Mrs. Sheng found out, she was also very happy.
It is said that wealth cannot last for more than three generations, but there is another saying that three generations can produce aristocrats. The so-called generations of nobility do not only mean that there are people who can become officials in each generation, but also that there are people who can pass the imperial examination to become officials in each generation.
The Song Dynasty had a system of hereditary titles, and when one reached the fifth rank, one could enfeoff one's descendants.
However, these titles were mostly sinecure positions, and even if they were held as real positions, their prospects were very limited.
Only when there are people who pass the imperial examinations and enter officialdom from generation to generation, and with the help and support of the elders, can one be called a generation of scholars.
Now that Sheng Changbai has passed the exam, the Sheng family has three generations of officials. The only difference is that Old Master Sheng died early, so there was a gap in between. In addition, Sheng Hong did not receive any help from his parents, so he is a little worse off than those families whose generations have been officials.
Old Madam Sheng quickly calmed down. When she heard the noise coming from outside, she asked in confusion, "Why is it so noisy outside?"
"Mother, it was my daughter-in-law who asked people to distribute porridge and money so that we can celebrate properly." Madam Wang said with a smile.
"Nonsense!" Old Madam Sheng's face darkened and she said, "It's just the provincial examination now. The palace examination will be held in half a month. If you don't study hard and prepare for the palace examination now, what are you celebrating for?"
After saying that, he glared at Sheng Hong and said, "You are also a candidate for the imperial examination. If your wife doesn't understand, how can you not understand?"
"My son was so happy that he lost his mind."
Sheng Hong's face changed and he shouted, "Go quickly and make them stop."
"Grandma, Dad and Mom!" Sheng Changbai bowed and said, "I'll go back and read first."
"Well, go ahead." Old Mrs. Sheng looked at Sheng Changbai with a calm expression and nodded with a smile.
"sit down."
After Sheng Changbai left, Old Lady Sheng looked at Madam Wang, who had a sullen look on her face, and her expression softened a little.
"Mother, Bai'er is now eighteen years old and has passed the imperial examination. Isn't it time to arrange his marriage?" said Madam Wang.
"Let's talk about it after the palace examination is over." said Old Lady Sheng.
"There's no need for Bai'er to worry about the marriage, it won't affect him. My daughter-in-law thinks the Kang family's niece is pretty good, and the two families..."
Madam Wang had mentioned this matter before and was scolded by Old Madam Sheng.
Now that Sheng Changbai has passed the imperial examination, she feels that she has made a contribution to the Sheng family, so she took the opportunity to bring it up again.
"enough!"
Old Madam Sheng said coldly: "I have my own ideas about Changbai's marriage."
"Mother, you have seen Zhao'er, she is very well behaved and a perfect match for Bai'er..."
"Are you taking what people say as a lie?" Old Madam Sheng interrupted Madam Wang and said thoughtfully, "If the Kang family wants to form an alliance with the Sheng family, the eldest daughter of the family is still available for marriage. If the Kang family is willing, I can act as a matchmaker. If not, forget it. Bai'er is your son. If he has a good in-law family, it will be of great help to his future. Think carefully about whether you are closer to your sister or your son."
Mrs. Wang fell silent after hearing this. Naturally, her sister was not as close as her son.
But in her opinion, her son is valued by the prince and her daughter is the prince's concubine, so she has no worries about her future and it doesn't matter who she marries.
However, seeing the determined look on Mrs. Sheng's face, she did not dare to continue.
"I have to ask my sister about this matter." said Mrs. Wang.
"If she is willing, just tell me. If not, forget it." said Mrs. Sheng.
"Yes." After being lectured, Madam Wang was too embarrassed to stay here, so she stood up and left.
Hualan was anxious to comfort her mother, so she followed her.
Old Madam Sheng asked Rulan and Minglan to go down first, leaving only her and Sheng Hong in the room.
"You didn't tell her about the Hai family, did you?" asked Old Lady Sheng.
"I wasn't sure before, so I didn't tell you." Sheng Hong said.
"It's good that she didn't say it. Mrs. Hai's words last time revealed that as long as Changbai can pass the exam this time, she is willing to marry her daughter to him. After the examination is over, I will go to the Hai family in person to propose marriage. Don't tell her before that." said Mrs. Sheng.
That’s right, this time it was the Hai family who took the initiative to hint that they were interested in marrying their eldest daughter off.
Hai Wenyou teaches Zhao Xing and also teaches Sheng Changbai.
He liked Sheng Changbai very much and felt that he had a great chance of passing the exam this time.
He asked his wife to find Old Madam Sheng and give her a hint.
After all, the Hai family is of much higher status than the Sheng family, and since they are the ones marrying off their daughter, it is impossible for the girl to take the initiative to propose marriage to the boy.
Hai Wenyou also had his own purpose in doing this. The Hai family had five Hanlin scholars and had a great influence among the literati.
If you marry into a rich family, it will inevitably arouse suspicion.
The most important thing is that the Hai family is now in a period of transition, and the younger generations are very mediocre.
He was very optimistic about Sheng Changbai and did not care about his family background.
(End of this chapter)