The Red Chamber: Starting from Saving Xue Baochai

Chapter 17 It turns out he is Shen Jieyuan

After this poem was read, everyone's thoughts were drawn again.

If the previous song "Linjiangxian·Willow Catkins" brought shock to people, then this song "Linjiangxian·The Rolling Yangtze River Flows East" shocked everyone.

The first song is free and easy, while the second one is detached.

The former tells of lofty ambitions, while the latter tells of the vicissitudes of history.

Different from the previous time when everyone fell into silence and contemplation after hearing the word "willow catkins", at this moment, everyone only felt a heroic thought trembling in their chest.

A strange scene appeared on Taiping Lake. People kept nodding and murmuring, and sometimes shook their heads and chanted: "The green mountains are still there, and the sunset is red again and again."

"Many things in ancient and modern times, all are just jokes" The words are catchy, Li Shouzhong murmured the last sentence, looked at everyone, and after a long while, he sighed, "What a good word!"

"The Eastward Flowing Water of the Yangtze River" is the pinnacle of Linjiangxian. It can be said that in any era in history, this poem is like the top of the pyramid.

"They are indeed good poems. Both poems are rare masterpieces!" Huang Guozhang, the Jinling Provincial Education Commissioner, stroked his beard and nodded.

Another old scholar beside him said with a smile: "Although both poems have their own merits, in my opinion, the latter is better."

"But I think the poem about catkins, 'How many times have they flowed with the flowing water? Why should they be left to the dust?' 'Good winds have helped me soar to the sky.' It has a lingering charm and is no worse than the latter poem."

"What does Li Jijiu think?"

Li Shouzhong was silent for a moment, then he pondered and gave his evaluation: "The former only happens once in a hundred years, while the latter is hard to come by in a thousand years."

Although there is no best in literature, most people have a preference in their hearts. The Confucian teachers on the high ship no longer argued about this and reached a consensus.

"What is the signature at the end?" At this time, someone reacted and looked at the person who was reading at the bow.

"No, no." The man was also a little confused. He indeed did not see the signature.

On another ship, Jiang Qiuer and Shi Xiangyun, two girls dressed as men, opened their beautiful eyes wide, with stars twinkling in their eyes.

"Xiangyun, Xiangyun, which song do you like?" Jiang Qiuer cheered and jumped for joy, as if she had found a treasure.

"like it all."

"No, there is only one first place."

Little Loli Xiangyun said jokingly: "It's not like I'm choosing a husband, why should I choose only one? Anyway, I like them all."

Jiang Qiuer: “.”

What kind of rubbish is this?

"Who wrote the last one? Did you hear it clearly?"

"No, I don't think I heard the signature being read."

"Hey, what's there to be entangled about? Didn't the girl on the boat just say that this was done by her son?"

"Oh. Hmm? The first one was also handed in by that girl. Doesn't that mean both masterpieces came from that ship?"

"Aren't you talking nonsense? We are not blind."

After everyone was shocked by the rhythm of the lyrics, they turned their attention to the authors of the two poems.

"The previous poem was signed by Fairy Hengwu, so she should be a woman, right?"

"Aren't you talking nonsense again? Who calls a man a fairy?"

"That is to say, the author of the first poem was a woman, and the author of the second poem was a young man, and they were both on the same ship."

"Yes, yes, yes, go on talking nonsense."

"Could you please speak properly, brother?"

"."

"I say, what are you two arguing about? Why don't you just let the talented couple come out and meet each other?"

"Yes, everyone should be curious, who could write such a masterpiece?"

Upon hearing this, a loud voice shouted, "Please ask the young master and fairy on the boat to come out and see us!"

Then there were voices of agreement.

"Please come out and see me, sir and fairy!"

Finally, everyone shouted in unison, with the sound rising one wave higher than the other, shaking the entire Taiping Lake.

On the other side, Feng Shuming and the servant had already retreated into the boat. Although they had been forgotten by everyone at this time, they dared not show their heads again. Listening to the deafening shouts outside, their faces were as gloomy as water.

On the ship that attracted everyone's attention, Shen Yuan was drinking tea in the room, holding Baochai's slender hand in his right hand.

The young man and the fairy as everyone talks about are now in love.

"Sir, Miss, we are now surrounded by many boats outside, looking forward to you coming out to meet us." Ying'er ran in and said with a little pride on her face.

When Baochai heard this, a trace of panic appeared on her beautiful face, and she suddenly felt the young man's hand tightening.

Shen Yuan said in a gentle voice: "It's okay. How can anyone see my Miss Xue?"

Then he gave Ying'er some instructions.

Ying'er responded, then left the room, returned to the terrace, regulated her voice, and said loudly, "My young master and young lady are feeling unwell, and we are planning to go ashore. We hope you will give way to us."

As the girl spoke, she deliberately glanced towards Feng Shuming's ship.

When everyone heard this, they suddenly felt a little disappointed and became more curious about the people in the boat.

"It's such a pity that we can't get to see the true faces of such a talented man and such a beautiful woman!" Some people couldn't help but sigh.

