Chapter 17: The Girl with a Smart Mind and a Good Tongue

There was a faint fragrance in the carriage, and two people were sitting opposite each other.

The person on the left has white hair on his temples and looks to be over sixty years old.

His eyes were slightly cloudy, but his face was kind and indifferent, giving people a sense of wisdom and calmness in seeing through the world.

At this time, he was still holding a slightly yellowed book in his right hand, but his eyes were looking out through the corner of the lifted curtain.

The person who stretched out his hand to open the curtain of the carriage was a young man who was sitting opposite the old man.

Half of his face was hidden in the shadows, so his features could not be seen clearly. One could only see from the side that he had a high nose bridge and calm eyebrows.

"It's very rare to see such high-spirited young people. At first glance, they seem lively and cheerful. It really makes people happy."

At this time, Shen Jiasui just turned over and got off the horse. The old man suddenly smiled and spoke with a deep voice. It can be seen that although he is old, he is still very strong.

"Um."

The young man opposite responded indifferently without saying anything else.

Old man: “…”

"I told you that I would not ride in the same carriage with you, but you still came up. It is so boring to be with you, and you also disturbed my interest."

The old man put the book in his hand aside. Although there was a lot of disgust in his words, the smile on his face did not diminish. It can be seen that he really likes this young man and is very close to him.

At this moment, a slightly low voice sounded outside the carriage: "Mr. Lin, Sir, I have heard that the one riding the horse is Miss Shen from General Dingguo's Mansion."

The follower Nanfeng told him everything he had heard, including the incident of the cancellation of the engagement between the Chen and Lu families yesterday.

At this time, Shen Jiasui was confronting the young men.

She asked so bluntly as soon as she opened her mouth that the young men were speechless for a moment.

Seeing no one responded, Shen Jiasui glanced around and his eyes fell on the young man with a black nose in the middle.

"This... is Young Master Cui, right?"

Cui Mingjue was suddenly called out, and for some reason his heart tightened. Then he raised his chin and said arrogantly:

"It's me, young master. What's wrong?"

Shen Jiaheng was afraid that Cui Mingjue would say something unpleasant, so he hurried over.

Shen Jiasui looked calm and asked, "I heard that Master Cui said that I am ugly and look like a man?"

Cui Mingjue was speechless for a moment. She had never seen a girl questioning someone face to face like this.

When the others saw Cui Mingjue was defeated, they dared not stand by and watch. Someone shouted:

"Miss Chen, don't come here to blame me. The news that the Lu family broke off your engagement has spread all over the capital. Everyone says so, so why don't you care about it?"

"That's right! You're pretending to be indifferent now, but you must have cried a lot in secret, right?"

"Other girls would know to avoid the limelight if they encounter such a thing, but now that it is at the center of the storm, Miss Shen has shown up, which is asking for trouble."

When Shen Jiaheng heard this, he instantly got furious and was about to rush forward with red eyes.

Shen Jiasui reached out with his right hand and firmly grasped the back collar of Shen Jiaheng's clothes.

Shen Jiaheng's arrogance suddenly subsided, and he turned back to look at his sister with grievance, "Sister, they were the ones who spoke ill of him first."

Shen Jiasui's face was grim. Compared with the curses in his previous life, these words were really meaningless.

But if she didn't stop it, with Brother Heng protecting her like this, she might not be able to study with peace of mind.

She raised her eyes and scanned the people in front of her, and said calmly: "I, Shen Jiasui, am so ungrateful that I want to see who are the people who spread rumors and follow the crowd."

"I originally thought it was just some idle gossip, and that it would be fine if I heard it or said it, but I didn't expect that in this Imperial College, which is full of saints and sages, there are people who enjoy spreading gossip."

Shen Jiasui acted too calmly, which made the young men who were not in the right feel guilty, and they all looked at Cui Mingjue.

