Chapter 067 The Strongest Candidate
"Zhu Ji, why didn't you tell us that your brother, who is the top candidate in the case, was invited here? What are you hiding from us?"
When seeing Shen Yichen appear, Li Lian, the son of Xiangcheng Earl, was the first to make a teasing remark.
The nobles and relatives were not a monolithic group. For example, his relationship with Zhu Ji was as hostile as fire and water. Basically, whenever he got the chance, he would say something sarcastic to him.
"none of your business."
Zhu Ji replied coldly with an ugly expression on his face. He didn't know that Shen Yichen would come to participate, and theoretically Shen Yichen was not qualified to participate.
The favoritism of Chen Ying, Marquis of Taining, that day was still vivid in Zhu Ji's mind. Today, Chen Qingtong was present and Shen Yichen appeared at the right time. Zhu Ji found it hard to believe that this was a coincidence.
Could it be that this maid gave birth to a son with the ambition to enter the family tree and seize the title?
"Your Chengguo Mansion is full of literary talent. Now that the first prize has appeared, you are hiding it so much. Are you afraid that others will find out what's going on?"
Li Lian saw the chance and had no intention of letting Zhu Ji go. The rumor about cheating in the imperial examination at the private school of Duke Chengguo's mansion was now known throughout the city.
Others dared not point it out in front of Zhu Ji at the meeting today, but I, Li Lian, am not afraid of this guy. Especially the few Zhu clan members who were selected, they are basically Zhu Ji's followers, and they have fought with my group several times.
It would be best if they were proven to have cheated in the imperial examination, and then all of them were arrested and beheaded, and then we would see what Zhu Ji would use to show off in front of him in the future.
"Li Lian, are you able to bear the consequences of slandering the Chengguo Mansion?"
"Slander? What did I say? Is it slanderous to say that the Chengguo Mansion is full of literary style?"
This kind of threat would probably scare people away from speaking. Li Lian was also a noble relative, and although his father's title was not as high as that of Duke Cheng, he had the real power of being the garrison commander of Nanjing, so at least he was not inferior to Zhu Ji in the territory of Nanzhili.
Scare me? No way!
It has to be said that the dandy young man is really tough. Most people really don't dare to offend the second son of the Duke of Chengguo, who is at the peak of his career.
Seeing the eyes of others being attracted by Li Lian's words, Zhu Ji gritted his teeth and swallowed back his anger.
In this situation, no matter whether he won or lost, he would be the ultimate loser in the debate about the cheating in the imperial examination in the Chengguo Mansion. And no matter how much he hated Shen Yichen, he couldn't remove him from the Chengguo Mansion alone, so he could only grit his teeth and acquiesce.
Zhu Ji now felt the same helplessness that Shen Yichen had felt in the past: "Prosperity is shared by all, loss is shared by all"...
"Dong Hai, did you lose the competition for the first place in the case to him?"
Wei Zhuo, the chief judge of the Hangzhou case, asked. He and Xu Donghai were classmates in Zhaowen Academy, but they studied different classics, so he had never met Shen Yichen.
"Lose? I didn't lose to him!"
Xu Donghai's face was full of dissatisfaction at the moment. If he said this before the provincial examination, others might hear it as an excuse for not being able to afford to lose.
But it is different now. Almost all the scholars in Yingtian agree that there are problems with the private school examination at the Chengguo Mansion. So Shen Yichen, the first suspect in the case, is naturally the most suspicious.
He is just a fraud who got the first place in the case by cheating. How did I lose to him?
Wei Zhuo just smiled and said nothing in response to Xu Donghai's words. As a classmate, he knew that the other party had a proud and arrogant personality and it was difficult for him to admit that he was inferior to others.
Of course, judging from the current situation, it is indeed questionable whether Shen Yichen's success in the case was really due to his knowledge.
Shen Yichen walked slowly into the garden, feeling the strange looks from others, which made him feel quite uncomfortable. But at this moment, a fat white figure rushed in front of him, relieving his embarrassment like a savior.
