These two questions seemed simple, but they still managed to confuse the Grand Secretary's son, and even the onlookers felt embarrassed.
"Sit down. Next one." Song Yue's face remained indifferent.
Suddenly, Shen Qingchen seemed to understand why the emperor had chosen him as his teacher. The education of a junior scholar couldn't be delayed. The previous one, though highly learned, stubborn, aloof, and upright, had ultimately retired to his hometown. Only two types of people remained in this position: those from the Xu faction, and those who weren't afraid of them. Among the entire court, both civil and military officials, the latter were hard to find; Song Yue was one of them.
What's even more subtle is that among this cohort of probationary officials is Xu Silin, a key figure in the future of the Xu faction. While Xu Silin shares a father-son relationship with his father, he also has a mentor-student relationship with Song Yue. A student will naturally listen to his teacher to some extent. This way, even if Xu Yan's power becomes uncontrollable one day, the emperor can still use Song Yue to restrain him. The implications of this strategy are undeniably profound.
After Xu Silin sat down, his brow remained furrowed. He wasn't angry about the trap Song Yue had set; he was angry at his own negligence. Long before becoming a probationary official, his father had taught him for many years that the court was a treacherous place, and one could never be careless. He believed himself to be insightful and well-connected, and that the officialdom of the Ming Dynasty would sooner or later be nothing more than a pond for him to play in.
In retrospect, he was not cautious enough.
As he was thinking, he suddenly turned his head and glanced at Shen Qingchen.
Shen Qingchen happened to be looking at him too. When their eyes met, she immediately looked away, lowered her head and flipped through the book in her hand, pretending that nothing was wrong.
However, Xu Silin kept staring at her, making her very uncomfortable, and she had no choice but to glance at him again.
To her surprise, he smiled at her.
His smile carried his usual nonchalance, with a touch of roguishness, making him look exactly like a gangster in ancient costume. She was confused and felt a little cold.
Two hours passed quickly. Grand Secretary Song did not teach any lessons, but only played a question-and-answer game with them before dismissing the class on time, without assigning any homework.
When he left, Shen Qingchen noticed that he hadn't brought any books, so it seemed he had planned to chat until the end of get out of class.
He was a brilliant scholar of the Ming Dynasty who rose to power at a young age, a newly rich politician who created miracles, and she longed to learn from him. However, he was also a notoriously busy and demanding cabinet minister, and it seemed unlikely he would have the time to carefully teach them.
Shen Qing sighed softly, packed her things, and prepared to have lunch at the Guanglu Temple. At this moment, Xu Silin's henchman, Lin Mo, knocked on her table, tilted his head towards the window, and said, "I want you to get out of here quickly."
He promised he wouldn't bother her anymore if he lost, but this person is completely unreasonable.
She glanced out the window, a little annoyed, and saw Xu Silin standing there, his profile downcast, looking preoccupied. "I'm not going. You were there when I made the bet with him yesterday, and he lost."
She didn't know where she got the courage from today, but she actually dared to refuse him. As a poor student with a shocking secret about being a girl disguised as a boy, she had always been very careful, not wanting to offend the powerful and get into trouble. Today, Xu Silin must have bowed down to Song Yue, and she had inadvertently benefited from Song Yue's influence, which gave her more confidence.
Gu Shaoheng, who was sitting next to Shen Qingchen and had been keeping a close eye on him, leaned over and said indignantly, "I heard that too. What, is it that the world is clear and the sun and moon are shining brightly, are you trying to blatantly cheat us?"
Unable to persuade anyone, Lin Mo went outside and replied to Xu Silin.
Xu Silin glanced at Shen Qingchen through the window and then left.
Shen Qingchen was slightly surprised. When did the word "give up" appear in his dictionary?
Upon reaching the left corridor, Lin Mo asked Xu Silin, "Among all the officials in the court, there are probably only a hundred or so surnames. How could you guess so easily? That kid probably overheard it from somewhere and turned it into a trick he used to play on people. Are you just going to let it go like this?"
Xu Silin strode forward, glanced at him sideways, pondered for a moment, and then laughed, "Playing tricks? It would be better if it were real."
Lin Mo looked at him, puzzled.
"Among you classmates, who dares to bet with me?" Xu Silin glanced at him with some disdain. "He dares. And today, he actually answered something like... world peace? Don't you think that's interesting? This kid doesn't like to talk, I never noticed before."
"What do you mean, Brother Xu?" Lin Mo was somewhat confused.
Xu Silin didn't answer, but instead asked, "I only know that he came from Jiangsu, but do you know where he's from? And what relatives he has?"
"I remember he was from Jiangsu, specifically Xuzhou. His family was poor, and I don't know anything about his relatives."
