Chapter 043 Making a Promise
Hearing these words, Shen Yichen revealed a bitter smile. Is Liu Wan'er pinning her hopes on him?
If she knew that she was not that talented and might not be able to become the top scholar in the world, would she feel extremely disappointed?
"I don't want to discourage you, but I may not be able to clear your father's name."
Shen Yichen didn't want to deceive Liu Wan'er and give her any false hope. It was known to everyone that Liu Qiu was wrongly killed, but as long as Wang Zhen didn't fall, no one could help him redress his wrongdoing.
Even if one day he really became the top scholar in the imperial examination, he would still be just a sixth-rank official, a Hanlin editor, and would be a long way from the cabinet, the center of power in the Ming Dynasty.
Even if you rise to the top quickly and get promoted like a rocket, without a career in officialdom for ten or eight years, you can never expect to be able to compete with Wang Zhen.
Of course, if the course of history had not changed and the Battle of Tumu had still occurred as scheduled in the 14th year of Zhengtong, then Liu Qiu’s grievances would have been vindicated by Ming Daizong Zhu Qiyu, and it would have had nothing to do with him.
So one should not accept rewards without merit , and Shen Yichen did not want to take credit in advance and pretend to be a good person.
"I know."
Liu Wan'er also showed a bitter smile on her face, and then continued: "But I always remember what you said, justice will not be absent, and one day my father will be vindicated."
"Yes, this day will come."
This sentence is not to comfort Liu Wan'er, but if the course of history is correct, then Liu Qiu will indeed get justice one day.
"Mr. Shen, you are a good person."
"Yeah?"
Shen Yichen felt a little uncomfortable being suddenly given a nice guy card.
"Well, you saved me when we didn't know each other at first."
"Today I wanted to use you, so I submitted your lyrics secretly. You didn't get angry, and you were willing to help me."
"Since my family was destroyed, you are the first person who has been so kind to me."
Faced with such words, Shen Yichen didn't know whether he should be happy or regretful.
In the past, when watching TV and reading novels, people would say that after traveling through time, they could make the clouds and rain with a wave of their hands. But the reality is that they are powerless and can do nothing.
"I've made a note of this. If I can ever become the most powerful person in the world, I will definitely uphold justice and clear your father's name."
Whether it was to give Liu Wan'er hope or to set a goal for himself, Shen Yichen felt that he had to do something eventually, otherwise he would be unworthy of his identity as a time traveler.
"My lord, I will never forget your kindness!"
After Liu Wan'er finished speaking, she prepared to kneel down and pay her respects to Shen Yichen.
Seeing this situation, Shen Yichen quickly reached out to support her. He didn't have the hobby of asking others to kneel down before the work was done.
"No need to be so polite. If I really achieve it one day, you can come and thank me."
"Um, young master..."
Liu Wan'er's face flushed at this moment, and her tone became hesitant.
This change made Shen Yichen feel puzzled. She was in a hurry to perform the ceremony before, but why did she become so shy all of a sudden? Even if women were fickle, they wouldn't change so quickly.
But Shen Yichen reacted quickly, and he still held on to Liu Wan'er's arm. In ancient times, men and women were not allowed to touch each other, so even if they wanted to stop the ceremony, they would just pretend to do so.
Even if there was physical contact, she would let go quickly. She would not hold on like Shen Yichen.
In addition, although Liu Wan'er had become a brothel girl, she was born into an official family after all, and Qiuyue Fang also took a fancy to her identity and background and made her into a prostitute in order to sell her for a good price in the future.
So Liu Wan'er had seen a lot of things between men and women, but had never had any physical contact, and she felt really ashamed now.
"I'm sorry, I was rude."
After Shen Yichen understood what was going on, he quickly let go and apologized repeatedly.
After experiencing the incident with Chen Qingtong, Shen Yichen now has a deep understanding of the importance of women's reputation in ancient times.
"Mr. Shen, it's alright. It's late at night and I can't stay outside for long. I have to say goodbye now."
After Liu Wan'er bowed and said goodbye, she turned and left before Shen Yichen could reply.
On the one hand, she felt a little embarrassed and shy in front of Shen Yichen. On the other hand, Qiuyuefang had relaxed his supervision of her a little during this period, but she was not yet able to walk freely.
Watching Liu Wan'er go away, Shen Yichen also got off the houseboat and walked towards his own courtyard.
Back in the courtyard, it was already late at night and according to the customs of the Ming Dynasty, ordinary people had already gone to bed.
However, there was still a faint candlelight in the courtyard. When his mother Shen heard the sound of the courtyard door, she immediately came out with a candlestick. Seeing that it was Shen Yichen who came back, she was relieved and said, "Chen'er, you are back."
"Well, mom, I'm back."
"How was your poetry gathering today?"
When Shen Yichen went out, he told his mother that he was going to attend a poetry gathering. However, Shen only knew a few characters for such a gathering of scholars, and didn't know what it was about, let alone the significance of winning the first prize.
"fine."
"That's good. It's getting late. Chen'er, you should wash up and rest early."
"Mom, you should go back to your room and sleep too."
