Chapter 007 Crouching Dragon and Phoenix
When Shen Yichen gave his answer, the entire lecture hall was in an uproar . No one had expected that he would make such a decision.
are you crazy?
Even if I went to the inner courtyard in the name of an attached school, it was still fundamentally different from the outer courtyard, not to mention that it was a reward from the Duke himself. If I missed this opportunity, I'm afraid I won't have a second chance like this in my life.
On the other hand, when hearing the choice made by his "son", Duke Cheng's eyes became more fierce. He stared straight at Shen Yichen, as if he wanted to see through the other's true thoughts.
It was just as Shen Yichen thought. At first, Zhu Yong regarded his question as a kind of impatient ambition and greed, intending to take advantage of the situation to obtain the status and wealth of a lord's son.
This is also a kind of inertial thinking of Zhu Yong after he has seen all kinds of speculative ambitions in officialdom.
But Shen Yichen's final refusal was equivalent to overturning the previous assumption, and Zhu Yong also discovered that this maid who had never dared to look him in the face in the past seemed to be looking at him all the time today, without even a slight avoidance of glance.
Zhu Yong has been in charge of the army for many years, and as a superior, he is very aware of the aura that makes him intimidating without even getting angry. Many times, even the officials and subordinates are afraid of him and avoid him. Can a young man like Shen Yichen be stronger than them?
"Well, you can continue to study in the outer courtyard."
Zhu Yong didn't see through what Shen Yichen wanted, but it didn't matter. With his status as Duke Chengguo, he didn't have to care what Shen Yichen thought. What happened today was just a small episode for Zhu Yong.
After saying this, Zhu Yong nodded to Li Tingxiu, then walked away with a flick of his sleeves.
"You should go back to your seat and attend class too."
Watching Duke Cheng leave, Li Tingxiu gave Shen Yichen an instruction and then began teaching as usual. However, this time, Li Tingxiu looked at Shen Yichen's back as he walked towards his seat, with a thoughtful expression on his face.
After returning to his seat, Shen Yichen had just sat down when a thin boy at the same table came over and muttered with an expression of disbelief on his face.
"Shen Yichen, you just turned down the opportunity to study in the inner courtyard. Are you confused or did you not wake up this morning?"
Faced with the question from the thin boy, Shen Yichen's first thought was not how to answer, but the other party's identity.
But soon, the name "Zhao Hongjie" came to mind, the son of Zhao Yong, the commander of the Beijing Guard. Although the private school outside the Chengguo Mansion allowed the children of trusted subordinates to study together, not just anyone could come in.
Take Zhao Hongjie for example, his father was a third-rank official, which was considered a high-ranking official in the early and middle Ming Dynasty before the status of military officers collapsed. But among the second-generation officials in the outer courtyard of the Duke's Mansion, a third-rank official title was very ordinary.
On the one hand, Emperor Taizu Zhu Yuanzhang valued military over civil servants and set the military officer rank too high, which led to the innumerable number of military officers. On the other hand, Zhao Hongjie was not the legitimate wife or son, so like Shen Yi, he was bullied in the outer courtyard.
As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together, the two of them huddled together for warmth. Plus, their grades were consistently at the bottom of their school's class, so their "revolutionary" friendship was like that of brothers in distress!
But then again, although there are many objective factors, in Shen Yichen's memory, Zhao Hongjie is his only friend in the outer courtyard private school. At least he will not be sarcastic about his identity, and will not seek inexplicable superiority from him.
"neither."
"Why is that?"
Zhao Hongjie simply couldn't understand it. As a good friend of Shen Yichen, he knew very well how much the other party wanted to return to his ancestral home and get rid of the identity of an illegitimate child.
Studying in the inner courtyard doesn't necessarily mean you'll be included in the family tree, but at least there's a way to get in, and this path was given by the Duke himself. How could you just give up like that?
"No reason, I just think the outer courtyard is pretty good. Besides, if I go to the inner courtyard, you will be the last one in the outer courtyard, and your life will be difficult."
Shen Yichen didn't want to explain too much, because the emotions at that moment were too complicated, even he couldn't sort them out for a while, so he could only change the subject.
"It doesn't matter. I can pass the exam and go to the inner courtyard with you to study."
Zhao Hongjie's answer made Shen Yichen speechless. As a poor student who couldn't even pass the examination to become a student for several years , did he really have no idea whether he could pass the examination to become a scholar?
"Oh, Zhao Hongjie, you want to take the exam for a scholar with your knowledge. If you can pass the exam and become a student in this life, it will be considered as the good fortune of your ancestors."
Shen Yichen didn't say anything, but their whispers were heard by a tall student at the back table. When Shen Yichen was reprimanded by Li Tingxiu for being late, he also made sarcastic remarks from the audience, and now he even mocked Zhao Hongjie.
Hearing this, Zhao Hongjie's face turned a little ugly. He looked back at the other party and wanted to say something, but in the end he turned his head back in fear.
Shen Yichen also took the opportunity to look back and remembered that this tall student was named Li Da, and his father was Li Zheng, the deputy governor of the Left Army Governor's Office, a second-rank official. He was considered a trusted subordinate of Duke Chengguo Zhu Yong in the Beijing Guard.
The students in the Outer Court Private School were all children of military officers, so they naturally tended to "respect martial arts". Li Da was tall and had an advantage. In addition to his status as the eldest son and his father's position, he had a bit of a "boss" vibe in the school.
Normally, Shen Yichen didn't have a very good relationship with him, because even if the son was born to a maid, he was still the bloodline of Duke Cheng, and it was impossible for him to be someone else's younger brother in the Duke's Mansion's private school.
On the other hand, Li Da also felt that Shen Yichen was being pretentious. The other students were respectful in front of him, but this kid was just showing off. He was just an illegitimate child, and he would never have the chance to be included in the family tree of the Duke in this life. Did he really think of himself as a little Duke?
But no matter what, Li Da still didn't dare to do anything to Shen Yichen, at most he would say a few sarcastic words behind his back. But he was not so polite to Zhao Hongjie, and it was common to laugh at him in person. Zhao Hongjie couldn't compare with him in all aspects, so he could only swallow his anger.
This is the case for those who are born into a family of nobility or officials. Even in the elementary school classroom, the concept of class hierarchy has already appeared.
"Then it seems that your ancestors were quite wicked, otherwise how could you not pass the examination to become a Tongsheng?"
Shen Yichen had a playful smile on his face and replied to Li Da who was sitting at the back table.
In the past, when facing such taunts, Shen Yichen was very unhappy, but he could only pretend not to hear them and endure it. After all, if a fight really started, apart from his fists, his illegitimate identity would be useless and he would not be able to suppress others.
But things are different now. At least Shen Yichen is not as cowardly as before, to the point where he doesn't even dare to say a word back.
"What did you say!"
This sentence touched Li Da's sore spot, and his voice suddenly became louder.
Because this guy's academic performance is at most on par with Shen Yichen and Zhao Hongjie, and he failed to even pass the examination to become a student in the same years.
Maybe this has something to do with the inheritance of the military family. Most of the students in the outer courtyard private school don't do well in their studies. And this is not the point. The point is that these second-generation officials seem to lack a little bit of self-awareness.
You are a very clever person, Sleeping Dragon, and you are qualified to make fun of Phoenix Chick?
