Once the servants left, Housekeeper Lin instructed soone to move two baskets of Copper Coin to the gatehouse.
The Young Master is certain to pass, the key now is to see what rank he will achieve, so he had already prepared the rewards and red envelopes early on.
The Duke Mansion’s servants quickly arrived at the announcent site, standing vigilantly in front of the announcent shed, eagerly waiting; at this ti, the sky had not yet brightened, and many scholars and servants waiting to see the results were holding lanterns.
In front of the announcent shed there was a fence, and once the list was posted, soldiers would maintain order, preventing the crowd from crushing under the list. If soone who didn’t pass suddenly destroyed the list, it would be troubleso.
Du Ruo and a few of Jiang Youzhi’s servants crowded in the throng, looking towards the direction of the examination hall not far away.
The sky gradually brightened and more and more people gathered on the street.
From a distance, the sound of drums and music gradually ca, and the people around all craned their necks to see into the distance, many excitedly shouting, "Here it cos, here it cos!"
The crowd pushed to the sides, leaving a road down the middle.
Soon, a group of clerks arrived.
In front were those blowing the suona and beating drums, right behind them, two clerks carried an object covered with yellow silk shaped like a pavilion.
In the center of the pavilion was the red list that was about to be posted.
The clerks opened the fence and carefully took the red list out from the yellow silk pavilion.
One clerk brushed paste onto the wall, while the other two carefully pasted the red list up.
In an instant, countless people crowded in front of the fence, the Duke Mansion’s several servants stood at the very front, holding hands to avoid being knocked over by the crowd.
By this ti, it was fully bright.
Du Ruo’s eyes fell on the top position, believing the Young Master’s na should be there.
Not disappointed, prominently in first place on the red list was the na Jiang Youzhi.
Du Ruo excitedly shouted, "Made it, made it, our Young Master is the top-ranked Jieyuan!"
The servants squeezed out of the crowd together, their horses were still at a distance, they needed to hurry back to deliver the news.
With difficulty, they squeezed out from the densest part of the crowd; on the streets and in the alleys, streams of people were still heading there.
Even though only seventy scholars were selected in total, over a thousand candidates participated, and their families and relatives also ca to see the list, making the nearby streets packed.
Du Ruo and the others squeezed out, running to the place where the horses were tied, leaving a servant there to watch the horses.
The servant asked, "Did the Young Master pass?"
Du Ruo vaulted onto the horse, "Our Master is the top-ranked Jieyuan!" As soon as he said it, he whipped the horse’s rear, and the horse galloped away.
Housekeeper Lin was waiting for news at the gatehouse.
From afar, seeing several riders approaching, Housekeeper Lin craned his neck, as Du Ruo shouted without dismounting, "The Young Master is the top-ranked Jieyuan!"
Housekeeper Lin rejoiced and turned to run inside, almost tripping his left foot over his right, stabilizing himself quickly and flying inside.
This good news had to be delivered personally to the Duke and Madam.
Du Ruo dismounted and ran to Jiang Youzhi’s courtyard.
Jiang Youzhi and Yun Jiao had just risen; Yun Jiao was combing her hair in front of the mirror, while Jiang Youzhi was practicing his swordsmanship in the courtyard.
Du Ruo entered and first saluted, then loudly announced, "Congratulations to the Young Master, having achieved the top-rank Jieyuan in this county examination."
Jiang Youzhi did not halt his sword, simply said, "Noted."
He understood his own level well; becoming Jieyuan was normal, not achieving it would have been unusual.
Inside, Yun Jiao heard Du Ruo’s shout and excitedly ran out, "Passed? Top-ranked Jieyuan?"
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