Chapter 039: I really didn't get any
The words of Lin Zhen and Sun Tixue, especially the one in which he called himself "teacher", were equivalent to directly acknowledging Shen Yichen's identity as a disciple.
This completely dumbfounded the literati who had made sarcastic remarks before, as if they had been slapped in the face.
At the same time, they couldn't understand why a scholar with such knowledge would accept an unschooled student as his disciple?
Could it be that he is still related to Duke Chengguo Zhu Yong, and used a backdoor?
But judging from Lin Zhen's experience and character, he is not at all the kind of person who would curry favor with nobles, otherwise he would not have given up being an official and chosen to run a school and teach.
Why is that?
The students present couldn't figure it out, especially Zeng Mengjian. He had been classmates with Shen Yichen before, so he knew the other's true level of knowledge very well.
Even if Shen Yichen changed after being promoted to his inner courtyard, it is impossible for him to change so much that he could even worship the top scholar as his teacher. Is it really possible to be reborn in just a few months?
With three parts of doubt, three parts of dissatisfaction, and four parts of jealousy, Zeng Mengjian immediately stood up and said, "I didn't expect that my former classmate has become the No. 1 scholar's disciple. How disrespectful, how disrespectful!"
As soon as he saw Zeng Mengjian standing up, even though he was being polite, Shen Yichen knew that a dog cannot spit out ivory.
But in public, he still had to behave properly, so he bowed and said, "Brother Zeng, you're welcome."
"Since my classmate is a disciple of the top scholar, his literary talent must be extraordinary. I wonder which one is better, the Feihua Ling or the Shang Jieyuan?"
There is an ancient Chinese article in textbooks of later generations called "Zou Ji's Advice to the King of Qi", in which I believe many people remember the line "Who is better, me or Xu Gong?"
Zeng Mengjian suddenly said this word, not referring to who is better looking between Shen Yichen and Shang Lu, but referring to who can perform the Feihualing better.
Shang Lu's previous two lines of flying flower orders had almost reached the ceiling level. Now, using Shen Yichen's status as a top scholar disciple to compare with Shang Lu is like driving away the wolf and swallowing the tiger. No one can get off the stage if they lose.
With Shang Lu's intelligence, he could easily see through this little trick. He was not a person who pursued fame and fortune, so he immediately stood up and said, "Brother Shen is very talented. His poem "Linjiangxian" makes me feel ashamed and I dare not compare with him."
"Brother Shang is a top scholar. I can't even flatter him. I admit I am inferior to him."
Since others have given him face, Shen Yichen naturally returns the favor. Besides, he is not being polite. He is really not as good as him at this stage. He is just telling the truth...
"Brothers, there is no need to be too modest. Poetry gatherings are places for creation. I believe that classmate Shen's flying flower order will surely impress everyone present!"
Zeng Mengjian's words made many people at the scene who had no idea of the truth actually think they were going to see an exciting duel, and they all started to cheer and agree.
"That's right. A poetry competition is all about literary talent. It would be meaningless if it was all about humility."
"Shen Yichen is the top student after all, so he must be very talented."
"The champion versus the champion's disciple, there's going to be something interesting to watch!"
Facing these jeers, Lin Zhen at the main table saw Shen Yichen's embarrassment. As a teacher, he already had a certain understanding of his poetry level.
After two months of teaching, Lin Zhen knew that Shen Yichen's strongest subject was the Four Books. He could remember both the original text and the annotations by great scholars word for word.
Secondly, regarding policy, many of Shen Yichen's views were very novel and hit the crux of the matter. This puzzled Lin Zhen for a long time. In theory, given Shen Yichen's age and experience, he would not be good at policy, so he could only be explained by his genius.
In fact, if Lin Zhen also came from the future, then this question would be easily solved. Because anyone who has taken the civil service exam can understand what policy essays are all about. Although the format may be different, the process and core of solving the problem are not much different.
Moreover, many questions in ancient times have been discussed on the Internet in later generations. You can call them keyboard warriors or mouth cannon players. At least they can look at the problem from different angles and bring some inspiration to the policy paper. Shen Yichen has naturally been influenced by them.
Next is the Five Classics, which is nothing to say. The worst is poetry and prose, which are mediocre and not very outstanding even if they are written.
For the imperial examinations in the Ming Dynasty, it was no problem if the poems and essays were not outstanding, as long as the eight-part essays were well written. But at this kind of poetry meeting, Shen Yichen still had the title of his disciple, and if he was too mediocre, he would be criticized a lot.
I didn't expect that Shen Yichen would take on more pressure that didn't belong to him after he became his disciple.
On the other side, Shen Yichen was indeed in a dilemma. He didn't want to be in the spotlight, especially when facing a true gentleman like Shang Lu who had passed the imperial examinations. There was no need to step on others to highlight himself.
But when he saw Lin Zhen's worried and expectant eyes, he realized that today's poetry competition, Feihualing, represented not only himself, but also the title of his master, the top scholar.
No matter what, Lin Zhen’s title of top scholar must not be tarnished!
So Shen Yichen looked at Zeng Mengjian, and then said calmly: "Since Brother Zeng is so looking forward to it, then I can only let you admire me."
Zeng Mengjian's original words were to make everyone present admire him, but Shen Yichen directly named him and made him convinced. This attitude formed a huge contrast with the previous low-key and humble attitude, and it could even be said to be overbearing!
