The Lucky Farmgirl

Seeing Manbao, Bai Dalang couldn’t help asking, "Why aren’t you going home to rest?"

Bai Erlang plopped down beside his older brother and said, "Going home is resting, eating and drinking in a teahouse is also resting. Might as well stay here; home isn’t any fun."

Bai Shan handed Manbao a teacup and poured her some tea, then smiled and explained, "Today’s the last day, so we came to have a look, and just in time to wait for Liu Huan to come out."

In fact, there were many people in the teahouse waiting for the examinees to come out, but half of them were just there to watch the excitement, and the other half had some ulterior motive. Those truly anxious, waiting family members were actually not many.

Most of the family members were at this moment squatting not far from the Tribute Courtyard gates, as if being a bit closer to the exam hall would let their relatives inside feel their strength and pass the exam.

Listening to the storyteller’s voice and the constant shouts of applause from downstairs, Manbao’s mood improved a lot.

Bai Shan called a waiter over and ordered quite a few dishes for her. After she was full, she cradled a cup of tea, leaning against the window and watching the guests coming and going downstairs. Over at the Tribute Courtyard, there was a loud clang, and Bai Shan also put down his teacup and said, "They’re coming out."

Manbao immediately said, "Come on, let’s go meet them."

They went downstairs just in time to hear the second beat of the gong. By the time they reached the Tribute Courtyard gate, the third strike sounded, and the main gates slowly opened.

The examinees streamed out in a steady flow.

Among them were quite a few people they knew: Wei Chen, Song Zheng, and Ji Hao, as well as Imperial Academy classmates they weren’t very familiar with—Yun Xinjue, Feng Chenxiang, Zhang Jinghao, and so on.

As soon as they came out, the servants from their households rushed up in a swarm to receive them.

There were the most people around Liu Huan, because his family lived in the capital. Not only had the Xiaos come, but a whole crowd of servants, including Bai Shan and the others, so they ended up surrounding Liu Huan all at once.

"How did you do?"

"Did you manage to answer everything?"

"Were the questions hard?"

Liu Huan had gone into the exam together with Bai Dalang’s elder cousin, Cheng Zhangheng, and as it happened the two of them were seated not far from each other, so they came out together as well.

As soon as the two of them came out, they were bombarded by these questions till their heads spun. With so many examinees around, Cheng Zhangheng didn’t dare brag and could only say modestly, "It was all right. I answered a few questions, at least I didn’t hand in a blank paper."

Liu Huan, once he’d regained his wits, said, "I think I did pretty well. All the passages they tested looked familiar to me, and I answered them all. I feel like I did well."

Cheng Zhangheng: ...

The examinees nearby: ...

So after the scene went quiet for a moment, someone immediately raised his voice and said, "This year’s questions really weren’t hard. I remembered all the passages tested, and I answered every one of them."

"Is that so? Congratulations, congratulations. As it happens, I also did quite well. At the very least, I filled the entire paper."

"Before the exam I thought the Ming Classic exam would be so difficult. Didn’t expect it to be this easy, even easier than the questions our teachers set at the academy."

When Liu Huan heard this, his heart grew uneasy. He quietly said to Bai Shan, "So many people did well—can I still pass?"

Bai Shan said, "...It’s already over. Thinking more won’t help. Let’s go eat."

Liu Huan said anxiously, "If I don’t pass, my grandfather will probably beat me, right?"

Manbao comforted him, "He won’t. Didn’t you already say you’d celebrate your new title after the exam?"

Liu Huan became even more anxious. "But the Ming Classic exam was decreed by His Majesty himself. If I don’t pass, my grandfather will definitely beat me."

Bai Shan and Bai Erlang pulled him along, saying, "All the more reason you should make the most of these two days before the list is posted. If you let them slip by, then you’ll really have let them slip by."

Liu Huan: ...

