#88 - That Year on the Golden List (4500 words, two chapters in one)
“Brother Li is back~”
“Brother Li, Brother Li~~~”
“Brother Li, what delicious things did you bring us~”
Li Han had just returned to the courtyard when a group of little boys and girls rushed towards him.
“Hehe, don’t fight, don’t grab, there’s something for everyone, something for everyone. Xiaohua, distribute these things to the children. There’s food and clothes.” Li Han said happily.
“Yay, we have new clothes to wear~ Thank you, Brother Li~” A little girl jumped up happily, clapping her hands.
“Brother Li, I want to join the army when I grow up, and I want to enter the Blood Slaughter like Brother Li and earn lots and lots of money.” A little boy ran forward, looking at Li Han with anticipation.
“I want to join the army too.”
“I want to join the army too.”
Following the uproar of a little boy, many people in the courtyard shouted the same.
“You fools, what’s so good about joining the army? It’s dangerous and exhausting.”
Li Han smiled and patted his head.
“Moreover, you can’t just join the army for money. There are many ways to make money, not just joining the army. If the soldiers in our Wu Kingdom’s army only joined for money, then Wu Kingdom would be finished sooner or later. Okay, okay, go pick out your new clothes, go, go, go.”
Under Li Han’s urging, the children left a little unhappy.
Being a soldier includes food and lodging, and you can also send money home. What a great thing.
However, after receiving their new clothes, they were happy again.
“It’s good that you come back every time, you don’t need to buy so many things.”
From the kitchen, a woman named Ye Ye walked out.
Wearing an apron, the fair-faced Ye Ye looked very virtuous.
It was just that single ponytail hairstyle draped over her shoulder that gave people a dangerous feeling.
“It’s okay, it’s okay, the children are happy.” Li Han said with a smile.
Ye Ye wanted to say something, but just shook her head: “The rice is almost cooked, let’s eat first.”
Li Han nodded: “Okay.”
The slightly older children brought out the rice buckets and vegetable basins, serving rice to the other children one by one.
Lunch wasn’t very lavish, but it was definitely not shabby, with meat, vegetables, and an egg drop soup.
After lunch, the younger children in the courtyard helped wash the dishes, while the older ones had already gone outside to work or become apprentices.
In the afternoon, the children gradually returned to their small beds in their rooms for an afternoon nap. The courtyard suddenly became quiet, making people feel a little unaccustomed.
Ye Ye and Li Han sat in the courtyard. Ye Ye glanced at Li Han:
“You really don’t need to buy so many things back in the future. It’s not easy for you soldiers to earn military merits, not to mention you’re still a martial artist. I heard that all kinds of body-tempering medicinal materials and weapons and equipment are very expensive.
You have been exchanging military merits for money all these years. Look at yourself. This set of clothes you are wearing has been patched up with several pieces of cloth.”
“It’s okay, Sister Ye Ye, I don’t need money for food and drink in the Blood Slaughter.” Li Han said with an honest smile, “Moreover, the body-tempering medicinal materials given by the Blood Slaughter are also enough. As for clothes, we all wear military uniforms in the Blood Slaughter and rarely wear casual clothes.”
Ye Ye shook her head:
“Don’t try to fool me. Although I don’t know much about military affairs, how could an army, even the Blood Slaughter, have everything in abundance? Especially as your realm increases, the heavenly materials and earthly treasures you need will also increase.
There must be a lot of things that you need to exchange for with military merits.
As for the family, it’s really okay. Many children in the courtyard have already grown up and they can go out to work.
You can have even greater achievements. It’s time for you to think about yourself too.”
“……”
Li Han lowered his head.
Li Han still wanted to say something, but Ye Ye had already changed the subject: “By the way, it’s not New Year’s or a festival today, why are you back?”
“Hehe…” Li Han scratched his head, with a bit of pride, “One of my brothers is participating in the provincial examination. Today is the day the results are released. A few of us in the military camp wanted to come out together.”
“People from the military camp are participating in the provincial examination. Did he pass the provincial examination?” Ye Ye said in surprise.
“It’s more than just passing the provincial examination… This brother of mine…”
“Sister Ye Ye, Brother Li Han, it’s so lively outside. The results are out, the results are out. The Number One Scholar is out…”
Just as Li Han was about to introduce his brother to Sister Ye Ye, a child ran in and said.
“Sister Ye Ye, let’s go take a look quickly…” Li Han stood up quickly, looking anxious.
“Okay…” Ye Ye chuckled and reached out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear.
Li Han looked at the bracelet on Ye Ye’s left wrist, paused slightly, and then smiled even more brightly.
“Hai Zhi, why are you back today?”
In the residence of the Minister of War, Xiong Wentian looked at his son.
“Master, what are you saying? Hai Zhi came back because he missed us, right? Wanting to visit us, isn’t that normal?” Madam Xiong said with a smile.
“Hmph!” Xiong Wentian snorted coldly, “The Blood Slaughter’s military law is strict. The number of times you can come out in a year is very few. If it weren’t for important matters, coming out casually would be treating it like a child’s play.”
