At this moment, Shen Yichen was gently watching the refugee children drinking soup, completely unaware that another group of people were paying attention to him.
After finishing a bowl of duck blood soup, Shen Yichen took out some change from his pocket, handed it to the refugee children and said, "If you are hungry, use this money to buy some food. I can only help you up to this point."
Shen Yichen has a kind heart, but he is not a saint. He understands that in this kind of natural disaster, he can save one person, but not everyone. He can save people temporarily, but not forever.
He encountered it today and couldn't stand the practice of treating children like monkeys and dogs, but that was all he could do and he was powerless to do more.
The group of children looked at the change on the table, but did not fight for it like they did when they saw the cakes before. Instead, they stared at Shen Yichen.
It turns out that what the ancients said was right: when the granaries are full, people will know etiquette; when they have enough food and clothing, they will know honor and disgrace.
"Big brother, are you the literary star Shen Yichen?"
One of the older boys, who looked to be about six or seven years old, finally spoke timidly.
"I'm Shen Yichen, but I'm not some literary star."
But Shen Yichen's explanation made the little boy shake his head and replied: "My mother said that those who can get the first place in the exam are all Wenquxing."
"Big brother, you will become a high-ranking official in the future, right?"
"Maybe."
Shen Yichen smiled and replied, if everything goes well and he can become a Jinshi in the two lists, with the help of Duke Chengguo, even if he cannot enter the cabinet, at least he has a great hope of becoming a minister.
"Brother, if you become a high-ranking official in the future, you will definitely not chase us around. That would be great."
Such innocent words made Shen Yichen silent.
His previous path to the imperial examination was more for power, in order to no longer be under someone else's control!
If one day I were to reach the pinnacle of power and no longer be inferior to others, would that be truly fulfilling?
Although the Ming Dynasty seemed bright and glorious, it was actually gradually becoming corrupt.
"I promise you that if I ever become a high-ranking official, I will take the world as my responsibility and never let you wander around again."
The children didn’t quite understand what Shen Yichen said, but they could roughly guess that it was well-intentioned, so they all nodded with a smile.
"Okay, my brother is leaving. You guys should stop running around on the street and go find your parents as soon as possible."
Shen Yichen gently patted the frightened child's head and prepared to get up and leave.
Just as he turned around , he heard a whisper.
"My parents are dead."
This sentence made Shen Yichen's heart skip a beat, and he didn't know how to describe this feeling.
But he did not look back, and walked away with Ah Niu with a heavy face.
After passing the lively fireworks area beside the canal, the rest of Zhenjiang Prefecture was much quieter. The two found an inn that looked relatively clean, asked for two rooms and prepared to stay there.
When he went upstairs to his room, A Niu looked at Shen Yichen and said, "Brother Chen, I didn't expect you to be so powerful now. Even the judge didn't dare to do anything to you."
Zeng Aniu wanted to say this on the street. The change in previous perception was that Shen Yichen was a scholar and was no longer in the same class as them, the common people.
Zeng Aniu couldn't tell exactly what had changed.
Only today did he personally feel how powerful Shen Yichen's background and fame are. The high-ranking officials in the mansion all bowed and nodded when they learned of his identity.
"It's not that I'm great, it's that the people I know are great."
Shen Yichen smiled and defended himself, saying that he had to rely on the reputation of Sun Tixue to put pressure on others.
"That young master named Su Wen is also powerful because of the people he knows. Anyway, I feel that he is completely different from you."
"Because he's not really strong. "
"What's the meaning?"
Once Shen Yichen spoke with profound meaning, Aniu found it difficult to keep up.
"People like him who are aggressive are often very fragile. But the truly strong people are confident. Confidence leads to gentleness, and gentleness leads to firmness."
Shen Yichen had seen this sentence in a book before and remembered it very clearly.
So when facing a young man like Su Wen, Shen Yichen was in a state of looking down on him from beginning to end.
Because he knew very well that this kind of people were just weaklings who relied on family power. They only dared to attack those who were even weaker, and they had never been truly strong in their hearts.
"No wonder I saw you being so gentle with those kids."
Zeng Aniu suddenly realized something, and he thought of Shen Yichen's attitude towards refugee children.
Shen Yichen did not comment on this statement. He just smiled and opened the door and went in.
After taking a boat for a whole day today, Shen Yichen was indeed a little tired. In addition, the plight of the refugees he saw also made him lose interest.
You have to know that Zhenjiang Prefecture is already a wealthy place in the south of the Yangtze River, much poorer than this place. But in comparison, the "noble circle" in Yingtian Prefecture where I used to stay can really be called a hothouse.
I never thought that one day I would become a flower in a greenhouse.
Shen Yichen was preparing to take a rest, but Zhao Tongpan and Su Wen, who had left earlier, were still discussing countermeasures.
"Uncle Shi, I feel like this matter isn't over yet. I'm afraid Shen Yichen will continue to investigate."
Now that he had driven away the others, Su Wen dared to speak out many of his inner thoughts. Shen Yichen's indifferent attitude at the end was obviously a lack of respect for him.
"What can I do? He refused to even offer me a drink to apologize, and now he's dragging me into this! "
Zhao Tongpan was full of resentment. He and Su Wen's father, Su Zhifu, were only political allies. He thought that if the position of Zhenjiang Prefecture Tongzhi became vacant one day, he could take over.
That's why I took good care of Su Wen's arrogance, but I didn't expect to hit a wall this time.