After hearing this, Shen nodded, turned around and walked towards her room, muttering, "Chen'er has a promising future now. He can participate in poetry gatherings like other scholars."
It can also be felt from this sentence that although Shen did not understand the details of the poetry meeting, she was actually quite proud that Shen Yichen could participate.
After a night, Shen Yichen went to the private school as usual. The atmosphere in the school today was weird. When Shen Yichen came in, many people stared at him and dared not even breathe.
Is it that exaggerated?
When Shen Yichen saw the scene in the school, it seemed just like the day when Duke Chengguo was there in person. When did he feel this oppressive?
Returning to his seat with this doubt, his deskmate Zhao Hongjie also stared at Shen Yichen but kept silent.
"Don't play tricks here. Just ask if you have anything to ask."
Shen Yichen knew Zhao Hongjie's talkative personality very well. He must have many questions in his mind, and it was quite uncomfortable for both of them to keep them to themselves.
"Yi Chen, will we still be friends in the future?"
"Yes what's the matter."
“Wow…that’s really great.”
Zhao Hongjie cried out "Wow" and then hugged Shen Yichen. His change of emotions could be described as a Sichuan opera face-changing.
"Let go quickly, or people will think I'm gay."
Shen Yichen pushed Zhao Hongjie aside with a look of disgust at this kind of hugging and cuddling behavior. He said that he had never even hugged a girl, so why should he be intimate with a boy ?
"Yi Chen, I never thought that you not only participated in the Winter Solstice Poetry Festival, but also won first place by beating all the scholars in the world, and even became the disciple of the number one scholar!"
"You are now a great writer!"
Shen Yichen probably guessed that the strange behavior in the school today might be related to the Winter Solstice Poetry Meeting last night. After all, he had experienced a family dinner there before and had a personal experience of the speed at which gossip spread in the Ming Dynasty.
But this kid Zhao Hongjie is exaggerating a bit too much. He even said that even the great writers of the time have come out. He is exaggerating too much.
"Come on, don't be so exaggerated."
"I'm not exaggerating, the outside world really calls it that."
"Anything else? If not, just shut up and read."
Shen Yichen replied unhappily that he really didn't care much about these false reputations.
"Yes, can you help introduce me to Mr. Zhuangyuan? I have admired him for a long time and I also want to be his disciple!"
"Yes, if you can recite the Four Books and Five Classics word for word, I will take you to see the teacher."
"It seems that I am being rude!"
Zhao Hongjie was very self-aware. When he heard that he had to memorize the Four Books and Five Classics, he immediately chose to give up.
While the two were chatting, Li Da also walked in from the door. When Zhao Hongjie saw him, he was like a mouse seeing a cat, lowering his head and not daring to look him in the eye, after all, he was used to being bullied in the past.
In the past, whenever Li Da passed by the seats of Shen Yichen and Zhao Hongjie, he would pretend to snort coldly, or even deliberately make provocative remarks. Anyway, he had to make some noise.
But this time, Li Da returned to his seat in an unusually low-key manner, without even a provocative look.
Faced with this scene, Zhao Hongjie was a little confused. It was fine that Shen Yichen had been reborn like a different person, but why did even Li Da's temperament change so much now?
What surprised Zhao Hongjie even more was what happened next. When he saw Li Da coming, Shen Yichen was the first to speak: "Brother, did your father teach you a lesson last night?"
"What are you talking about? It's not the county exam yet."
Li Da replied unhappily, "Shen Yichen is talking about something that is not relevant. How can he talk about such embarrassing things in public?"
My dear brother?
Hearing this address, Zhao Hongjie widened his eyes. When did Li Da become Shen Yichen's younger brother?
Even if it was just nonsense, after hearing the question, Li Da did not get angry or refute it, which was tantamount to tacitly agreeing. Does this mean that from today on, the sun will rise from the west?
Not to mention Zhao Hongjie, the other students in the school were also shocked when they heard it.
These two people are incompatible with each other. If it weren't for their identities, they would have fought countless times. Now they are actually calling each other brothers. The world changes so quickly.
"Brother, you have to work hard."
"Don't call me that. Who is your brother?"
Li Da also reacted at this time. How could his reputation as the boss of the school be ruined in an instant?
"Have you forgotten to discuss your own affairs?"
Shen Yichen smiled with ill intention. Anyway, he had always been the weaker party in Chengguogong's private school.
Besides, he is younger than Li Da, so theoretically speaking, they have their own reasons and it seems that he can have some advantage.
"I……"
Li Da also remembered what he said last night, so he swallowed the words back as soon as they came out of his mouth.
Although Li Da is not good at studying and is a simple-minded person with strong limbs, he is still a trustworthy and loyal person. He will not break his promises.
Moreover, he knew in his heart that he could not beat Shen Yichen in terms of verbal attack ability. If he spoke too much in front of so many people, he would surely make mistakes. He simply gritted his teeth and refrained from arguing, otherwise it would be even more embarrassing.
Seeing Li Da admitting his mistake, Shen Yichen felt secretly happy. At the same time, the tutor Li Tingxiu also walked quickly into the lecture hall, and the teasing came to a temporary end.