Someone who was close by just noticed Ying'er's little movements, and suddenly thought of Feng Shuming, as if he understood something.

Someone said, "The young master and the fairy suddenly felt unwell. It must be because they were bumped by Master Feng earlier. We should go find some Confucian masters to seek justice."

Soon, more people reacted and echoed, "Yes, let the Confucian masters do justice. These four damn talented people slandered good people for no reason."

As they talked, many people went together and told the matter to several elders on the tall ship, such as Li Shouzhong.

When Ying'er saw this scene, she couldn't help but admire her "son-in-law" again.

Feng Shuming had previously used his reputation to manipulate public opinion and exert pressure.

Shen Yuan is now using his own method to retaliate. With his current overwhelming momentum, he wants the crowd to drown Feng Shuming with public opinion.

As the saying goes, those who deceive others will always be deceived. It is just like this.

On the boat next to him, Feng Shuming listened to the excited crowd outside criticizing him, and his already gloomy heart sank to the bottom.

These people were speaking up for him not long ago, but now they spoke ill of him without any scruples.

He is completely screwed today, and his reputation as a bad person will probably be hard to redeem in the future.

Feng Shuming was feeling depressed and had no place to vent his anger, so he took it out on the servant.

"It's all because of you, this evil slave!"

As he said this, he went up to the boy and started punching and kicking him.

"Sir, spare my life. It was you before..."

"Evil slave! How dare you quibble!"

Just as the master and servant were performing a farce inside the boat, they heard shouting coming from outside the boat.

"I will now convey the words of several Confucian masters. Please listen carefully."

"Feng Shuming has a flawed moral character, evil intentions, and slanders others for no reason. From now on, he will be permanently banned from participating in all poetry gatherings in Jinling."

When Feng Shuming heard this in the boat, all the strength in his body seemed to be drained away, and he collapsed to the ground.

"It's over."

Although the words of Li Shouzhong and others were short, their expressions were harsh, which basically defined Feng Shuming's character. Not only would his reputation be affected, but his career in the imperial examination would also be difficult.

After that, no one paid any attention to the notorious Master Feng, and the focus turned back to Shen Yuan's ship.

Ying'er told Shen Yuan and the others what had just happened.

"Sir, Mr. Li has sent someone to invite you to the tall ship for a chat."

Li Shouzhong only mentioned inviting Shen Yuan and did not mention Baochai.

Although those old scholars were also curious about Fairy Hengwu's identity, they also understood that it was not appropriate for a woman to show up at this time.

Shen Yuan nodded, turned to look at Baochai, and said softly, "I'm afraid we won't be able to enjoy the moon tonight. I'll go out to help them. Sister, please wait in the room. We'll dock and leave later."

Baochai looked at her lover with a smile and hummed softly, "It's okay, Mr. Shen, go now." After being called for many times, he finally came out.

Finally, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Shen Yuan came out of the room on the boat and came to the terrace.

Although it was night, there were buildings and ships surrounding him with all kinds of lights shining brightly, so it was almost as bright as day where Shen Yuan was.

Although only one person came out, everyone was not surprised. They didn't have much hope of seeing Fairy Hengwu. After all, there is a difference between men and women.

For a moment, all eyes around were focused on Shen Yuan.

The young man was dressed in blue, with a jade belt hanging from his waist. He had a handsome face, a body as straight as a pine tree, and a bright look. His black hair was simply tied up with a jade hairpin, and a few strands of hair danced in the wind, adding a bit of free and unrestrainedness.

"Does anyone know this gentleman?"

"Never seen it before."

“I haven’t seen it either.”

"When did Yingtian Prefecture produce such an unfamiliar talent?"

Everyone asked each other, but no one seemed to know him.

Just when everyone was puzzled, someone suddenly exclaimed, as if he couldn't believe it.

"Shen Yuan?"

Shen Yuan was also attracted by the surprised voice. The voice seemed familiar, so he looked in the direction of the sound.

Just then, he met a pair of beautiful eyes like copper bells, but he saw that the eyes suddenly widened even wider.

"Shen Yuan, it's really you! How come you are here?" Jiang Qiuer was extremely surprised.

Shen Yuan looked at Jiang Qiuer, then at Shi Xiangyun who was standing next to him with a curious look on her face.

Smile and say hello.

"Xiaoqiu."

"Did you write that poem just now?"

Shen Yuan did not deny it.

"."

The two people's greetings fell into the ears of everyone. Suddenly, someone seemed to remember something and shouted: "Shen Yuan. Is he Shen Yuan?"

"Who is Shen Yuan?"

"This name sounds familiar, I seem to have heard it somewhere."

"Shen Yuan, of course you have heard of him. He is the Wu Jieyuan who became famous in Jinling not long ago."

"what?"

"Yes, yes, yes, the new champion of martial arts is called Shen Yuan."

"."

"Is this correct? Wu Jieyuan is a talented scholar? Wu Jieyuan can write such a famous work as 'The East Flows the Yangtze River'?"

