Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 217 Request
It's obvious that His Majesty intends to promote Lord Shen!
It wasn't just Mr. Zhuang who understood the mystery; just looking at the row of luxurious carriages in front of the Shen family's gate was enough to give him some insight.

There are quite a few smart people, after all!
"pedant……"

At this moment, Qi Heng, his face pale, looked at Old Master Zhuang with his mouth agape.

"Then...this time..."

"Ah~"

Mr. Zhuang nodded regretfully, acknowledging the possibility that Qi Heng hadn't finished speaking. However, considering that Qi Heng and Sheng Changfeng were both still young and there was plenty of time for another time, he comforted them, saying, "Qi Heng, Changfeng, you don't need to be too sad!"

"You are all still young. Even if you don't succeed this time, there will be another time!"

"Calm down, prepare diligently, and you'll be very confident about the imperial examinations three years from now!"

Mr. Zhuang had a lot of confidence in these two people.

"He's... a scholar!"

Qi Heng didn't speak, but Sheng Changfeng, who was standing to the side, gritted his teeth and replied.

However, judging from his clenched teeth and ferocious expression, he probably harbors some resentment!
"What scholars say isn't necessarily right. In fact, my essay might be the one that best suits the examiner's wishes!"

Although he had already accepted what Mr. Zhuang had said, Sheng Changfeng still harbored some hope that he might actually be right.

After all, Mr. Zhuang was not the examiner, and what he said might not be correct.

Even if what he said makes a lot of sense.

Of the group, only Qi Heng remained pale and distraught!

……

In the Sheng family's private school.

After Mr. Zhuang had figured out the situation of the students, he sent them away. After all, the results of the provincial examination had not yet been released, and whether they passed or not was still uncertain. They needed to prepare for the palace examination later.

"pedant!"

After everyone else had left, Sheng Changquan secretly stayed behind and spoke to Mr. Zhuang.

"Ok?"

When Mr. Zhuang turned around, he saw that it was his favorite youngest disciple who had spoken, so he smiled and said, "It's Changquan. What's the matter?"

Old Master Zhuang knew Sheng Changquan well and knew that his purpose in staying until the end must be to find him something. Otherwise, he wouldn't have stayed alone in the school waiting for him, but would have gone to his courtyard early to keep his wife company.

And sure enough, because of Sheng Changquan's eloquence, Mrs. Zhuang, Mr. Zhuang's wife, was extremely fond of him. In fact, because Mr. Zhuang had a somewhat strained relationship with his two children, Mrs. Zhuang treated Sheng Changquan as if he were her own grandson.

Therefore, to be fair, although Sheng Hong invited Mr. Zhuang to the Sheng residence mainly for Sheng Changbai's sake, it seems that Sheng Changquan is probably the one who benefits the most.

"pedant!"

Sheng Changquan stepped forward and whispered ingratiatingly, "Actually, there is something I would like to ask the scholar to grant me."

"Hmm~"

Mr. Zhuang glanced at Sheng Changquan, hummed in response, and simply watched without replying.

"hey-hey!"

Sheng Changquan grinned foolishly at Mr. Zhuang, revealing a simple and honest childlike appearance.

"hehe!"

"You lazy brat!" Old Mr. Zhuang knew that Sheng Changquan was deliberately putting on an act, but he still couldn't help but laugh when he saw Sheng Changquan's posture.

There was no way around it; Sheng Changquan was not only good-looking, but more importantly, he was exceptionally talented, making him arguably the most outstanding genius Mr. Zhuang had ever encountered in his life!
In fact, Mr. Zhuang had another idea in his heart that no one knew: he wanted to take the opportunity of teaching Sheng Changquan to entrust his own principles and pursuits to him, so that his student could fulfill his own dream.

Although he missed the opportunity to become an official due to a series of coincidences, Mr. Zhuang had no intention of striving for anything more. However, as he grew older, he increasingly missed his past pursuits and did not want them to be lost.

"Even if I, Zhuang Ru, never hold an official position, the students I teach can inherit my aspirations, climb to the top in my place, and benefit the people!"

Cultivating oneself, governing the country, and bringing peace to the world are the pursuits of every Confucian scholar, and Master Zhuang was no exception. As he grew older, he longed for the dreams of his youth. Therefore, after searching around him, he realized that the only person who could fulfill his wish was Sheng Changquan.

Moreover, even if someone else possessed the same talent, Mr. Zhuang did not have the time or energy to teach him.

Therefore, Sheng Changquan is Mr. Zhuang's only hope.

"Tell me, what's the matter with you?"

"Hehe, scholar, actually I wanted to ask if you would allow me to bring two more people to audit your class!"

Sheng Changquan knew he was putting his teacher in a difficult position, so he quickly added, "However, don't worry, scholar, these two will only listen in occasionally and won't bother you all the time."

The two people Sheng Changquan was referring to were actually his cousin Jiang Xingzong and his friend Shen Li.

The former intends to take the entrance exam for Xiangshan Academy, while the latter has his own plans within the Shen family. Therefore, this eavesdropping is only a short-term and occasional occurrence.

Old Master Zhuang frowned slightly, seemingly unwilling to agree, but seeing his young disciple's pitiful appearance, he pondered for a while before finally relenting.

"Changquan, in truth, I do not wish to set this precedent!"

Mr. Zhuang said this at first, but then he changed the subject and said another thing: "However, if you can meet one of the conditions I mentioned, then it is not impossible!"

"Ok?"

Sheng Changquan's heart skipped a beat, and he immediately realized that this was the master's tacit agreement.

"Scholar, please speak!"

Sheng Changquan kept guessing what conditions his master wanted to say, but on the surface he looked extremely firm.

"No matter the conditions, Changquan will definitely do it!"

"hehe!"

Mr. Zhuang stroked his long, white beard and said with a smile, "Alright, you said it yourself!"

A strange light flashed in the old man's eyes, something inexplicable, as if it carried something different.

……

"Young Master, this is it!"

When Qi Heng walked out of the Sheng family school looking somewhat lost, Buwei led him to a secluded corner of the Sheng family compound, pointed to a small courtyard ahead, and said to Qi Heng, "Young Master, Miss Xiaotao said that the Sixth Miss is inside!"

Although Buwei noticed that Qi Heng was acting strangely, he didn't know the reason behind it, and simply assumed that it was because he was about to see Minglan that he was behaving differently.

However, since the imperial examination was over, he no longer urged Qi Heng to continue.

After all, the outcome is already decided, and there's no point in trying to change it, whether it's good or bad.

Therefore, without taking advantage of Qi Heng's request, she secretly met with Xiao Tao and asked if Minglan could come out and secretly meet Qi Heng.

This time, Minglan finally agreed.

(End of this chapter)