Chapter 82 Becoming a Villain
After they sat down, the dishes began to be served. Compared with the delicacies of the family banquet at the Duke Cheng's Mansion, the celebration banquet at the Academic Affairs Office was obviously much simpler.
But it was still a meal. For many scholars from poor backgrounds, having meat to eat was considered good enough.
In the past, Shen Yichen usually looked like a starving ghost when he attended banquets. This time, as the protagonist of the case, he naturally had to restrain himself. He basically did not move his chopsticks and frequently drank with the three examiners at the table.
However, during the drinking process, Shen Yichen discovered that Li Min did not seem to be in a very good mood, which was in sharp contrast to Sun Tixue who was almost drunk.
Without asking Shen Yichen, he could roughly guess the reason. Li Min was probably still implicated in the imperial examination cheating case in Chengguo Mansion. The unsolved case of how the examination questions were leaked has not been solved, and it is always a sword hanging over the head of the prefect of Yingtian Prefecture.
After three rounds of drinks, the new scholars, who had been a little nervous and reserved before, gradually relaxed. Many of them even stood up and went to the main table to toast the three examiners.
Sun Tixue basically accepted all the toasts from the scholars. Even if he couldn't finish the drink, he would still take a sip to show his appreciation. After all, on such a festive day, if you want to toast someone, you either don't drink at all. It would be bad to refuse anyone after starting a toast.
Just when Shen Yichen thought that the celebration banquet would just pass by with eating and drinking, he saw Luo Zheng, who ranked third in the college entrance examination, stand up, raise his glass towards him and say, "I'd like to offer a toast to Mr. Shen. I hope you will give me some favor."
Although Shen Yichen had not had much communication with Luo Zheng, he had some understanding of him after taking the exams. He knew that he was an excellent student in Jiangning County School and had always been in the top three and had never fallen behind.
"Brother Luo, you're welcome."
Shen Yichen did not refuse, he raised his glass and drank it in one gulp.
Luo Zheng watched Shen Yichen finish his drink, so he also drank it all in one gulp, and then continued: "In the first three exams between me and Shen An, I was always inferior to him."
"All the poems written by Mr. Shen are excellent. I admire them very much. But this time the examination focuses on the classics. I am also curious about what kind of good essay Mr. Lin has taught me."
As soon as Luo Zheng said this, the new scholars who were drinking happily were all attracted to him.
To be honest, in this college examination, there was an inexplicable 50-50 split among the Four Books and Five Classics, which puzzled many people.
Although there was precedent of focusing on the Five Classics in the imperial examinations, since the establishment of Neo-Confucianism in the Song Dynasty, the Four Books have occupied an absolute dominant position, and the Five Classics are completely unable to compete with them.
So why did the Grand Master go to such great lengths to do this?
"I remember now. Mr. Lin is a master of classics. His interpretation of the Book of Shang is unparalleled in the world."
"Yes, Mr. Lin, the top scholar, started studying calligraphy at the age of ten. He relied on the classics to surpass all other scholars."
"Luo Zheng means that the emphasis on classics in the college entrance examination is related to Shen Yichen?"
When someone said this, the crowd who were discussing in a low voice suddenly fell silent.
Previously, many people’s dissatisfaction with Shen Yichen, the first candidate in the case, was simply due to the fact that Sun Tixue might have some favoritism.
Because Shen Yichen had become the disciple of the number one scholar Lin Zhen, everyone in Yingtian Prefecture knew about it, and Sun Tixue was a good friend of Lin Zhen, so it was natural for him to treat his disciple with favor.
Even if others feel that it is unfair, it will not cause any public controversy. This is a very normal thing in the Ming Dynasty.
But preferential treatment does not mean backdoor treatment. For example, in the future exams, if there is a student with a special talent in history, the examiner will raise the score of this subject from the original full score of 100 to 150, the same as Chinese, math and English. Isn't it equivalent to adding 50 points more?
Moreover, increasing the weight of the Five Classics is even more outrageous than increasing the scores of the minor subjects in later generations. After all, scholars who take the examination for the level of Xiucai are generally not good at the Five Classics, which is equivalent to giving Shen Yichen a special recruitment.
Therefore, Luo Zheng's words made many people confused. It turned out that the reason why the Four Books and Five Classics were given equal importance in the college examination was because of Shen Yichen!
When Sun Tixue and other officials at the main table heard Luo Zheng's words, the smiles on their faces gradually faded, but no one spoke out to reprimand or stop him.
The reason is that Luo Zheng was very clever. He asked questions not to Sun Tixue, but to Shen Yichen. And he did not question the emphasis on both classics and meaning in the college examination. On the contrary, he literally praised Lin Zhen's teaching level.
If the examiners spoke up to stop them at this time, wouldn't it be an act of covering up the truth and acknowledging that Sun Tixue was trying to open a backdoor for Shen Yichen?
Especially Li Fuyin and Zhou Zhixian, they knew the real reason very well. It was good for everyone to understand the unspoken rules of the imperial examination, but it would be embarrassing to speak them out.
When Shen Yichen heard Luo Zheng's words, his first reaction was to be stunned, because he had no idea why the five classics were given equal importance in the college examination from beginning to end.
Even when he was sitting in the exam hall, Shen Yichen felt a headache, thinking that Sun Tixue had posed a difficult question.
So he instinctively looked at Sun Tixue, but found that the other party looked embarrassed, as if things were not that simple.
