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

Chapter 29 A makeshift troupe

Upon returning home, the gatekeeper hurriedly came forward, bowed, and said, "Second Young Master, Second Aunt and Master have arrived and are having tea in the front hall."

Wang You was stunned for a moment before he realized who the gatekeeper was referring to as "Second Aunt's Master".

"understood."

Wang You waved his hand and hurriedly entered the room. He went straight to the main hall and saw Sheng Hong sitting there drinking tea.

"Uncle, what brings you here?" Wang You asked, feigning surprise.

He knew that Sheng Hong was probably there to report on his work, but since Sheng Hong hadn't said so, he could only pretend not to know.

"I received an imperial decree a few days ago, ordering me to come to the capital to report on my duties. After arriving in Bianjing, I was busy with reporting and social engagements. Today I had some free time, and it just so happens to be the day you are taking the prodigy exam, so I came to visit."

Sheng Hong smiled and asked, "How did the exam go?"

"You've already taken the exam; you'll take the second round in five days."

After Wang You finished speaking, he bowed and said, "Congratulations, Uncle."

"Haha, it's just a report on my duties; it doesn't necessarily mean I'll get a promotion. Besides, when serving the country, the rank of the position isn't important," Sheng Hong laughed.

If Sheng Hong's smile hadn't been so radiant, Wang You might have believed him to some extent.

Indeed, giving a performance review does not guarantee a promotion.

But very few people don't get promoted.

With so many prefectures and counties in the Song Dynasty, it was impossible to summon the prefects and vice-prefects of each prefecture to the capital for every performance evaluation.

Only some officials of the fifth or sixth rank, who were in charge of specific tasks, were summoned to the capital to report on their duties when they were promoted.

The so-called performance review is more like a pre-appointment assessment, and officials are well prepared when they receive the order to go to Beijing to review their performance.

Very few people fail to get promoted because of poor performance in their job reviews.

Sheng Hong, as expected of a seasoned official, spoke in a very high-sounding and dignified manner.

Wang You believed that if the emperor heard this, he would promote him by one rank.

"Although you've passed the first round, you can't let your guard down. The first round was just a selection process; the second round will be assessed by the officials. The officials in the court have quite a few complaints about the prodigy exam, so the difficulty will probably be considerable," Sheng Hong reminded him.

"Thank you for reminding me, Uncle. I understand," Wang You replied.

Sheng Hong nodded and said nothing more, instead showing concern for Wang You's recent situation, demonstrating the demeanor of an elder.

Wang You also learned through casual conversation that Sheng Hong had actually arrived in Bianjing around the same time as them.

After arriving in Bianjing, I first went to report on my duties, and then I was busy giving gifts and making arrangements. I only finished these two days ago.

Now that they are preparing to return home, they came to visit Wang You before leaving.

Wang You wanted to ask Sheng Hong if he had already arranged a marriage for Hua Lan, but after hesitating, he gave up the idea.

Marriages are decided by the parents, and even Hua Lan, the person involved, cannot ask questions, let alone the younger generation.

If the two families weren't cousins, it would actually be quite nice for my older brother to marry Hualan.

Of course, there was no such custom in ancient times; instead, people preferred to strengthen family ties through marriage.

However, such marriages between close relatives are generally not arranged by the eldest son and eldest daughter unless the two families are already very distant.

The Wang and Sheng families have a close relationship and are not in a hurry to become even closer through marriage.

If Wang Zhuoruo marries a woman from a high-ranking family, the Sheng family will indirectly benefit as well.

This explains why, despite Wang Zhuo being two years older than Hua Lan, the two families had no intention of forming a marriage alliance.

The other two families intended for him to marry Rulan, but Kang Wangshi intercepted the marriage.

Wang You was not opposed to marrying Rulan. In ancient times, when parental orders were paramount, it was too difficult to have a free love affair.

It's not entirely impossible, but the girl was married at fifteen or sixteen. Asking him to seduce that young girl would be worse than killing him.

