This meal can be said to be a feast for both the host and the guest.
These officials in Jiangdu were naturally very happy to be able to invite Shen Yi, a promising Jiangdu native, to dinner and build some connections.
As for Shen Yi, he had achieved his goal and helped Shen Ling show his face in front of these Jiangdu officials.
Of course, anyone who can be an official in the officialdom will not be some stupid young man. When Shen Shilang took his cousin to dinner, these Jiangdu officials would naturally understand what was good.
From now on, even if Shen Yi is not in Jiangdu, Shen Ling can still represent part of Shen Yi. No matter what he does or what he says, Jiangdu officials will more or less give him some face.
In other words, it was to give Shen Yi some face behind him.
This kind of thing is tacitly understood by everyone and there is nothing to say.
After finishing the meal, it was already afternoon. Shen Yi and Shen Ling left Taibai Tower together. The two brothers walked side by side on the streets of Jiangdu. Shen Yi turned to look at Shen Ling and said with a smile: "Third brother. , From now on, many things will be much easier to handle when you are in Jiangdu, but whether the affairs at home are yours to take care of depends on yourself."
Mr. Shen said slowly: "From today on, third brother, you have to speak louder when it's time to speak. If you don't fight for these things yourself, no one can really hand them to you."
"I can't make it either."
Shen Ling was a little distressed: "Do you want me to fight with my father?"
“A strong family cannot be defeated.”
Shen Yi patted Shen Ling on the back and said softly: "The longevity of the Shen family depends not only on me and Zichang, but also on you, third brother."
Having said this, Shen Yi paused and then said: "Third brother, you also know that I was almost killed by Fan Dongcheng. I will never allow the Jiangdu Shen family to indulge Shen Dongcheng in the future. It has to be managed.”
"If you can't control it, the Shen family will be ruined in the future."
Mr. Shen sighed: "From now on, there will only be two Shen families."
Shen Ling was thoughtful and nodded silently: "I have remembered everything Lao Qi said."
Shen Yi nodded, cupped his hands towards Shen Ling, and said, "Third brother, I want to go to the academy to visit my father-in-law."
"You go back first and tell my father for me that we will leave early tomorrow morning to return to Jiankang."
Shen Ling hesitated for a moment and then said, "Lao Qi, I'll go to Jiankang with you tomorrow."
Shen Yi looked at Shen Ling quietly and said nothing.
Shen Ling lowered his eyebrows and said, "In a blink of an eye, Xiaojiu is going to get married. They are both brothers. No matter whether my father goes or not, I will always go."
Shen Yi smiled and nodded: "Okay, let's go together tomorrow.".
In this way, the two brothers parted ways, Shen Ling returned to the Shen family, while Shen Yi rode out of Jiangdu City and all the way to the gate of Ganquan Academy.
When he arrived at the academy, Master Shen kept a much lower profile. He asked someone to tie up his horse at the door, then went to the door of the academy in person and knocked on the door.
After announcing his identity, Shen Yi was quickly invited in.
He had studied here for several years, so he was naturally familiar with it. After entering the academy, he skillfully found the residence of Mr. Lu in the back mountain. After confirming that his old father-in-law was here, he came to the door of the study and knocked gently.
"Teacher, student, you are here."
Soon, the door opened.
Mr. Lu looked at his son-in-law through his reading glasses. Mr. Lu, who had always been mature and prudent, also pulled Shen Yi's sleeves with some excitement and pulled him into the house.
After Shen Yi entered, he looked at the reading glasses held by Master Lu, and said with a smile: "When did my teacher get these glasses? They look very exquisite."
Master Lu watched Shen Yi sit down and then said, "Qingque asked someone to send it to me. Qingque wrote that it was a new thing made by Liulichang in Jiankang, which can help me see things clearly."
The little old man handed the single-lens spectacles to Shen Yi for a look, and then said, "I used them recently, and they are really useful."
Having said this, the old man shook his head slightly and said with emotion: "There are a lot of novel things nowadays, some of which even an old man like me can't understand."
