Chapter 79: Neighbors Congratulate
Firecrackers rang out and gongs and drums roared. The small courtyard of Shen Yichen's house could no longer bear the congratulations from so many people.
There was no other choice but to set up a buffet in the alley. Anyway, whether you know each other or not, as long as you come to congratulate, you can sit down and share in the joy.
To be honest, it was at this moment that Shen Yichen realized how popular he was.
It is true that no one cared about me for ten years, but I became famous overnight and known all over the world.
Not only ordinary neighbors, but also several horse-drawn carriages soon arrived at the alley entrance. They were the magistrate of Jiangning County, the governor of Yingtian Prefecture, and the superintendent of education who came to congratulate.
After all, Shen Yichen won the top three prizes in the imperial examinations and was selected by them personally. He could barely be called a master in name, so it was not too outrageous to send someone over to congratulate him and make himself known.
Among them, the one sent by the prefect of Yingtian was Bian He, an old acquaintance of Shen Yichen’s aide.
"My dear Shen, I haven't seen you for just one month, but today you have made a great leap forward and won three prizes in a row."
Listening to Bian He's flattery, Shen Yichen smiled and replied: "Mr. Bian, please don't be polite. Can this be called winning three prizes in a row?"
"Not really, just consider it my congratulations in advance."
"Mr. Bian, are you so confident that I can win the first prize in the world one day?"
"I believe in my own judgment. Even if I can't become the best in the world, you, my dear Shen, will definitely be a nobody in the future."
When Bian He said this, the hypocritical and polite smile on his face disappeared, and instead he looked very serious.
To be honest, maybe because he has seen more of the virtual world of the Internet in later life, Shen Yichen is always a little wary of the sudden kindness of strangers.
He never believed that there was any free lunch in this world.
Is it true that the other party is so friendly to me just to establish a good relationship with me?
"Mr. Bian, I haven't thanked you for helping me last time. If there's anything I can do to help you, just let me know."
Since he owed a favor, the best way was to repay it, so Shen Yichen brought it up indirectly, trying to see what Bian He really wanted.
"Friend Shen, you are really alert."
To Shen Yichen's surprise, Bian He could see through his inner thoughts at a glance.
What was even more surprising was that the other party did not try to hide anything and pointed it out directly, which was really not in line with the usual style of the aides.
"I don't mean anything derogatory when I say this. In the future, people who are not vigilant will not be able to reach the pinnacle of power. So, my friend Shen, it's a good thing that you have this kind of vigilance."
"Oh, so it seems that I was right to be vigilant?"
"Yes, I do have an intention."
For some reason, Bian He's straightforward statement of his motives made Shen Yichen feel a lot more at ease.
After all, these days, dealing with smart people without knowing their cards is a very dangerous thing.
"I wonder what Mr. Bian is up to?"
"I want to help you take the throne!"
Hearing this, Shen Yichen showed a faint smile. He thought Bian He was some kind of master who didn't show his face, but the more he talked, the more outrageous it became. Could this guy have drunk too much?
Inherit the title?
Zhu Ji, the second legitimate son, didn't have much hope. How could he, a son born to a maid, challenge the entire ancient etiquette?
"Bian He, you haven't learned any imperial knowledge, I think it's better for the goods to be with the imperial family."
Shen Yichen replied lightly that he could not afford the big task of inheriting the title. If Bian He was really ambitious and wanted to find a springboard, he might as well go directly to Emperor Zhu Qizhen, as he would be more suitable.
Hearing Shen Yichen's words, Bian He laughed and replied, "It has nothing to do with the emperor's knowledge, because what I want to do requires at least the title of Duke of Chengguo to have a say. If you, my friend Shen, don't inherit the title, I'm afraid you can't help me."
At least someone at the level of Duke Chengguo can help?
Shen Yichen thought about it and felt that as long as Duke Cheng's rank did not involve treason against the regime, he would be able to help even if it was some other unforgivable serious crime.
Could this Bian He be guilty of treason?
The problem is that during the reign of Emperor Yingzong of Ming, there doesn’t seem to be any famous rebels, and the name Bian He does not even appear in history books. So what exactly did he do?
"Mr. Bian, I'm afraid I can't help you."
Shen Yichen believed that he had little hope of inheriting the title, and he had no confidence that he could handle the ten heinous crimes in ancient times. It would be better for him to speak frankly so that Bian He would not have any unnecessary delusions.
The Ming Dynasty was not the ancient Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. The way strategists invested everywhere was simply not feasible.
"It doesn't matter. Even if he doesn't become the third generation Duke of Chengguo, maybe Shen Xiaoyou can find his own way."
After saying this, Bian He turned around and went to drink happily with others, showing no sign at all that he had just planned something "big" with Shen Yichen.
In addition to Bian He, the staff sent by Sun Tixue also brought a message to Shen Yichen, which was to ask him to participate in the celebration banquet of the college entrance examination three days later.
There were four major banquets in the ancient imperial examinations, namely the "Luming Banquet", "Qionglin Banquet", "Yingyang Banquet" and "Huiwu Banquet ", which served the civil and military subjects preset in the imperial examinations.
Among them, the Lu Ming Banquet and the Qiong Lin Banquet were banquets for the literary subjects. When new candidates for the imperial examinations and Jinshi were born, local officials and even the emperor would entertain the new candidates and express their congratulations by granting banquets.
