Clan Rise: Starting as a Grandfather

Chapter 450: Chapter 426: The Newly Appointed Scholar, The Marriage Is Set

April 23rd, clear dawn.

Capital City, within the Imperial City.

Amidst successive waves of ceremonial music, the official bearing the golden list arrived at the imperial pathway to recite the imperial edict.

“By the mandate of Heaven, the Emperor decrees… In the Thirty-Fifth Year of Chengping, the imperial examination is concluded… First Class awarded the title of Imperial Scholar, Second Class granted the origins of an Imperial Scholar, Third Class bestowed with the same origin as an Imperial Scholar…”

From in front of the palace hall down to the steps, the palace guards sang in unison, spreading the announcement beyond the Fengtian Gate.

Lin Zhan stood among the scholars, listening to the successive recitations.

Half a month ago, the results of the metropolitan exam were announced, and he was ranked twenty-eighth. Three days ago, he and other scholars took the palace examination in the Taiji Palace, and today was the day when the golden list of the palace examination would be revealed.

There was no surprise that the First Class did not contain Lin Zhan’s name, nor was he disappointed; he was well aware of his standing.

His rank of twenty-eight in the metropolitan exams should not differ much in the palace examination.

This ranking was somewhat awkward; if he could move up a few places, he would be of the Second Class origins as an Imperial Scholar; if he fell a few places, he would bear the Third Class bestowed origin.

Naturally, Lin Zhan hoped to be in the Second Class, but it wasn’t up to him; it all depended on the final outcome.

As the names were called one by one, Lin Zhan also could not help but become tense.

Da Rong’s selection of scholars generally yielded two to three hundred candidates, with about thirty in the Second Class, while the Third Class comprised over two hundred individuals.

Now that more than twenty names from the Second Class had been recited, there might be only a few spots left.

Just when Lin Zhan felt he might fall into the Third Class, another name was announced.

“Second Class, the twenty-fourth name, Lin Zhan from Jing’an Prefecture!”

Lin Zhan trembled, his face involuntarily breaking into great joy.

Being placed in the Second Class was already quite satisfying for him.

After the three classes were announced, the new Imperial Scholars performed four prostrations, the top scorer was honored alone, receiving the greatest recognition.

Subsequently, there was the ceremonial street procession on horseback, a grand event that occurred once every three years in the Capital City. On this day, many citizens would gather along the streets to admire the grace of the new Imperial Scholars.

Early today, Yu Qingyi, Yang Mingcheng, Ms. Wang, and others had already arrived at a private room of a tavern facing the street.

Inside the private room, Yu Qingyi sat at an Eight Immortals table, with Ms. Wang and Yang Yunxue engaging in idle chatter.

Yang Mingcheng and Yang Chengye, on the other hand, were peering out of the window, craning their necks to look at the street.

“Mom, what do you think of that Zijin lady from the Yu family?” asked Yang Yunxue.

She had long known about the meeting between the Crown Princess Consort and Yu Qingyi, and she was also aware that Wu Zheng had recently gone to Dongping’s thousand households to inquire about Yu Zijin.

Yu Qingyi smiled and replied, “Not bad at all! She seems quite similar to you in temperament.”

“Ah!” Yang Yunxue exclaimed in surprise.

“Miss Zijin has practiced martial arts since childhood, she’s lively and energetic, often catching wild rabbits in the fields. It’s said that her archery skills are quite accurate, almost hitting the target every time,” Yu Qingyi replied with a smile.

The Yu family was not a prominent noble house; the head of the Yu family, Yu Yuanzan, was but a leader of a thousand households, and even though his daughter was chosen as the wife of a prince, Yu Yuanzan remained a mere thousand households leader.

Yu Yuanzan had only one son and one daughter, his elder son Yu Mingzhou, forty years old this year, serving as the Deputy Thousand Households in Dongping’s garrison. His daughter was the Crown Princess Consort.

He also had two grandsons and one granddaughter; the eldest grandson Yu Zicheng was twenty this year, the younger Yu Zizhen was eighteen and both were married. Only his granddaughter Yu Zijin was not yet wed.

The marital relations of the Yu family were with families from the lower ranks of the military, because initially the Crown Princess Consort was only Princess Cheng, and a princess’s support to her maternal family was generally not extensive.