“Master, what are you saying? What do you mean by child’s play? My son came out of the military camp…”
“Dad, Mom.” Xiong Haizhi interrupted his mother’s words, “This time, I came out because I have some matters to attend to. One of my brothers is participating in the imperial examination. Today is the day the results are released. After I see the list, I will go back.”
……
A courtyard in Wudu.
Guang Yin and Hu Tao, who had gotten a few days of vacation, temporarily left the Blood Slaughter military camp.
They bought a two-courtyard residence, which wasn’t cheap, but not too expensive either.
After Guang Yin and Hu Tao cleaned up the courtyard, this was their home.
This day, Guang Yin woke up very early, pacing back and forth in the courtyard, constantly looking at the time in the courtyard.
Guang Yin had never felt that time passed so slowly.
“Brother Guang, Brother Guang!”
Just as Guang Yin became more and more anxious, Hu Tao rushed into the courtyard.
“Brother Guang, the results are out!”
……
In the Xu residence, two young and beautiful women sat together.
In front of the two young and beautiful women was a big white goose.
Compared to four years ago, this big white goose was even bigger, with a more slender neck, feathers as white as snow, and very human-like eyes.
This big white goose had even grown eyelashes. Upon closer inspection, it even had a delicate and pretty appearance.
It was just that the big white goose kept flapping around in the courtyard, which didn’t quite match its beautiful appearance.
“What’s wrong?” Wang Feng looked at Chen Suya, “Xu Ming is coming back today. Why do you look so nervous, sister? Are you not happy?”
“Of course I’m happy to see Ming’er.”
Chen Suya shook her head with a smile.
“It’s just that I haven’t seen Ming’er for four years. These four years are when children grow up the fastest. I don’t know what Ming’er looks like, and whether he still recognizes me, his mother. I, as a mother, am not very capable. Ming’er is so outstanding, I’m really afraid of holding him back.”
Wang Feng smiled: “What nonsense are you talking about? No matter what he looks like, he is your child. No matter how long it has been, how can a child not recognize his mother? Besides, your ability to support Xu Ming in doing what he wants to do back then was the greatest support for him.”
Chen Suya smiled and nodded: “Thank you, Sister Wang, for your comfort.”
“You ah… you really underestimate yourself too much. The most difficult thing for a person is to know what they should do and what they shouldn’t do.”
Wang Feng sighed.
“When Xu Ming’s talent spread throughout Wu Kingdom and he was ranked among the top fifty on the Azure Cloud List, you were still embroidering in this Xiaochun Courtyard as usual, not competing or snatching, surpassing countless women in the world.
Little do you know how arrogant the people of the Xu State Mansion became after Xu Ming was summoned into the palace by His Majesty and gained favor.
The Xu State Mansion will eventually bring fire upon themselves.”
Chen Suya was startled: “Sister… you can’t say that…”
“Can’t say that randomly?” Wang Feng smiled, her voice dignified, “I am the Lady Head of the Xu State Mansion, what can’t I say randomly?”
Chen Suya: “……”
“Okay, let’s not talk about this annoying matter.” Wang Feng changed the subject, “The results should be released soon, let’s go take a look.”
“Mm.” Chen Suya stood up.
Just as Chen Suya and Wang Feng walked out of the courtyard, Chunyan ran over breathlessly:
“Madam, Fifth Madam, the palace… the palace… people from the palace are here!”
“People are here, so what’s the big fuss about? Are all the men in the Xu Mansion dead? Can’t they receive an imperial decree from the palace?” Wang Feng said coldly.
Chen Suya, Chunyan: “……”
“Madam, it’s not an imperial decree from the palace, it’s the Minister of Rites coming to congratulate us. Young Master Xu, he has passed with high honors!”
When Xu Ming walked out of the palace, he still didn’t see Xu Pangda.
There was no way.
When entering the palace, the four hundred tribute students were divided into five batches and entered the palace one after another. Xu Ming didn’t see Xu Pangda in his batch.
After Xu Ming finished the interview, he was taken to the Ministry of Rites examination hall again.
As soon as Xu Ming walked out of the examination hall, it was already crowded with people outside, surrounding the examination hall. How could Xu Ming find Xu Pangda?
Many stewards of officials or wealthy merchants went forward to talk to people, asking for their names, and promoting how good their daughters were.
If it weren’t because the golden list hadn’t been released yet, and they didn’t know who was ranked high, everyone would want their daughter to marry a Jinshi from the top two ranks, so they were still relatively reserved.
Otherwise, many of these four hundred candidates would have been trussed up and carried away.
Xu Ming, along with the other tribute students, squeezed out of the crowd and headed towards the nearest notice.
"Blood Slaughter! The Blood Slaughter is here!"
With the shouts from the crowd, many people made way.
An official, holding the golden list, walked towards the notice board under the escort of ten Blood Slaughter guards.
However, before posting the golden list, the results of the four hundred tribute students were posted first.
Everyone ignored the other three hundred and ninety-nine people and looked at the first name.
"Zhuangyuan—Xu Ming."
Seeing this name, everyone suspected they were mistaken.
Xu Ming?
