Chapter 035 Winter Solstice Poetry Festival
On the other side, Shen Yichen didn't know about the conversation that took place in the carriage of the Marquis's mansion. In fact, even if he knew, Shen Yichen might still be more inclined to Marquis Taining.
Because only those who have experienced the beatings of society can understand that the term "equal status" is cruel, but very realistic. Moreover, "parents who love their children will make long-term plans for them." As a father, it is understandable that Taining Hou has such thoughts and considerations.
After returning home, Shen Yichen quickly put aside what happened in the evening and began to concentrate on reading and writing eight-legged essays.
For Shen Yichen now, he has deeply understood what it means that everything else is inferior except reading.
If you don't rely on studying to get a good reputation in the imperial examinations these days , you are really nothing. Zhu Ji is slandering you openly like today. Even if you report it to the government, you will have to kneel down and be lectured. There is nothing you can do to him.
This is why countless people pursue status and power...
As the days passed, Shen Yichen's knowledge grew rapidly. From the beginning, it took him three or four hours to write an eight-part essay, to now, it only takes one hour to finish the essay from the beginning to the end. His efficiency and quality have increased several times.
In addition, in terms of the meaning of the classics, after deciding to study the "Book of Documents" as his main classic, Shen Yichen also began to study step by step.
However, compared with the Four Books, the content of the Five Classics is more profound and difficult to understand. In the initial stage, it is difficult to even recite it fluently from beginning to end, let alone remember it to write an article or something.
Fortunately, Shen Yichen worshipped Lin Zhen as his master. When it comes to the masters of Shangshu in the world today, Lin Zhen is definitely one of the top few. If there are any questions or problems that he doesn't understand, he can get answers from Lin Zhen, and even draw inferences from one example.
At the same time, Shen Yichen also understood why Li Tingxiu wanted to send him to the master in person as a teacher. It was true that the top scholar's knowledge was unparalleled in the world, and he had to accept it.
The disadvantage is that Shen Yichen is even more tired. In addition to going to the private school at the Chengguo Mansion every day, he also often has to go to Lin Zhen's mansion to study the classics. He is almost too busy to rest.
Time flies, autumn turns to winter, and soon it is the winter solstice of the eighth year of Zhengtong.
As a traditional Chinese solar term, there is a saying among the ancient people that "Winter Solstice is as important as New Year's Day", so private schools also give students a day off to go home and celebrate the festival.
However, Shen Yichen did not stay at home, but accepted the invitation of his mentor Lin Zhen and went to the Winter Solstice Poetry Festival on the banks of the Qinhuai River.
Nanjing, as one of the two capitals of the Ming Dynasty, was also the imperial examination and administration center of the entire south, and it already had many literati and scholars. In addition, the Winter Solstice Poetry Meeting was well-known in the southern Zhili area, and well-known talents from other places also attended the meeting, and the Qinhuai River was crowded with people.
In order to host this poetry gathering, the entire Nanjing literary and official circles made full preparations. Not only did they book teahouses and inns on both sides of the Qinhuai River, they also used iron chains to connect the brothels and pleasure boats together, forming a scene of several boats connected together, making it convenient for literati and scholars to travel back and forth.
Even the best of music and dance among the Four Greatest Arts of Qinhuai were invited to join the performance. They were Dong Yujing from Fengming Pavilion and Xu Jiaren from Yanchunfang.
Among them, Dong Yujing, a famous courtesan from Fengming Pavilion, was considered a hot candidate for the next Qinhuai courtesan. Therefore, many scholars who participated in the Winter Solstice Poetry Festival , in addition to reciting poems and writing essays, also wanted to see the beauty.
The main venue, Fengming Pavilion, was already bustling with people at this moment. Lin Zhen, the chief judge, was in the chief position, and on his left and right sat Sun Tixue, the grandmaster of Nanzhili, and Li Min, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture.
In addition, there are also doctors from the academy, contemporary scholars, etc. These people are the judges tonight, and they will review the excellent works of the talented scholars at the poetry meeting.
After Shen Yichen entered Fengming Pavilion, he quietly found a corner and sat down, instead of choosing to go to the main table to greet Lin Zhen.
Because the matter of becoming an apprentice did not spread widely, except for a few people, the outside world did not know that the top scholar had accepted a new disciple.
Lin Zhen always liked to keep a low profile, so if he stepped forward to greet him, he would be suspected of showing off. In addition, it was not Shen Yichen's wish to participate in the Winter Solstice Poetry Festival. It was purely a master's order, so he could just find a corner to get by.
As the scholars gradually arrived, Lin Zhen looked at the grand occasion and said to Li Min, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, who was sitting at the same table with him, "Sir Li, today's poetry gathering is very lively. Yingtian Prefecture is really full of talents under your rule."
"Mr. Zhuangyuan, you are too kind. Yingtian Prefecture is already blessed with outstanding people and beautiful scenery. I am just following the trend."
"Lord Li, you are being too modest."
“Where, where…”
The two of them exchanged official courtesies, looking like host and guest in perfect harmony.
Judging from the scene alone, Lin Zhen controlled the right to speak like the host, and he also sat in the chief seat, while Li Min sat in the guest seat below.
However, in terms of official title, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture was a third-rank official, and the highest position Lin Zhen had held before resigning was a sixth-rank editor in the Hanlin Academy. There was a huge gap between the two men's ranks.
