"My dear friend, may I ask if you recognize me?"
Shen Yichen was wearing a long shirt, which, if not something he wore casually, meant that he had the title of a scholar, so Zhao Tongpan politely called him "little friend".
"No."
The answer was straightforward. Shen Yichen really didn't know any Zhao Tongpan. The reason he knew his official position was because he saw the patch on his official uniform from a closer distance, which was embroidered with a heron.
Heron means a sixth-rank civil official, and the only sixth-rank official in Zhenjiang Prefecture is Tongpan. He also leads patrols, which further confirms his scope of authority. If this cannot be guessed, then Shen Yichen has been in Yingtian's "officialdom" for so long in vain.
How dare you be so arrogant even though you don’t recognize me?
Zhao Tongpan felt a little angry now. Judging from Shen Yichen's aura, he thought he was a big shot with a background, but he ended up acting like a fool. It was really intimidating.
"Uncle Zhao, this kid is just a scholar pretending to be a ghost. We should arrest him and report him to the education official to have him stripped of his academic title!"
Su Wen had been "fooled" by Shen Yichen once before, and now seeing that this kid dared to pretend to fool Zhao Tongpan, he was even more furious.
It's a waste of talent for a poor scholar to pretend to be a royal relative and take the imperial examination. If he goes to perform shaman acts or something, I'm afraid even Zhang Tianshi of Longhu Mountain will have to give way to him.
Originally Shen Yichen was quite serious, but he never expected that Su Wen would actually mention the educational officer.
Brother, the most senior academic official in Nanzhili is the Superintendent of Education, Sun Ding. I had a celebration banquet with him not long ago, and he was the "teacher".
You said today that you wanted Sun Tixue to strip me of my honor?
Thinking of this, Shen Yichen couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Seeing that Shen Yichen actually laughed, Zhao Tongpan thought he was being fooled, so he couldn't help laughing.
I am the magistrate of a prefecture, but I was teased by a young boy in the street. How can I tolerate this?
"Catch them both and put them in jail first!"
Now Judge Zhao had no more scruples. He waved his hand and prepared to bring Shen Yichen and the other two to justice.
When the onlookers saw this scene, they didn't know what to say.
After all, the young man still couldn't keep his cool. It would be fine if he was tough with these young masters, but Zhao Tongpan was an official of the prefecture. Was he someone that a mere talented person could afford to offend?
Now that’s bad. If I’m stripped of my title, all my hard work will be wasted.
"Brother Ye, should we still take action?"
Seeing that Shen Yichen was about to be taken down, the strong men who stood up began to get anxious.
"We can't do anything. If we do, the patrol officers will be attracted and the garrison will come. Then things will get out of hand."
Brother Ye shook his head. It was okay to deal with that group of young masters , but if he took action against the imperial officials, it would be tantamount to rebellion.
"Alas, this young scholar can only blame his bad luck."
The strong man who was called Wang Neng before could only sigh at this moment.
Originally, this young man could get my help, but who could have expected that the Tongpan of Zhenjiang Prefecture would personally lead the team for inspection.
Shen Yichen is really unlucky to encounter such a rare situation.
"Wait a minute, Judge Zhao, can you let me say one more thing?"
Shen Yichen saw that the other party was about to take tough measures, but he remained calm and just asked to say something.
"Well, I'd like to hear what you have to say."
After all, Shen Yichen has some achievements to his credit, so even if he doesn't have a very strong background, he has the ability to make things bigger.
Zhao Tongpan was also a man who had experienced the ups and downs of officialdom. Unlike the second-generation officials, he did things without considering the consequences.
In addition, Shen Yichen has been calm and composed so far, so it's always a good idea to be cautious.
Shen Yichen took a step forward to approach Zhao Tongpan, then leaned over and whispered, "Zhao Tongpan, I am Shen Yichen from Yingtian Prefecture, and the Superintendent of Education, Lord Sun, has chosen me as his tutor."
This simple sentence sounded like thunder and lightning to Zhao Tongpan's ears, and it frightened him so much that his face changed drastically and he stood there in a daze.
"You...you...you are Shen Yichen, the first in the Little Three Yuan Case?"
The scholar could not scare Zhao Tongpan, and the truth told by the first place in the Three Prizes case could not make him so panicked.
But the name of the Superintendent of Education Sun Ding was enough to scare Zhao Tongpan to death. The reason was that Sun Ding was not only an academic official, but also served as the Supervisor of the Metropolitan Censorate.
There is a clear record in the History of Ming Dynasty: The duty of the Chief Censor is to correct and impeach hundreds of officials, to clear up grievances, to supervise all the provinces, and to be the eyes and ears of the emperor and the official in charge of discipline.
To put it simply, the Censor-in-Chief, as the eyes and ears of the emperor, had the power to supervise all officials, inspect prefectures and roads, correct criminal cases, and so on.
So when Shen Yichen said before that Zhao Tongpan was such a powerful official, wasn’t he afraid of being reported to the Censorate?
It is not just something he says, but he really has the ability to report to Sun Ding to investigate Zhao Tongpan!
In the past, in Yingtian Prefecture, the secondary capital of the Ming Dynasty, there were many nobles and important officials, making Shen Yichen seem like a small shrimp. Everyone he met was a big shot.
But now that he's at the place, and encounters those who take advantage of the connections behind them to disregard the law, it becomes clear how powerful the connections behind Shen Yichen are.
No matter if it was Sun Ding, Lin Zhen, or even that cheap father who was only in name only, Duke Cheng, any one of them was like a mountain to the local officials!
