Do you know that my grandfather was entitled to be enshrined in the Imperial Ancestral Temple?

Chapter 43 Ineffective Social Interaction

After the Emperor left, an eunuch stepped forward with the imperial edict, unfolded it, and read aloud: "His Majesty decrees: Li Zeliang, Sha Tao, Ma Ping, etc., who performed exceptionally well in the preliminary and final examinations, are exempt from one examination."

Duan Xingmin, Liu Wenshui, and others were arranged by the Ministry of Personnel to enter various government offices and were granted the rank of ninth grade.

Wang You and Qin Zhihui were both granted the title of Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations) and their appointments were to be arranged by the Ministry of Personnel at its discretion.

Upon hearing that he would only be granted exemption from the exam once, a fleeting look of disappointment crossed Ma Ping's eyes.

However, he recovered quickly; being exempted from the exam once was already quite an achievement.

Although it was only the lowest reward, strictly speaking, it was actually higher than those who were granted honorary titles.

Those granted honorary titles, though acting as probationary officials, have no real power as they do not hold actual positions.

If one wants a better future, one has no choice but to give up and participate in the imperial examination.

In this way, they are back on the same starting line as those who have been granted exemption from the exam.

They can be exempted from one exam, but their finish line is shorter than these people's.

When he heard that Wang You had been granted the title of Jinshi, he looked at Wang You with some excitement and was genuinely happy for him.

But when he saw Wang You, he only smiled faintly, without even excitement, let alone ecstasy.

Ma Ping felt ashamed and asked himself if he had been replaced by Wang You, he would have been overjoyed.

Didn't you see the other person who was granted the title of Jinshi? His face was almost distorted.

There was no way around it, I was just too happy. But since we were in the main hall, I couldn't laugh out loud, so I had to hold it in.

Comparing the two, Wang You appeared more composed and unperturbed by either favor or disgrace.

Wang You was naturally happy, but not exactly surprised.

When Haining came to find him, he already had a general idea in his mind.

These rewards must have been finalized by the time they received the notification from the Ministry of Rites.

If he cannot be granted the title of Jinshi, he will have to wait several more years to become an official. What is the point of Hai Wenqing asking Hai Ning to warn him not to participate in the struggle for reform?

Although I can't be sure, I'm about 60-70% certain.

In this situation, the feeling of joy will naturally be greatly reduced.

"Your Majesty, we kowtow in gratitude!"

The crowd knelt down and kowtowed in gratitude.

It is worth mentioning that kneeling was not a common custom in the Song Dynasty.

Kneeling is only required when a new emperor ascends the throne or when the emperor bestows gifts or expresses gratitude.

Normally, a simple bow is sufficient.

Although Wang You disliked this arrangement, he had no choice but to comply, given the absolute power of the emperor in ancient times.

After everyone kowtowed in gratitude and rose, the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree said, "Young prodigies, you must know that the exemption from examination must be used on your first attempt at the imperial examination. If you fail after using it, you will not have another chance to take the exam next time."

Those who were granted exemption from the exam were all taken aback upon hearing this.

The exemption qualification is definitely intended for the metropolitan examination, so it will only be used after passing the county and township examinations.

If one fails either the county or provincial examination, one can try again in the next imperial examination.

However, the eunuch's current intention is that he must be used for the first time participating in the imperial examination.

If someone is left without a purpose and is eliminated in the county or provincial examinations, they will not have the opportunity to be exempt from the next imperial examination.

In other words, they had to pass both the county and provincial examinations on their first attempt at the imperial examinations.

This is essentially no different from abolishing the exemption from examinations.

After all, the county and township examinations were quite difficult, and with the addition of unforeseen circumstances, it was common to fail.

Of course, they could also choose not to participate in the imperial examinations until they were absolutely certain of success.

However, when a person lacks self-confidence, even with great talent, it is difficult for them to perform at their full potential.

Those who were granted exemption from the exam were all very dissatisfied.

After all, those who were granted exemption from the previous prodigy exams could use that exemption at any time.

It can't be used by them anymore, how can they be willing to accept that?

If something similar happened in the imperial court, the officials would probably start criticizing it.

But these people are still young and don't have the courage to question.

They were unwilling but dared not refute or question it.

Wang You shook his head slightly, realizing from this incident that the Emperor was indecisive.

The emperor must have been influenced by those dissenting voices, which is why he imposed certain restrictions on the rewards for the prodigy examination.

In that case, it would be better to just cancel it.

Although Wang You was a beneficiary of the system, he did not agree with the existence of the prodigy test.

The prodigy exam itself is indeed unreasonable, and there is nothing wrong with abolishing it.

However, the officials had too many concerns and came up with a compromise that resulted in something neither fish nor fowl.

Next, the eunuch gave a brief instruction to the few people who were granted honorary titles and bestowed the title of Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations).

They were simply told to wait patiently until the Ministry of Personnel had made the appointments, at which point they would be notified.

After giving his instructions, he had the eunuch lead everyone out of the palace.

"Brother Qin, Ziqian, congratulations."

"You two gentlemen have been granted the title of Jinshi, and your future is limitless."

"We're the same age now, so I'm treating everyone today to celebrate with Brother Qin and Ziqian."

Once outside the palace, everyone else surrounded Qin Zhihui and Wang You.

Some people offered their congratulations, and some even offered to host a banquet to celebrate the couple's happiness.

Wang You politely declined their offer of help.

It's not that he's arrogant; saying things like we're the same age is just self-aggrandizement.

The term "same year" refers to those who passed the imperial examinations in the same year.

When powerful clans existed, scholars formed small groups based on family ties and relationships of dependence.

Now that aristocratic families have declined, relationships such as being from the same hometown, classmates, or born in the same year have become the bonds that allow these scholars to form small groups.

However, most of those who participate in the prodigy exam have mediocre futures, making their social interactions largely useless.

Wang You was not familiar with those people, so there was no need for him to pretend to be polite.

"Ziqian, isn't it a bit inappropriate to refuse like this?"

Once inside the carriage, Ma Ping said with some concern.

"Debon!"

Wang You countered with, "Do you think it's necessary to befriend these people?"

Ma Ping pondered for a moment, then shook his head.

These people can speak eloquently and knowledgeably when discussing book knowledge.

However, due to his age and experience, other aspects are hard to describe.

"If there's no need to make friends, then why feel bad about refusing?" Wang You countered.

Ma Ping thought for a moment and said, "It would be impolite to refuse someone who is treating you so warmly."

"I responded with a smile and gave them a reason not to go. Regardless of what they thought in their hearts, they agreed on the surface and did not turn against me. How can you say that they were being impolite?" Wang You retorted.

"This..." Ma Ping was speechless for a moment.

"The reason you feel it's impolite is not because my behavior was impolite, but because you feel it's impolite to refuse someone's seemingly reasonable request."

Wang You said sternly, "If you want to become an official, you can't have such thoughts."

There are too many high-sounding reasons and excuses. If you clearly don't like it but agree because you can't save face, you'll run into trouble sooner or later.

One must avoid agreeing to or doing things one dislikes simply because of saving face, and also avoid doing things merely because one likes them.

"Not elated by external gains, nor saddened by personal losses?"

Ma Ping paused for a moment before asking, "Is that what you mean?"

"More or less, but you're still young and can't understand it yet. You'll understand it naturally in the future," Wang You said.

"Um."

Ma Ping nodded, then realized something was wrong.