Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 120 Shen Li
As for Minglan, the last daughter of the Sheng family, she had already asked Madam Wang for permission and then ran off to meet up with her best friend Yanran.

"Sister Yanran!"

Upon seeing Yanran leading a horse not far away, Minglan smiled happily.

"Oh? Minglan!"

Similarly, they were also pleasantly surprised to see Minglan and Yanran!
She quickly put down the reins and ran towards Minglan. The two sisters immediately hugged each other happily and whispered secrets.

"Minglan, you've finally arrived!"

"I've been waiting for you for so long, I almost thought you weren't coming!"

"Hehe, Sister Yanran, you know my problem, I have trouble getting up in the morning!"

"You……"

"..."

……

"drive!"

On the official road leading to the capital, a carriage bearing the character "盛" (prosperous) is speeding along.

Inside the carriage, Xu Changqing sat steadily at the front, skillfully driving the carriage. Judging from his calm and adept driving skills, he looked every bit the seasoned driver.

Inside the car, besides Sheng Changquan, who should have been sitting upright, there was another person present.

"Brother Changquan, I really owe you a lot this time! If your carriage hadn't happened to be passing by, I'm afraid I would have had to spend the night in the wilderness!"

“Brother Shendu, you flatter me. We were born in the same year and met in the same examination hall. We are already friends. It is only natural for friends to help each other. Why are you being so polite?”

With a smile on his face, Sheng Changquan said in a subtle and gentle tone, "I think if we were to switch sides, Brother Shendu would certainly lend me a hand!"

"That being said, but..."

"Ah! In any case, I still have to thank you, my brother, for this matter!"

The scholar who spoke was Shen Li, one of Sheng Changquan's fellow examinees in this examination.

Shen Li had a delicate appearance and a slender build, giving him the frail and scholarly air typical of scholars of that era. Judging from his appearance, he was not very old, probably only ten years old, but his physique was not as robust as Sheng Changquan's, and even his height was only similar to Sheng Changquan's.

However, remember that Sheng Changquan is only seven years old!
Of course, Sheng Changquan was a gifted individual, a chosen one with extraordinary abilities, but this also highlighted Shen Li's frail physique.

Moreover, it's quite interesting that Shen Li and Sheng Changquan, although taking the same exam, had vastly different results, each at opposite ends of the spectrum.

Sheng Changquan was first in both rounds, and topped the list every time. Shen Li also passed, but he was last in both rounds and almost failed to make the list. It was really a close call for him to pass this children's examination!
"Brother Shendu, you're too kind!"

Sheng Changquan addressed Shen Li by his courtesy name, a gentle smile on his face: "By the way, Brother Shendu, may I ask where you live? Is this...?"

Sheng Changquan didn't finish his sentence, but he conveyed his meaning clearly.

Although it wasn't their first meeting, it was only a preliminary acquaintance, and they hadn't investigated things in depth, nor were they clear about each other's family backgrounds.

This time was different. First, Sheng Changquan had to fulfill his duty as a host and deliver Shen Li to his destination. Second, their relationship had deepened because of this chance encounter and mutual assistance. Therefore, their friendship had also grown stronger.

"Oh, my dear brother..."

"Alas, Brother Shendu, you should just call me Changquan!"

Sheng Changquan interrupted Shen Li and explained, "I don't have a courtesy name yet, so why don't you just call me Changquan, Brother Shendu? That way I'll feel more at ease!"

"Ah? Hyun... Chang-kwon, you... you really are carefree!"

Although Shen Li was somewhat unaccustomed to it, he still readily agreed and roused Chang Quan.

However, although Shen Li acted somewhat strangely, Sheng Changquan could see that after he made this request, Shen Li's eyes revealed a hint of envy!

It seems he is also yearning for something?
"Hehe, Brother Shendu, as the saying goes, 'The friendship between gentlemen is as light as water.' There is no dirty business between us, so why not be honest with each other and treat each other with our true nature?"

Sheng Changquan squinted, seemingly sincere but actually being manipulative: "This way, not only will we make genuine friends, but we'll also live more comfortably!" "This..."

Shen Li hesitated at first, but in the end, he gave up resisting under Sheng Changquan's tempting gaze!

"Then...okay then!"

Shen Li first uttered this sentence with "difficulty," and then, as if his Ren and Du meridians had been suddenly opened, he became more and more fluent!

"In that case, Changquan, you may call me Shendu!"

"it is good!"

Sheng Changquan readily agreed.

"By the way, Shen Du, where are you going?"

Sheng Changquan continued the previous topic and asked, "Name a place so I can take you back!"

"Not urgent!"

Shen Li seemed to have figured something out, and suddenly became very energetic: "Chang Quan, we've already passed the preliminary examinations, why don't we go relax together?"

"I know a really fun place today, do you want to come with me?"

Shen Li wasn't usually an outgoing person, but once he got going, he was practically superhuman!
It was as if he had been suppressed at home for a long time, and now that he was suddenly freed, he seemed to come alive from the figure in the painting, so vivid and so prominent!

"Oh? Where?"

Sheng Changquan also became somewhat interested, but there were some places he didn't want to go to. After all, his body wasn't fully developed yet, so he quickly declared, "I will not go to those kinds of places!"

"Hmm? Where is that place?"

Shen Li didn't understand for a moment, but when he saw Sheng Changquan's meaningful gaze, he immediately understood!

"Changquan, what...what are you saying?"

"How could I possibly take you to that kind of... that kind of place..."

"Those... brothels?"

Shen Li's face immediately turned bright red, like a ripe persimmon!

"Hehe! That's good!"

Sheng Changquan smiled calmly, displaying the composure of a seasoned veteran.

"But what place are you talking about?"

Sheng Changquan, no longer wanting to banter with Shen Li, asked directly, "If it's really as exciting as you say, I'd like to go see it!"

"Humph!"

In fact, Shen Li was the type of person who could be easily deceived. Seeing that Sheng Changquan stopped bringing up those awkward topics, he secretly snorted and then explained without holding a grudge: "Actually, I wanted to take you to the polo match!"

"Polo Club?"

"That's right, it's the polo club run by the Earl of Yongchang!"

Shen Li finally began to unconsciously reveal his family's identity: "As far as I know, Madam Wu of the Yongchang Earl's family held a polo match today and invited many scions of prominent families in the capital!"

"Even my sister received an invitation from them, saying they wanted to come and have fun with us!"

"A letter from the Earl of Yongchang's family?"

Sheng Changquan's eyes flickered, and he began to make some plans.

"Surname Shen, and he even managed to get the Yongchang Earl's Mansion to send an invitation? If this Shen Li isn't from some other family, then who is he from?"

Many thanks to the following readers for their generous donations: Huang Jin, 20210301224232161, and 20170607190214079!
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(End of this chapter)