Hearing that he was the first in this subject, Shi Zhongkui breathed a sigh of relief.

For a moment, the entire palace compound seemed as if the wind had stopped and even time had paused.

Countless people looked at him with envy, jealousy and fear.

Until the official shouted again, "No. 1 Scholar, why don't you thank me?"

Only then did Shi Zhongkui move a few steps to the right under the envious gazes of 199 fellow Jinshi scholars, salute to the Jinluan Hall and shout long live.

Then came the second place and third overall.

But what people didn't expect was that they actually heard Yu Tongfu's name.

How big of an honor is it for fellow brothers to be in the same class?

It's just that Shi Zhongkui doesn't understand why Yu Tongfu can be a prostitute.

But really speaking, Yu Tongfu's appearance is actually quite good.

But let alone talking back at this time, it would be rude to even look back.

At the same time, Shi Zhongkui quickly thought, maybe this is a signal.

Because Pang Shitong not only brought down several nobles, but also indirectly emboldened the former prince and his associates, setting off the conspiracy.

Thinking of this, Shi Zhongkui suddenly felt uneasy.

If he were the Supreme Emperor, he would definitely fight back after seeing the Emperor take action.

Shi Zhongkui felt a little better after hearing the official announcement on the spot that the number one scholar was awarded to the editor of the Hanlin Academy of the sixth grade. The second best scholar was the editor of the Hanlin Academy of the seventh grade.

As for the remaining Jinshi, not only are they not qualified to be called and ranked on the spot, they also have to take the exam again if they want to be awarded official positions.

Those who pass the imperial examination will become Shujishi, enter the Hanlin Academy or go to the Six Ministries to observe politics.

After three years of political observation, you have to take a major exam. Only those who pass it can truly enter the official career. It can be said that they have to work hard for three more years than those in the top three.

The future career promotion process will not be as smooth as the number one scholar.

Moreover, Jinshi was lucky to stay in the capital and serve.

Most of them will be sent out to serve in various provinces. Once they are sent out to local places, they will basically be finalized.

Only a small number of people can climb from being a county magistrate of the seventh grade to being a state magistrate or a magistrate step by step.

If you want to sit in the positions of governor, chief envoy, inspector, etc., your chances are even slimmer.

Most Jinshis spent their entire lives as local middle- and lower-level officials.

There is no possibility that the number one scholar will be released abroad, and he will definitely stay in the capital.

But it’s not like every number one scholar has a prosperous official career, and it’s not like there aren’t those who spend their whole lives compiling in the Hanlin Academy.

The passing ceremony ended already an hour later.

As the number one scholar, Shi Zhongkui was taken to put on the bright red court clothes specially prepared for the number one scholar, mend the clothes, wear boots, and was about to go on a parade across the street.

But I heard a sharp voice, "The Emperor has a decree."

Shi Zhongkui suddenly had an unknown premonition in his heart.

But he didn't have time to think too much, so he lifted up the hem of his robe and saluted.

After a while, the edict was read out, and Shi Zhongkui stared blankly at the smiling eunuch Dai Quan two meters away, as well as the yellow imperial edict in Dai Quan's hand.

Although my previous marriage to Baochai was the emperor's intention, the emperor did not issue an order for the marriage.

In other words, at this moment, the Supreme Emperor suddenly made a decree of marriage. Both himself and the Xue family must be grateful.

And the greater intention of the Supreme Emperor must be to be seen by outsiders.

Of course, he and Baochai had already been engaged for a long time, and the Supreme Emperor jumped out to propose marriage at this moment. It was inevitable that he was doing this to deliberately win over his subjects.

But the squires and scholars outside the capital did not know this. They would only believe that this was the emperor's grace.

Subsequently, most of the imperial edict talked about the contributions of Jia Daihua and Jia Daishan, and also mentioned Jia Daishan's time as the emperor's companion.

Then the conversation changed again, saying that they deeply felt the Jia family's loyalty to the royal family, and since the Yingchun wedding had gone wrong due to some strange combination of circumstances, they might as well grant the marriage together.

Two women marry the same husband, and the one they marry is the only one in history who has the sixth grade.

This move is equivalent to telling the whole world that studying can not only gain fame and wealth, but also get a beautiful wife.