"Brother, why are you here?"
The fat white figure was none other than Zhang Qi, the fat white man from the outer courtyard private school. Shen Yichen had never expected to see him in such a place.
"Mr. Li, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, invited me here. What about you?"
"I, hehe."
In response to Shen Yichen's question, Zhang Qi shook his head awkwardly.
"You kid, you didn't sneak in."
"Of course not. My father is actually Zhang Wei, the deputy commander of the Beijing Front Army Governor's Office."
The commander-in-chief is Zhang Wei?
Shen Yichen searched for this name in his mind, and suddenly remembered that in the victory report of Duke Chengguo sent from the capital at the beginning of the year, this Zhang Wei was the one who followed Zhu Yong out of the border to the Felt Hat Mountain and was promoted to the rank of deputy commander because of his merits.
Moreover, this Zhang Wei also has a very famous brother, he is Duke of Yingguo, Zhang Fu!
So, this kid Zhang Qi is the nephew of Duke Yingguo Zhang Fu. With such an identity, why is he still working as a younger brother in a private school in the outer courtyard?
"Sure, you are a really good hidden talent."
Shen Yichen patted Zhang Qi on the shoulder. He had seen many nobles and relatives by now, and the identity of a duke's nephew could not cause too much emotional disturbance.
"Brother, how could I possibly hide anything from you? You're too polite."
Zhang Qi was still the flatterer as always, which made Shen Yichen speechless. No wonder he liked being a younger brother so much.
But then again, with the appearance of Zhang Qi, an acquaintance, Shen Yichen felt a lot more at ease. At least there was someone he could talk to.
In Jingmiao Hall, Duke of Wei Xu Xianzong saw that most of the scholars in the courtyard had gathered, so he said, "There are many young men and scholars here today, many of whom are handsome and talented. I wonder which family can choose a good son-in-law."
After saying that, Duke Wei turned his gaze to Chen Ying, Marquis of Taining. His only daughter, Chen Qingtong, was the pearl of today's flower-viewing party. There was no telling how many young talents had their hearts set on her, so naturally he had to listen to Chen Ying's opinion.
Hearing the words of Duke Wei, Marquis Taining Chen Ying smiled. He naturally understood that he was being talked about.
But seriously speaking, Chen Ying had no intention of choosing a son-in-law for today's flower-viewing party, because among the young men and scholars present, there was almost no one with a status and position that was worthy of his only daughter.
A noble relative who is unable to inherit the title will eventually become just an ordinary rich kid.
If Chen Ying didn't want to help his daughter open up her heart and meet more outstanding young people, he would not let Chen Qingtong attend a gathering like this.
Seeing that Taining Marquis Chen Ying was silent, Duke Wei also understood how much he cherished his only daughter, so he turned his gaze to Cheng'an Marquis Guo Sheng, whose legitimate daughter Guo Yongxin was also present today.
Guo Sheng currently has no children. His original status was the same as that of Chen Ying, Marquis of Taining. However, in the fifth year of Xuande, Guo Sheng was stripped of his title and imprisoned.
Although the title was restored later, the salary was lowered, resulting in the status of the nobles being much lower than before.
"Duke Wei, this depends on the talents of the young masters and scholars."
"Marquis Cheng'an is right. Why don't we let the young talents present here write poems and let everyone appreciate their literary talent?"
"That's good."
Guo Sheng nodded in agreement. Today's parade would not only allow the young ladies to see each other's appearance with their own eyes, but also to examine their knowledge.
Otherwise, he would be just a pretty face and would not be appreciated by these noble ministers.
Following the order from Duke Wei, the servants who had been waiting holding pens, inkstones, and cutting boards, filed into the crowd. Whoever had inspiration could start writing without wasting a moment.
In addition, a notice board has been erected between Jingmiao Hall and the Fan Pavilion. Talented and confident scholars can post their works directly on the notice board after completion, allowing everyone to judge the quality of their works!
