Everyone waited in the private room of the restaurant for about an hour, and the procession of scholars on horseback finally arrived at the main street where they were.
Gu Wenxuan and others came to the window with great interest to watch the team of Jinshi candidates moving slowly forward below.
The first top scholar was in his early thirties, with an ordinary face. The only thing about him that made him look distinguished was his bookish air.
The runner-up looked a few years older than the top scorer, but his facial features were slightly more outstanding than those of the top scorer.
As they expected, the best-looking and youngest person was the third place winner.
Amid the discussions coming from the windows on both sides, Gu Wenxuan and the others keenly caught two pieces of information:
1. The runner-up is actually only 26 years old, he looks old because he loves to grow a beard...
2. The best-looking and youngest Tanhua scholar was from a prominent family in Jiangnan. He was a well-known and talented scholar. It was said that he not only won the Tanhua prize at the age of 18, but was also the youngest Juren and Xiucai in his county.
The second-class candidate ranked fourth was handsome, and like Bai Jingzhou, he was also a young man in his early twenties.
The fifth place after him is a middle-aged man in his early forties, who is considered the "oldest" among this year's Jinshi.
Bai Jingzhou was ranked sixth. As soon as he appeared, the people in the private room including Gu Wenxuan started shouting. Bai Jingzhou looked up, smiled and waved at them.
His smile was so incredible that before Gu Wenxuan could make a move, people on both sides of the road had already thrown their handkerchiefs, sachets and other items at him.
Bai Jingzhou slightly increased the speed of his horse at this moment, and all those things fell on the horse's body and the ground.
Only the sachet that Gu Wenxuan threw to him with a smile was caught in his hand accurately.
Gu Wenhai, Bai Jingshan and others did not have such treatment. The sachets and handkerchiefs that Gu Wenxuan gave to them as a "show of support" were all thrown by the maids.
After cheers and screams, the team of Jinshi scholars walked away. Gu Wenxuan and the others watched Bai Jingzhou and others walk away from the window. Then Gu Wenxuan called the waiter and ordered a table of the restaurant's signature dishes.
She was not in the habit of having people serve her at the dining table, so after ordering the dishes, she gave Chunni some loose change and asked all of them to find a place to have lunch.
Chunni'er and the others were already used to Gu Wenxuan's behavior. After thanking their mistress, they left the private room and called the coachmen to have lunch together.
Of course, they would not order a table full of noodles and eat them slowly like Gu Wenxuan and others, but would choose various noodles that are quick to cook, or cheaper stir-fried dishes and cold dishes with rice.
After the horse parade, there is the Qionglin Banquet. On this day, all the new scholars are honored and glorious.
Gu Wenxuan was worried that Bai Jingzhou would drink too much, so after coaxing her daughter Xiaoxiao to sleep, she sat at the table flipping through a storybook while waiting for Bai Jingzhou to come back.
In addition, she also sent Fang Youfu, Yang Wandong and others to wait for Bai Jingzhou and others at the palace gate. As long as they came out of the palace, Fang Youfu and others would take them home in a carriage.
Fortunately, what Gu Wenxuan was worried about did not happen, and the few people who came back were all just a little tired.
The others were sent back to their rooms by their servants to wash up and rest, while Bai Jingzhou was personally sent by Gu Wenxuan to the side room of their room to wash up and change clothes.
While washing up, Bai Jingzhou talked to Gu Wenxuan about what happened at the Qionglin Banquet today.
Finally, he told Gu Wenxuan, "Except Yaoheng, I and the others are planning to try to get into the Imperial Academy."
Although he had no ambition to be granted a title of nobility or become a prime minister, he would still do his best to seize any opportunity he could.
Gu Wenxuan nodded to show that she understood, "Then I'll write a letter and tell my parents that we will be back later."
Bai Jingzhou dried his hair and lay down beside her, "Let me write it."
"That's fine." Gu Wenxuan didn't care. "Will Li Fan and the others move out soon?"
Bai Jingzhou nodded, "Wenhai, Jingshan and Yunzhan will continue to live here."
In other words, Li Fan, Bai Yaoheng, Tao Chang and Jiang Yuheng will all find another place to live and move out as soon as possible.
This is not surprising. Since they are all going to be officials, it is inappropriate for them to continue living in someone else's house.
Not to mention the four of them, even Gu Wenhai, Bai Jingshan and Su Yunzhan had to find another place to live and move out after deciding whether they would stay in Beijing or not.
After all, even if they have a close relationship with each other, it is not appropriate for them to live together for a long time after they enter the court as officials.
Otherwise, if someone gets bored one day and accuses them of forming a clique, they will be in trouble.
The results of the museum's selection came out very quickly. Bai Jingzhou and Su Yunzhan were successfully selected, but Gu Wenhai and others were not on the list.
Everyone was not too disappointed. With their ranking, even if they couldn't enter the Hanlin Academy, they would have no problem getting a slightly better position in other government offices.
In the end, Mu Jingzhi, who did not take the examination for the Hanlin Academy, entered the Ministry of Personnel, and Bai Yaoheng, who also did not take the examination, got the position of county magistrate of Hengshan County in Luozhou. Several people who took the examination but did not make the list, Gu Wenhai entered the Ministry of Revenue, Bai Jingshan entered the Dali Temple, Tao Chang and Li Fan all entered the Ministry of Rites, and Jiang Yuheng, like Bai Yaoheng, got the position of a seventh-rank county magistrate in a remote area.
After everything was settled, Gu Wenxuan and Bai Jingzhou began to plan their return home.
The imperial court would give new scholars a one to three month vacation so that they could return to their hometowns and handle various matters before taking office.
Although Gu Wenxuan, Bai Jingzhou and others will live in the capital next, they plan to go back to their hometown together before that. Firstly, they have relatives in their hometown, and secondly, they have businesses in their hometown.
Whether relatives should come to Beijing with them, who to take care of the property, and how to deal with future profits are all things they need to consider and deal with next.
As for Bai Yaoheng and Jiang Yuheng who chose to start from the local level, although the two of them would also go back to their hometown with them, at the same time, they also had to find one or two capable assistants whom they could trust, which is what is usually called a legal advisor these days.
As a county magistrate, in charge of an area, the first things he had to focus on were the two major areas of taxation and criminal law, so both of them wanted to find a taxation advisor and a criminal law advisor.
None of them came from a family of officials, and they didn't have parents or relatives to help prepare suitable candidates in advance. The accompanying legal advisor could only ask friends and classmates with whom he had good relationships to help him look for someone.
Fortunately, they have been studying for many years and have some trustworthy friends. By asking so many people to look for the right candidate together, they will always be able to find the right candidate before taking office.