"Uncle, no matter how impressive it is that Shen Yichen ranked first in the exam, he is only a scholar, a million miles away from the real top three."
"Since the soft approach doesn't work, let's try the hard approach. How about letting my dad come forward?"
Compared with Zhao Tongpan, a seasoned official, Su Wen is just a young and inexperienced person who is not afraid of tigers.
In his eyes, Shen Yichen only had the title of first place in the case, and in the final analysis, he was just a poor scholar. Even if he came from Yingtian Prefecture and had the title of the illegitimate son of Duke Cheng, was it necessary to be so afraid of him?
If Shen Yichen could really get Duke Cheng to be his backer, would he not be included in the family tree as an illegitimate child?
In a sense, Su Wen's logic was not wrong. A year ago, Shen Yichen was indeed not very good. Not to mention asking Cheng Guogong to be his backer when he encountered problems, he probably couldn't even see his biological father.
"What's the point of Fu Zun coming forward? Do you know what Shen Yichen said to me last?"
"What did you say?"
"Sun Ding, the governor of Yingtian Prefecture, is his teacher!"
"The scholar is a fake master, this guy is just pretending to be a big shot."
Su Wen himself had the title of scholar, and he knew very well that the examiner of the boy's test would hardly have any contact with the candidates, and the so-called seated teacher was purely a figurehead.
Seeing that Su Wen still looked nonchalant, Zhao Tongpan had the urge to slap him again!
"Usually, the Lord of the Palace said that you were ignorant and incompetent, and I always tried to smooth things over for you. But now it seems that you are a hopeless case!"
"You know that Shen Yichen is a scholar, but you've never heard anyone say that his teacher is Lin Zhen, the champion? And Shen Yichen has participated in the winter solstice poetry gathering and the flower viewing party. Do you think that without an invitation from behind, a mere student is qualified to attend the gathering?"
"Besides eating, drinking, having fun and causing trouble in Zhenjiang Prefecture, what else can you do? You can't even figure out the situation in Yingtian Prefecture, which is so close!"
Zhao Tongpan was really angry at the moment. He had never realized that Su Wen was so incompetent before. Now that he encountered trouble, he was really a piece of rotten wood.
After all, Su Wen was the son of the prefect, and he usually called Zhao Tongpan "uncle" out of respect. But now he was being scolded like a grandson, and he began to feel a little dissatisfied.
"No need to say more, let's just do something ruthless!"
This time, Su Wen's eyes were fierce again. He had no choice but to resort to ruthless tactics because he would not respond to soft or hard tactics.
"what you up to?"
Judge Zhao became alert instantly. This kid was used to being domineering in Zhenjiang Prefecture. He usually did things without considering the consequences, and had someone to back him up. He developed a habit of being fearless and had the courage to do stupid things.
Seeing the serious look on Zhao Tongpan's face, Su Wen grinned and said, "Uncle, you are not thinking of killing someone to silence him, are you?"
No matter how much Su Wen disagrees with Shen Yichen's background and influence, his first place in the Little Three Prizes case is real achievement, and no one can deny that.
In order to vent his anger over a street dispute, he assassinated the top scorer in the Xiao Sanyuan case in Yingtian Prefecture. If this were to be exposed, not to mention the Zhenjiang prefect, even the prime minister of the cabinet might not be able to suppress it.
If Su Wen was really so stupid and had no IQ, how could he still have the chance to be arrogant and domineering on the streets of Zhenjiang Prefecture? He and his father would have been in jail or eaten incense and paper money.
After hearing what Su Wen said, Zhao Tongpan secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He had really been thinking in that direction just now.
"But having said that, Uncle, you are right to think so. It would be best if Shen Yichen also thinks so."
"how do I say this?"
"Uncle, you should not have forgotten that Shen Yichen mentioned that he wanted to report the Censorate, right?"
The three words "Censorate" hit Zhao Tongpan's pain point. If Shen Yichen hadn't mentioned this, he would probably not bother to discuss countermeasures with Su Wen.
It was just a minor conflict among young people. Anyway, it was Su Wen who got slapped and had to apologize. What did it have to do with me?
The reason why Zhao Tongpan was so afraid of being investigated was not because of the little conflict with Shen Yichen, but because of the huge deficit in silver and grain for disaster relief in Zhenjiang Prefecture, which was why there were so many refugees on the streets who were starving.
If the Censorate is involved in this matter, it may not be as simple as punishment, but there is also the risk of beheading.
"Nephew, what do you have to say?"
Seeing that Zhao Tongpan took the initiative to ask him for help, Su Wen sneered in his heart.
It was impossible for Zhao Tongpan to be the only one who embezzled the relief money and grain. Su Wen's father took the lion's share. So Shen Yichen's report to the Censorate, whether true or false, had to be treated seriously.
This old guy thought that he was looking for trouble with Shen Yichen just to save face. At that time, he was angry and might have wanted to get back at her. Now that it's over, he still can't calm down. He underestimated himself.
Have you ever thought about whether he is so arrogant and domineering that he looks down on everyone, and would bow his head and call him uncle when being scolded, and would be able to endure it after being slapped in public?
If it weren't for the hidden danger of the Censorate, which required him to fill the hole, he would not bother to put up with this bullshit and would have gone to the canal pleasure boat to find a delicate girl to warm his bed.
Being bad does not mean being stupid, because a truly stupid person does not even have the ability to do bad things.