The shopkeeper of the restaurant knew that Zheng Xunrui and others would soon move out of the restaurant, once the Enrong banquet was completed, the officials were awarded, and it was impossible for Zheng Xunrui and Yang Tingshu to continue to live in the restaurant, so after the ceremony was over, Zheng Xunrui and Yang Tingshu returned to the restaurant, and the shopkeeper prepared the banquet in a proper manner, and he personally held the pot and poured the wine.

Zheng Xunrui understood the meaning of the shopkeeper, and immediately instructed the man to bring a pen and paper, leaving the champion and the five big characters on the first floor, and leaving his name.

The next day, at Chenshi, Zheng Xunrui, Yang Tingshu and others arrived at Daming Gate on time.

The emperor will give a banquet in the Ministry of Rites to entertain the new science and technology scholars, and this banquet is called the Grace Banquet.

The grace banquet is just a kind of etiquette and commendation, which does not last long, and then the emperor will give the champion court clothes and crown belts, and the champion will represent many Jinshi to express his gratitude.

The officials of the Ministry of Rites led everyone into the official residence of the Ministry of Rites, and many Jinshi needed to use two hours to write down the gratitude table, which was nothing more than a praise for the emperor's wisdom and greatness, and piled up some gorgeous words.

There is also a very important purpose of the Enrong Banquet, that is, the emperor looks at the appearance, words and deeds and manners of many Jinshi, etc., and it is possible to ask some questions simply to judge the ability and knowledge of the new Jinshi.

The thanksgiving table is mainly completed by Chen Yutai and Yang Tingshu, as early as when he was in the restaurant, Zheng Xunrui asked Yang Tingshu, he didn't like to write such a touting article, and he was a little reluctant to read it.

Two hours of time, a lot of Jinshi can simply communicate, there has been no time before, now it is finally relaxed, although there is a grace banquet behind, as well as the release of the food ceremony, as well as the inscription of the monument, but compared with the ceremony, it is not a big deal, everyone is really concerned about the back of the Ministry of Rites.

Zheng Xunrui, Chen Yutai and Yang Tingshu don't need to worry about it, after the Ministry of Industry erects a monument and inscribes, the three will soon be awarded official positions, Zheng Xunrui is the Hanlin Academy, from the official rank of the sixth grade, Chen Yutai and Yang Tingshu are the Hanlin editors, the official rank of the seventh grade, as for the rest of the Jinshi, it is difficult to say, the second class Jinshi is likely to be awarded the official position of the Hanlin Shujishi, although it is an official position that is not in the stream, but becoming the Shuji of the Hanlin Academy, it means stepping into the Cotai Avenue, It is also very possible to enter the cabinet in the future, as for the Jinshi of the top three, the best arrangement is to become the Shujishi of the Hanlin Academy, followed by being able to enter the Sixth Ministry and the Metropolitan Inspection Yuan, and become an official of the eighth grade, and at worst, it is ranked at the local level, but it is very likely to be directly appointed as the magistrate of the seventh grade.

There is too much gap between the Beijing officials and the magistrates of the Ming Dynasty, the promotion speed of the capital can be called a rocket, and the promotion speed of the magistrate can only be called a snail, and even if the magistrate does a good job, he needs to be transferred to the capital and serve as an official of the same rank in the imperial court for a period of time.

The feast of grace begins and ends at noon, an hour in time.

There are not so many ceremonies for the grace banquet, it is nothing more than that before the banquet begins, the champion represents many Jinshi, and expresses his gratitude to the emperor, this ceremony also depends on the emperor's mind, if the emperor is not willing to listen to so many fleshy and numb touting words, it is very likely that he will directly accept the thanksgiving table, give the champion court clothes and crown belts, and directly announce the beginning of the banquet after many Jinshi kneel.

The reason why Zheng Xunrui is reluctant to write this thank-you table is that he expects that the emperor will not be patient to listen to this thank-you table.

At that time, the emperor arrived at the Ministry of Rites, and he was accompanied by cabinet ministers, but what made Zheng Xunrui strange was that Wen Zhenmeng was actually by the emperor's side, with a smile on his face.

When the emperor arrived, Zheng Xunrui led many new science and technology scholars to perform three kneels and nine bows.

This is indeed too much etiquette to meet the emperor, the emperor needs to bow after coming, the emperor needs to bow when he gives a banquet, no wonder some people say that the best officials in ancient times do is kowtow, of course, the Ming Dynasty has an advantage, that is, follow the rules of heaven and earth, only when worshipping heaven and earth, meeting the emperor, parents and teachers, will kneel and bow, and the rest of the time, the official is to see the cabinet chief, and there is no need to kneel and bow.

Zheng Xunrui took the thanksgiving watch, and was about to start reading it when the emperor spoke.

"I don't need to read this thanksgiving form, I understand it."

Soon, a eunuch walked up to Zheng Xunrui's side, took the thanksgiving watch, and handed it to the emperor.

"Give the champion Zheng Xunrui court clothes and crown belts."

When the emperor said this, Zheng Xunrui had to kneel again, although he was reluctant.

After taking the court clothes and crown belt, the emperor asked him to be flat, but Zheng Xunrui was not polite at this time, and got up quickly.

gave the court clothes and crown belt, indicating that Zheng Xunrui was the minister of the court, and the emperor spoke differently.

