"Did I win?" Hong Yi saw Zi Yu's maid enter and stood up calmly. He dusted off his robes and looked calm and composed, as if he had already known the result.
Zi Yu saw that Hong Yi was not flustered or surprised, and took a step back in shock. It was obvious that she did not expect him to be so calm.
"Inside the box are tens of coins that I exchanged for yesterday. Call Huang Yu, Hong Yu and Lan Yu to come in and take the money out to reward those who reported the good news."
After Hong Yi spoke, he ordered the four maids to each carry tens of coins and follow him to the entrance of Hou Hou Mansion.
Indeed, at the entrance of Hou Hou Mansion, the sound of firecrackers could be heard. A large group of bailiffs had already gathered to report the good news, as well as the crowd of onlookers. Apart from that, a large group of servants, guards, maids and old nannies also came out of their rooms to watch the commotion.
"This time Hong Yi is going to make a comeback. He's going to become a master."
"Although our master has seen many High Scholars, the first place Top Scorer is something new to him."
"To be able to become a High Scholar is like the Star of Literature descending from the heavens. Not to mention the first place. If he can become a Top Scorer in the future examinations and become the Top Scorer in the court examinations, he would be able to become a Top Scorer. I've heard that only the previous Prime Minister, Li Yan, had ever achieved this."
"The gentry does not have to pay taxes. Hehe, he's going to be rich."
At this point, Hong Yi could hear the discussions going on in his ears. Some were envious, some were jealous. He knew that the Imperial Examinations were very important to the commoners, as well as to the nobles' mansions.
Although the people of Hou Hou Mansion were more knowledgeable, and a High Scholar was not as sensational as it was in the countryside, the first place Top Scorer still carried a lot of weight.
However, while the entrance was bustling with noise and excitement, Madam Zhao was sitting on a chair in the main residence. She had a cold expression on her face as she sipped on her tea. The white cat in her hands was hiding in a corner, afraid that it would be scratched again.
The maids beside her knew that this was a sign that Madam Zhao was about to blow her top. None of them dared to make a sound as they stood by the side.
"Go and tell Steward Wu to send a message to Marquis. He must find time to come home tonight."
After a long time, Madam Zhao squeezed the teacup in her hand. She wanted to smash it on the ground, but she finally held back. She gently put it down and spat out these words.
At the door, Hong Yi distributed all the money and let the yamen runner who brought the good news have some wine. The scene gradually became quiet, leaving only a pile of firecrackers. A few slaves at the door looked at him with envy as they cleaned up.
"I've passed the High Scholar's exam. When night falls, I'll have to think of an excuse to move out and start a family."
Hong Yi was thinking about how to explain this to Hong Xuanji. Although he had an identity now, and moving out was a matter of time, but thinking about Hong Xuanji's murderous words, Hong Yi did not know why he felt a chill in his heart.
At this point, at the corner of the street, several palanquins appeared and stopped a distance away. A group of young people alighted from the palanquins. Hong Yi did not recognize them, but it was as if they had known Hong Yi for many years. Each of them were brimming with enthusiasm as they clasped their hands and congratulated him.
"Brother Hong, congratulations, congratulations. Congratulations on becoming the Top Scorer, and winning the title of Champion. I, along with a few others, have come to give you a congratulatory gift. I hope you will accept it."
At the same time, these people's servants brought out bags of gifts. At the same time, they handed over the gift list for Hong Yi to look through.
"This 500 taels of silver? 30 pieces of silk? 300 taels of silver? 10 pieces of paper …. "
Hong Yi looked at the gift list, and realized that the gifts on it were extremely grand. Altogether, they were worth at least 2,000 to 3,000 taels of silver.
"All these people passed the High Scholar's exam at the same time?"
Hong Yi finally understood. Although he did not recognize these people, they were all High Scholars. Although they were not familiar with each other, they were all from the same year.
In the bureaucracy, people from the same year would help each other out. Even if they were from the same year, it was inevitable that they would be from the same year. Even if they did not know each other, as long as they were from the same year, they would be closer than blood brothers.
Although they were all High Scholars now, they were not officials yet. However, they had to start forming their own cliques early on.
"These people are all from wealthy families in Jade Capital. They have money but no power. Now that they have achieved High Scholar status, they are naturally willing to spend their money. If I do not accept these gifts, it would make me seem aloof and unsociable. That would be a pointless thing to do. "
These High Scholars were all from wealthy families in Jade Capital. However, they were not from the Duke Marquis. This was because the Duke Marquis usually chose the path of grace and did not need to take the examinations. Only Hong Yi, who was not favored, would choose the path of the Imperial Examinations.
After understanding this, Hong Yi accepted the gift list. At the same time, he tipped the servants at the entrance of the mansion and ordered them to send the gifts to the Osmanthus Flower Room.
After taking care of everything, he cupped his hands and said, "Brother Nian, you received the good news so quickly? That was really fast. "
"Not at all, not at all." One of the older ones said, "The good news starts from the last place to the first place. Since Brother Nian is the first place, naturally, the good news is the last. I wonder if Brother Hong has the time to go to the countryside with us? I heard that there are a few people in the countryside who are from the same year as you. They should have received the good news by now. Let's go and congratulate them and help them out. Then, come and pay your respects to the teacher. "
"This time, our teacher is the Minister of Rites, Lord Li Shen Guang. Luckily, we were born in a good place and this is the provincial examination. If it was elsewhere, how could we have a teacher like the Minister of Rites?"
The other slightly younger man waved his fan and said slowly.
There were a total of six people who came to congratulate them. Their surnames were Han, Zhang, Zhao, Wang, Fang and Liu. Hong Yi had just looked at the gift list and basically understood the background of these people. Basically, they were all wealthy, but they weren't considered to be mid-level wealthy families.
If they were wealthy, they would naturally have connections with the nobles and ministers.
However, these middling wealthy families had a large number of people in Jade Capital City, and they had gathered a large amount of wealth.
"Since we are going to the countryside to meet Qinghan's peers, I have to prepare a gift." Hong Yi said.
"That's not necessary. We have already prepared Brother Hong's gift. Let's go together in the sedan. This is our first time sitting in a sedan. We have to try it. "
A young man with the surname Han laughed.
Only High Scholars and officials could sit in sedan. This was the rule of the Da Qian Dynasty. Even if one was rich, it was illegal to sit in a sedan.
…
After socializing, Hong Yi returned from the countryside in the afternoon. He and a large group of High Scholars went to the Minister's residence to pay their respects to Li Shen Guang.
However, when they reached the door, they saw a large sign that said, "No visitors."
Hence, the group of High Scholars left.
When Hong Yi saw this, he was happy to have some peace and quiet. After saying goodbye to all the High Scholars, the sky was already dark. Hence, he turned the sedan to a shop facing the street.
This was a small shop facing the street that had just opened. The wooden boards were all painted with fresh tung oil.
Inside, there were new goods, needles, thread, and other miscellaneous things. It was a general store.
A nimble little girl dressed in cotton clothes was holding a large piece of wood, preparing to close the door of the shop. All of a sudden, she saw a sedan stop at the entrance. She stopped moving and looked at it blankly.
It was only when she saw Hong Yi coming out of the sedan did the little girl let out an 'ah' and hurriedly bowed down. "Benefactor is here." She then shouted into the shop, "Grandfather, uncle, benefactor is here."
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