Xu Silin's eyebrows twitched slightly upon hearing this. "Xuzhou? It also has the character 'Xu' in it."
Lin Mo was taken aback; how could this be connected? "Are you just going to let him get his way?"
"That's it. A loss is a loss. There's nothing to be upset about. There's plenty of time in the future. He won't be able to win again next time." Xu Silin said, turning to look at the apricot blossoms in full bloom beside him. He plucked a branch, smelled it, and said, "I used to think life was boring, but now it seems it's starting to get interesting."
Xu Silin had accompanied his father to the imperial court since childhood, dealing with officials and nobles from all walks of life. He had been immersed in the ways of officialdom for many years and was very knowledgeable about current affairs. He originally did not want to enter the Hanlin Academy to gain seniority, but Xu Yan saw that he was only in his early twenties and forced him to enter the Hanlin Academy so that he could legitimately obtain a pass to the cabinet.
Three years is a long time, and with nothing to do, he could only tease his classmates.
Lin Mo couldn't understand his change in attitude towards Shen Qingchen, so he asked again, "A new girl has come to Lianfang Pavilion. She's exceptionally beautiful, and her pipa playing is astonishing. Shall we go?"
Xu Silin refused without even thinking, "No, it's all the same old tricks, no fun at all."
"Really?" Lin Mo was truly stunned. Young Master Xu's temperament changed far too quickly. "You're not going to Lianfang Pavilion anymore? So many girls, each one so talented, their waists swaying as if they could suck the marrow from a person's bones, but that's what you said before."
"I'm tired of seeing it."
Shen Qingchen's ancestral home is Xuzhou, Jiangsu. She only moved to the capital with her father after passing the imperial examination. In the capital, she has a second uncle, who is their only relative.
Although he is called Second Uncle, he is not actually related to them by blood. It is only because their ancestors were linked by blood decades ago that this relationship has been fortunately continued to this day.
When Shen Qingchen was young, her family was destitute. Her father suffered from hysteria, and her mother left home. It was thanks to the help of her second uncle that the father and daughter did not starve to death. As a child, Shen Qingchen did not have money to go to school, and it was her second uncle who taught her to read and write.
The junior scholars were entitled to a day off every five days. After meeting her new teacher, Shen Qingchen enjoyed her day off. As usual, she prepared food and medicine for her father and went out to the Lin family.
As Shen Qingchen approached the Lin family's gate, he spotted a familiar figure in the distance.
He stood beneath the lintel bearing the two characters "Lin Residence" in clerical script, wearing a brown, right-fastening robe, his hands behind his back and head bowed. A sliver of morning sunlight shone on the tip of his straight nose, and his lips gleamed faintly like flower petals.
Her second uncle was nearly forty years old, but he still retained the charm of his youth. He was refined and handsome, with a clear and elegant appearance. If you didn't look closely, you would think he was a dashing young man.
Qingchen walked up and called out, "Second Uncle."
Today is the first day of the lunar new year, and Shen Qingchen's second uncle, Shen Qian, also happened to be on leave. He arrived at the door early in the morning to wait for him.
Shen Qian was very happy to see Shen Qingchen and said, "You've come. You must be tired. Come inside."
Shen Qingchen nodded and followed him, asking, "Am I late today? Has Second Uncle been waiting for a long time?"
"It's not late. I got up early and had nothing to do, so I came outside to wait for you since you were coming early." He said, turning his head to look at her with a smile, his eyes and brows full of joy that had captivated countless girls. "Yu-ge'er hasn't woken up yet. You must not have eaten yet. Come on, let's go to my room to eat first."
"Hmm." She got up a little late today and only made breakfast for her father. She didn't have time to eat herself, and her stomach was empty.
Yu Ge'er is Shen Qian's son. He is eight years old this year, which is the age when he should be learning to read and write. Shen Qingchen was invited by Shen Qian to teach him whenever she had a day off, just like Shen Qian taught her back then.
Unlike before, Shen Qian was only a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial civil service examination), while Shen Qingchen had become a Shujishi (a junior official in the Hanlin Academy) of the Ming Dynasty, a future prime minister. Yu Ge'er was only eight years old and was still learning introductory books like the Thousand Character Classic and the Classic of Filial Piety. It was truly a waste of talent for a Shujishi to teach an eight-year-old child.
Shen Qingchen knew very well that her second uncle was helping her. She only had five days off each month and could only come five times, but she could receive two taels of silver as a reward, which was a real lifesaver for her family's dire financial situation.
Because of these two taels of silver, her second uncle and aunt had argued several times. Shen Qingchen looked at her second uncle's straight and gentle back, feeling lonely despite walking in the familiar mansion, and felt a little uneasy.
Her second uncle married into the family.
For her father, who suffers from hysteria.
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