When Shen Yichen saw Sun Ding's expression, he instantly understood that the Four Books and Five Classics were equally important in the college examination, and it really was related to him!
At the same time, Shen Yichen was feeling extremely fucked up at the moment. What the hell was going on? He was getting shot even when he was lying down.
It would be fine if they could take the blame to gain some benefits, but the problem is that there is no benefit in testing the classics in the college entrance examination, so there is no need to do this at all.
However, things have come to this point. Regardless of whether Shen Yichen participated or not, he must accept Sun Tixue's favor. At the same time, he must take this opportunity to make everyone shut up, otherwise there will be another rumor of fraud in the Chengguo Mansion!
"Brother Luo, what you want to say is that I got extra points by asking questions about the meaning of the scriptures, right?"
Without trying to hide, evade or get angry, Shen Yichen calmly exposed the words he wanted to express in front of everyone.
Because at this time, the more you cover up, even if you rely on the power of officials such as Sun Tixue to silence Luo Zheng, can you guarantee that the other more than 100 new scholars present will not gossip behind your back?
It is more important to guard against the people's mouths than to guard against the river. If Shen Yichen doesn't understand such a simple truth, he doesn't deserve to be the first in this case.
"I dare not."
Of course Luo Zheng didn't dare to admit that he was referring to Sun Tixue, because the other party was a teacher. Moreover, Shen Yichen didn't cheat directly, and using the rules to win the first place was at most unfair, far from the point of overturning the table.
"Luo Zheng, I'm afraid you've drunk too much. Why don't you go back and rest first?"
Li Min said lightly at this time, since this kind of thing can't be said openly, then just don't say it, go back and take a shower and go to bed.
"I will follow the instructions of the prefect, and take my leave."
Luo Zheng responded very firmly, raised his head and stood up, ready to leave.
He was different from Xu Donghai who liked to stir up trouble before . He was not jealous, envious or hateful of Shen Yichen, but was resisting the injustice of the imperial examination.
It can be said that from the beginning to the end, when he decided to speak out about this matter at the celebration banquet, he was already prepared to be retaliated against, and he appeared to be righteous and awe-inspiring.
To be honest, Shen Yichen felt helpless when he saw Luo Zheng's righteousness. He never expected that he would become a villain for no apparent reason.
"Wait a minute!"
Shen Yichen also stood up at this time and looked at Luo Zheng expressionlessly.
He did not feel much anger or resentment towards Luo Zheng's behavior. On the contrary, Shen Yichen admired his courage to stand up against the powerful.
However, just because he felt it was unfair, he chose to publicly question it at the celebration banquet without any investigation or evidence collection.
Isn't it just to satisfy one's own inner sense of justice and bully others from the moral high ground?
"Captain Shen, do you have any further advice?"
This time, Luo Zheng's tone carried a hint of contempt. In his eyes, Shen Yichen's behavior seemed like he was angry and embarrassed.
"Then I will give you some good instructions."
Shen Yichen said it was not "you", but there was an extra word "men". At the same time, while saying this, he glanced at everyone in the courtyard.
"I believe many of you must have the same idea as Luo Zheng. I got the extra points on the sutras and became the first in the college exam, right?"
When asked, no one responded, but the answer was obvious.
"This year's Yingtianfu New Era Collection should have come out, right?"
The so-called collection of contemporary essays means that booksellers would compile the examination essays of new candidates for the imperial examination and bind them into a book for reference by later scholars.
However, in many cases, excellent boy's examination essays would also be bound into books. For example, for a young top three winner like Shen Yichen, his imperial examination essay would almost certainly be published.
As expected, when Shen Yichen asked this question, many people nodded subconsciously. Almost everyone present had read this year's Yingtianfu New Year's Collection of Essays. In particular, Shen Yichen's articles became a reference for many people.
"Since you have all read it, I would like to ask you, even if we put aside the questions about the meaning of the classics, is there anyone who dares to claim that my writing of the Four Books is better than mine?"
Having said this, Shen Yichen glanced around, an inexplicable aura gushing out, and no one dared to look him in the eye!
Seeing that no one answered, Shen Yichen looked at Luo Zheng and asked him again: "Is there?"
Behind this simple two-word question, there is a sense of awe-inspiring power without any anger, and there is no trace of guilt at all.
I didn't participate in favoritism and fraud, so why should I feel guilty?
I won the first place based on my strength. Even if we put aside the questions from the Five Classics, I will just compete with you on the questions from the Four Books. Who dares to say that they can write !
Luo Zheng met Shen Yichen's gaze. He was extremely determined in his heart and believed that he was doing something righteous.
As a result, when faced with this question, Luo Zheng suddenly realized that if the college examination did not give equal weight to the Four Books and Five Classics, and the Four Books were given priority as per tradition, it seemed that Shen Yichen had a greater advantage!
Because the four books and eight-part essays written by Shen Yichen in this year's collection of essays are unmatched, and it is no exaggeration to say that they crush everyone else.
After realizing this, Luo Zheng suddenly didn't dare to look Shen Yichen in the eye, and even felt it was a little ridiculous.
It turned out that the imperial examination that he had determined was unfair and that Sun Tixue was partial did not change the result. Even if the Five Classics were not tested, the first place would still fall on Shen Yichen's head.
This is absolute strength, he deserves to be the first in the case!
All in all, it's nothing but my own delusion.