Faced with this mode of public judging, some of the young men and scholars present were eager to give it a try, while some did not look very happy. After all, scholars looked down on each other, and if they did not have enough strength to show, they would not get praise but would be embarrassed.
"Zhu Ji, your Chengguo Mansion is full of talented people, how about you start by composing a poem?"
"Li Lian, since you are so active, why don't you give it a try?"
"Zhu Ji, are you scared?"
"Li Lian, if you can do it, go ahead."
Zhu Ji and Li Lian started a verbal battle again, but despite their talk, they had a tacit understanding and no one took up writing.
I have a very clear idea of how much knowledge I have. If I don't write, at most I won't stand out. But if I don't write well, it would be completely embarrassing.
If some people retreat, there will naturally be others who can't wait. If their literary talent can be appreciated by the noble ministers present, or the young ladies in the fan pavilion, then they may become the son-in-law of a royal family in the future.
Soon, a scholar in the crowd wrote a poem with great swiftness and posted it on the bulletin board. Such courage drew applause from everyone.
With one person taking the lead, there will be a second and a third, and soon the bulletin board will be filled with the works of today's young men and writers. Among them, there are some excellent works, which have also been praised by the ministers of Jingmiao Hall.
The works were praised by the scholars, and they couldn't help but look delighted. After bowing and expressing their gratitude, they deliberately moved closer to the fan pavilion, hoping that the young ladies see their appearance clearly.
"Brother, aren't you going to show off your skills?"
Zhang Qi saw that others were working enthusiastically on their creations, but Shen Yichen was not moved at all, and he couldn't help but ask a question.
"Have you ever seen the ultimate boss appear at the beginning of the game?"
"Ultimate what?"
Hearing Shen Yichen utter such incomprehensible words, Zhang Qi had no idea what he was talking about.
"It means don't be impatient. You need to be patient to do big things. Do you understand?"
"As expected of the boss, he is truly wise and brave, with extraordinary strategies. If he doesn't make a move, it's fine, but once he does, it will definitely shock everyone. The key is to catch people by surprise!"
Faced with Zhang Qi's exaggerated and forced flattery, Shen Yichen was stunned.
I thought that I was already showing off when I said this, but now that I have seen Zhang Qi, I realize that I am still too young...
Shen Yichen was able to keep his composure, but Li Min, the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture, in Jingmiao Hall, was already impatient. He frequently turned his head to look at the notice board, wanting to see if Shen Yichen had any masterpiece that would surpass all the others.
As a result, Shen Yichen didn't show up for a long time, which made him feel uneasy. Could it be that this kid couldn't write?
If I can't write today, or write a poor piece, the impact will be worse than not participating, and it will almost confirm that the first place in the case is also suspected of cheating . Then my actions are simply shooting myself in the foot.
Seeing Li Min looking a little restless, Duke Wei was a little curious , so he asked, "Lord Li, did you take a fancy to that masterpiece?"
Xu Xianzong's words interrupted Li Min's anxiety. He hurriedly bowed and replied, "Duke Wei, there are indeed a few good ones."
"Oh, Lord Li, you were the chief examiner of the provincial examination before. Why don't you comment on some of the poems?"
"The works of Wei Zhuo, the champion of the Hangzhou Prefecture case, Xu Donghai, the student of Yingtian Prefecture, and Zhang Zhong, the eldest son of the Duke of Ying, can all be called excellent works."
"Then Lord Li, who do you think did the best?"
Facing this question, Li Min hesitated for a moment, then gritted his teeth and replied, "Duke Wei, the work of the best candidate in my mind has not been submitted yet."
Li Min's words aroused the curiosity of the nobles and ministers at the table. Who could be so highly regarded by the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture and be recognized as the best before his poems were even written?
"I wonder who Lord Li is talking about?"
"The first place in the Yingtian Prefecture Examination—Shen Yichen!"