"Why not? That poem is clearly about a famous general who looks down upon the vicissitudes of history." Some people began to imagine it from Shen Yuan's perspective.

"It seems to make sense!"

Someone else was too disdainful to guess and asked Shen Yuan directly: "May I ask if this gentleman is Shen Jieyuan in person?"

Before Shen Yuan could answer, Jiang Qiuer said excitedly, "Yes, he is the one who scored full marks in four subjects in the 100-step horseback archery. He is the new champion of the martial arts exam—Shen Yuan."

"It's really him!"

"hiss--"

"Isn't it rumored that Shen Yuan is the mortal form of Wu Quxing? Does that mean Wu Quxing can also compose poetry and lyrics?"

Jiang Qiuer looked at everyone who looked like they had never seen the world, clenched her fists, and said in a coquettish voice: "Why not? Shen Yuan is not only a top scorer in martial arts, but also a top scholar in literature. He joined the army and will make achievements on the battlefield in the future."

The little girl acted like a little fangirl, always protecting Shen Yuan's image, but she didn't realize that this was very dangerous and she might get herself into trouble at any time.
"So that's how it is!" Everyone suddenly understood after hearing this.

At the same time, he was even more shocked that this Master Shen was truly a man of both civil and military talents!

There is no further detail about Shen Yuan's subsequent meeting with Li Shouzhong and others, except that they simply talked about their views on the two poems.

At the same time, he also expressed deep regret that Shen Yuan gave up literature and took up military affairs.

During the conversation, several elders also tried to ask about the identity of Fairy Hengwu, but Shen Yuan made up an excuse to evade the question and did not mention Baochai's name in order to avoid bringing public pressure to the girl.

Finally, Li Shouzhong announced the top ten performers of the Mid-Autumn Festival Boat Poetry Festival.

The top two are undisputed, namely "Linjiangxian·The Rolling Yangtze River Flows East" and "Linjiangxian·Willow Catkins".

I believe that it won’t be long before these two Linjiangxian poems will spread throughout the south of the Yangtze River and even the entire Great Zhou.

Two other names also became popular: Shen Yuan and Fairy Hengwu.

The next day, at Tongfu Inn, Room No. 5.

"Sir, Lord Jia asked me to come and ask if you have time recently. He wants to invite you to Zui Xiang Lou for a chat."

The doorman handed Jia Yucun's invitation to Shen Yuan with a respectful attitude.

Shen Yuan did not look at the note, but stared at the door and asked, "Jia Yucun is not suspicious of you, right?"

"No."

"Have you found those things?"

"I'm not sure yet. I only know that it's in the study. Lord Jia is very cautious, and I haven't found a suitable opportunity to investigate."

Shen Yuan thought for a moment and said in a deep voice, "Go back and tell Jia Yucun not to go to Zui Xiang Lou. Just tell him that I'll treat him to a drink at Tong Fu Inn tomorrow night."

"What do you mean, Master?"

"You should seize the opportunity tomorrow night." Shen Yuan looked at Menzi with sharp eyes and said in a deep voice: "Determine the location of the things as soon as possible. Time is running out. Don't let me down."

"Don't worry, sir. I will do my best."

The doorman paused and continued, "There is one more thing, I wonder if you already know it?"

"explain."

"Jia Yucun will soon be promoted to the position of Jinling Provincial Government Counselor for his meritorious service in suppressing bandits."

"From the third rank?" Shen Yuan pondered for a moment, then said calmly, "He won't be able to wait until the day he takes office."

After hearing this, Menzi felt a little relieved.

"If you have no other instructions, I will go back and report."

"Well, you go."

Not long after the doorman left, another waiter came and knocked on the door.

"Master Shen, there is someone claiming to be from the Marquis Zhongjing Mansion and wants to see you."

"come in."

The door was pushed open, and the waiter led a middle-aged man in.

When the man saw Shen Yuan, he smiled and said, "I am Zhou Gui, the steward of the Marquis Zhongjing's mansion. The Marquis asked me to invite Shen Jieyuan to his mansion for a chat. I wonder if Jieyuan is free?"

Zhou Gui said this and handed the invitation to Shen Yuan.

Shen Yuan was stunned for a moment, took the card and looked at it, and it was indeed an invitation from Shi Ding.

It just happened to be a coincidence today, as people kept sending him invitations.

He could probably guess Shi Ding's intention, most likely he wanted to win him over.

But Shi Ding didn't know that Shen Yuan's ambition was not to stay in Jinling. However, it would not hurt to go and meet him.

"I have nothing important to do today, so I am happy to visit Marquis Zhongjing."

Zhou Gui was delighted when he heard this and said, "The carriage is waiting downstairs. Sir, do you think we should set off now?"

Shen Yuan nodded and followed him to the Mansion of Marquis Zhongjing.

Thanks to Tianchong Lamao for the reward;
Thanks to Gu Feng Piao Yun, Diao Min 2, Jun Ye Di, Tian Chong La Mao, Bu Na Kua Ni Ni Ni Kua Ni Ni Di etc. for their monthly tickets;
Thank you for your support or2!

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(End of this chapter)