Chapter 425: The New Scholar's Marriage Has Been Decided
April 23rd, early morning.

Kyoto, inside the imperial city.

Amid the sounds of ceremonial music, the official in charge of imperial decrees came to the Imperial Road holding the golden list and read out the imperial edict.

"The Emperor, in compliance with the Will of Heaven, decrees... In the thirty-fifth year of Chengping, the whole nation will be tested... The first-class candidates will be awarded the title of Jinshi Jidi, the second-class candidates will be awarded the title of Jinshi Chuan, and the third-class candidates will be awarded the title of Tong Jinshi Chuan..."

From the front of the hall to the steps, the palace guards sang in unison, and the song could be heard all the way out of the Fengtian Gate.

Lin Zhan stood among the scholars, listening to the singing.

Half a month ago, the results of the imperial examination were announced, and he passed with the 28th place. Three days ago, he and other scholars took part in the palace examination in Taiji Hall, and today is the day when the winning list will be announced.

As expected, Lin Zhan's name was not in the first place, but he was not disappointed because he knew his own results.

There were 28 people ranked in the provincial examination, so the number of people ranked in the palace examination shouldn’t be too different.

This ranking is a bit awkward. If he can improve a few places, he will be a second-class Jinshi. If he falls behind a few places, he will be a third-class Jinshi.

Lin Zhan naturally hopes to be in the top two, but he has no say in this matter, and the final result depends on it.

As the names came out one by one, Lin Zhan couldn't help but become nervous.

In the Darong imperial examination, generally between 200 and 300 people were selected in each subject. Generally, there were about 30 people in the second class, and more than 200 people in the third class.

Now there are more than twenty people singing the second grade, and maybe only a few are left.

Just when Lin Zhan thought he might fall into the top three, Chuan Chang came out again.

"The 24th place in the second class is Lin Zhan from Jing'an Prefecture!"

Lin Zhan's whole body trembled, and an expression of great joy appeared on his face involuntarily.

Being able to enter the second class has already made him satisfied.

After the three lists were announced, the Jinshi scholars bowed four times, and the top scorer was announced, taking the top spot.

What followed was the horse-riding parade through the streets. The horse-riding parade of the newly-appointed Jinshi was a grand event held once every three years in Kyoto. Every year, many people in Kyoto would gather on the streets to admire the new Jinshi's demeanor.

Early this morning, Yu Qingyi, Yang Mingcheng, Wang and others came to a private room in a restaurant on the street.

In the box, Yu Qingyi sat in front of the eight-immortal table, while Wang and Yang Yunxue chatted with her.

Yang Mingcheng and Yang Chengye stood at the window, looking at the street.

"Mother, what about Miss Zijin from the Yu family?" Yang Yunxue asked.

She had known about the meeting between the Crown Princess and Yu Qingyi for a long time, and she also knew that Wu Zheng had recently gone to Dongping Qianhu Suo to investigate Yu Zijin's situation.

Yu Qingyi smiled and said, "Not bad! His personality is very similar to yours."

"Ah!" Yang Yunxue looked at her in surprise.

"Miss Zijin has been practicing martial arts since she was young. She is lively and active, and often catches rabbits in the fields. It is said that she is good at archery and almost never misses a shot!" Yu Qingyi said with a smile.

The Yu family is not a wealthy and prestigious family. The head of the Yu family, Yu Yuanzan, is just a thousand households. Even if his daughter is chosen as the princess, Yu Yuanzan is still just a thousand households.

Yu Yuanzan has only one son and one daughter. The eldest son, Yu Mingzhou, is 40 years old this year. He is the deputy captain of Dongping Captain's Office, and his daughter is the Crown Princess.

He also has two grandsons and one granddaughter. The eldest grandson, Yu Zicheng, is 20 years old this year, and the second grandson, Yu Zizhen, is 18 years old. They are all married, but the granddaughter, Yu Zijin, is not yet married.

The Yu family’s in-laws are all from grassroots military families, because the Crown Princess was only Princess Cheng before, and a princess would not provide much help to her natal family.

In addition, Yu Yuanzan was not the type of person who coveted wealth, so the Yu family had lived an ordinary life over the years, just a family of a thousand households.