Liulichang has basically mastered all glass manufacturing techniques now, so it has also come up with many new tricks. For example, these reading glasses, although the prescription cannot be very accurate, are already useful for some elderly people who use their eyes all year round. Very helpful.
Having said this, the little old man turned his attention to Shen Yi with a smile on his face: "When did Ziheng return to Jiankang, and when did he come to Jiangdu?"
"Jiankang arrived just the day before yesterday, and Jiangdu arrived yesterday evening."
Mr. Shen stood up, poured the old man a cup of hot tea, and said with a smile, "I'm here to pick you up and take you back to Jiankang for the New Year."
Master Lu glanced at Shen Yi.
"You are already a third-grade minister, why are you still not serious? Tell the truth."
"Students really came to pick you up to celebrate the New Year in Jiankang. Mainly because Qingque misses you, and your eldest grandson also talks about you often."
Hearing Shen Yi mention Shen Yuan, Mr. Lu stroked his beard. After thinking for a while, he still shook his head slightly: "The Chinese New Year will be here in a few days. At my age, I can't bear the bumps. I won't go there again until spring next year." Let’s go to Jiankang to see Yuan’er and Xiao Sang Sang.”
After saying this, he looked at Shen Yi and asked: "Okay Ziheng, tell the truth, why are you so anxious to return to Jiangdu?"
"Something happened at home."
Shen Yi lowered his head slightly and said: "Forcing the students to come back to deal with it, otherwise Zichang's marriage will not be successful, the hidden dangers of the Shen family will not be eliminated, and the students will have worries when they lead troops outside in the future."
"so serious?"
Master Lu sat down and said quietly: "Tell me and listen."
Shen Yi roughly told his father-in-law the cause and effect of the incident. Then when he saw that Mr. Lu had finished drinking his tea, he gave him another cup and sighed helplessly: "Uncle, if you want to say it's bad, it's really bad." No, it’s just that he has been a petty official for many years and has become a serious philistine. This kind of philistinism was not necessarily a disadvantage when the Shen family was young, but as the Shen family gets bigger, it will become a hidden danger."
"The student really can't bear that the Shen family will become the next Fan family in the future, so he has to come back and take care of it. Even if he offends others, he must try his best to correct the Shen family."
Hearing this, Master Lu thought for a while, then shook his head slightly and said, "Zi Heng, you should think simply. How old are you now? You are already the Minister of War."
"I often read your military reports from the front line. The battle is going well now and the momentum is strong."
"One day in the future, not only if you capture the capital of Yan, but even if you only take back one or two provinces, your status in the court will be as high as that of Zaifu."
"How can the Shen family today compare to the Fan family back then?"
Master Lu smiled and said: "If you are not careful, the Shen family of Jiangdu will become the next Yang family."
Shen Yi was stunned for a moment, then smiled bitterly and said nothing.
Master Lu glanced at his son-in-law and said with a smile: "It's a good thing that you can come back and take charge of the Shen family now. Your third brother has also seen him as a teacher. He is quite upright. With him here, the Shen family's It won’t be too bad.”
Having said this, Master Lu paused and asked, "Are the two people recommended to you by my teacher still worthy of use?"
"Mr. Song Hengsong is very good."
Shen Yi replied: "He is proficient in magic and will be of great use both now and in the future."
"As for Mr. Li Zhunli..."
Shen Yi shook his head slightly and said: "Whether it will be useful and how useful it will be, it is still difficult to say now."
Master Lu nodded silently.
"There are many outstanding people in Jiangdu Prefecture. If you are still short of manpower, please write to my teacher."
Shen Yi nodded first, and then said with a smile: "It's not that there are too many people, otherwise if the news reaches Jiankang, people will think that the students have opened their own houses and sat in the hall."
Master Lu's expression was a little complicated.
"If this continues, Ziheng will have such a day sooner or later."
"This is also a big problem you need to face in the future."
Shen Yi sat down and rubbed his temples.
"No matter what, it's what needs to be done."
“Students have to do it after all.”
(End of chapter)
