Chapter 66: Becoming Famous
Outside the Hall of Supreme Harmony, Yang Shen stood at the door waiting.

When Zou Shouyi and Ou Zanghua came up, they heard the voice of an official from the Honglu Temple coming from inside the palace: "Call the first-class Jinshi, enter the palace!"

The three of them, led by Yang Shen, Zou Shouyi on the left, and Ou Zanghua on the right, walked into the Hall of Supreme Harmony and kowtowed, saying, "Your Majesty, long live the emperor."

"No courtesy, stay on your own."

Emperor Zhengde felt different when he looked at the three Jinshi candidates he had personally selected, especially Ou Zanghua, whom he had personally rescued.

He thought about it seriously before speaking: "I hope you will be loyal to your duties and work hard for the country."

Unable to think of anything else to say, I kept silent.

The third-class scholar bowed again and said, "I will follow your majesty's instructions."

The official of the Honglu Temple saw that the emperor had finished his instructions and was about to speak, but the Zhengde Emperor suddenly remembered something and said directly: "I remember that Yang Qing ranked first in the provincial examination, the metropolitan examination, and the palace examination. This is called the three first places, right?"

Seeing all the ministers nod, Emperor Zhengde continued, "This is a happy event! I allow Lord Yang to parade through the streets to celebrate with the people. Lord Zou and Lord Ou should also go! Passing the imperial examination is the greatest joy in life, and it is a great honor!"

"Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace." As the top scholar, Yang Shen stood up and bowed to express his gratitude.

The official from the Honglu Temple looked at the emperor for a while, making sure that he would not interrupt again, and then he took a breath and said loudly: "The third-class Jinshi, thank you for the emperor's grace!"

More than 300 scholars outside the palace bowed their heads at the same time and said loudly: "Your Majesty, we bow to thank you. Long live the emperor!"

The voices merged into one and Emperor Zhengde in the hall heard them clearly. He nodded in response.

The ceremonial music began, and the part of Emperor Zhengde in the Ceremony of Announcing the Imperial Edict was finished.

An official from the Ministry of Rites came out holding the notice, supported by a cloud plate, and led by umbrellas, drums and music, through the Fengtian Gate and the Wumen Gate.

All the Jinshi candidates, princes, and officials followed the notice and went out to hang it outside the left gate of Chang'an.

At this time, officials from the Ministry of Rites rushed out quickly, put a red silk hat on Yang Shen's head, and pinned two crown flowers on his black gauze hat.

Ou Zanghua looked at the red silk and suddenly remembered that when he was a child, he also wore this when he watched his uncle get married. It seemed to be called "Pihong".

In a sense, it is also a kind of inheritance!

Then officials from the Ministry of Rites were seen bringing three horses with golden saddles and red manes. With their help, the three men mounted the horses one by one.

Yang Shen's horse with a golden saddle and a red mane was led by a groom, and was surrounded by people in front and behind, with flags and drums leading the way. The front sign read "Silence" and "Keep Away", and the back sign read "Three Top Prizes in the Imperial Examination" and "Name on the Golden List". It was truly a glorious and extraordinary occasion.

Behind him was Zou Shouyi, who had only two plaques, reading "First Place in the Imperial Examination" and "Second Place in the Imperial Examination."

At the end was Ou Zanghua, who had four plaques on his head, reading "First Place in the Imperial Examination", "Third Place in the Imperial Examination", "Avoid", and "Silence".
The journey was filled with the sound of drums and music, and it was extremely lively. Yang Shen sat on his horse with a reserved smile on his face, and would only nod when he saw someone he knew.

In comparison, Ou Zanghua was much more cheerful. He waved to the passers-by on both sides from time to time, just like a star at a concert.

In the crowd, Tan Wuxia and his four brothers and sisters stared with wide eyes at Ou Zanghua who was being paraded through the streets.

We said goodbye in Jianghu, why did you go to the court alone? !
A young man from the Tan family looked at Ou Zanghua's glory with eyes full of envy. He couldn't help but ask, "Cousin, is that really your friend in the underworld?"

Tan Wuxia finally retracted his gaze. After hearing this question, he couldn't help but ask, "Do you think it is possible that there are two people with the same name, surname, and face in this world?"

The two cousins ​​looked at each other and shook their heads decisively.

"Hiss! So I kicked Tanhualang?!" Tan Wuxia took a breath of cold air and felt that the world was going crazy.

At this moment, Tan Wuxia suddenly heard a familiar voice coming from the side. She turned her head and saw Qu Feiyan jumping in the crowd, waving her hands and shouting, "Master, Master, we are here!"

Ou Zanghua was sitting on his horse, looking down from above. He immediately noticed the active Qu Feiyan. He smiled and waved at her as a response.

