Chapter 64: The Prefect Visits
On the day when the results of the provincial examination were announced, the sound of gongs and drums announcing the good news startled Shen, who was weaving in the yard.
She hurriedly stood up and trotted to the courtyard gate, just to hear her son's ranking in the provincial examination earlier.
"Congratulations, madam. Congratulations, madam. Your son has passed the provincial examination and is the first on the list!"
"Really? My son won the first place in the imperial examination?"
"Of course I'm serious. I've checked the address and house number. Don't worry, ma'am."
"Okay, okay, congratulations, congratulations!"
Shen was so happy that she couldn't stop smiling. She quickly took out a stack of copper coins from her pocket and stuffed them into the hands of the official who brought the good news.
At the same time, Shen Yichen also walked slowly to the door. In fact, since the day he was selected in class, he didn't care much about the ranking.
It would be best to be the first in the case, and maybe there would be a chance to win the top three prizes. If you don't become the first in the case, it doesn't matter either, as it is not the same as the first place in the imperial examination, the third place in the imperial examination, or the top place in the imperial examination, and there is no practical benefit.
Soon the neighbors also heard the good news and came out of their homes. Two families even lit firecrackers to bring good luck to Shen Yichen.
To be honest, only if he was in Nanjing City and met a time traveler like Shen Yichen would he appear so calm.
If it were an ordinary county, when a village had a top-ranked candidate, the whole village would probably have to hold a banquet for several days. The village chief, clan elders, wealthy families, and even officials from the county government would come to congratulate.
In the eyes of many people in later generations, fame and fortune all start from Juren. There are as many scholars as dogs, and Tongsheng are even worse than dogs. In fact, in the Ming Dynasty, as long as it was not a big city like the two capitals, a scholar was enough to live a stable life, and Juren was even more superior!
After learning about his specific ranking and returning the gifts to his neighbors, Shen Yichen immediately went out to greet his two teachers, observing all the necessary etiquette as a student.
After doing all this, when Shen Yichen was on his way home, it was almost dusk. But when he walked to the end of the street, he found that the alley in front of his house was blocked by people.
Shen Yichen arrived at the entrance of the alley, which had been blocked by several yamen runners, and ordinary people were not allowed to enter.
Through the gaps in the crowd , Shen Yichen also saw at least dozens of soldiers and clerks in the alley, holding official signs such as "Silence" and "Avoid".
In addition, there seemed to be a sedan chair parked at the door of his house. Under the sunlight, one could clearly see a gold-decorated and silver-dragon embroidered belt on the sedan chair.
In the first year of the Hongwu reign, there were very detailed regulations on the means of transportation for officials. Only officials of the third rank and above were allowed to ride in sedan chairs. However, this regulation was gradually relaxed later, and officials below the third rank also got sedan chairs for comfort.
However, the sedan chair with gold and silver dragon embroidery belts can only be used by officials of the first to third ranks, and violators will be severely punished. So the sedan chair that Shen Yichen saw now means that at least a third-rank official has arrived.
In other small places, there are only a handful of third-rank officials, and it is easy to guess who this person is. But in Nanjing, there are not many third-rank officials or above, and if you count the various super-rank nobles, there are easily dozens of them. Shen Yichen is really not sure who this official is.
Just when Shen Yichen was puzzled, the discussions of the onlookers nearby helped him solve his doubts.
"The first place in the case is really impressive. Even the prefect came to congratulate him personally."
"No way, the prefect is a third-rank official, would he congratulate a student?"
"I saw the official title badge of the Yingtian prefect before, how could it be fake?"
"I really envy Shen for giving birth to a good son. Now the orphan and widow have finally made it through."
"Don't talk nonsense. Have you forgotten that Shen Yichen is the son of the Duke? If nothing goes wrong, he will be included in the family tree and will rise to prominence in the future!"
Facing these discussions about himself, Shen Yichen coughed twice in embarrassment, and then shouted: "Everyone, make way, make way ."
Shen Yichen shouted as he pushed through the crowd and came to the military service blocking the intersection.
"My lord, my name is Shen Yichen. I live in this alley. Please give me some convenience."
When they heard that the person coming was the real owner Shen Yichen, they dared not neglect the blocked military service and quickly replied: "Mr. Shen, I don't deserve it. Our master has been waiting in your house for a long time. Please come in quickly."
After saying that, several people made way for him, bowed their waists and made a gesture of invitation.
Is he really the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture?
Now it was Shen Yichen's turn to be surprised. Why would the Yingtian prefect come to his house for no reason? Could it be, as the passers-by said, that he came to congratulate him on winning the first place in the case?
To be honest, Shen Yichen didn't think he had the face to have an official of Yingtian Prefecture's rank congratulate him. But apart from this, he couldn't think of any other reason, which was really a bit strange.
With the mentality of finding out the truth, Shen Yichen bypassed the military service and came to his own courtyard.
Li Min was sitting at the main table in the main room of his house at this moment, with a middle-aged scholar standing next to him. As for his mother, Shen, she was sitting aside, looking very restrained and nervous.
Seeing Shen Yichen coming back, Shen immediately stood up and left the main hall. To be honest, she was terrified in front of the prefect, fearing that her son might cause trouble outside and be visited by the soldiers.
