Chaos of Ming 1628

The young man in brocade robes had an arrogant look in his eyes. He swung his nine-section whip and cursed, "You slapped me in the face, I'll see just how tough your life really is."

Sun Qing sighed inwardly, wondering why this person didn't care about the Sun family's reputation at all.

No wonder people are most afraid of teenagers, who act without thinking and without considering the consequences.

Sun Qing showed no fear whatsoever when facing Tian Ergeng. Who would have thought she'd encounter someone who wouldn't even try to use their brain or play mind games with her?

They might stab you unexpectedly; who can defend against that?

Just as the nine-section whip was about to strike Sun Qing, a figure suddenly leaped down from the upper floor.

Shen Junru moved with the agility of a swallow, taking a few steps on the escalator before landing steadily beside the boy. She snatched the whip handle, tossed it aside with a backhand flick.

The boy didn't react at all throughout the entire process.

He was stunned when he finally saw her. His gaze fell on Shen Junru's face, and he stared in disbelief.

Shen Junru ignored the man and walked straight to Sun Qing, still holding the sword in her hand, standing there lazily. Despite her casual demeanor, it was clear that if anyone dared to lay a hand on Sun Qing, she could take their life instantly.

"How dare you... how dare you lay a hand on my young master!" a guard roared.

"Shut up!" Unexpectedly, the boy scolded his own people, immediately straightened his clothes, and slowly walked up to Shen Junru.

His eyes were full of laughter, as if nothing had happened. He adopted the air of a hypocritical nobleman and asked, "Most women in the capital are frail and delicate. You are quite admirable, young lady."

"Young lady, may I ask your age, and what your father's official position is?"

As he spoke, he reached out and tried to touch Shen Junru's face.

"Snapped!"

Before my fingers even touched you, a slap landed first.

The boy was spun around by the blow and took a few steps back, but fortunately the guards were quick-witted and caught him.

Shen Junru wiped her face with her sleeve, her expression full of disgust: "None of your business! Hitting you is a warning. If you dare to lay a hand on me again, I'll chop it off!"

"Hey, you dare hit me?!" The boy instantly lost his temper.

He rolled up his sleeves and yelled, "Today I'm going to strip you naked! If I can't even control you, wouldn't I become a laughingstock?"

Shen Junru rolled her eyes and asked Sun Qing only one question: "Will you do it or should I?"

Shen Junru didn't care what methods Sun Qing used. She only had one method: cripple him.

"I'll do it!" Sun Qing nodded, gesturing for her to step back.

The other party immediately inquired about her official rank, indicating that he did not regard Shen Junru as an ordinary woman. Even so, he still behaved frivolously.

Could it be that all the officials, big and small, in the court are just decorations to him?

Sun Qing was about to speak.

With a creak, the sound of a door opening came from upstairs.

A figure then emerged from inside and stood on the veranda, speaking softly: "Little brother, don't be foolish."

"Come on up!"

"Sis!" the boy stomped his foot angrily. "I got slapped!"

Sun Qing could barely hear what they were saying anymore.

His eyes were only on the woman in the corridor.

It's not that this person is exceptionally beautiful; in terms of facial features and figure, she is slightly inferior to Shen Junru.

She was a bit older, probably around twenty, and possessed a maturity and composure. She exuded the virtues and grace befitting a true young lady from a respectable family, and was elegant and beautiful.

His every gesture exuded an air of scholarly refinement.

Sun Qing was obsessed, even to the point of losing control. He took three steps forward, tilting his head back and refusing to look away.

"Tch!" The boy scoffed upon seeing this.

He glanced at Sun Qing, then looked up at the woman, and smiled sarcastically: "What kind of chosen one is he? He's just a lecherous man who fell for my sister's charms."

Sun Qing did not reply.

The woman stood upstairs, turned around, glanced back slightly, nodded her chin lightly, and went back inside.

"Everyone's gone, why are you still looking?" Shen Junru suddenly leaned closer, then frowned, looking somewhat flustered: "You...you're crying?"

"No!" Sun Qing waved his hand.

She hurriedly turned and headed upstairs, and as she walked, she lightly brushed the corner of her eye with her sleeve.

Qingqing, is that you?

His heart trembled; in that one glance, he seemed to see his wife dressed in traditional Ming dynasty attire. They had taken their wedding photos when she was twenty. Qingqing looked just like that.

Back then, they were in the same university and the same classical literature society, and they often argued heatedly over a single word difference.

She divorced at 25, went abroad, and was never seen again.

If Sun Qing didn't know exactly where he was and what era he was living in, would he have rushed up and embraced the woman he had been longing for day and night?

Will not!

He remained calm and composed throughout, even during their divorce, he gently escorted her to the airport, wishing them both well.

