Chapter 021 All Talents
With the approval of Marquis Taining, the garrison eunuch, and the Minister of War, the result of this family banquet poetry "enhancing the fun" is self-evident.
Zeng Mengjian's face was pale at the moment , and his mind was buzzing. Among all the people present, no one knew Shen Yichen's knowledge better than him. How could a loser who couldn't even pass the Tongsheng exam write this "Linjiangxian"?
Could it be that the article was naturally gifted and was accidentally created by Shen Yichen?
What Zeng Mengjian couldn't accept even more was the last word of the eunuch Liu Ning, "pattern". This meant that he not only lost in poetry, but also in his character.
In the future, when the literati in Nanjing discuss this family dinner today, the irony in their poems will only be labeled as competitive. However, Shen Yichen's lyrics did not blindly respond or counterattack. On the contrary, they talked about many things in the past and present, all of which were just jokes.
This kind of free and easy and magnanimous attitude, coupled with the pattern proposed by the garrison eunuch, will be praised and respected by literati and scholars!
You have to know that Zeng Mengjian had always been regarded as a favored child by others. Even though he returned home to mourn his father and gave up an imperial examination, he was still praised by literati and scholars as a filial son.
Is all this going to be lost because of one poem?
If I had known this, why would I have taken on the second young master Zhu Ji's affairs and stood up for him!
There is no regret medicine in the world. If Shen Yichen could not write a good poem today, his fate might be much worse than Zeng Mengjian's. The title of a student alone is enough to make him a laughing stock at the banquet today, and the students of the inner courtyard private school will not miss the opportunity to humiliate him.
"Brother Yichen, you really didn't let me down."
Chen Qingtong looked at Shen Yichen at the distant table, his eyes full of memories.
At that time, Shen Yichen was still in the Chengguo Mansion. He was not stupid and naughty as the outside world later believed. On the contrary, he was intelligent, well-behaved and sensible.
Chen Qingtong still remembers that once when she was punished by her teacher for studying, she hid in a corner of the garden of the Duke of Chengguo Mansion and felt sad. It was when Shen Yichen came over with a string of candied haws in his hand, and comforted her like a little adult.
In the end, no matter how much comfort he used, he still handed over the string of candied haws in his hand reluctantly.
Chen Qingtong didn’t know what Shen Yichen had experienced over the years. Perhaps the dazzling him at this moment was the familiar Brother Yichen in her memory.
Facing the praise from the audience, Shen Yichen felt a little embarrassed and hurriedly bowed and said, "Thank you all for your praise. I am not very knowledgeable and I am really ashamed to accept it."
After saying that, Shen Yichen quickly sat down, huddled in the corner at the end of the table, appearing unusually low-key.
Originally Shen Yichen was really embarrassed by being praised, but he never expected that his action would win the favor of the nobles and ministers present.
"It's rare to be young but not arrogant."
"Eunuch Liu has a keen eye. This boy really has a vision."
"It is really puzzling that Duke Chengguo has such a tiger son, but he is not included in the family tree."
"It seems that Shen Yichen's name will definitely be on the list of candidates for the college entrance examination next year!"
Listening to the endless flattery around him, Shen Yichen was completely speechless. These guys really deserve to be in the officialdom, they are talented and speak well.
If it were Shen Yichen himself, he wouldn't dare to brag like this!
After three rounds of drinks, the banquet came to an end and the officials who attended the banquet gradually left.
Many officials would nod when passing by Shen Yichen, or even come over to give him a few words of encouragement.
But that was all. After all, Shen Yichen was now a maid-born child who was not included in the family tree and had no official title. If it weren't for the amazing lyrics he wrote today, he wouldn't even be worthy of a greeting. The gap in status was too great.
Shen Yichen saw that it was almost time and prepared to leave Duke Cheng's Mansion, but he did not plan to say goodbye to Duke Cheng like other officials did.
Because Shen Yichen was not on the guest list for the banquet, so he sneaked in. And because of his special status with Zhu Yong, it might be awkward to meet him, but no one would care if he sneaked away anyway.
But sometimes, things go in unexpected directions. Shen Yichen wanted to run away quietly, but things did not go as he wished. A deep voice sounded behind him.
"Shen Yichen, please stay for now."
The one who made Shen Yichen stay was none other than Duke Cheng, Zhu Yong. So when this voice came out, the officials who had originally left the scene looked back frequently, wondering what would happen.
"Yes, sir."
Shen Yichen naturally didn't know what Zhu Yong wanted to do, but since Duke Cheng had spoken, he had no choice but to stay where he was and wait.
Soon the guests dispersed, and the main hall, which had been bustling before, was left with only Duke Chengguo Zhu Yong and Shen Yichen.
Chen Qingtong originally planned to stay, as she was worried that Shen Yichen would not be able to handle the situation alone. If there was any conflict, she could help to ease the tension between the two at the critical moment.
But Chen Qingtong was persuaded to leave by his father. Chen Ying knew very well that given Zhu Yong's character, he asked Shen Yichen to stay because he must want to say something to him alone.
Besides, no matter what, the two are father and son, so the worries of her as a daughter are completely unnecessary.
The sunset in early autumn dyed the world golden. Half of Zhu Yong's face was hidden in his thick beard, but his eyes still flashed with sharp light as he stared at Shen Yichen in front of him.
"Did you plan all this today?"
Zhu Yong didn't believe that a teenager would suddenly change. If such a thing really happened, it would only mean one thing, that this person had never changed, and everything he had shown before was an illusion.
So Zhu Yong did not think it was a coincidence that Shen Yichen appeared and shined at the family dinner. Instead, he thought that it was a coincidence. He had been prepared for it and was waiting for this opportunity to stand out in front of the nobles and ministers.
"Reporting to the lord, no."
Shen Yichen replied frankly.
Although he did have the intention of making himself familiar to the examiner at this family dinner, it was purely an accident that he was able to attend the dinner, and there was no planning involved.
"Really? Then what do you want to gain? Do you want to use the reputation of the nobles and important officials to enter the family tree?"
Zhu Yong's tone was as cold as frost. He had not seen through Shen Yichen's thoughts before, and he still did not see through them now. The only reasonable explanation and benefit he could think of for doing all this was to enter the family tree and obtain the status of a child of an aristocratic family.
Zhu Yong thought that if he told Shen Yichen directly about his intention, he would show anxiety and fear, and pray that he would agree.
However, he never expected that Shen Yichen was completely unmoved, and instead showed a slightly bitter smile on his face. He even replied with a sentence that made Zhu Yong himself stunned.
"Is a name in the family tree so important? Father."
This sentence was originally a cry from the bottom of Shen Yichen's heart. Zhu Yong always believed that the name on the family tree represented wealth and glory. Didn't he ever think that beyond this, there was also a trace of father-son affection?