However, this kind of banquet is of the lowest level and can only be held after passing the provincial examination. I have never heard of any scholar having a celebration banquet.
Perhaps having guessed Shen Yichen's doubts in advance, Sun Tixue's staff explained the reason.
That is, Shen Yichen won the top three places in the imperial examinations. This honor has not appeared in Yingtian Prefecture for more than ten years. In order to congratulate this grand occasion of the flourishing local literary style, it is reasonable for the governor of education to hold a celebration banquet.
At the same time, the prefect of Yingtian and the governor of education decided to make an exception and build a Sanyuan archway for Shen Yichen. On the one hand, it was to reward his academic achievements, and on the other hand, it was to serve as a role model to encourage the scholars of Yingtian to study hard.
However, after this watery "Sanyuanfang" was built, I wonder if Shen Yichen would blush after seeing it. After all, Yingtian Prefecture is not a small place, but one of the two capitals of the Ming Dynasty, with various memorial archways for Juren and Jinshi appearing one after another.
The scholar-level Sanyuanfang is indeed a bit shabby...
Of course, this was the good intention of the parents and the grandmaster, so Shen Yichen had to thank them repeatedly. He also said that he would continue to work hard in the future to build a real Sanyuanfang and live up to their kindness.
In addition, before leaving, Bian He also brought a piece of news to Shen Yichen, that is, cheating tools were found on the spot among the Zhu clan members, but the matter was suppressed by the power of Duke Chengguo from above.
A few of them were merely punished by not being allowed to apply for the next academy examination, and even the status of those who passed the prefectural examination was not revoked. This was enough to show that Zhu Yong was indeed extremely powerful at this moment.
In fact, in addition to Zhu Yong's efforts, the most important thing was Shen Yichen's own hard work. If he hadn't been the first in the case, he would not have been found to have cheated and would have achieved the achievement of being the top three in the exam.
If the news continues to ferment, it may lead to a group of candidates going to the academy to cry, and then it will become a major case of cheating in the imperial examination.
But if you think from Zhu Qingyu's perspective, they could just quietly gain fame and honor without attracting too much attention. This practice has become a common practice among the children of nobles.
But Shen Yichen came and showed off all kinds of things, and he also repeatedly pointed out the first case and attracted everyone's attention. Now he also exposed several of them. It was really unlucky!
So for many things, the results may be completely different if you take different standpoints or angles.
After the banquet, the neighbors helped to clean up the mess, and the courtyard soon returned to its former tranquility.
However, the various gifts piled up in the room indicated that Shen Yichen's current status had changed dramatically. In addition, a pile of congratulatory silver covered with red cloth on the table seemed particularly conspicuous under the candlelight.
"Chen'er, this time I'm afraid it will cost more than a hundred taels of silver. What can we use to return the favor?"
When Shen looked at the pile of silver, her first reaction was not to be happy about receiving the money, but to think about how to repay these dignitaries.
"No need to return the gift, just keep it for the household use."
Shen Yichen didn't care about the more than one hundred taels of silver.
In ancient times, success in the imperial examination was known to be a leap in social class, and it was not just talk. Take this pile of silver for example, it was almost enough for a normal family of three to eat and drink for a lifetime.
For an ordinary person, even if they work hard all their lives, they probably wouldn't be able to dig out so much money from the ground.
Of course, it was a special case for Shen Yichen to receive so many gifts and bonuses. Normally, a successful scholar would not receive so much.
But you have the title of scholar, and as long as you use some connections, you can get ten taels of silver or an equivalent amount of rice subsidy from the government every year, and you can also be exempted from corvée and taxes on three acres of land.
If all else fails, you can become a private tutor or a staff member, or write for others, or be a lawyer or a Feng Shui master. At worst, you can go into business with the help of a scholar, and earning 20 taels of silver a year is easy, and there is no possibility of starving to death anyway.
In modern TV dramas, scholars wear tattered clothes and have no food to eat. This is impossible to happen under normal circumstances unless it is a special case or in the turbulent times at the end of a dynasty.
Therefore, the saying "Books contain golden houses and beautiful women" is not a false description, but if you work hard and pass the imperial examinations, you can really get these things.
Now Shen Yichen's achievements have exceeded the vision of housewives like Shen, so when her son said there was no need to return the gift, she did not ask any more questions.
He just brought Shen Yichen to the ancestral tablet, handed him a stick of incense and said, "I've been too busy today and haven't congratulated our ancestors yet. Chen'er, kneel down and worship our ancestors."
After saying this, Shen knelt down on the cushion and worshipped the ancestral tablet very devoutly.
However, Shen Yichen did not kneel down immediately because he felt the words of Zhu's ancestor on the memorial tablet were a bit ridiculous.
Even his biological father did not agree to be included in the family tree and recognize his ancestry. He still takes his mother's surname Shen. What kind of ancestors of the Zhu family is he worshipping? Can the name of his ancestor be found in the family tree?
But in ancient times, things like the relationship between ruler and subject, father and son, and the principles of nature and ethics could never be changed according to personal will.
Even more exaggeratedly, if you rebel and kill the king, as long as you have a strong fist, you can still have a large group of scholars and officials follow you to establish a new dynasty. But if you kill your father and mother publicly, you are really screwed, and no matter how strong you are, everyone in the world will despise you.
So Shen Yichen shook his head and decided to follow his mother's wishes and worship the ancestors.