Furthermore, Yu Yuanzan wasn’t the kind of person to hanker after wealth and honor, so for years the Yu family had lived an ordinary life, simply as a household leader’s family.

But now things were different, as Princess Cheng became the Crown Princess Consort, the future Empress, the Yu family’s status and standing also rose accordingly.

The Yu family, henceforth seeking connections, couldn’t just choose a common military family.

Actually, Yu Yuanzan wasn’t keen on his granddaughter marrying into power, but the Crown Princess Consort thought differently.

The Crown Princess Consort naturally sought a reputable match for her maternal family and did not wish for her niece to marry into a base ranking military family.

Hence, she arranged for Yu Zijin to be brought to the Capital City from Dongping’s thousand households garrison.

Although Yu Yuanzan was the head of the household, facing his daughter who would be the future Empress, he couldn’t assert much authority and had to comply with the Crown Princess Consort’s wishes, sending his granddaughter to the Capital City.

Yu Zijin was raised within the garrison, far from being a typical delicate lady, she was an energetic young girl.

As a child, she often ran wild with her brothers in the fields.

After listening to Yu Qingyi’s descriptions, Yang Yunxue started to have a good impression of her future niece-in-law.

She herself wasn’t a sheltered lady from a noble household; although she learned many rules and etiquettes while in the Yang family, her true nature remained that of the Yang Family Village’s tomboy.

It’s easy to change rivers and mountains, but one’s true nature is hard to alter.

When the Yang family rose to prominence, she was already ten years old, her character was set, difficult to change.

Moreover, Yang Zhenshan never intended to turn her into a great lady, so her nature was rather wild.

“Is this matter settled then?” Yang Yunxue asked.

Yu Qingyi shook her head slightly, “Your father has no objections, but it’s uncertain if the Crown Princess Consort might change her mind, as this matter has not been made public.”

“In a couple of days, I intend to pay a visit to the Crown Princess Consort. If she agrees, then consider it settled,” Yu Qingyi added.

Yang Yunxue nodded. This matter was just a hint from the Crown Princess Consort, with neither party openly acknowledging it, it couldn’t be taken as definite.

To settle this matter, not only would they need the agreement of the Crown Princess Consort, but also the consent of the Yu family.

Therefore, this matter needed to be approached slowly and could not be rushed.

As the two of them spoke, they didn’t avoid Yang Chengye, who was standing by the window, listening intently.

The more he listened, the redder his cheeks became. After all, this was about his marriage, and hearing what Yu Qingyi had said, he was also somewhat curious about the Miss Zijin whom he had never met.

“Here they come, here they come!”

Just at that moment, Yang Mingcheng suddenly exclaimed loudly.

“Where?” Ms. Wang, upon hearing this, immediately ran to the window and pushed Yang Mingcheng aside.

She looked down the street and saw a group of scholars mounted on tall horses, with colorful flowers adorning their heads, surrounded by a procession that moved forward.

Gongs sounded to clear the way, and flag-bearers lined the path, with the crowds on both sides of the street packed to the brim, and the air filled with joyous cheers.

“Here they come, here they come, Mother, Mother, I see Lin Zhan!” Ms. Wang shouted happily.

Yu Qingyi came to the window and looked down the street; amid the procession of over two hundred scholars, accompanied by officials and constables to clear the way, she immediately spotted Lin Zhan.

Because Lin Zhan had such a distinctive aura about him, he stood out amongst the other scholars. Not only was he young, but also tall and handsome, his good looks outshining even the third place scholar.

If it weren’t for his slightly lesser academic achievement, the title of third place scholar would surely have been his.

As the procession slowly made its way down the street, Yu Qingyi watched Lin Zhan, her face adorned with a slight smile of joy.

When the procession neared the restaurant, Lin Zhan also saw Yu Qingyi and the others; he raised his hand and greeted them with a beaming smile.

Although the procession wasn’t moving fast, it only took two or three minutes before Yu Qingyi could no longer see Lin Zhan.

“Grandmother, Master Lin Zhan should be ranked twenty-fourth, a second-class scholar!” Yang Chengye said softly.

Yu Qingyi nodded slightly and relaxed a little, “Good, this will put your grandfather’s mind at ease.”

