Chapter 020: A blockbuster
Only the students in the inner courtyard burst into laughter, while the nobles and ministers present had somewhat unnatural expressions on their faces.
The irony in Zeng Mengjian's poem was so obvious that these nobles and ministers were well aware of it. The reason why they all chose to turn a blind eye was that no matter what, Shen Yichen was the illegitimate son of Chengguo Zhu Yong.
It's too disrespectful of you to laugh at his son in front of Zhu Yong.
"What should I do, young lady? It seems that Master Shen is really no match for me."
Although the maid Xue'er was not familiar with Shen Yichen, he was the young lady's childhood friend after all, so she naturally tended to side with him.
It was obvious that this student named Zeng Mengjian had won the applause of the whole class. In addition, Chen Qingtong praised him so highly that Xue'er couldn't help but worry about Shen Yichen.
"have no idea."
Chen Qingtong shook his head seriously. The maid Xue'er only understood winning and losing, but she knew very well what negative impact Zeng Mengjian's poem would have on Shen Yichen.
If Shen Yichen is unable to compose a corresponding poem today, then for a long time in the future, this family dinner of Duke Chengguo will become a topic of conversation among scholars.
It was Shen Yichen who invited him to the banquet, so he naturally had some responsibility for the consequences. So besides being worried, Chen Qingtong also felt a surge of self-blame.
Facing the applause looked around proudly and kept bowing to express his gratitude, as if he had already secured the status of a winner.
Finally, he set his sights on Shen Yichen, stretched out his hand and gestured, "Brother Shen, please teach me."
Following Zeng Mengjian's action, everyone in the main hall turned their eyes to Shen Yichen, wanting to see how he would respond.
However, almost everyone believed that with Shen Yichen's talent, it was simply a daydream for him to create poems that could rival Zeng Mengjian's!
Facing everyone's gaze, Shen Yichen slowly stood up, still very calm. There was even a faint smile on the corner of his mouth, without any sign of defeat.
"Brother Zeng is indeed a talented writer. I admire him very much."
As soon as Shen Yichen finished speaking in admiration, Zhu Qingyu couldn't wait to answer, "Shen Yichen, do you admit that you are inferior to me?"
In Zhu Qingyu's eyes, Shen Yichen's talent could never compare to Zeng Mengjian's, and saying this was tantamount to admitting defeat.
"Did I say that?"
Shen Yichen was a little helpless. He tried to be polite like the ancients, but he didn't expect that there was such a fool taking it seriously.
"Then let us enjoy your masterpiece!"
Zhu Qingyu didn't expect that even at this time, Shen Yichen was still stubborn, so today he would make him completely infamous!
"Now that I have come to this, I have no choice but to show off my ugliness. What you have written before are all poems, so I will write a lyric."
When those who knew Shen Yichen well heard him say he wanted to write lyrics, they showed a mocking look on their faces.
Because I am not good at writing poems, I can still put together a doggerel with some difficulty. But when writing lyrics, in addition to considering the level and oblique tones, you also have to consider the rhyme, and you also need to follow the format of the ci tune name, which is much more difficult.
Is Shen Yichen planning to just throw the jar into chaos and actually want to write lyrics?
Shen Yichen didn't care about others' ridicule, but cleared his throat and recited.
"The Yangtze River rolls eastward, its waves wash away all heroes. Success and failure are all in vain. The green mountains remain, and the sunsets are red again."
"The white-haired fisherman and woodcutter on the river bank are used to seeing the autumn moon and spring breeze. They are happy to meet each other over a pot of muddy wine. So many things in the past and present are all turned into jokes."
As Shen Yichen recited the poem "Linjiangxian" in ups and downs, when the last word fell, it was completely different from the previous scene of composing poems, discussing and praising. This time, the whole process was as silent as death.
