Chapter 057: Fallen Flowers Have Love
After the morning class ended , Shen Yichen did not go to the government cafeteria to eat immediately, but sat at the desk and started writing a "letter home".
He had made a solemn promise to Li Da before, but to be honest, he was not sure whether Duke Chengguo Zhu Yong would listen to him.
Shen Yichen's biggest reliance at the moment is the "respect" that Zhu Yong showed for him in the afternoon after the family dinner, as well as the phrase "prosperity for all" which was not hypocritical at all.
Since Zhu Yong believed that becoming more powerful would help the prosperity of the Chengguo clan, he would certainly understand the benefits of letting Li Da and his military sons join the army. Especially now that the Mongolian Yesen tribe is powerful, they will rely more on military generals under heavy pressure on the border, and it is never a bad thing to have more trusted subordinates.
In a sense, Shen Yichen is worthy of being the descendant of Duke Cheng, and both of them have a hidden ambition to consolidate power in their hearts.
After the course, Shen Yichen went home alone. Now Zhao Hongjie and others were used to his "studious" style and would not easily drag him out to play unless there was something important.
However, when he stepped out of the corner door and came to the alley beside the mansion, Shen Yichen saw Chen Qingtong and her maid Xue'er, looking around anxiously.
Seeing Shen Yichen coming out, Chen Qingtong's face showed joy, and she ran over with her skirt lifted up.
"Slow down, be careful with the stones under your feet."
For some reason, maybe it was because they hadn't seen each other for a long time, but when he suddenly saw Chen Qingtong come out, Shen Yichen felt a sense of joy in his heart.
"Brother Yichen, long time no see, how are you doing recently?"
"fine."
"By the way, you passed the county exam and I never had the chance to congratulate you."
"It doesn't matter. Besides, aren't we here now?"
"It means something different now. I should have seen you sooner."
Chen Qingtong seemed to have a lot to say to Shen Yichen, and she started talking nonstop as soon as they met. However, when she talked about meeting, it was difficult to conceal the sense of loss in her tone.
"Brother Yichen, have you heard about the Japanese pirates? I heard Daddy talking to the Minister of War in Nanjing. It seems that the Japanese pirates are attacking Songjiang Prefecture. The soldiers of the Nanzhili Guard and the Shenji Camp have begun to gather and prepare to go to Songjiang Prefecture to assist in the defense."
The news had already spread widely in the outer courtyard of the private school, not to mention the inner courtyard. For Chen Qingtong, he already knew the specific military deployment.
"I heard about it, but it shouldn't be a big deal."
Although Shen Yichen was not sure whether history would change, he really did not believe that a few Japanese pirates during the Zhengtong period could defeat the city of Nanjing.
You have to know that even though the Ming Dynasty had become corrupt during the Wanli period and had entered the decline period of the dynastic cycle, it was still able to defeat Toyotomi Hideyoshi's invading army in Korea. So what are the Japanese pirates now?
Of course, due to the limited amount of information received, we cannot expect everyone to have Shen Yichen's perspective. After all, in ancient times, thieves passed like combs, and soldiers passed like combs. Whether it was a just or unjust war, whether it was won or lost, the people would suffer in the end.
With so much blood and tears in front of us, it is normal for ordinary people to worry and fear war.
"I heard that the Japanese pirates are very cruel. If something really happens, Brother Yichen, you can come to Taining Marquis' Mansion for refuge. The soldiers of Nanjing Five Military Commandery, Five City Military Command, etc. will focus on defense, so there will be no problem."
Seeing Chen Qingtong's serious expression, Shen Yichen could only nod and smile: "Okay, I understand."
Just when Chen Qingtong was about to say something more, the maid Xue'er beside her whispered, "Miss, the carriage of the Hou Mansion has arrived. We have to prepare to leave."
Facing the maid's urging, Chen Qingtong's expression of loss became even more intense. She could only look at Shen Yichen and said, "Brother Yichen, I can't stay outside for long. Remember what I said. If there is any danger, come to Taining Marquis' Mansion."
"Qingtong, is there something urgent?"
Seeing Chen Qingtong's hurried look, Shen Yichen finally couldn't help but ask a question.
In fact , after that trip to Nanshi Street, Shen Yichen had wanted to find an opportunity several times to inquire about Chen Qingtong's recent situation.
However, since he was not included in the family tree, the inner courtyard of the Duke's Mansion was a forbidden area for him. Moreover, after the family banquet incident, the relationship between the inner courtyard students and Shen Yichen had reached freezing point. It was good enough that they did not deliberately make trouble for him. How could they help him to find out the truth?
"It's okay, it's just that Dad asked me to go back early."
"Is it because of me?"
Such a person's thoughts were written all over his face. Unless Shen Yichen was blind, there was no way he couldn't see it.
"How could that be? Brother Yichen, don't think too much about it."
In order to reassure Shen Yichen, Chen Qingtong forced a smile.
"Brother Yichen, I'll go back first. See you next time."
"Okay, be careful on the road."
After waving goodbye, Chen Qingtong turned and walked towards the carriage of the Hou Mansion, but her maid Xueer deliberately slowed down a few steps, then quietly retreated to the side of Shen Yichen and said.
"Master Shen, Xue'er hopes that you can regain the dragon emblem as soon as possible, so that the young lady won't have to be confined by the Marquis."
Shen Yichen was a little confused when he suddenly heard these words. When he was about to ask for details, Xue'er had already run away to chase Chen Qingtong.
