Seeing the bad looks on the faces of these two old men, Shen Cha knew that this matter was not as simple as imagined. I'm afraid it was not just jealousy, but maybe there were other more complicated reasons.
"Chi Hong and Uncle Ning Wang..." Shen Haolin looked at Xuanyuan Liang and then at Tantai Pingchuan, "There is a big age difference. Uncle Wang is at least ten years younger than him. The two of them can barely be considered the same generation. To be stricter, It can be said that there should be no so-called competition for favor between two generations, right?"
"Once a person is about to get into trouble, he will no longer have such rational thoughts." Xuanyuan Liang pointed to the blanket placed next to Shen Haolin and asked him to put it on Shen Cha. "What's more, Chi Hong has always had his own way of doing things. As long as he messes around, no one is allowed to question him at all." He looked at the three children in front of him, "You have also met Chi Hong himself. I feel like this How are people?"
"It's still... polite, but..." Shen Cha thought for a moment, "It seems to be inexplicably arrogant, and he seems to look down on everyone."
"There were rumors in Beijing that this young master of the Chi family is very noble." Bai Meng snorted coldly, "If you want to be friends with him, you must pass his test and meet his requirements."
"What test? What requirements?" Shen Cha looked at Bai Meng curiously, "Is it very harsh?"
"Let me tell you, listen." Bai Meng stretched out his first finger and looked at Xuanyuan Liang and Tantai Pingchuan, "If I am wrong, please correct me." Seeing the two old men smiling, Laughing, he took a sip of tea, moistened his throat, and said, "The first requirement is in terms of appearance. You can't look better than him, be taller than him, be thinner than him, and overall can't be more symmetrical than him. I gave him a summary: as long as he looks crooked and cracked, it is possible to be friends with him."
"Why are you so unsure of your appearance?" Shen Cha frowned slightly, "But that's not what he said in court." She looked at the other people in the tea room, "What he said is that he knows He’s not good-looking, and it was Mr. Chige and his brothers who were trying to trick him before.”
"This is because I'm older and not as flamboyant as when I was young. I've become a little more restrained." Bai Meng waved his hand, "In addition to the appearance requirements, the second thing is not to follow someone with a better family background or better family background than his. Socialize with rich people, but many people can do these two things. After all, few of the children from noble families in Xijing are willing to have anything to do with him. Therefore, the so-called classmates around him are He came from out of town to study in one of the three major academies, and his only goal was to pass the scientific examination."
"Does he know that he is actually being used?"
"I must know, but I won't care. As long as I can be in the limelight, it doesn't hurt to be used for a little bit."
"The basic situation of Chi Hong is what the commander-in-chief said. I need to add a detail that the commander-in-chief has omitted." Tantai Pingchuan looked at Bai Meng, "Since Chi Hong came to the Chi family, everyone in the Chi family has been concerned about this. The young master is very kind. As long as it does not violate the law, he will respond to requests and give him whatever he asks. Not only does Old Man Chi's other sons not enjoy this kind of treatment, but not even his grandson and granddaughter. Moreover, not only the Chi family, but also the women who marry into their family, and the children of old man Chi’s grandchildren must pamper Chi Hong. This is almost written into the Chi family’s family rules.”
"Are the children of Qinggui families so pampered? Aren't they afraid of raising a useless person who doesn't work hard and doesn't understand grains? Or..." Shen Cha and Shen Haolin exchanged glances, and at the same time looked at the two old men opposite. Son, "Chi Ge Lao...actually did it on purpose? He deliberately developed this virtue in him. Even if he thinks about the past in the years to come and wants to do something, he can't do anything."
"It's the same as our guess." Xuanyuan Liang nodded, "But there is one thing that doesn't make sense. He should have rescued this child from the traffickers, and he should not know his origin. There is another possibility, that is You have to make up for your emotional shortcomings.”
"Is it because I feel so ashamed of Mrs. Chi's child, so I have to make up for all the regrets on Chi Hong?" Shen Cha nodded slightly, "It is also possible, but he never thought of it. Chi Hong was too courageous. , actually confronting Uncle Ning directly."
"His Royal Highness Prince Ning has never regarded him as an opponent."
"That is to say, is all Chi Hong's hatred one-sided and his own wishful thinking?"
"That's right." Xuanyuan Liang smiled, "The grudge between them started when old man Chi wanted to accept His Highness Prince Ning as his closed disciple. Perhaps going a little further, we sorted out Chi Hong's feelings towards His Highness Prince Ning. The situation had already started when Old Man Chi went to give a lecture to His Highness Prince Ning. At that time, he probably didn’t know His Highness Prince Ning very well, so he secretly and openly spread a lot of rumors about His Highness Prince Ning in the market. .You all know very well in your hearts what kind of person the late Emperor is, and what his attitude is towards His Highness Prince Ning. You also know, how could you let these little bastards ruin the reputation of his younger brother?"
"So, did the late emperor warn Mr. Chi Ge or Chi Hong?"
"Yes, I have warned Mr. Chige to discipline his children well and not to spend all his attention on such improper things." Xuanyuan Liang sighed, "But Mr. Chige doesn't care and thinks there won't be any trouble. After returning home, he just said a few words casually, but Chi Hong remembered it in his heart. After a period of time, he did restrain himself a lot, but the old man Chi visited Prince Dai's Mansion three times and must accept His Highness Prince Ning. As a disciple, he began to struggle again. This time he learned his lesson and stopped spreading rumors. Instead, he began to compete with His Highness Prince Ning for knowledge. His Highness Prince Ning wrote a poem, and he wanted to make two or three poems. Prince Ning His Highness wrote an article, and he also wanted to write two or three more. In order to outdo His Highness Prince Ning, he spent his own money to publish a small magazine, specifically for scholars, and accepted submissions from all students. Publish everyone’s poems and articles on it, and let all students comment on these articles and poems.”
"This method... is actually better than spreading rumors." Shen Cha nodded, "But Uncle Ning doesn't care at all, right?"
"He had already started to get involved in government affairs at that time, so naturally he didn't care about it. He didn't take the scientific examination anyway. He could do whatever the scholars wanted, and he would not respond to any doubts or provocations." Tantai Pingchuan shrugged, "Do you know what can irritate others to death the most?"
"Chi Hong wanted to compete with Uncle Ning wholeheartedly, but he was ignored by Uncle Ning. He felt offended. After all, in his understanding, everyone should be centered on him and everything should be centered on him. As a matter of fact, there is no room in his life for people like Uncle Ning who ignore him and ignore him." Shen Cha touched his chin, "So, Chi Hong's hatred for Uncle Ning has been accumulated bit by bit, and it is still His unilateral, self-righteous hatred? So much so that when he thinks about what happened when he was a child, he wants his sister to support him? "
"Although they have never met each other, a very important thing happened." Xuanyuan Liang looked at Shen Cha, "Prince Ning once publicly called out the names of more than twenty ministers during the morning court, saying that they were interested in His children were not strictly disciplined, which caused a lot of trouble for the imperial army and the patrol. He highlighted a few teahouses and restaurants where rumors were concentrated. I wonder if it was a coincidence. The bosses behind the places he named were One of them is Chi Hong."