Even though Yang Zhenshan had told her not to worry about whether Lin Zhan would make it on the list or what rank he would attain, she knew that Yang Zhenshan still cared a lot about Lin Zhan’s results.

Now that Lin Zhan had achieved the rank of second-class scholar, she could report back to Yang Zhenshan.

“Let’s go, it’s getting late, we should head back and prepare. Lin Zhan will have to attend the banquet in honor of the new scholars tomorrow,” Yu Qingyi said.

Lin Zhan may have secured his name in the golden records, but it didn’t mean he could relax just yet, as there were many things he still had to do.

Attend the honorary banquet, then present thank-you address, and await an official appointment; after all that, it was probably going to be May before he could finally take a breather.

Over the next two days, Yang Mingcheng helped Lin Zhan with various preparations, while Yu Qingyi sent out a card requesting an audience with the Crown Prince Consort.

Seeing the Crown Princess Consort again, Yu Qingyi still didn’t dare to relax in the least, feeling very cautious as she explained her purpose.

She didn’t beat around the bush and straightforwardly said, “Ever since that day when I saw Miss Zijin, I took a great liking to her, and now that my family’s Chengye is of marriageable age, I’ve boldly come to seek an audience with the Eastern Princess Consort, to inquire whether Miss Zijin is already betrothed!”

Upon hearing this, the Crown Princess Consort’s face lit up with an even brighter, benevolent smile.

“Zijin is indeed not yet betrothed. To be favored by the Marchioness is her good fortune, but this matter still requires the agreement of her father and elder brother.”

“How about this, Marchioness, you find a matchmaker and send her to Dongping first!”

Naturally, she wouldn’t agree right away, though she did wish to marry her niece into the Yang family, one still needed to maintain a certain level of decorum.

Of course, her words were just formalities; the arrival of a matchmaker meant that the marriage negotiations between the two families had officially begun.

They touched on this topic briefly before changing the conversation to more casual topics.

Close to noon, Yu Qingyi took her leave and departed from the Eastern Palace.

Upon returning to the Marquis Mansion, Yu Qingyi immediately had Yang Yunxue find an official matchmaker, while also preparing to have Yang Mingcheng personally accompany the matchmaker on a trip to Dongping.

The thousand households of Dongping belonged to the Jin Hai Guard, which was only around two hundred li from the Capital City, so a round trip was not too troubling.

Yang Mingcheng was prompt; three days later, he returned from the thousand households in Dongping.

Everything went smoothly.

The Yu family had presumably already received the Crown Princess Consort’s transmission, so when Yang Mingcheng arrived at the thousand households in Dongping, he was warmly received.

And Yu Yuanzan held the Marquis Jing’an Mansion in high regard; after all, the Yang family was a rising power in the Capital City, and Yang Zhenshan had been ennobled for his genuine military achievements.

Yu Yuanzan admired Yang Zhenshan as a frontier military leader, and with the Crown Princess Consort acting as a mediator, there was no reason for him to show the Yang family any disrespect.

The matters that followed were straightforward, with both families interested, they just had to follow formal procedures.

On the first day of May, the newly appointed scholars were granted official positions, with Lin Zhan joining the Ministry of Revenue as the Principal of the Clerks Department, Standard Sixth Rank. His duties included overseeing charts and maps, recording merits, auditing, rewards and punishments, consolation, and simplified examination and inspection of military affairs, as well as supervising maritime and trade restrictions.

Clearing it was not unexpected for Lin Zhan to join the departments related to military affairs, considering his background and association with Yang Zhenshan was no secret in the court.

However, Lin Zhan did not immediately take up his post at the Ministry of War, choosing instead to return home to observe ancestral rites before returning to the capital to take office.

As the only surviving member of the Lin family, he needed to return home, both for the sake of his ancestors and to fulfill his father’s last wishes.

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

Yang Chengye’s marriage arrangements were left to Yang Mingcheng and Ms. Wang to handle, as parents, it was their time to be concerned.

As for Yang Chengye, Yu Qingyi planned to bring him back with her.

Although this was his own marriage, he had no say and couldn’t manage anything within it.

Furthermore, Yang Zhenshan had previously expressed his wishes for Yang Chengye to gain some military experience.

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