But things are different now. Princess Cheng has become the Crown Princess and the future Queen. The status and position of the Yu family has also risen accordingly.

Naturally, the Yu family could not choose an ordinary military officer's family when marrying into another family.

In fact, Yu Yuanzan didn't want his granddaughter to curry favor with the powerful, but the Crown Princess didn't think so.

The Crown Princess naturally wanted to find a good in-law for her natal family and did not want her niece to marry into a grassroots military officer's family.

So she sent someone to Dongping Qianhu Suo to bring Yu Zijin to Kyoto.

Although Yu Yuanzan was the head of the family, he could not be tough when facing the daughter who would become the queen. He could only follow the advice of the Crown Princess and send his granddaughter to Kyoto.

Yu Zijin actually grew up in a garrison, and was not a lady from a wealthy family at all, but rather a lively girl.

When I was little, I often played in the fields with my brothers.

After listening to Yu Qingyi's story, Yang Yunxue developed a favorable impression of this future niece-in-law.

She herself was not a lady from a wealthy family. Although she learned a lot of rules and etiquette when she was in the Yang family, she was still the little girl from Yangjia Village at heart.

The country is easy to change and the nature is difficult to change.

When the Yang family rose to prominence, she was already ten years old, and her character had already been formed, making it difficult to change.

In addition, Yang Zhengshan had no intention of raising her into a lady, so her temperament was very wild.

"So is this matter settled?" Yang Yunxue asked.

Yu Qingyi shook her head slightly, "Your father has no objection, but I don't know if there will be any changes on the Crown Princess' side. After all, this matter has not been made public yet."

"I plan to visit the Crown Princess in a couple of days. If the Crown Princess agrees, then this matter will be settled."

Yang Yunxue nodded. This was just a hint from the Crown Princess. Neither side said it explicitly, so it naturally didn't count.

If you want to finalize this matter, you must not only get the consent of the Crown Princess, but also the consent of the Yu family.

So this matter needs to be done slowly and not in a hurry. The two of them talked without avoiding Yang Chengye, who stood by the window and listened with his ears perked up.

The more he listened, the redder his face became. After all, this was his marriage. And after hearing what Yu Qingyi said, he was also a little curious about this Miss Zijin, whom he had never met.

"I'm coming!"

At this moment, Yang Mingcheng suddenly shouted loudly.

"Where?" Upon hearing this, Wang immediately ran to the window and pushed Yang Mingcheng aside.

She looked towards the street and saw a group of scholars riding tall horses and wearing colorful flowers in their hair, walking towards the street with a large crowd of people following them.

Golden gongs cleared the way, flags and banners were everywhere, and both sides of the street were packed with people and cheers were deafening.

"Here I come, mother, mother, I see Lin Zhan!" Wang shouted with joy on her face.

Yu Qingyi came to the window and looked over. There was a long line of more than 200 newly-appointed scholars, plus officials and runners leading the way, slowly approaching. But Yu Qingyi still saw Lin Zhan at a glance.

Because Lin Zhan's temperament is too obvious, compared with other Jinshi, Lin Zhan is not only young, but also tall and handsome, and his appearance is much higher than that of the Tanhua.

If his results had not been so poor, he would definitely have been the third place in the imperial examination.

The team walked slowly on the street. Yu Qingyi looked at Lin Zhan, who was full of joy, with a faint smile on her lips.

When the team arrived near the restaurant, Lin Zhan also saw Yu Qingyi and the others. He raised his hand and bowed to Yu Qingyi and the others with a bright smile on his face.

Although the team was not moving fast, Yu Qingyi could no longer see Lin Zhan in just two or three minutes.

"Grandma, Uncle Lin Zhan should be ranked twenty-fourth, and a second-class Jinshi!" Yang Chengye said in a low voice.

Yu Qingyi nodded and breathed a sigh of relief, "Well, now your grandfather should be relieved."

Although Yang Zhengshan told her that she didn't need to worry about whether Lin Zhan could pass the exam or what ranking he would get, she knew that Yang Zhengshan still cared about Lin Zhan's results.