Therefore, Wang You did not have high requirements for his future wife; she had to be virtuous, able to manage the household well, and not prone to intrigue.

Either be innocent and naive, and have simple thoughts.

Rulan fits the latter description, the only problem being that the two are cousins.

Wang You had considered explaining the dangers of cousins ​​marrying each other to his parents, but after careful consideration, he gave up the idea.

Did the ancients really not know about this problem?

Compared to the marriage alliance between the two families, these factors are actually negligible.

He wanted to participate in the prodigy examination to enter officialdom, not only because he wanted to see the scenery from a high place, but also because he wanted to have a certain say in his family.

Sheng Hong stayed for lunch and then left.

Two days later, Sheng Hong left Bianjing, only sending someone to inform him of his departure and instructing Wang You to study hard.

……

Five days passed in the blink of an eye. The first round of the prodigy test was an oral exam, and the second round was a written exam.

It was presided over by Minister Fu and Minister Yu and took place in the examination hall.

The content of the assessment varies depending on the age of the candidate.

This is also one of the reasons why many people oppose the prodigy exam. The imperial examination used the same test papers for everyone, so if someone failed, they couldn't blame anyone else.

But the prodigy exam is different; the ages vary, and the assessment standards and questions are also different.

You can't make four- or five-year-old children take the same test as teenagers, can you?

Therefore, age is the only way to distinguish them, but some people may be only half a year apart, yet the difficulty of the questions can be completely different.

They won't say anything during the exam, but if they don't pass, they'll start questioning the fairness of the exam.

If this applies to those who can participate in the prodigy exam, then it goes without saying what applies to those who cannot.

Unlike the imperial examinations, which lasted nine days and nine nights, the second round of the prodigy test only lasted one day.

After receiving the exam paper, Wang You first carefully read through it, and then breathed a sigh of relief.

It's challenging, but not particularly difficult.

The topics are not limited to the Four Books and Five Classics and the classics, histories, philosophical works, and literary collections; they also cover some mainstream miscellaneous books.

However, the Wang family also had a considerable collection of books, and Wang You had seen them all this time.

Therefore, it is not difficult to answer.

However, Wang You carefully considered his answers and tried his best to provide them as perfectly as possible.

He tried writing articles and read many articles by famous people, but after comparison, he found that the gap was still too big.

For him, the prodigy exam might be the only normal opportunity to enter officialdom without relying on nepotism.

This prodigy exam is his only chance in his life.

After all, the little prince will die soon.

After that, the government lost interest in holding any more prodigy exams.

The second round of exams ended, but the results were not announced at any time; they were simply told to go home and wait for further notice.

Compared to the imperial examinations, the prodigy examinations were completely amateurish.

Whether or not it is held depends on the official's mood, and the specific procedures are entirely up to them.

By the end of the second round, even the exact date for posting the results was still uncertain.

Wang You had no choice but to wait.

If you pass, the next step is the palace examination.

The imperial examination depended more on performance on the spot, and hard work was useless. He could finally let loose and spend his days taking Xiaoman and Shitou to taste delicious food and visit scenic spots.

I also made a few friends during that time, and I think there are two I can become friends with.

One of them was from Bazhou, named Feng Ping. He was only twelve years old, but he was already tall and strong. Because his skin was a bit dark, he looked like he was fifteen or sixteen.

The other one is a local from Bianjing named Zhao Sheng. He is fourteen years old this year and has an extraordinary demeanor. You can tell from his family background that he is not from an ordinary family.

Although the Zhao surname is the imperial surname, Emperor Taizu came from an ordinary background and his ancestors were not from a prominent family. Therefore, there are still quite a few people in the world with the surname Zhao.

Wang You did have suspicions that the other party was a member of the imperial family, but upon learning that the other party had also participated in the prodigy examination, he dismissed the idea.

Because members of the imperial family were not allowed to participate in the prodigy examinations or the imperial examinations.