Watching the two of them leaving, Shen Yichen stood there thinking about Xue'er's words, and realized that the reason why Chen Qingtong had not appeared during this period was that she was under house arrest by Taining Hou Chen Ying.
And he also learned that the reason why Chen Qingtong was under house arrest was because of himself.
But the question is why he had her under house arrest. Could it be that when they strolled together on the streets of Nanshi that day, Marquis Taining was not as tolerant as he seemed, and punished Chen Qingtong for not strictly observing the boundaries between men and women after returning?
Even so, what does this have to do with winning the imperial examination?
It has to be said that Shen Yichen is not as sensitive to the relationship between men and women as Chen Ying, the Marquis of Taining. This may also be related to the fact that he has put all his energy into the imperial examinations. After all, it is difficult to do two things at the same time.
After returning to his own courtyard and sitting in front of the desk, Shen Yichen did not study hard, but planned to finish the "Revising Book" that he had not finished in the private school at home.
In fact, the content of this letter was not complicated. It was nothing more than asking Duke Cheng to look after Li Da and help him get a good position in the army. Moreover, since Li Da's father was Zhu Yong's confidant, this request would not be a big problem even without Shen Yichen's letter.
Therefore, the difficulty does not lie in the content of the letter, but in the complicated father-son relationship between Shen Yichen and Zhu Yong. I don’t know what identity to use to describe it.
After thinking for a long time, Shen Yichen finally gave up the method of "persuading with reason" and adopted the method of "moving with emotion".
Duke Chengguo Zhu Yong could talk to himself very directly about "prosperity for all", but the ancient filial piety emphasized the ethics of monarch and minister, father and son, so no matter what, Shen Yichen could not be so straightforward with his "father" and had to talk about feelings.
Therefore, the content of the letter could not be too unfamiliar, but there would be no emotional basis if it was too intimate. Shen Yichen finally finished writing the letter until midnight. He breathed a sigh of relief. This might be even harder than writing the exam paper himself!
After going to school the next day, Shen Yichen handed this "family letter" to Li Da. He had done what he was supposed to do. As for when he could persuade his father to go to the capital, he could only leave it to fate.
In addition, the news of the Japanese invasion did not circulate for long. Before the Nanjing Five Military Governor's Office could send troops to assist in the defense of Yingtian Prefecture, the Japanese pirates retreated on their own.
Compared with the garrisons along the coast of Fujian and Zhejiang, Songjiang Prefecture can be considered a fortified city. Unless one opens the city gates to meet the enemy, it would be a pipe dream to chop it down with those broken samurai swords.
The temporary subsidence of the Japanese rebellion also allowed the Yingtian Prefecture examination to be held smoothly. Compared with two months ago when all the students from the outer courtyard private school went out together, this time only Shen Yichen was left to participate in the provincial examination, and the whole army was almost "annihilated."
To be honest, even Shen Yichen himself did not expect that the academic performance of his classmates in the external college would be so poor. Among so many people who took the exam, only he was chosen, which was not even as good as the average admission rate of the county exam.
The examination venue for the prefectural examination was still the Xiajiang examination hall, but the candidates had been expanded from the previous Jiangning County to the eight counties under the jurisdiction of Yingtian Prefecture, including Shangyuan, Jiangning, Jiangpu, and Liuhe.
Although the scope has been expanded, the number of candidates has been reduced. The number of candidates who pass the county examination in each county is between 50 and 100, which means that at most, the number of candidates for the entire prefectural examination will not exceed 800.
Standing in the dimly lit space in front of the examination room, looking at the much thinner crowd of examinees, Shen Yichen suddenly felt a sigh.
This is the cruelty of the imperial examination. Some people disappear during the exam .
But soon Shen Yichen saw a few "oddballs". Zhu Qingyu and others from the inner courtyard private school actually appeared in the examination room, which meant that they passed the county examination.
Shen Yichen didn't know much about Zhu Qingyu and others, but through observing Li Da and his group of second-generation officials during this period, he also had a general understanding of the character of these children from aristocratic families.
Even a person like Li Da, if placed among the dandy young men from aristocratic families, would be considered a person of "high moral character". Zhu Qingyu would be even worse than him.
Even if some of them were talented enough to pass the county exam, how is it possible that several of them passed? This is obviously too fake!
Imperial examination cheating!
Four big words popped up in Shen Yichen's mind. Only this one could explain why they passed.
To be honest, Shen Yichen had always known that there was corruption in the imperial examinations during the Ming Dynasty, and primary examinations such as the county examinations were the worst affected areas. Especially during the Chenghua period of Emperor Xianzong Zhu Jianshen, the secret manipulation had become obvious.
But after all, the Zhengtong period was still 20 to 30 years away from Chenghua. Was it already so blatant?
On the other side, under the entrance board of Zhaowen Academy, Xu Donghai and others were waiting, and unexpectedly met Shen Yichen, Zhu Yuqing and other students from Chengguo Mansion.
"Donghai, is the Duke of Chengguo's Mansion so strong? So many people passed the county exam, which is comparable to our Zhaowen Academy."
After all, Xu Donghai was also the son of an official, and as a person of the same class, he should be more familiar with the Chengguo Mansion, so a student from Zhaowen Academy asked him.
"Oh, just as I expected, there is something wrong with the county exam of Duke Cheng's Mansion!"
