Chapter 016 Brotherly friendship and respect for each other?
Shen Yichen didn't know that Duke Cheng had already set his sights on him , and he had no idea of the doubts in the other party's heart.
If Shen Yichen knew, the answer to this question is actually very simple.
That is, the choice he made before was given as charity, but now, Shen Yichen has to fight for it on his own!
When Chen Qingtong and Shen Yichen appeared in the inner courtyard, they also attracted everyone's attention. However, compared with Duke Cheng's sharp speculation, this group of people looked at Shen Yichen with more contempt and disdain.
"Qingtong, why did you bring a student from the outer courtyard to the family banquet today?"
A student wearing a Huali shirt asked with disdain. He emphasized the word "student", implying that Shen Yichen did not pass the college entrance examination and was not even a student, but just a student who had not entered school.
"Zhu Qingyu, it's none of your business."
Chen Qingtong naturally heard the contempt in the other party's tone, so his reply was also very cold.
"I am a member of the Zhu clan, so of course I can take care of it. Only members of the clan and students from the inner courtyard can attend today's family banquet, and Shen Yichen is not qualified."
After saying that, he turned his gaze to Shen Yichen, wanting to see how this maid-born son would embarrass himself.
Facing the provocative gaze, Shen Yichen was calm and composed, without any sense of shame for sneaking in and being caught red-handed . In his mind, he remembered who this Zhu Qingyu was. His grandfather was a brother of the first generation Duke of Cheng, Zhu Neng, so he could barely be considered his cousin.
However, because of his status, Shen Yichen did not have much interaction with these members of the Zhu clan. He had only met Zhu Qingyu a few times and knew only their names.
Logically speaking, there is no hatred between the two parties. Why did this guy come out to cause trouble for me? The food at the banquet is not his.
"Shen Yichen is also from the lineage of Duke Cheng. Why is he not eligible to participate?"
Shen Yichen did not respond. Chen Qingtong was so angry that she stood up to argue for him. Zhu Qingyu was not as close as Shen Yichen in terms of blood relationship, so he had the nerve to control him using his status as a member of the Zhu clan?
"If you are not included in the family tree, you are not considered a relative."
A cold voice came from behind Zhu Qingyu. Instantly the inner courtyard students who had gathered to watch the excitement made way for them and said in unison, "Second Young Master."
Second Young Master?
Hearing this title, Shen Yichen's eyes met with the visitor's. There was only one person who could be called the Second Young Master in Duke Cheng's Mansion, and he was Zhu Yong's second son, Zhu Ji.
If Zhu Qingyu had said this, Chen Qingtong would definitely have argued. But when it came out of Zhu Ji's mouth, Chen Qingtong opened his mouth and didn't know how to refute it for a moment.
However, at this moment, a playful smile appeared on the corner of Shen Yichen's mouth. He was wondering why Zhu Qingyu would bother him when he had nothing to do after eating. Now that Zhu Ji appeared, everything made sense.
Because in Shen Yichen’s limited childhood memories, the instigators of the bullying he suffered in his childhood were basically this second son Zhu Ji!
As for why he was bullied, the reason was actually very simple, because Zhu Ji's mother, Lin, was not the legitimate wife of Duke Chengguo, but a concubine taken in later.
What was even more unfortunate was that his mother, Shen, was assigned to work as a maid in Lin's courtyard!
The maid rose to power and had a child with Duke Chengguo. The relationship between the master and servant turned into a "competitor". Regardless of the process and reason, they had become an imaginary rival in competition. Zhu Ji was naturally full of hostility because of what he said and did.
I didn't expect that after not seeing each other for many years, everything is still the same.
"Shen Yichen, this is not the place for you to be. You'd better get out of here on your own initiative."
Zhu Ji looked at the playful smile on Shen Yichen's face and suddenly felt very unhappy. When this kid saw him back then, he dodged like a mouse seeing a cat. How could he still smile today?
"I think you seem to have some misunderstanding about my identity?"
"Since you don't know, I might as well tell you that I am not attending the banquet today as a member of the clan or a student from the outer courtyard private school. I am visiting in the name of Taining Marquis Mansion."
After finishing speaking, Shen Yichen took a step forward, stood in front of Zhu Ji and said sternly: "Close the door and ask the guests of Taining Marquis Mansion to leave. It seems that you, Zhu Ji, do not have the qualifications to do so."
No matter how unbearable and humble Shen Yichen was before, that was all in the past. Shen Yichen now would never continue to cowardly escape!
Even the momentum of Shen Yichen's approach made Zhu Ji's body tremble slightly, and he couldn't help but want to retreat. Fortunately, the whole action was not obvious, otherwise Zhu Ji would be embarrassed if he was easily forced back by Shen Yichen.
"That's right, Shen Yichen is attending the banquet with me in the name of Taining Marquis Mansion. Unless Uncle Zhu disagrees, no one can let him out!"
Chen Qingtong also realized at this moment that it was he who invited Shen Yichen to the banquet, so nominally he represented the Taining Marquisate, not the Zhu clan or the students from the outer college.
If you want to expel someone, you must ask Duke Cheng to do it personally, otherwise no one can replace him. But the problem is that the Duke will never care about this kind of thing, so Shen Yichen participated openly today!
With the support of the Taining Marquisate, the expressions of the inner court students who were watching the fun were very interesting. They had never thought that there could be another way to go about it in this way.
Zhu Ji's expression became more and more gloomy. On the one hand, Chen Qingtong's interference made him lose face. On the other hand, more importantly, he knew clearly in his heart that he was shocked by Shen Yichen's momentum for a moment.
It is such a humiliation to be shocked by a slave-born son whom I have despised since childhood!
Just when the situation was at a stalemate, a young man who looked mature and steady came over and spoke to everyone present .
"The banquet is about to begin. My fellow students should take their seats first. There are many nobles and important officials present today. We don't want to make fun of the Duke Cheng's Mansion."
The appearance of this young man broke the stalemate and gave both sides a way out. Zhu Ji snorted coldly, looked at Shen Yichen angrily, and then walked away.
The other inner courtyard students did not leave immediately, but instead bowed and said, "Young Master."
Just like the title of the Second Young Master before, the only one who could be called the Eldest Young Master in the Duke Chengguo’s Mansion was naturally the eldest son Zhu Yi.
Seeing Zhu Yi coming, Chen Qingtong also smiled and bowed cordially, "Brother Yan Heng."
Yan Heng is Zhu Yi's courtesy name. He is a few years older than Zhu Ji and Shen Yichen, and is 21 this year. Compared with Zhu Ji's arrogance and domineering, Zhu Yi's character is honest and steady, which meets the standard of the eldest son. Chen Qingtong's relationship with him is also much better.
"Since you are already here, you can join us."
Zhu Yi looked at Shen Yichen and spoke, without any special targeting or any sense of intimacy, just like greeting an ordinary guest.
"Well, thank you, sir."
Shen Yichen bowed his hands in thanks. In any case, Zhu Yi's appearance was a relief. In addition, his tone was very flat, and there was no sense of brotherhood in his heart.
Perhaps the sentiment of brotherly love and respect for each other is not suitable for the families of emperors and nobles.
What Shen Yichen didn't know was that the whole thing was seen by Chengguogong Zhu Yong. In a sense, the four fathers and sons "reunited" under such circumstances.