This poem was written by Yang Shen, who was known as the first of the three great talents of the Ming Dynasty. He won the first place in the imperial examination at the age of 23, and was full of vigor and ambition. Unfortunately, his career was not smooth, and he was dismissed from office and exiled to Yunnan because of the "Great Ceremony Controversy" during the Jiajing period. So he wrote this "Linjiangxian" looking back on his ups and downs.
However, more people in later generations learned about this poem not from understanding Yang Shen’s life, but from the opening credits of Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
In fact, Shen Yichen was very clear about his own level of poetry and didn't want to be a plagiarist, so he kept avoiding and shirking the responsibility, but the other party was really aggressive.
There is no way. As a person who has received modern education, comparing poetry with that of the ancients is just using one's own shortcomings to attack their strengths. But the rules of this world cannot change with oneself. When it is time to adapt to current events, one can only follow the trend.
“This poem… this poem…”
Finally, someone broke the silence at the banquet. This person was Zhou Shun, the magistrate of Jiangning County.
He was sitting next to Shen Yichen and heard every word very clearly, and was the most shocked.
The value of this poem far exceeded Sun Ding's expectations. He wanted to say a few words of praise, but after mumbling with a trembling voice, he didn't know where to start.
"Great words, a stunning masterpiece!"
Taining Marquis Chen Ying also slammed the table and gave his verdict on Shen Yichen's poem.
Before the banquet began, Chen Ying was deeply impressed by Shen Yichen's manners and demeanor. Now he never expected that this maid's son, who was rumored to be extremely stupid, would have such amazing knowledge.
In addition to his relationship with Duke Chengguo Zhu Yong, Marquis Taining did not hesitate to praise the poem "Linjiangxian" and gave it a high evaluation.
“Although the description is a bit straightforward, the idea is profound and the overall merits outweigh the flaws, making it a good work.”
Nanjing Minister of War Xu Qi, who had been silent, also spoke. As the highest-ranking civil servant present and the de facto counselor of Nanzhili, he was not in a position to say much at such a family dinner for nobles, to avoid giving the censors the opportunity to use the excuse of fawning on the nobles.
Therefore, Xu Qi had almost no comment on the poems of the inner courtyard students before, and at most he just applauded politely along with the others.
But Shen Yichen's poem made Xu Qi really unable to sit still. He himself was a civil official who served in the military. "Linjiangxian" was generous, tragic, and grand. However, it created an atmosphere of indifference and tranquility, watching the rise and fall of the past and present with a smile, which was very consistent with Xu Qi's identity and experience, and he couldn't help but feel very involved.
"Lord Xu's comments are spot on. No wonder I also feel it is too straightforward, and the parallelism is not very neat, more like a tanci style. However, great ingenuity is not elaborate, especially for Shen Yichen's age, it is rare to have such a realm of perception."
"Also, this kid has a very high level of vision and doesn't continue to be obsessed with competing for supremacy."
Xu Qi, the Minister of War, started the conversation, and Liu Ning, the eunuch who guarded Nanjing, also spoke up. As a general commander of the emperor, Liu Ning's hidden status and power were actually greater than Xu Qi's.
Ever since Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty opened the Nei Shu Tang and specially assigned officials from the Hanlin Academy to teach eunuchs to read, the knowledge level of high-ranking eunuchs in the capital has not been low, so Shen Yichen's "Linjiangxian" sounds more like a tanci.
In fact, this is indeed the case. In history, Yang Shen's "Linjiangxian" was included in "Twenty-one History Tanci". It did not overemphasize the neatness of parallelism, but was more inclined to simple storytelling.
The fact that it was originally a tanci also caused this song "Linjiangxian" to be criticized a lot. People who like it like it very much and think it is the pinnacle of Ming and Qing Dynasty ci. People who don't like it think it is only excellent and overrated.
However, no matter how it is evaluated, it cannot conceal the brilliance of this poem, just like Shen Yichen now, who has completely changed the impression in everyone's mind.
Today's poem "Linjiangxian" can be said to be a stunning success!