Even though Li Min repeatedly explained to her not to panic, Shen was still worried. It wasn't until she saw her son come out that she felt reassured.
"Chen'er, the prefect is here, come and greet him quickly."
"Mom, I know."
Looking at his mother's nervous expression, Shen Yichen naturally understood her state of mind at the moment, so he tried to appear calm and indifferent, which would also help ease his mother's emotions.
"Student Shen Yichen pays homage to the prefect."
"No need to be polite, I'm just passing by to take a look."
"Your Excellency the Prefect's presence brings honor to my humble abode."
Listening to Shen Yichen's flattering words, Li Min couldn't help but laugh and said, "I have a little understanding of your character, so there is no need to use such false courtesy."
"I came here today for two reasons. One is to congratulate you on winning the first place. The other is that in a few days, Yingtian Prefecture will hold a flower viewing party, and many young men and women from noble families will participate. I hope you can also be there."
Li Min came to Shen Yichen's house today, and he was just passing by. After all, as a prefect of the third rank, no matter how much he admired Shen Yichen, he couldn't come to congratulate him in person, so congratulations were just a passing thing.
As for the other thing, it was also not in the plan, because Shen Yichen was not worthy of Li Min's invitation. It was Li Min's idea that came up with on the spur of the moment when he was passing by and was reminded by a staff member in the mansion.
Aren't you worried that the four people from the Duke of Zhongcheng's Mansion will be criticized by the candidates? Then why not let Shen Yichen take the initiative to expose himself, let everyone see his knowledge and skills, and see who has anything to doubt.
Seriously speaking, the reason why Li Min and his staff had this idea was somewhat related to Lin Zhen.
When Lin Zhen invited Shen Yichen to participate in the Winter Solstice Poetry Festival, it was initially out of appreciation for his talent, but later it became a way to make him famous. At the same time, Shen Yichen's performance could also stop the rumors about him accepting students as his disciples, which was killing two birds with one stone.
Since Shen Yichen’s teacher has tried it out, Li Min might as well follow suit and give it a try.
But when Shen Yichen heard this, he had no idea what the prefect was up to.
Although he had a good relationship with Li Min, to be honest, apart from the half-"master" relationship with the person who was chosen as the first in the case, the rest were just acquaintances.
What kind of flower-viewing party is this? There are also young men and women from rich families participating. It's obviously a high-end gathering of the powerful and wealthy. How could I be so worthy of being invited by the prefect? I'm afraid that not many of Li Min's own sons and nephews have this opportunity.
However, it was precisely because their relationship was not that close that Shen Yichen did not even have the qualifications to refuse. Otherwise, the consequences might be far more serious than imagined. Unlike when Lin Zhen asked if he would participate in the Winter Solstice Poetry Festival, he could tentatively ask if he could not participate.
"I am grateful for your kindness, Your Excellency the Prefect. I am very honored and will be there."
"Very good, you deserve my respect."
Sure enough, Li Min was very satisfied with Shen Yichen's attitude.
After saying this, Li Min gestured to the middle-aged scholar beside him, who immediately took out a tray and uncovered the red cloth, revealing several ingots of silver.
"Yi Chen, since we are here to congratulate you, we naturally cannot come empty-handed. This is our bonus."
The so-called flower red silver is the silver awarded to the successful candidates in the provincial examinations during the Ming and Qing dynasties. Generally, about 20 taels are used to build the memorial archway for the successful candidates. However, if one is excellent in talent and obtains a place as a tribute student in the Imperial Academy with the title of scholar, he will also be awarded flower red silver to build the memorial archway.
But I have never heard that students can also get bonus money.
It was obvious that Li Min just made up an excuse to give Shen Yichen some pocket money.
If Shen Yichen's previous fear and kindness were all just lip service, now when Li Min brought out all the bonuses and silver, he truly felt the prefect's attention.
To put it bluntly, the Yingtian prefect's visit to your humble home is already a great honor. But now he invites you to a gathering of dignitaries and doesn't even miss out on the courtesy. He really shows his sincerity.
"The prefect's gift is so generous, and I am deeply grateful."
When Li Min saw that Shen Yichen did not refuse out of courtesy but accepted it directly, she realized that the other party also understood her feelings.
So he stood up, walked to Shen Yichen, patted him on the shoulder intimately and said: "Yichen, this government is very optimistic about your knowledge and character, you will definitely achieve great things in the future."
Li Min was not just being polite. He had already seen the potential in Shen Yichen, who was definitely not an ordinary person.
"Students will definitely live up to your high expectations."
"Okay, I won't stay here for long. I'll let Mr. Bian, your aide, talk to you about other details."
“Yes, the students know.”
After saying that, Li Min walked out of the main hall, leaving only the aide named Bian behind.
"My dear Shen, my surname is Bian, my given name is He, and my courtesy name is Jiangxu. I have heard of you for a long time."
"Mr. Bian, you are too polite. I cannot accept it."
Since the person opposite him was very polite, Shen Yichen naturally treated him with courtesy as well.
"My dear Shen, I'm sure you're wondering why the prefect would suddenly come to visit us, right?"
"I would like to hear the good news."
Shen Yichen is a smart man. Since the other party said so, there must be something else behind his words.
"It's because I helped you, Mr. Shen, a little favor."
When he said this, a mysterious smile appeared on Bian He's lips.
