Chapter 055: Young and Reckless
Shen Yichen and Lin Zhen were still talking in the corridor and had no idea that such a big controversy had arisen in the lecture hall.
"Yi Chen, I have already looked at your county examination paper. The Four Books are written very well, but the test poem is too casual. You should pay attention to the subsequent prefectural and imperial examinations."
Shen Yichen was still somewhat shocked when he heard what his mentor Lin Zhen said. He had thought that at most he already knew that he was chosen as the top candidate, but he did not expect that he had even seen the test paper. Is this the power of the rich and powerful?
In fact, Shen Yichen didn't know that making the files public after the county examination was part of the imperial examination procedures.
This would allow scholars to learn from and draw on excellent articles, thus serving as a teaching aid. On the other hand, it could also be considered a form of supervision. If the examination papers of the candidates were written too badly, they could report the examiner's partiality to the Confucian Academy Promotion Office.
With Lin Zhen's status as the top scorer, wouldn't it be easy for him to see a public test paper?
"Students understand that they will make up for their shortcomings in the future."
Shen Yichen is also very aware of his weaknesses in poetry, but if he wants to make up for his shortcomings, he can only talk about it.
After the April provincial examination, those who passed would be considered as Tongsheng and would immediately take part in the academy examination. If they passed again, they would be awarded the title of Xiucai and would be given a place in the provincial examination held every three years.
Unfortunately, the ninth year of the Zhengtong reign of Emperor Yingzong of the Ming Dynasty was the "big examination year" which was held every three years.
The provincial examination will be held on August 9 , which means that if everything goes well for Shen Yichen, he will have to prepare for the exams for most of this year. It is not easy to learn the classics well, so how can he have free time to learn poetry?
Therefore, even if Shen Yichen wanted to make up for the shortcomings, he was powerless.
Lin Zhen chatted a few more words about exam preparation, then estimated the time and decided that he should return to the lecture hall to continue teaching.
So he said, "Yi Chen, I still have classes to attend, so I can't talk to you for a long time."
"I understand, sir. Please continue your lecture."
Lin Zhen nodded, and when he was about to return to the lecture hall, an idea suddenly occurred to him: "Yi Chen, if you have nothing to do today, why don't you stay and listen? I am currently explaining the meaning of the Book of Shang."
Lin Zhen was very clear about Shen Yichen's knowledge. If he was selected as the first in the county examination, he would normally pass the prefectural examination smoothly and then go directly to the imperial examination.
This means that Shen Yichen will officially take the Five Classics exam as early as May.
At present, Shen Yichen's skills in studying "Shangshu" are far less solid than those in the Four Books. Moreover, the questions on the Five Classics are not like the test poems, where slight flaws will not affect the overall situation.
One or two months of preparation time is not long. If Shen Yichen wants to consolidate the meaning of the scriptures and complete his poems, he has to seize every free moment.
I am teaching the meaning of the scriptures today , so it would be best if Shen Yichen stayed and listened to the class.
"Sir, I am not a student of Zhaowen Academy, so it may be inconvenient for me to stay."
Shen Yichen had some concerns in his heart. He was not a student of the academy, and if he stayed to attend the classes for free, it would easily bring criticism to the teacher.
"Yi Chen, you are too cautious. Please follow me in!"
Lin Zhen shook his head helplessly. His disciple was good in every way except that he was too mature at a young age.
He has to pay attention to every detail in his life and work. This style and habit is not like that of a boy of sixteen or seventeen years old.
You have to know that Lin Zhen has resigned from his official position to teach in the past few years, and has met many young people of the same age as Shen Yichen. Most of them are young and frivolous, and do not know the immensity of the world. Only his disciple is different.
Hearing Lin Zhen say this, Shen Yichen smiled shyly and followed him into the lecture hall.
The students of Zhaowen Academy were still discussing Shen Yichen, but when they looked up, they found that the real person had already walked in, with expressions of surprise and surprise on their faces.
"Students, this is my disciple Shen Yichen, you will be sitting in on my class today."
After a brief introduction, Lin Zhen pointed to an empty seat in the lecture hall and motioned Shen Yichen to sit there.
"I am Shen Yichen, sorry to bother you all."
Before Shen Yichen took his seat, he politely bowed and greeted the students of Zhaowen Academy. He followed basic courtesies and etiquette and never left any room for gossip.
I thought I was just going to simply sit in on a class and experience the learning atmosphere of the Ming Dynasty Academy, but when Shen Yichen walked to his seat and was about to sit down.
Suddenly, a student from Zhaowen Academy stood up, bowed to him and said, "I am Feng Zichu. I have heard of Brother Shen's great name for a long time. It is a great honor to meet you today."
"I am not very knowledgeable, Brother Feng is wrong."
Shen Yichen replied modestly, but he didn't feel comfortable. It might be because the man's words were too harsh and even vaguely aggressive.
"Brother Shen, this is you being too modest."
Feng Zichu showed a frivolous smile and said, "Everyone in Yingtian Prefecture knows that you are the champion of the Winter Solstice Poetry Contest, and you were selected as the top candidate in the county examination in advance. You are also highly regarded by the teacher. We, the students of Zhaowen, feel ashamed of ourselves."
If the discomfort before was still a subjective feeling, then Feng Zichu's words now confirmed Shen Yichen's thoughts. This guy was just provoking him.
