Chapter 86
The streets of Wudu were lined with people on both sides.
At the head of the procession was Xu Ming, followed by Xu Pangda, and a step behind him was Yu Ping’an. A total of 400 successful candidates for the imperial examination paraded down the streets, adorned with large red flowers, riding red horses, and dressed in custom-made ceremonial attire from Wudu.
This was a tradition of Wudu: once the honor roll was announced, the 400 successful candidates had to parade through half the capital city before entering the imperial palace for a grand banquet.
The banquet was personally hosted by Emperor Wu.
For many, this might be the only chance in their lifetime to share a meal with the emperor.
Seated on the horse decorated with red flowers, Xu Ming noticed women in the crowd tossing flower branches at him.
However, Xu Ming didn’t dare catch any of them.
In Wudu, if a man caught a woman’s flower branch and placed it in his hair, it signified his acceptance of her as his bride.
To be honest, Xu Ming really wanted to head home—he hadn’t seen his mother in a long time. But this parade and banquet were traditions he couldn’t avoid.