"Young Master saw me!" Qu Feiyan excitedly pulled her grandfather's sleeve and said happily. "Grandpa saw me!" Qu Yang looked at his lively granddaughter with a loving face, and then looked at Ou Zanghua who was in high spirits.

At this moment, inspiration burst out in him, and the missing parts of "Swordsman" began to merge into his mind.

Xiang Danian, who was standing aside, puffed out his chest with a look of pride.

On the other side of the street, the Beggar Gang's White Lotus Messenger Jie Bai and the Nine Bags Elder Xifeng Ning stood for a while, watching Ou Zanghua ride past them on horseback.

Xifeng Ning couldn't hide his smile, he cupped his hands to Jie Bai and said, "The White Lotus Envoy made a prompt decision and chose the good one. I admire you!"

"Hahaha" Jie Bai couldn't help but laugh triumphantly. Originally, the four Nine Bags Elders had some complaints about him sending out "Song of the Rising Tide of the Blue Sea" on his own initiative. Who would dare to complain now? !

After laughing, Jie Bai felt a little regretful. It was a pity that Tanhualang was not from the Beggars' Sect.

Therefore, the one who benefits the most from this wave is naturally Hengshan Sect, but I don't know what Tanhualang thinks of the Five Mountains Sword Sect.
Xifeng Ning didn't care about Jie Bai's complacency. Who hasn't been young?

But now there is a more important question, which is what should the Beggars' Sect do next?
Jie Bai was stunned for a moment, and after thinking seriously, he said, "In life, all we do is seek fame and fortune. Since we can't give Mr. Ou any 'profit', let's expand his 'fame'!"

"Let the brothers below spread the news. In the shortest possible time, let all the martial artists in the world know that Mr. Ou Zanghua, the eldest disciple of the Nanyue Hengshan School, is the new top scholar and the best of the young generation in the martial arts world!"

"This? Isn't it too arrogant?" Xifeng Ning asked hesitantly.

"What? Can't the third place winner become the number one of the new generation? Whoever disagrees, let him get past me first!" Jie Bai raised his head. He was not bragging, but among the younger generation in the martial arts world, the only one who could fight him on equal terms was probably Linghu Chong, the eldest disciple of Huashan Sect.

After the parade ended, Ou Zanghua said goodbye to his colleagues. When he turned around, he saw a carriage not far away, as well as Qu Feiyan, Tan Wuxia and others.

Ou Zanghua was stunned, then walked over quickly with some joy.

The two cousins ​​behind Tan Wuxia asked nervously, "Come on, come on, cousin, should we kneel down?"

"How should I know? It should be necessary, right? I remember my uncle knelt down when he went to see the prefect." Tan Wuxia was also a little nervous and was at a loss for a moment.

Another cousin also asked: "So should we kneel directly or half-kneel?"

"I told you I don't know!"

Tan Wuxia angrily swung her sleeves. In a blink of an eye, Ou Zanghua had already walked in front of her. She panicked and said, "Commoner Tan..."

"Miss Tan, I haven't seen you for two months, but you're still as charming as ever!"

Ou Zanghua was one step faster than her. He supported her arm to prevent her from kneeling, and then quickly withdrew his hand: "You are my friend, don't worry about this."

"Mr. Ou, I haven't seen you for two months. You have changed so much that I can't even recognize you." Tan Wuxia said with some emotion and melancholy.

"Haha. This is called the impermanence of life!" Ou Zanghua smiled and invited Tan Wuxia to go home with him.

Tan Wuxia naturally would not refuse and agreed happily.

What Ou Zanghua didn't know was that thanks to the efforts of the Beggars' Sect, his fame in the martial arts world spread faster than in the literary world.

At first, many martial artists thought it was ridiculous after hearing this.

They are people in the martial arts world who are free and easy, chivalrous, rob the rich to help the poor, and get drunk today. Who the hell would be so stupid as to take the imperial examination and become that kind of official?

If this isn’t a lackey of the imperial court and a scum of the martial arts world, then what is he?
When this is confirmed to be true
This one said: I met Mr. Ou once before, and I knew at first sight that Mr. Ou was no simple person, he was a rare talent in the martial arts world!
The one who said: I had a great time drinking with Mr. Ou, he was on the boat and I was on the shore, we were under the same bright moon, it was so cool!

Another said: Mr. Ou has three unique skills: sword, music and literature!
There is also a saying: Mr. Ou is a genius. He learned all the martial arts of Hengshan School at the age of ten. He felt it was boring, so he started to study.

Seeing the unexpected development of the situation, Jie Bai was a little confused. If the news continued like this, Mr. Ou would not be invincible.
(End of this chapter)