Shen Yichen was helpless when he heard Zhao Tongpan read out his name. He was not a person who liked to be high-profile. If the other party was not planning to arrest someone, Shen Yichen would not use Sun Ding's name to pressure others.
But now that it has come to this, there is nothing to hide. Sometimes you have to take advantage of the situation and go with the flow.
"Yes, that's me."
As soon as these words were spoken, the onlookers were shocked!
Zhenjiang Prefecture is not far from Yingtian Prefecture, and as one of the two capitals, any major news can be reported quickly.
Shen Yichen's background, poems, and experience as the top three winners of the imperial examination had long been widely known in Zhenjiang Prefecture. The brothels and pleasure boats on the Inner Canal sang "Jinmingchi" countless times every night.
Unexpectedly, this legendary young talent suddenly appeared in Zhenjiang Prefecture.
"No wonder I felt that this young man was extraordinary when I first saw him. It turns out that he is the first in the Shen case."
"Not only is he talented in writing, he is also chivalrous. Mr. Shen is truly a talent."
"A gentleman helps the needy and the needy. What Mr. Shen did is truly worthy of a gentleman's words and deeds."
"You should have worked harder to recruit me before. If I could spend a night with Mr. Shen, I would be willing to pay for it."
"You're dreaming, Mr. Shen likes you?"
As the people around were talking about it, Zhao Tongpan came back to his senses from his shock and immediately bowed to Shen Yichen and said.
"So it's Case Master Shen. I'm sorry for being so abrupt. This is all a misunderstanding, a misunderstanding!"
Zhao Tongpan knew very well that although Shen Yichen was only a scholar, the power behind him was extremely amazing.
If you provoke him today, you may be removed from your position as Tongpan tomorrow, so Tongpan Zhao puts himself in a low position in his words, even in the position of a subordinate official.
"Uncle Zhao, this kid is quite good at pretending. Don't believe him when he talks about Shen's case!"
Seeing that Zhao Tongpan seemed to take it seriously, Su Wen immediately refuted it.
How could the son of the famous Duke Chengguo, the first in the top three prizes in the Yingtian Prefecture, look so poor?
Besides, this kid has already bluffed people twice tonight, who can guarantee that this is not the third time?
There was a crisp "slap" sound, and Zhao Tongpan slapped Su Wen in the face without hesitation.
Words can be false, but the momentum cannot be false!
Zhao Tongpan didn't dare to say that he knew countless people, but at least he couldn't feel Shen Yichen's calmness and steadiness in any of the sixteen or seventeen-year-old boys.
If you haven't seen the world, you will never be able to do this.
"Mr. Shen, this boy is young and ignorant and has been neglected. He may have disturbed you. How about I prepare a banquet to welcome Mr. Shen? I hope you will forgive my fault."
Anyone who can make it in the officialdom is definitely not a rookie. Judge Zhao understood that he must have offended Shen Yichen today, and he had to find a way to hold a banquet to apologize.
Of course, if the other party is not satisfied, then having a wedding banquet is just the first step, and there will always be ways to make Shen Yichen satisfied later.
"No need for that. Judge Zhao is very busy with official duties. Let's go and take care of the important matters."
Shen Yichen had no interest in eating with this kind of second-generation official scum, and he also knew in his heart that although he could use Sun Ding's name to pressure others, it would be difficult to impose any substantial punishment.
After all, any local officialdom has some complicated connections, and only when you have a big handle can you take action. Today's things are not even a small matter in the officialdom, and there is no way to go any further.
"Su Wen, why don't you apologize to Case Master Shen!"
When Shen Yichen refused to accept the invitation, Zhao Tongpan thought that the other party was still angry, so he quickly asked the person to bow his head and apologize.
This time, Su Wen was also awakened by Zhao Tongpan's slap, and realized that the other party might be a dragon crossing the river that he could not afford to offend.
So he walked up to Shen Yichen respectfully, bowed his head and apologized, "Mr. Shen, it was my fault. I hope you will forgive me."
What Su Wen didn't expect was that Shen Yichen didn't even look at him. Instead, he walked out of the crowd, came to the group of refugee children, squatted down and said gently, "How is the duck blood soup? Is it delicious?"
The children were innocent and didn't know what was happening in the crowd, so when Shen Yichen asked them, they all happily replied, "It tastes great, thank you, big brother."
Seeing this scene, Judge Zhao's face darkened and he said to Su Wen, "Let's go and discuss ."
After saying this, he hurriedly left the scene with the patrolmen and the group of young masters.
At the same time, the group of strong men who watched the incident stared at Shen Yichen.
"Brother Ye, is the Shen Yichen that Master Bian mentioned the same person?"
"That should be it. After all, Yingtian Prefecture doesn't have two little top three candidates."
"I still remember Master Bian said that Shen Yichen has great potential in the future. Maybe he is a way out for us. Today, I see that he is indeed outstanding. There are not many literati that I, Zheng Xiang, admire, and Shen Yichen is one of them."
A man named Zheng Xiangsi looked at Shen Yichen with eyes full of admiration. There were very few literati like Shen Yichen who could care about the refugee children at the bottom of society.
"Brother Ye, what should we do next?"
Wang Neng asked. Shen Yichen's sudden appearance made him a little confused.
"Su Wen left with a fierce look in his eyes just now. I'm afraid things are not that simple."
"Zheng Xiang, Cang Huotou, the two of you will follow Case Leader Shen in secret to protect him. I will lead the rest of the group to carry out the original plan."
"Yes, Brother Ye."