Chapter 17: Poetry to Liven Up the Fun
"Duke Cheng, is the young man next to Qingtong Shen Yichen?"
After watching this scene, Marquis Taining asked Zhu Yong.
"Um."
"It doesn't look like what the rumors say..."
Chen Ying said meaningfully.
Rumor has it that Shen Yichen is extremely stupid and has failed to pass the examination to become a student after studying for several years. He is also addicted to pleasure and has no ambition. As a result, he is disliked by Duke Cheng and is not allowed to be included in the family tree.
Although Chen Ying and Zhu Yong were close, given their status as dukes, they could not talk too much about family matters. So what he knew about Shen Yichen, a servant-born son, was basically just some rumors he occasionally heard from the servants.
But today, Chen Ying saw Shen Yichen's speech and demeanor, which seemed to be far different from the rumors. Putting aside other things, at least he was not at all inferior to the second son Zhu Ji, and even vaguely overwhelmed him in terms of momentum.
"Marquis Taining, let's not stand anymore, let's take a seat first."
Zhu Yong did not respond to Chen Ying's words, but extended his hand to invite him to sit down first.
"please."
Taining Marquis Chen Ying also extended his hand and made a gesture of invitation. Everyone was smart, and it was obvious that Zhu Yong didn't want to talk more about this topic, and Chen Ying would not continue to say more.
Although the family banquets of kings, princes and nobles in the Ming Dynasty were called "family banquets", they were completely different from the home-cooked meals in later generations. There were rules and etiquette everywhere.
Take the most basic seating arrangement for example. Duke Chengguo Zhu Yong and a group of top nobles and officials from Nanjing sat in the first seat. Those with lower titles and other high-ranking officials sat in the three seats below the first seat, with the left one being the best.
The next highest rank of civil officials and military officers sat in the second seat relative to the first seat, and the lowest rank sat in the fourth seat below the second seat. It can be said that the entire ranking order was strictly hierarchical, and people of different ranks sat in different seats, and the arrangement was clear .
The only exception was the students in the private school in the inner courtyard of the Duke Cheng’s Mansion. They were not placed at the end of the “fourth seat” according to their seniority and official titles, but at the middle level, the “second seat”.
The reason for this arrangement is that Duke Cheng wanted the clan members to be in a more prominent position so that they could get more attention from important officials. Another reason is that these people have a good family background, and the future prospects of ordinary officials are really not as good as theirs.
When they sat down for the family dinner, Chen Qingtong wanted to pull Shen Yichen to sit in the "lower three seats" belonging to high-ranking officials and nobles, but was politely declined by Shen Yichen.
The reason is very simple. They used the name of Taining Marquis' Mansion purely as a pretext to suppress Zhu Ji.
If he really sat at the table of high-ranking officials and relatives, and everyone saw Zhu Yong's son using the title of Marquis of Taining, it would have a huge impact. At that time, both Duke Chengguo and Marquis Taining would probably be embarrassed.
Therefore, Shen Yichen had a rough idea of his true identity and status. He didn't have the capital to be too ostentatious, otherwise he would not know how to write the word "death". So he simply walked to the last seat and sat down in an inconspicuous corner.
The guests at Shen Yichen's table were basically people of low rank but with real power or prominent political status, such as prefects, county magistrates, and local officials, as well as the censors of the Nanjing Metropolitan Procuratorate.
Although these officials were not of high rank, Nanjing was the secondary capital of Yingtian Prefecture, and had a special administrative status. Perhaps there were hidden talents among them, who had the power to report directly to the emperor.
But unfortunately, Shen Yichen didn't know any of them...
Although they didn't know Shen Yichen, the fact that this young man sat down aroused the curiosity and speculation of other officials at the table.
"My dear friend, what should I call you?"
A young official sitting on Shen Yichen's left took the initiative to greet him.
"My name is Shen Yichen, a student of the Duke's Mansion's private school. May I know your honorific name?"
Shen Yichen briefly introduced himself and also asked about the other party's identity. After all, all the people at the table were dignitaries, and it would be troublesome if he offended them.
"I am Zhou Shun, the magistrate of Jiangning County. Nice to meet you."
Zhou Shun had only been appointed as the magistrate of Jiangning this year, so he did not know that Shen Yichen was the illegitimate son of Duke Cheng. It was precisely because of his low qualifications and the fact that he was the lowest-ranking official invited this time that he took the initiative to greet Shen Yichen.
When Shen Yichen said his name, several officials sitting next to him all looked at him. From their strange looks, it was obvious that they knew who Shen Yichen was, and today they finally met him in person.
But compared to Zhou Shun, other officials knew about it but didn't say anything. After all, the identity of an illegitimate child was particularly sensitive, and how to treat Shen Yichen was a problem, so it was better to just pretend that they didn't know.
"I have met Mr. Zhou."
When Shen Yichen learned that the other party was the county magistrate, he immediately took the initiative to bow and salute.
In fact, to be serious, the magistrate of Jiangning County is Shen Yichen's parent official, and he is now an ordinary citizen without any official title. In theory, he has to kneel and kowtow when meeting an official in formal occasions.
But Shen Yichen's thinking was that of later generations after all, and he didn't have the hobby of kneeling down at every turn. Anyway, the other party didn't know whether he had any achievements or not, so a bow would be enough.
"You're welcome, little friend."
Zhou Shun also waved his hand quickly. All the people present today were big shots, and he himself was just a junior. He didn't want to show off to a youngster.
Just when Zhou Shun was about to say a few more words, Duke Chengguo Zhu Yong had already stood up and, as per custom, made a speech to thank the guests, and everyone present sat up straight.
The content of the speeches was basically some polite words about loyalty to the emperor, patriotism, and helping colleagues. Shen Yichen was extremely bored listening to them. His eyes were fixed on the delicacies on the table, and he swallowed his saliva from time to time.
Unexpectedly, when the officials at the same table saw him like this, they couldn't help but despise him. No wonder Duke Cheng didn't recognize this illegitimate son. It was indeed a rotten wood that couldn't be carved...
After waiting for a long time until Zhu Yong finished saying that the banquet was officially about to begin, Shen Yichen had been salivating over the "three major items", "six cold dishes", "eight hot dishes" and other delicacies on the table, and was just waiting to start eating.
Unexpectedly, after just two bites, one of the inner courtyard students stood up, raised his wine glass and said to Zhu Yong: "Master, today's family banquet is so joyful, how can there be no poetry to liven up the atmosphere?"
"I, Zhu Jin, am so bold as to offer you a poem. I hope you will correct it."
Zhu Jin's words drew applause from the students in the inner courtyard, and other guests also put down their wine glasses and chopsticks, ready to listen to his work.
After all, among this group of nobles and high-ranking officials attending the Duke's banquet, few of them probably came just to eat.
However, Shen Yichen was full of complaints. Although you, the children of the inner courtyard, have a family banquet just to show off. But if you want to show off, at least choose a time. If you don't want to eat, I have been patient for a long time!
Of course, Shen Yichen had no say in this matter. After hearing this, Duke Chengguo Zhu Yong smiled and said, "Okay, Zhu Jin, you can write a poem and let the gentlemen comment on its literary talent."
"Thank you, sir."
Zhu Jin looked around with confidence, but when he set his eyes on Shen Yichen, he deliberately paused for a moment and revealed a sneer.