"Zheng Aiqing, I am the first person to read the three yuan and the first in the Ming Dynasty, there were only two people in the past, Shang Lu and Huang Guan, and now you are the third person, but according to your age, you can be three yuan and the first person at the age of seventeen, and you are the first person in the Ming Dynasty."

"The minister thanked the emperor for his praise, the minister never dared to call the first person in the Ming Dynasty, the Ming Dynasty is full of talents, heroes and heroes, the minister thinks that only for the emperor to be loyal, for the court to share worries, for the people to relieve their worries, to observe the people's suffering, to get the support of the people of the officials, can be regarded as the real capable people of the Ming Dynasty, the minister is far from these requirements."

"Well, that's right, it's so difficult to be so young and have such an understanding."

Wen Zhenmeng, who was behind the emperor, saw Zheng Xunrui up close for the first time, and when he heard Zheng Xunrui's answer, a smile of appreciation appeared on his face.

"Zheng Aiqing, I heard that your marriage has been decided."

Zheng Xunrui was confused, he didn't know why the emperor suddenly asked about this matter, this is his own private matter, and it is said that the emperor has no need to care.

"The marriage of the minister has been confirmed, and she is the granddaughter of Lord Devon of the Zhan Mansion in the court."

"Oh, what do you think of such a family affair?"

If it weren't for thinking that it was the emperor, Zheng Xunrui would have been unable to help it, marriage is the order of his parents, and he asked himself to comment on the marriage, no matter what, it is difficult to have both, saying that the fiancée is good, how can he know if he has not met, and saying that the fiancée is not good, it is even worse.

It seems that the champion is not good, and he really has to accept the emperor's questioning.

However, this question is difficult for Zheng Xunrui.

"Your Majesty, the minister thinks that the marriage is a major event, it is the words of the matchmaker of the parents, the minister follows filial piety, does not dare to comment on it, the emperor has a will, the minister must answer, the minister's fiancée is the granddaughter of Lord Wen, Lord Wen is the champion of the Apocalypse, when it is the example of the minister, the dragon gives birth to the dragon, the phoenix gives birth to the phoenix, the granddaughter of the Lord Wen, must be Bingqing Yujie, gentle and virtuous."

The emperor listened to Zheng Xunrui's answer, was stunned for a moment, smiled, and spoke to Wen Zhenmeng behind him.

"Wen Aiqing, it is a blessing to have a second grandson-in-law, if it weren't for Zheng Aiqing's marriage match, I would have thought about being a matchmaker."

"The emperor praises, the minister does not dare to be, the young man is handsome, and the granddaughter of the minister must be cherished."

After the simple inquiry, the emperor began to ask Chen Yutai and Yang Tingshu, but the questions were much simpler, and there was nothing difficult about it.

When the Enrong banquet began, the emperor really didn't stay long, and left after a quarter of an hour, probably because there were a lot of things to deal with in the court.

When leaving, Wen Zhenmeng stared at Zheng Xunrui for a long time, his eyes were very deep.

Of course, Zheng Xunrui also noticed the eyes of others, and the meanings contained were different.

After the emperor left, the banquet seemed a little more casual, but no one let go of drinking, and no one ate food, and the Enrong banquet was just a etiquette.

At noon, the banquet ended.

Looking at the table full of rare dishes, Zheng Xunrui had some regrets, in normal times, he would not be polite for a long time, at least every dish has to be tasted, but not now, the scholars are all gentle, such an important occasion, you must not lose your temper, not to mention that he is the champion of the palace test.

At two o'clock in the afternoon, the officials of the Ministry of Rites took many Jinshi to the Confucian Temple to perform the food ceremony.

The Confucian Temple is located in the Guozijian in Andingmen, many Jinshi come out from Zhengyang Gate, enter from Chongwen Gate, and walk along the street towards the place of Confucius Temple, this section of the road is a little far, and it takes about an hour to walk.

Zheng Xunrui faintly felt a little hungry, and he finally understood why someone would say that on the day of the Enrong Banquet, he was afraid that he would be hungry.

Everyone was insisting, and when they came to the Confucian Temple, Zheng Xunrui found that many people's faces were faintly pale.

The so-called release of vegetables, that is, to visit the Confucian saint with vegetables and vegetables, the Confucian saint is the ancestor of all scholars, and even the emperor has to worship the Confucian saint from time to time.

After the worship ceremony, the most exciting thing for many Jinshi was the inscription of the monument of the Ministry of Industry.

The stele is erected in the Confucian Temple, no matter which dynasty or generation, even if it is a change of dynasty, but there will be no court to destroy the stele forest in the Confucian Temple, these stele forests are all the names of the Jinshi of the previous dynasties.

In his previous life, Zheng Xunrui had also seen these steles, and what he never imagined was that his name would also be engraved on the steles, and it was the first one, I don't know what the situation would be like here in a few hundred years.

The craftsmen sought by the Ministry of Industry began to engrave the name of each Jinshi on the stone tablet that had been erected long ago, including the individual's place of origin, etc., as well as the ranking of the palace examination.

When watching his name be engraved first, Zheng Xunrui suddenly had a faint impulse in his heart, he wanted to continue this atmosphere of respecting learning, no matter how many years later, he also insisted on respecting knowledge and talents, and a country or nation would be truly hopeful, which everyone knows, but there are not necessarily many people who are willing to really do this.