Chapter 29: Master of the No.1 Scholar
Sun Tixue smiled and said nothing in response to Shen Yichen's humility. In fact, he addressed her like that with a hint of teasing in mind.
Because at the family dinner at Duke Chengguo's mansion, Sun Tixue did not have a very good impression of Shen Yichen at the beginning.
The root of the problem was that when Shen Yichen was reciting poems and composing essays, he looked like a starving ghost, staring at the dishes on the table and swallowing his saliva. It was so disgraceful!
However, Shen Yichen's performance and response later changed Sun's view. He did not expect that a student who did not even pass the examination would be able to advance and retreat in such a big scene, and his various responses and counterattacks were hearty and exciting.
Especially when the last poem "Linjiangxian" came out, compared with the young scholars, they, the "old men" who had experienced the ups and downs of officialdom for half a lifetime, felt deeply the indifferent and free-spirited meaning described in the lyrics.
It was precisely because of this good impression that Sun Tixue took the initiative to stay and wait after learning that Shen Yichen was coming to visit Lin Zhen today.
"In that case, Mr. Shen probably doesn't have a courtesy name yet, so I'll just call you Yi Chen."
"I haven't chosen a courtesy name yet, so please feel free to do as you wish, Grand Master."
Seeing that the two had started chatting, Lin Zhen joked, "It's getting cold in autumn now. Even if you are old friends, you should go inside first. There's no need to rush."
"Haha, Brother Dunsheng is right."
Sun Tixue had a smile on his face, and it was obvious that he was in a good mood today.
"please."
After the number one scholar Lin Zhen said this, he made a gesture of invitation.
Watching Lin Zhen and Sun Tixue turn around and enter the main hall, Li Tingxiu approached Shen Yichen and asked quietly, "Yichen, when did you meet the Grand Master?"
Li Tingxiu was full of questions at the moment. Shen Yichen seemed to be very familiar with Sun Tixue. But the question was, with the status of a grandmaster, how could he be so close to a student? Under normal circumstances, it would be impossible for them to meet. What happened?
"At the Lord's family banquet, I sat at the same table with the Grand Master, but we didn't say anything."
"That's all ?"
"That's all."
Not to mention Li Tingxiu, even Shen Yichen himself was puzzled. When they were at the same table before, Sun Tixue had clearly looked at him with contempt, and his applause was for Zeng Mengjian, so why did his attitude change 180 degrees now?
Several people entered the main hall and sat down one by one. The champion Lin Zhen spoke first, "Wei Chu, it has been four years since we parted in Zhangzhou, our hometown."
"Yes, you resigned and returned to your hometown to run a school, while I had to go to Yingtian to teach. It has been four years since we met again after a hasty farewell."
When Li Tingxiu said this, his tone was full of emotion. In ancient times, due to the limited transportation and geographical conditions, sometimes after a hasty farewell, it was unknown when we would meet again.
And to Shen Yichen, this passage was a huge amount of information. He originally thought that Mr. Li Tingxiu and Lin Zhen were at most classmates in the imperial examination, but now it seems that it is far more than that. Are they good friends from the same hometown?
"This time I came to Yingtian to give lectures and temporarily served as a professor at Zhaowen Academy. I will have the opportunity to move around more in the future."
"Wei Chu, to be honest, after I resigned from my post, I recalled the days of drinking and chatting happily in the Beijing Association Hall during the examination. I missed them very much."
Lin Zhen and Li Tingxiu may not have seen each other for several years, so their topics were mostly about reminiscing about the past, and their words were casual and free-spirited.
However, this behavior is also in line with Lin Zhen's character. You know, he was able to resign from his official position as the top scholar and return to his hometown to run a school and teach. This level of indifference to fame and fortune is something that ordinary people really can't achieve.
"If you want to have a drink and chat, ask me to join you."
Sun Tixue interjected at the right moment, and his words and actions did not show any airs of a great master.
"Of course, happiness is better shared than happiness when enjoyed alone."
"Ha ha."
…
Several seniors were talking happily, and Shen Yichen, who was sitting at the end, could only smile awkwardly. After all, the age and status gap was too big, so he couldn't get a word in at all in such a situation, and he didn't dare to say anything.
After chatting for a while, Lin Zhen saw Shen Yichen looking a little embarrassed, and then he remembered that he had some important business to discuss today.
"Wei Chu, you asked me to meet Yi Chen in your visiting card. What's that for?"
Hearing Lin Zhen finally mention his name, Shen Yichen became excited. In fact, he was also curious about what Li Tingxiu wanted to do.
"I am ashamed to say that as Yi Chen's teacher, I am not very knowledgeable about the meaning of the scriptures. Next year, there will not only be the academy examination, but also the provincial examination, so I would like to ask Brother Dun Sheng to be Yi Chen's teacher and explain the scriptures to him."
Just like there are teachers of different grades and subjects , there were also teachers of different periods in ancient times. Generally speaking, there are three main periods, namely, the first teacher, the first teacher, and the last teacher.
A "primary teacher" is a teacher like Li Tingxiu who teaches students basic enlightenment education. He can also be called a private tutor. Under normal circumstances, a "primary teacher" is usually a student or a scholar. In remote and backward areas, even an elder who has not yet entered school can serve as a "primary teacher".
There are very few people who can serve as a tutor with the title of Juren. It can also be seen from the side that the educational resources of Chengguo Mansion are top-notch, and how poor Shen Yichen was before.
There are two types of teachers: one is an advanced version of a teacher who teaches higher-level subjects, and the other is a teacher who teaches students in accordance with their aptitude, or accepts talented students as his/her disciples.
People like Lin Zhen are great masters with great accomplishments who accept disciples and teach them as their masters.
The last position of the master is quite special. It hardly teaches any knowledge, but in ancient times it was the most important teacher-student relationship.
Because your seat teacher is the chief examiner of your imperial examination. From the moment he chooses you, he automatically becomes your seat teacher.
Compared with the mentor and the professional mentor, the master has the dual identities of teacher and career guide. The future career of life is largely tied to the master. The two sides can be said to be a community of interests, so the relationship is naturally close.
In addition, there are some titles such as "Fangshi", "Palace Examination Imperial Tutor", etc., but their importance is not as good as these "three masters".
Shen Yichen never expected that Li Tingxiu brought him here because he wanted Lin Zhen to be his teacher!
This is the number one scholar of the Ming Dynasty. In later generations, he would be equivalent to a doctoral supervisor at Tsinghua University or Peking University. It is unimaginable that he would be the teacher of a primary school student like me!
Not to mention Shen Yichen, when Li Tingxiu said this, the expressions on the faces of Lin Zhen and Sun Tixue who were present froze for two seconds.
Good fellow, you old fellow really dare to think...
"Wei Chu, although I returned to my hometown to open a school and teach, I have never accepted students as my disciples. As for Yi Chen, after hearing the poem "Linjiangxian", I admired him very much and even planned to invite him to participate in this year's winter solstice poetry meeting."
"But if you want to become my disciple, you can't just rely on the song "Linjiangxian". Yichen must also show his other knowledge to impress me."
After finishing speaking, Lin Zhen turned his gaze to Shen Yichen, with a testing look in his eyes.
Seeing this, Shen Yichen stood up, bowed to Lin Zhen and said, "I dare to ask the number one scholar to examine me."
Li Tingxiu has already put the opportunity in front of me. If I remain indifferent and don't seize it, I would be really letting him down.
Becoming a disciple of the top scholar, regardless of how much you can learn, the help you can get in terms of connections and career development is immeasurable!