Cui Mingjue didn't want to lose face in front of everyone, so he looked directly at Shen Jiasui and said nonchalantly:

"No one is saintly. Besides, we were just chatting for a few minutes. It was Shen Jiaheng who was adamant and started the fight first. That's why the argument started."

"Before Miss Shen lectures us, can you discipline your brother first?"

Shen Jiasui was obviously also a protective person. She pushed Shen Jiaheng behind her and sneered:

"Chatting?"

"Master Cui, there is a dragon spring on your tongue, which can kill people without shedding blood. Have you ever thought that just your idle, joking chat can easily force someone to death?"

Seeing Shen Jiasui pressing on step by step, Cui Mingjue's face immediately turned cold.

"Miss Shen is really exaggerating. Everyone is talking about it, and it's all over the city. Why is Miss Shen so persistent in harassing us?"

"If you have this ability, go and shut up everyone in the city, and I will admit that you are capable and admit my mistakes to you."

As soon as Cui Mingjue finished speaking, the young men around him echoed him.

"That's right, Shen Jiaheng is really funny. We were just joking around, but he went home and invited people."

"If Miss Shen fails here, will General Shen and Madam Shen also have to come?"

"After beating the younger one, here comes the older one. Hey, Shen Jiaheng will walk around the Imperial College like a bully from now on. We can't afford to offend him!"

Everyone started to make a fuss, laugh and ridicule, which made the old man in the carriage frown.

Just as he was about to speak, Shen Jiasui spoke out coldly:

"Don't speak ill of others, don't expose their shortcomings, don't discuss their private affairs. Even a martial arts girl like me understands this principle. Don't you understand it at all when you are in the Imperial Academy, reading the books of sages and learning the etiquette of a gentleman?"

"I, Shen Jiasui, don't have the ability to stop the gossip. I can't control what others say, but you can't!"

"The Imperial Academy nurtures talented people and promotes the virtuous. You are enjoying the grace of heaven today, so you should practice the way of a gentleman. Otherwise, if you become an official in the court one day, you will probably be a charlatan who eats for nothing and receives rewards without any merit!"

As soon as Shen Jiasui finished speaking, the old man in the carriage's eyes sparkled and he secretly praised: "What a smart and eloquent girl!"

Cui Mingjue had never been scolded so mercilessly by anyone before, and his face turned red and white.

Others did not expect that the girl from the Shen family was so eloquent. They said so much, but not only was she unmoved, she also responded so confidently.

But how could they let a woman gain the upper hand?

Inside the carriage, the old man snorted coldly as he saw the young men were still insisting on their actions.

"You are wrong to speak about others behind their backs, and now you are still showing off your quick tongue. You are really bringing shame to a scholar."

"Xiuzhi, you go."

The old man nodded his chin slightly, obviously intending to put an end to this farce.

The young man called "Xiuzhi" nodded when he heard this, then immediately bent down and got out of the carriage.

As soon as he landed, he raised his hand and rubbed his eyebrows, with a hint of fatigue on his face.

I had a lot of dreams last night.

He dreamed of someone kneeling outside the Dali Temple, dressed in plain clothes, holding a petition and crying bitterly.

For some reason, the people watching from all sides were filled with resentment. They threw obscene things at the man and cursed him, as if they hated him to the core.

He could tell that the person was a woman, but he couldn't see her face clearly. He saw her mouth opening and closing, but he couldn't hear what she was saying.

But the way she was screaming at the top of her lungs clearly showed that she had been wronged greatly, otherwise she wouldn't have come directly to the Dali Temple.

He walked closer, but was always startled awake the moment the woman raised her head. When he fell asleep again, he saw the same scene over and over again, and finally he kept his eyes open until dawn.

The young man was a little absent-minded, and his follower Nanfeng came forward at this time and asked in a low voice: "Sir?"

He came back to his senses and said lightly, "It's okay."

When he looked up again and walked towards the noisy place, his steps were steady and powerful, and the fatigue between his brows had disappeared.