Pulling her thoughts back, Sun Qing turned her face away, no longer looking up.

As the incident subsided, the people at the post station gradually gathered around Sun Qing.

"Alas!" The postmaster shook his head repeatedly, his face full of guilt. "There are too many important people in the capital; we simply cannot afford to offend them!"

"It seems that Jiaohe County is quite a lively place." Sun Qing smiled.

To his surprise, a single sentence caused the postmaster to look at him with astonishment: "Young master? Why would you say that?"

Sun Qing was startled and realized something was wrong.

Upon arriving here, he encountered mostly people like Zhou Ji who had bought their way into official positions. These individuals lacked cultural depth and had always relied on petty tricks. This gradually made Sun Qing lower his guard.

Although Tian Ergeng was born into an official family, his mind was ultimately focused on exploiting the people, so he was not difficult to deal with.

At that moment, the postmaster's question reminded Sun Qing.

Jiaohe County is a small place; how can it attract distinguished guests from all over? There are no special holidays recently, and Jiaohe County doesn't have many tourist attractions.

"What do you think?" Sun Qing didn't answer directly, his mind was empty, but he asked a question instead, throwing the question back to the postmaster.

The postmaster was taken aback at first, but then immediately realized what he had done and slapped himself twice on the face: "Young master, I had no intention of offending you."

"It's just that the Hegan Literary Gathering is held twice a year, in spring and autumn. I didn't expect you to say that, young master!"

Sun Qing was secretly alarmed, but fortunately this person was intelligent and liked to speculate.

At this moment, Sun Qing realized what was happening.

The eunuch faction deliberately suppressed academies across the country, and literary gatherings in the capital withered away. Tragically, these folk literary gatherings along the Grand Canal became places for scholars to avoid trouble and engage in idle gossip.

The literary gatherings at Fan Jingwen Lanyuan Garden in Wuqiao, the banquet gathering at Gucheng, and the spring gathering at Langyinlou in Cangzhou... all had attendees who traveled by boat.

The Botouhe River literary gathering, held twice a year in spring and autumn, has been running for more than ten years and is already a famous event in Beizhili.

To understand the reasons behind it all, Sun Qing tried hard to recall information about it.

Finally, with one hand behind his back and his head slightly tilted back, he sighed, "Back in the day, when my grandfather and Mr. Qian passed through Jiaohe, they also attended a meeting here. They even went home and raved about it, saying that there were many talented people here, but unfortunately, they were overlooked."

The postmaster thought for a while and nodded repeatedly. Qian Qianyi and Sun Chengzong had both been here before, and he was the one who received them. He even knew such trivial details; he truly deserved to be called the young master of the Sun family.

"Yes, young master is right." The postmaster nodded vigorously. "This year is different from previous years. News of what happened in Jiaohe County has spread. Everyone knows that this is the only place where there might not be any spies eavesdropping."

"Therefore, talented men and women from all over came to the event. Most importantly, it is said that Mr. Song personally presided over this year's literary gathering."

Mr. Song? Sun Qing narrowed his eyes slightly.

The postmaster hurriedly replied, "It is that great literary figure in the capital, the one whose calligraphy is particularly beautiful."

"I'm sure you, young master, would also enjoy this collection of writings! Why don't you write down your ranking, and I'll pass it on to you?"

Sun Qing's face darkened.

The literary gathering attracted renowned scholars from both the north and south, but entry was not easily granted to just anyone. Newcomers needed to prepare their visiting cards, and only after the head of the association reviewed and approved them were they qualified to join.

A business card is fine; just write down your place of origin, name, courtesy name, academic achievements, and a short sentence.

The key lies in the practice drafts, that is, one or two poems or essays that you write yourself.

Without a reply, one cannot enter; even if one arrives, the gatekeeper will stop them. The scenario depicted in movies and TV dramas, where someone suddenly bursts into a literary gathering, spouts nonsense, and intimidates everyone, is simply impossible.

This wasn't a casual gathering for drinking and flower viewing; it took place on the second floor or deeper inside, with servants outside. Leaving aside whether he could defeat the servants, how could a passerby, without exceptional eyesight and hearing, possibly know what was happening inside?

In places like this, people love to nitpick over words, and Sun Qing didn't want to cause trouble for himself.

He immediately waved his hand in refusal: "No, I have other things to do."

"Is something wrong, or are you too scared to go?" a mocking voice rang out.

The spoiled young man stood on the veranda, looking down at Sun Qing: "The leaders of this meeting are my sister and Mr. Song."

"You're not going?" The boastful boy suddenly burst into laughter. "Could it be that the Gao Yang Sun family member everyone's talking about, who wiped out the eunuch faction in Jiahe County, is an imposter?!"