The reason why it is done in reverse is related to the difference between officials in the capital and officials outside the capital. Even though Nanjing is one of the two capitals of the Ming Dynasty, the value of its rank is far less than that of the capital.
More importantly, if Lin Zhen had not resigned from the position he was appointed as an editor in the Hanlin Academy as the top scholar in the imperial examination, he would have been recognized as a candidate for "prime minister". The upper and lower limits of the two were completely on different levels.
Who knows if Lin Zhen will be reinstated and return to Beijing someday? There are countless cases of such officials rising and falling in the Ming Dynasty. He may seem like an idle person today, but he may be an important official who controls life and death tomorrow!
So even though Lin Zhen had no official position, Li Min still did not dare to neglect him.
The bigwigs at the main table were talking in official language to each other, and the scholars at the tables below were also having a great time chatting with each other.
Take the table next to Shen Yichen for example, the scholars who didn't know each other introduced themselves one after another, and they looked like they regretted not meeting each other earlier. And most of them had the title of Juren, which showed that this poetry gathering tonight was indeed a gathering of talented people.
"Brother Ziyu, there are so many talented people tonight, who do you think will come out on top in the end?"
"I think Zeng Mengjian, the candidate from Yingtian, should be ranked first!"
Have you ever been to Jian?
When he suddenly heard this name, Shen Yichen couldn't help but prick up his ears. Could it be Zeng Mengjian from the inner courtyard private school?
"Brother Zeng is indeed very talented, but I recently heard that at the Duke's family banquet, he seemed to be outdone by a schoolboy."
When he heard about the family dinner at the Duke's Mansion, Shen Yichen was basically certain that it was Zeng Mengjian from the Inner Court Private School.
It's normal to think about it. He passed the imperial examination at the age of 20. He would be worthy of the title of young talent in any dynasty. It is reasonable for him to participate in today's Winter Solstice Poetry Festival.
"You don't know this. He wasn't some schoolboy, but the Duke's illegitimate son. No one among the nobles and officials present at the family banquet would dare to let the Duke's son lose, so the result was already determined."
"Little brother, you are still young after all..."
"Been taught a lesson!"
The younger scholars nodded solemnly after hearing this. It seemed that what was being competed in this banquet was not talent but social skills.
Depend on……
Shen Yichen, who was eavesdropping on the side, almost vomited blood. If he wanted to be so presentable in front of nobles and officials, he would not have ended up in such a state.
"I don't agree. I'm sure you've all heard of that student's "Linjiangxian". It's absolutely a stunning piece. It's no surprise that he beat Zeng Juzi!"
Another scholar at the same table stood up to refute and strongly supported Shen Yichen's "Linjiangxian".
"That's right. Even if there is no family banquet, Zeng Mengjian can't be the first. Liu Pu'an, who passed the imperial examination at the age of sixteen in Xuzhou Prefecture, is a child prodigy of the time and will definitely win the first place!"
"Oh, you will definitely win the championship. Be careful not to hurt Zhongyong."
"What did you say!"
As the saying goes, there is no best writer, and everyone has their own favorite talent, and no one is convinced by the other. So as the conversation went on, it turned into an argument.
It turns out that where there are people, there is the world of martial arts.
Shen Yichen was not interested in listening to them arguing about who won or lost. It didn’t matter who came in first in the end. It had little to do with him anyway.
So he turned his attention to the dried fruit snacks on the table. It must be said that today's food was all made by famous chefs and tasted really good.
Just as they were enjoying their meal, someone suddenly sat down on the empty seat next to them, covering his face. And because of his large stature, he sat almost close to Shen Yichen.
You have to know that Shen Yichen specifically chose the most inconspicuous seat in the corner. Apart from him, no one else was willing to sit at this table.
So Shen Yichen was really a little surprised. Which like-minded brother did he have?
When he turned his head to look at the other person, the person who came also turned his head to look at Shen Yichen. When their eyes met, both of them were stunned as if frozen.
"It's you!"
The two people spoke almost in unison, because the person who came was none other than Li Da, Shen Yichen's old rival in the outer courtyard private school!
"Why are you here at the poetry reading?"
Shen Yichen was the first to ask, Li Da’s cultural level is simply "outrageous", is he here to make people laugh?
Hearing Shen Yichen's question, Li Da's face rarely turned red, but he replied stubbornly: "You also participated, we are all students, who are you looking down on!"
"I……"
Shen Yichen wanted to refute, but after thinking about it carefully, it was true. If nothing unexpected happened, he and Li Da should be the only students.
There is no need to distinguish between two brothers in distress. The elder brother should stop making fun of the younger brother...
"Forget it, enemies often meet each other, so let's just sit here together."
Li Da chose this corner to sit in, probably because he had some ideas in mind and was afraid of losing face.
Anyway, this table is empty, one more or one less won’t make much, at least it’s someone I know.
"okay."
Li Da rarely retorted. Instead, he lowered his head and curled up to make himself less conspicuous.
But when Shen Yichen saw this scene, he really couldn't help but want to laugh. He and this kid were sworn enemies in the private school and they had betrayed each other more than once. How could they have such a bad fate?
"What are you laughing at? Believe it or not, I will beat you up when I get home from school!"
"Don't brag. If you dared to do it, would you wait until today?"
Shen Yichen was too lazy to pay attention to such threats. The two of them had agreed to fight several times, but they had never really fought.
"snort."
Li Da snorted coldly, realizing that he couldn't scare Shen Yichen now, so he simply stopped talking.
