The Lucky Farmgirl

When the list was released, Manbao and the others skipped work to join in the fun.

Naming it maintaining order, but actually skipping work, County Magistrate Tang saw them outside the examination hall and his eyes couldn’t help but focus.

Manbao immediately felt guilty upon seeing him and raised her hand to cover her face with her sleeve, only remembering after covering it that, County Magistrate Tang wasn’t an Imperial Censor. Why should she be afraid of him?

So she lowered her hand again, looking at him with bright eyes, "Senior Brother Tang, did you also come to see the list?"

"No," County Magistrate Tang shifted his gaze from her to Bai Shan and said, "I’m here to maintain law and order, you don’t have duties today?"

The two nodded together. Bai Shan was lucky today, it wasn’t his turn to enter the palace. The Hanlin Academy was editing agricultural books, and the seniors wouldn’t let him meddle, so he snuck out. Additionally, quite a few colleagues from Hanlin Academy also snuck out today; everyone just smiled and pretended not to see each other when they met.

Zhou Man was much more frank; she directly told Director Xiao, "Tomorrow is the release of the examination list. My junior brother sat for it, my niece’s husband sat for it, and I have a senior brother..."

Before she could finish, Director Xiao waved his hand, "Alright, alright, I’ll grant you a half-day leave tomorrow. Come back in the afternoon."

Anyway, the royal children had all recovered from their vaccinations, and the Imperial Hospital along with the Zhou Family had purchased a batch of ointment for the royal relatives. With the cries ceased, the Imperial Hospital had been very quiet recently, and everyone was not busy.

Thus, Zhou Man came over early, without even entering the palace.

County Magistrate Tang silently watched the two, and finally decided to pretend not to see them. On such a joyous day, even the Imperial Censors would usually turn a blind eye, so he had no need to argue with them. He just said, "As long as you don’t cause trouble, it’s fine."

Manbao and Bai Shan nodded together in agreement; they wouldn’t cause trouble, they were so well-behaved.

"The list is out—"

Manbao and Bai Shan perked up and immediately stood on tiptoes to look forward, while also grabbing Bai Erlang, who was about to rush inside, "Don’t go, there are too many people, we can just listen."

The main gates of the examination hall opened, and a Ministry of Rites official came out with the imperial list. Everyone fell silent, all eyes focused intently on them.

The Ministry of Rites officials were used to it, and opened the imperial list saying, "This time, twenty-eight candidates have been selected from the imperial examinations’ jinshi class. Now, I will read the list of those who passed..."

"Twenty-eighth place, Liao Jiahuan from Suzhou..."

Everyone swallowed nervously, and when Bai Erlang’s name wasn’t mentioned up to the twenty-fifth place, he started feeling a bit down.

Manbao and the others also felt a bit disappointed, wondering how to comfort him to make him less sad.

"Twenty-third place, Bai Cheng from Mianzhou..."

Manbao blinked, and Bai Shan froze for a moment before slapping the dazed Bai Erlang on the shoulder, "You made it!"

Bai Erlang opened his mouth and, with tears in his eyes, looked at Bai Dalang beside him, "Big brother, big brother, I made it, I made it!"

"Yes, yes, you made it!" Bai Dalang was also dizzy with happiness, excitedly patting his shoulder several times. Just as Feng Zongping was about to express his envy, the Ministry of Rites official above didn’t pause and read out, "Twentieth place, Feng Zongping from Chang’an..."

Bai Shan and the others immediately turned to congratulate him, then reached out to pat his shoulder, making a fuss for him to treat them.

Feng Zongping was also stunned with joy, nodding repeatedly, "Sure, sure, do you want to go to the Primus Pavilion or the Spring Breeze Pavilion, you can choose."

Bai Dalang said, "Why choose, let’s go to both!"

Manbao also wanted to go to the Spring Breeze Pavilion; she often heard people say the performances there were excellent, not at all inferior to those in the palace. Previously, Zhao Liulang had even taken his wife to see them, so she also squeezed in to pat his shoulder, "Great, great, let’s go to both."

Feng Zongping was not thinking straight at the moment, foolishly smiling at Zhou Man, nodding repeatedly, "Sure, sure, I’ll foot the bill wherever we go. If you fancy any girl, feel free to request her."

Manbao’s eyes lit up, and she said reservedly, "I heard the Spring Breeze Pavilion has twelve courtesans, each matching the twelve courtesans of the Imperial Music Bureau, and among them the courtesan Chunmei is exceptionally skilled in playing the qin. Can I request her?"

Bai Shan quickly pulled her away, giving Feng Zongping a heavy pat, and whispered in his ear, "Get a grip, do you even have the money?"

This was a serious question, which brought the daydreaming Feng Zongping back to reality instantly, and he hurriedly waved at them, "Let’s go to the Primus Pavilion first, the Primus Pavilion first."

He saw Pei Shouyue standing nearby and immediately smiled, "Brother Pei, join us too."

Pei Shouyue, hearing that the thirteenth place had been announced and still not hearing his name, knew he hadn’t passed, so he nodded, thinking a drink might do him good.

Up above, the announcement continued, "Twelfth place, Bai Zhi from Mianzhou..."

At the mention of this name, the scene became somewhat noisy, "Why is it Mianzhou again, did Mianzhou really produce two jinshi this year?"

"Exactly, even Lu had only two jinshi, why should Mianzhou have two? And they’re both named Bai, these names..."

Nobody would have said anything until it was mentioned and immediately someone realized, "One’s named Zhi, the other’s Cheng, could they be from the same family?"

"Yes, they are from the same family, you must be candidates from other regions, right? It’s normal not to know. Bai Zhi and Bai Cheng are brothers."

The uninformed were startled, "Wow, that’s impressive?"

"Are the two brothers really talented? These names sound familiar; I think I’ve heard them before."

"Do you know Zhou Man or Bai Shan? Bai Cheng is their junior brother, the kind of brother who bows and offers tea together."

Everyone suddenly understood, "But that’s still because of Zhou Man and Bai Shan’s reputation. What achievements does he have?"

"Well, he’s about to marry Princess Mingda, does that count? But I heard from my uncle that Bai Cheng was involved every time Zhou Man and Bai Shan submitted memorials for discussion, and all those memorials had his contributions, it’s just that he’s low-key, so only the officials in the court know him, not many outside do."

"What about Bai Zhi?"

"I know Bai Zhi, he’s a student of our Imperial Academy. He took the jinshi exam last year and the year before. Last year, only twelve were selected, and after our Academy’s teachers inquired, he ranked fourteenth, just two spots short, so it’s not surprising he passed this time."

"Yes, Bai Zhi is very good at writing. Last time, he sparred with others in a literary meeting at the Primus Pavilion..."

Bai Dalang always knew that jinshi selection involved reputation points, which was about fame, so for the past two or three years, he had been diligently building his fame outside.

He participated in literary meetings whenever he could and poetry gatherings too, so his literary reputation in the capital was quite good.

Look at Pei Shouyue, for instance. Actually, they exchanged their articles a few days ago, and from Bai Dalang’s perspective, Pei Shouyue’s articles were not inferior to his, yet he didn’t pass.

He thought it was either because he didn’t perform well, or because of the fame factor.

Bai Shan also read Pei Shouyue’s articles and knew he had significant insight, so he felt sorry when Pei’s name was not on the final list, extending his hand to pat Pei Shouyue’s shoulder, "Come on, let’s go to the Primus Pavilion for a feast."