Xu Ming, who had been in the Blood Slaughter for three years, passed the metropolitan exam as Zhuangyuan?!
For a moment, many people were somewhat dazed, even suspecting that the grading was wrong, or that the examiners were biased.
However, this thought was quickly dispelled from everyone's mind.
The exam papers had the names sealed, and the names were only revealed after the four subjects were graded.
Moreover, the exam papers of all four hundred tribute students would be made public, so everyone could see which were good and which were bad.
The imperial court would not treat the metropolitan exam as a child's play, nor would it treat the people of the world as fools.
"Wait, so does that mean Xu Ming has already won two first places in a row?!" someone said. "If Xu Ming wins the palace exam as well, wouldn't that be..."
"Winning three first places in a row is not that simple. The selection of the palace exam is decided jointly by His Majesty, the six ministers, the prime minister, and the chief secretary," another person interrupted.
"But I heard that His Majesty likes Xu Ming very much," someone else said.
"What's the use of His Majesty's liking?" A scholar smiled. "In the palace exam, all the tribute students need to take the Voice Concealment Pill, so everyone's voice is the same. Moreover, the questions and answers are behind a screen, and the tribute students only have numbers, not names. Who can recognize them? Even if His Majesty wants to favor Xu Ming, he can't do it."
"Stop talking, the golden list is being posted."
Someone's voice drew everyone's attention back.
The official began to post the golden list.
There were three copies of the golden list.
The official first posted the first copy, Class Three—those who were granted the title of Jinshi, totaling two hundred and two people.
Seeing their names in Class Three, many people sighed softly, and some even regretted it.
If they hadn't passed the exam, wouldn't it have been better? Would they still be able to pass Class Two in four years?
Now that they had passed, they couldn't take the exam again.
The second copy, Class Two—those who were granted the title of Jinshi, totaling one hundred and ninety-four people.
"I'm second in Class Two! Hahaha! I'm second in Class Two!" A man shouted excitedly.
"Who's second in Class Two?!" A middle-aged man asked.
The man: "Me!"
"Tie him up, tie him up!"
"Eh?"
Before the man could react, four or five people shouted and tied him up with red ribbons, carrying him away like a crab.
"I'm eighty-third, hahahaha..."
"Tie him up!"
"Who is Wang Chuanlu?"
"Who's calling me?"
"Wang Chuanlu, my master's daughter is twenty-eight years old, beautiful as a flower, knowledgeable and reasonable, please come and meet her."
After the Class Two list was posted, many people had already begun to seek sons-in-law from the newly graduated candidates.
Whether it would work out or not was another matter, they would just tie the person up first.
The official responsible for posting the list also shook his head with a smile, and waited until the son-in-law seeking was almost over before picking up the last golden list.
At the same time, almost everyone in front of all the notice boards in Wudu became quiet.
Class One, granted the title of Jinshi, three people.
Everyone's eyes moved from bottom to top—
Tanhua—Yu Ping'an.
Bangyan—Xu Pangda.
Zhuangyuan—Xu Ming.
Xu Ming? Zhuangyuan?!
Xu Ming is only a teenager?
Xu Ming, at the age of fourteen, really won three first places in a row?!
"Brother Yu, your name—"
"Shh."
Among the crowd, the little girl with braids jumped up happily when she saw Brother Yu's name, but she was gently covered her mouth halfway through her words.
Yu Ping'an smiled gently and rubbed the little girl's head: "Let's go."
"Oh..."
While everyone was shocked, Yu Ping'an glanced at the name of the Zhuangyuan and quietly squeezed out of the crowd, limping forward.
"Brother Yu, why are you Tanhua?" the little girl asked.
"Because the Bangyan and Zhuangyuan are more talented than Brother Yu," Yu Ping'an said with a smile.
"But in my heart, Brother Yu is the most talented!" The little girl pouted.
"Yeah." Yu Ping'an nodded and pinched the little girl's nose, "As long as you think so, then Brother Yu is more talented than the Zhuangyuan."
On the other side of the crowd, a little chubby boy looked at the name Xu Ming after the Zhuangyuan.
"Who said you couldn't do it, Third Brother? When your Third Brother passes the imperial examination, when you are ennobled as a marquis or appointed as a prime minister, I believe that in mother's heart, the title will be more important than 'Duke Xu'."
In the little chubby boy's mind, the words that Fifth Brother said to him that year involuntarily appeared.
The little chubby boy smiled happily, touched his belly, and squeezed out of the crowd.
"Fifth Brother, I didn't participate in the metropolitan exam either. I want to wait for you to participate together."
Outside the crowd, Xu Ming looked at the name below his that shared his surname. The words that the little chubby boy said to him that year echoed in his ears, and Xu Ming's mouth curled up as he turned to leave.
"Xu Ming!"
"Pangda!"
Xu Ming and Xu Pangda had not taken a few steps.
In front of Xu Ming, Li Han and the other two waved to Xu Ming.
In front of Xu Pangda, Xu Zheng shouted to his son.
On the golden list viewing platform that year.
There were two young men.
But their eyebrows were very similar?
The two turned their heads and looked at each other.