The current Shen Yichen is no longer the ant who had just arrived in this era. He has the top scholar as his teacher, Sun Tixue who has a bright future for him, and even his "father" Zhu Yong has a different opinion of him.
Maybe these backgrounds are not enough to deal with Zhu Ji and Lin, but it is not Zeng Mengjian's turn to bully others again and again.
Do you like dancing? If the Linjiangxian didn't crush you to death that day, today I will let you experience what despair is again!
"This Feihualing is written by the disciple to you, sir."
"Fallen flowers are not heartless things, into Chunni more quadrangle."
The original text of this poem was written by Gong Zizhen in the Qing Dynasty after he resigned from office. It means that resigning from office and returning home is like a flower falling from a branch, but it is not a heartless thing. After turning into spring soil, it can still play a role in nurturing the next generation.
Shen Yichen chose this sentence as the flying flower order because of its profound meaning, which is exactly the same as Lin Zhen's experience. After resigning from office, he did not waste his remaining glory, but continued to teach and educate people, cultivating the next generation of literati.
At the same time, through this poem, Shen Yichen was also expressing his gratitude to Lin Zhen. After all, he was able to accept a student as his disciple and teach him carefully without treating him differently. This kindness of teaching and imparting knowledge should indeed be unforgettable.
"Mr. Zhuangyuan, with a disciple like this, what more could I ask for?"
Sun Tixue looked at Lin Zhen with envy. Under such circumstances, if Shen Yichen said this Feihualing, it would become famous and become an elegant event in the literary world.
His student status was unimportant in front of this poem; instead, it highlighted the greatness of Lin Zhen’s personality as a teacher.
Hey, when Li Tingxiu brought Shen Yichen here, why didn’t I steal her away?
"Mr. Zhuangyuan, congratulations, I didn't expect your disciple to be so outstanding."
Li Min, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, also bowed and congratulated at this moment.
Shen Yichen's Feihualing may not be as good as Shang Lu's in expressing emotion through scenery, but in terms of pattern and righteousness, it is far superior to the other.
Especially since Lin Zhen is the presiding judge today, and the one who performed well is his disciple, it can be said to be a double blessing. If not congratulating him now, when?
Facing the congratulations from his two colleagues, Lin Zhen stroked his beard and waved his hands, saying he was unworthy. But in fact, he was so happy in his heart.
Even though Lin Zhen was not a person who liked to show off, he could not hide his pride in his disciple bringing glory to him in such an occasion. Not to mention the quality of Feihua Ling itself, which was definitely top-notch, Shen Yichen had made a lot of progress.
"No wonder the student can worship the champion as his teacher. His ability is not inferior to that of Shang Jieyuan."
"The two Feihualing have their own merits, but I think Shen Yichen's is slightly better."
"I think so too. The grand structure also sets off the No. 1 scholar. It's the best of both worlds."
"Zeng Juzi really lost face today, and also lost his substance, ah..."
As soon as this Feihualing came out, the impression of Shen Yichen among the literati attending the conference completely changed.
After all, he can rival Shang Lu, the top scorer in the imperial examination. Such strength is undeniable!
"Yi Chen, the teacher is very pleased."
Lin Zhen smiled and replied to Shen Yichen, without saying much.
Because Shen Yichen is his disciple, and this sentence of Feihualing was also written for him. As the chief judge of the poetry meeting, no matter how much he agrees, he still needs to be careful to avoid suspicion.
"Well, now that the Flying Flowers Competition has ended, we would like to invite all the talented scholars to demonstrate their talents and leave some masterpieces for the world to appreciate."
Lin Zhen did not announce who was the best at receiving the flying flower order, because this was just an opening and did not involve superiority or inferiority. And in a sense, the answer was self-evident.
The following poetry recitation and composition is the "main course" of today's Winter Solstice Poetry Festival. The talented literati and scholars will write their works on rice paper and present them to the bigwigs at the main table for review.
The song with the best lyrics and music will be sung by Dong Yujing and spread all over the Qinhuai River. Eventually, it will be known to the world like the popular songs of later generations.
This is why so many scholars and literati participate in the Winter Solstice Poetry Festival. It is indeed possible to become famous overnight!
"Shen Yichen, you are really amazing. I underestimated you before!"
Li Da did not understand the profound meaning of Feihua Order, but from the reactions and discussions of the literati present, he concluded that Shen Yichen must be very good at accepting the order.
"Brother, don't talk behind the scenes."
"No, I'm obviously older than you. Isn't it inappropriate to call you brother?"
Now that the crisis of receiving the order has been resolved, Li Da has no worries and begins to feel dissatisfied about being taken advantage of by Shen Yichen.
"With your character, do you still have the nerve to treat me as your brother?"
"Okay then, let's talk about our own things and be brothers to each other!"
This sentence made Shen Yichen so angry that he lost his temper. This Li Da is really a talented person. Why didn't I realize it before?
Seeing Shen Yichen stopped talking, Li Da was quiet for a while, but soon came over again with a bored look and said, "Hey, I see others are writing lyrics and composing music, why don't you write?"
“I can’t write it.”
"No way, you can't write it?"
"If you think it's easy, try it yourself."
"That's better."
While he was bickering with Li Da, a gentle voice came from behind Shen Yichen; "Mr. Shen, can you write a poem for me?"