Seeing that he was so miserable he was almost about to cry, Manbao couldn’t help feeling cheerful and comforted him, "It’s fine, it’s fine, we’ll treat you to a meal."

After messing around with her friends for two days, Manbao’s mood improved a lot. On the third day, the Ming Classic results were posted.

The group ran off together to see.

Bai Shan said, "I heard they’re taking a total of two hundred and eighty people for the Ming Classic this time."

Bai Erlang clicked his tongue. "That’s nearly ten times the number they take for the Jinshi exam. I want to take the Ming Classic too."

Bai Shan said, "You can try the Jinshi exam again this autumn. If you don’t pass, take the Ming Classic next year. Otherwise you’ll just have to wait for the Special Exams."

Bai Erlang said, "How can the Special Exams compare to the regular ones? Big Brother, if you still don’t pass this autumn, do you want to take the Ming Classic together with me?"

Bai Dalang: ...

He did a quick calculation of his own age and nodded.

But Bai Shan said, "Big Brother doesn’t need to."

He went on, "I heard that Big Brother’s ranking last year wasn’t low—you were just one step short. Now that your reputation in the capital isn’t bad either, even if you don’t pass this year, you can still try for a few more years. Though the Ming Classic and Jinshi are both routes to office, those who come out of the Jinshi exams are still two notches above the Ming Classic."

Bai Erlang muttered, "Aren’t they all just civil service exams? You still have to climb step by step. I really don’t see what big difference there is."

Bai Shan said, "You won’t see it in the first ten years, but after ten years, it’ll show when it comes time for promotion."

He said, "Two county magistrates of the same rank, both with top marks on their evaluations, but when it comes to promotion they’ll pick the one with Jinshi background first, leaving the Ming Classic one behind. And what if next year there’s another Jinshi with the same qualifications competing with you?"

Bai Dalang also nodded. "Exactly. The teachers in the academy also say, if you can sit the Jinshi, then sit the Jinshi. If you really can’t pass, or if you truly don’t want to, then go take the Ming Classic or some other exam."

Bai Erlang thought about it for a moment, puzzled. "Then why didn’t you insist I stick with the Jinshi?"

Bai Shan said, "Because you don’t have the perseverance to keep studying."

He said, "Even if our elder cousin studies another ten years, he can still stick with it. Can you?"

Bai Erlang: He cannot.

Bai Dalang: He can, but is not very happy about it.

Liu Huan also tried putting himself in their shoes, smacked his lips, and said, "I can’t either."

So among those taking the exam this time, there were also many of their classmates from the Imperial Academy. They all felt they couldn’t pass the Jinshi, so they came to try the Ming Classic instead.

When the Ming Classic list went up, there were even more people coming to see it than for the Jinshi list, and it was even livelier. People were packed shoulder to shoulder, so Bai Shan and the others simply didn’t bother squeezing in. Instead, they went into a teahouse and sent the Xiaos to look.

After quite a while, Jiyu ran back with his hair all mussed, shouting, "You passed, you passed, Young Master, you passed!"

Liu Huan was overjoyed. He sprang to his feet, rushed out, grabbed Jiyu, and asked excitedly, "What rank, what rank, am I near the top..."

"One hundred and twentieth!"

Jiyu was grinning so hard his eyes were narrowed with joy. "Young Master, you’re in the upper middle at least."

Liu Huan was slightly disappointed, but Bai Shan and the others had already stepped forward to congratulate him. "Congratulations, congratulations. You have to treat us today."

Even Cheng Zhangheng offered his congratulations, then became even more anxious as he waited.

Bai Erlang had sharp eyes. From the window he spotted his older brother’s Xiaos, and seeing the joy all over the boy’s face, he had a guess. He immediately leaned out and asked, "Ximo, did your Granduncle pass?"

Ximo looked up, saw Second Young Master, and shouted loudly, "He passed, he passed, Granduncle ranked eighty-seventh!"

Cheng Zhangheng heard it from inside the room as well and was overjoyed.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!