But Shen Yichen didn’t quite understand. He didn’t even know him, so why was he so aggressive?
Lin Zhen stood on the podium, listening to Feng Zichu's words, but a strange amusement expression appeared on his face.
In fact, from the moment Feng Zichu stood up and said the first sentence, with Lin Zhen's understanding of his students, he had already guessed his intention: he was not convinced by Shen Yichen!
Under normal circumstances, Lin Zhen would have spoken out to stop such a classroom competition, and even scolded them if they went too far. But this time, he had no intention of intervening at all, and even had a mentality of watching the show.
The reason is very simple. Shen Yichen had behaved too maturely in the past, which in turn highlighted Feng Zichu's competitiveness. He seemed more like a normal reaction of a proud and talented scholar facing a "strong enemy" when facing such a strong opponent.
It’s not a bad thing to be mature at a young age and be cautious, but as a young man, can Shen Yichen still be called a young man if he loses his youthful vigor?
Although he seems to be smooth and worldly-wise and never offends anyone, he often loses his own principles and principles in the end. At this age, Shen Yichen should show his unique edges and sharpness!
Faced with Feng Zichu's provocation, Shen Yichen subconsciously glanced at Lin Zhen. After all, these people were also his students.
As the saying goes, don't look at the monk's face, look at the Buddha's face. How to deal with it must depend on Lin Zhen's reaction. It would not be good if it loses face for your teacher.
Just at a glance, Shen Yichen was confused by Lin Zhen's reaction. The gentleman seemed to not care at all and was even watching the fun with a faint smile on his face?
Shen Yichen didn't know what Lin Zhen was thinking. Just when he was puzzled, Feng Zichu saw that he didn't reply for a long time, as if he was still seeking help from Mr. Lin Zhen. He couldn't help but feel contempt in his heart.
He doesn't even have the courage and strength to fight alone, yet he still needs to ask the teacher for help. I really don't know why the top scholar, who is so famous all his life, would accept such a coward as his disciple!
It seems that the so-called young talents are nothing but frauds who steal fame!
"Since I have the honor to meet you today, I just happen to have a few questions that I would like to ask Brother Shen."
"Well, go ahead."
Shen Yichen didn't understand what Lin Zhen's attitude was, but Feng Zichu was sticking to him like a dog-skin plaster and it was obvious that he wanted to cause trouble, so he was too lazy to continue being polite.
The reason why Lin Zhen thought Shen Yichen was cautious was because Shen Yichen was very polite to the people he respected, without any overstepping of the line.
As for those who are shameless even when given the chance, Shen Yichen doesn't mind letting them see what it means to show off one's true colors.
When Feng Zichu heard Shen Yichen say "Go ahead", he almost doubted whether he had heard it wrongly. Did this kid take his polite words with a hidden ulterior motive as a real request for advice?
Is he really stupid and can't hear it, or is he pretending to be stupid?
"Shen Yichen, you are so arrogant!"
Xu Donghai also took this opportunity to stand up and attack. He didn't believe that the top winner of the county examination could not even understand such basic courtesy. It was obvious that he was extremely arrogant. He really wanted to teach Feng Zichu a lesson!
"Teacher's lecture time is precious. Since Brother Feng wants to solve his doubts, don't delay."
Shen Yichen didn't even look at Xu Donghai, and even completely ignored his words, but continued to add something to Feng Zichu.
When Shen Yichen said this, everyone understood his attitude at the moment.
That's right, you want to ask me something, right? I'm here to answer your questions. What are your questions?
"This Shen Yichen completely ignored Xu Donghai. How arrogant."
"Xu Donghai is Lord Xu's cousin. He was beaten by Shen Yichen in the county exam, and now he is being humiliated like this. I guess they have a grudge against each other."
"So what? Shen Yichen is the son of Duke Cheng. Isn't he better than a cousin?"
"It is rumored that Shen Yichen is unusually low-key. Now he seems quite young and frivolous."
"After Feng Zichu won the Five Classics Championship, he set his sights on becoming the best. He finally met his match."
Faced with this scene, the Zhaowen students in the lecture hall could no longer hold back their discussions.
Unlike the private school for the children of "high-ranking officials" like the Chengguo Mansion, Zhaowen Academy has students from all walks of life. There are many people like Xu Donghai who are arrogant in the academy because of his family background, and there are many people who dislike him.
In addition, Shen Yichen was born as a maid, and he fought his way up as a schoolboy, and he also gained a lot of people's favor during the process. So even in the opponent's home court, there are still many opinions that favor him.
"you……"
Xu Donghai and Feng Zichu said the word "you" in unison, but when they realized they had said the same word as the other, they stopped talking at the same time.
Both of them looked a little livid, and they were angry and annoyed inside. Feng Zichu didn't expect that his polite words would be used by Shen Yichen. Now if he wanted to ask a difficult question, wouldn't it just prove that he was asking him for advice?
Xu Donghai was even more furious. He was purely envious and jealous of Shen Yichen and regarded him as his biggest competitor for the top spot in the future provincial and academy examinations, so he instigated Feng Zichu to make things difficult for him.
Of course, if there is a chance, it is not impossible to step on it at the same time.
But he never expected that in the eyes of the other party, he was not even an "opponent" and he was never even looked at in the eye from beginning to end.
The greatest humiliation is ignoring, and the highest contempt is silence!