And still get two at once.

While scholars all over the world would definitely be jealous and scold Shi Zhongkui, scholars would also say that the Supreme Emperor's move was inappropriate and even absurd.

But he said he didn't want it, but in his heart he must be envied by everyone and wished he could replace him with Shi Zhongkui.

This is called winning people's hearts.

In the final imperial edict, he was also asked to take charge of the development of rice fields in Gyeonggi Province and also be responsible for the sorting out of canals and other water systems.

In one fell swoop, he won over all the nobles in the capital who had paddy fields at home, as well as 30% to 40% of the country gentry and officials.

If the emperor objected, Shi Zhongkui believed that there must be eunuchs ready at this moment. Rumors immediately spread that the emperor was opposed to the development of rice fields and the arrangement of canals.

The emperor stood directly on the opposite side of the nobles, squires and some officials.

Even the Supreme Emperor wished that the Emperor would object.

"Dong Zhuangyuan, please accept the order."

Shi Zhongkui cursed in his heart, you will be a dead eunuch.

I was going to marry Baochai and Yingchun, so there was no need for this.

At the same time, Shi Zhongkui also understood in his heart that he was just a pawn in the eyes of the Supreme Emperor, and he didn't care what he thought at all.

Moreover, this decree must be in response to the emperor's appointment of Yu Tongfu as Tanhua Lang.

In other words, the battle between the old and new emperors is likely to become clear.

Once the fight becomes apparent, the emperor will suffer a big loss.

The Supreme Emperor can suppress the Emperor with his filial piety, but in his mind, he only has ten or twenty years to live.

As long as you keep your rights before you die, even if the emperor is deposed, you will still have grandchildren.

And because of filial piety, the emperor could not fight for everything. Once he took a step back, he would retreat step by step.

Reason told Shi Zhongkui to accept the order, but he wanted to raise his hands but refused to do so for a long time.

After thinking for a while, he said, "The Emperor is very generous. Although the junior minister is the top scholar in the current examination, there are rules for the appointment and promotion of court officials.

How can a junior minister, a Jinshi who has not yet entered the court as an official, accept an imperial order without going through the Taijian and Cabinet Agency?"

As soon as these words came out, the ministers present nodded their heads, and their eyes on Shi Zhongkui became much softer.

A large number of civil servants actually wanted to restrict imperial power.

Therefore, there are a large number of officials who are most hated by civil servants, and the number one official must be the courtier.

The second is the imperial officer.

That is, officials appointed directly by the emperor without going through any formalities.

Most of the civil servants in the imperial court came from thousands of troops and fought all the way to the imperial examination.

Although Shi Zhongkui couldn't understand how much hardship and suffering there was, he could still imagine it.

Since everyone walked on a single-plank bridge and fought hard to get here, why can't they be as high-ranking as those who were appointed by the emperor casually?

The gap and jealousy in my heart are beyond words.

If you don't hate this person to death, that's fine.

Therefore, basically all imperial officials have a happy ending.

"That's not right, Duke Zhuangyuan," Dai Quan said with a smile, "If you don't talk about it from afar, let's talk about Lin Gongru Hai, the son-in-law of the Rongguo Mansion, the father-in-law of the Number One Scholar.

Isn't it Tanhualang who took over the sage's orders and went to Jiangnan to handle salt politics?

Since there is a precedent, future generations should abide by it.

No. 1 Scholar, our family is here to congratulate you."

Looking at Dai Quan who was saying congratulations but standing straighter, Shi Zhongkui was really confused for a moment.

He originally thought about pretending to be faint, but he knew that this would be the stupidest thing to do.

Both sides are offended.

Failure to accept it would be a direct statement that one is only loyal to the emperor, and would be able to work as a Hanlin Academy editor for the next dozen years.

But no one can guarantee whether the Supreme Emperor will issue a decree to get out when he is about to die.

If you are more vicious and put yourself in charge of compiling history, then more than ten years will be wasted.

By that time, Emperor Jinglong himself might even be dead. Who knows if the new generation of emperors can still remember him.

Even the new emperor dared not use himself even more.

Failure to comply will have equally serious consequences.
To be continued...