Now that Lin Zhan has passed the imperial examination and become a second-class Jinshi, she can report to Yang Zhengshan when she returns.

"Let's go. It's getting late. Let's go back and prepare. Lin Zhan has to attend the Enrong Banquet tomorrow." Yu Qingyi said.

Lin Zhan passed the imperial examination, but that doesn’t mean he can relax now. He still has a lot of things to do.

He has to attend the banquet to express his gratitude, and then wait for the appointment to an official position. After all this busyness, it will probably be May.

In the next two days, Yang Mingcheng helped Lin Zhan with various preparations, while Yu Qingyi delivered a visiting card to the East Palace.

When seeing the Crown Princess again, Yu Qingyi still didn't dare to relax at all, and explained her purpose tremblingly.

She didn't beat around the bush and said bluntly, "I've liked Miss Zijin since the day I saw her. Now that my family's Chengye has reached the age of marriage, I'm bold enough to come and ask to see the Empress Dongfei to ask if Miss Zijin is married!"

Upon hearing this, the Crown Princess' kind smile became even brighter.

"Zijin is unmarried, but it is a blessing for her to be favored by the Marquis' wife. However, this matter still needs the consent of my father and elder brother."

"How about this, Madam Hou, find a matchmaker and go to Dongping first!"

Naturally, she would not agree immediately. Although she wanted to marry her niece into the Yang family, she still had to be reserved.

Of course, her words were just talk. Now that the matchmaker had arrived, it meant that the marriage between the two families had entered the formal process.

The topic was only briefly touched upon and the two then resumed their casual conversation.

It was almost noon when Yu Qingyi said goodbye and left the East Palace.

After returning to the Marquis' Mansion, Yu Qingyi immediately asked Yang Yunxue to find an official matchmaker, and at the same time prepared to let Yang Mingcheng personally take the matchmaker to Dongping.

The Dongping Thousand Households Unit belongs to the Jinhai Guard, and is only two hundred miles away from the capital, so it is not a big deal to make a trip back and forth.

Yang Mingcheng was also quick. Three days later, he returned from Dongping Qianhu Suo.

Everything is going smooth.

The Yu family must have received the message from the Crown Princess a long time ago, so when Yang Mingcheng arrived at the Dongping Qianhu Suo, he was warmly received.

Yu Yuanzan was also very satisfied with the Jing'an Marquisate. After all, the Yang family was a new noble in Kyoto, and Yang Zhengshan had obtained the title of marquis based on his actual military achievements.

Yu Yuanzan still admired border commanders like Yang Zhengshan. With the Crown Princess mediating between them, Yu Yuanzan naturally had no reason to give the Yang family any hard time.

The next thing is simple. Since both parties are interested, all we have to do is follow the process.

On the first day of May, the new Jinshi were appointed as officials. Lin Zhan entered the Ministry of Revenue's Zhifang Qingli Division as a sixth-rank official. The Zhifang Qingli Division was in charge of maps, commendation of merits, review of faults, rewards and punishments, pensions, and military reviews and tests, and was also in charge of customs and maritime bans.

Obviously, the ability of newly graduated scholars was taken into consideration when appointing officials in the court. It was no secret in the court that Lin Zhan was a student of Yang Zhengshan, so it was not surprising that he was appointed to the Military Affairs Department's Office of Personnel.

However, Lin Zhan did not go to the Ministry of War to take up his post immediately. Instead, he prepared to go back to worship his ancestors before returning to Beijing to take up his post.

He is the only one left in the Lin family now. Whether for the sake of the Lin family's ancestors or for his father's last wish, he must go back.

At the same time, Yu Qingyi was also preparing to return to Chongshan Town.

Yang Chengye's marriage was left to Yang Mingcheng and Wang. As parents, they should worry when it is time to worry.

As for Yang Chengye, Yu Qingyi planned to take him back.

Although this was his marriage, he had no say in it and could not make the decision.

Moreover, Yang Zhengshan had said before that he wanted to let Yang Chengye gain experience in the army for a period of time.

On the third day of May, Yu Qingyi, Lin Zhan and others left Kyoto.

(End of this chapter)