Becoming a literary master starting from the story of Minglan

Chapter 342 Guidance and Matchmaking
"Hehe, Dad, isn't Changquan's 'Autumn Moonlit Night on a Cold River' pretty good?"

Hearing his father praise him so highly, Shen Li was naturally honored and, without a second thought, showered Sheng Changquan with compliments.

"Hmm, that's more than just good!"

"This work is undoubtedly a rare masterpiece among the outstanding young talents of the past century!"

Shen Shouzhen highly praised Sheng Changquan's work, saying it was a masterpiece that was rare to see in a century!

In fact, if it weren't for his concern about Sheng Changquan's age and fear that he might become complacent, Shen Shouzhen would have even considered "A Moonlit Night on a Cold River" to be a masterpiece of contemporary literature.

In his view, among all contemporary works, this "Autumn Moonlit Night on a Cold River" can be considered one of the top ten.

"Hehe, Uncle Shen, you flatter me!"

Sheng Changquan smiled from behind and humbly stated, "My humble work is hardly worthy of Uncle Shen's praise!"

"Moreover, this 'Autumn Moonlit Night on a Cold River' is merely a fleeting moment, a stroke of genius by Chang Quan, and it doesn't represent anything at all!"

In fact, Sheng Changquan was not being modest when he said this. Apart from the other two paintings and calligraphies, "Autumn Moonlit Night on a Cold River" is indeed his masterpiece. Moreover, these works were all written during his travels, inspired by his experiences.

This is the upper limit of his art, accomplished in a moment of inspiration, and is highly accidental.

"Changquan, you're being too modest!"

Shen Shouzhen shook his head, indicating that he did not agree with Sheng Changquan's statement. Moreover, his perception of Sheng Changquan had quietly risen to a new level.

"Since you can create such poetry and painting, it shows that you have such talent and ability. Even if it was done by chance, it is still extremely remarkable!"

"You don't need to be modest!"

Shen Shouzhen withdrew his eyes from the painting, turned to look at Sheng Changquan, and said with a smile, "To be honest, I really envy Lord Sheng for having such outstanding offspring as you brothers!"

"If Li'er could have even half of your grace, I would be laughing in my sleep!"

In fact, Shen Shouzhen had sent people to investigate the Sheng family's situation, especially since Sheng Changbai was a newly appointed Jinshi (a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations), so he had heard a bit about the Sheng brothers, including Sheng Changquan.

Needless to say, Sheng Changbai's future is incredibly bright, according to Shen Shouzhen's inquiries. His superiors and colleagues all speak highly of him, and with the help of his Yue family and Hai family, Sheng Changbai's future is already extremely promising.

After all, the Hai family is full of mediocre talents this generation. They are not too bad, but there are no outstanding talents. Even Hai Chaoyun's two older brothers are only average compared to Sheng Changbai.

Therefore, Shen Shouzhen was certain that in the coming decades, the Hai family's resources in officialdom would likely be used on Sheng Changbai to support his growth.

Although Sheng Changfeng was the least talented among his brothers and failed the imperial examination, he was quite gifted and had made a name for himself in poetry. Therefore, Shen Shouzhen also thought he was a talented person.

After all, compared to the first one, Shen Li is far inferior!
There was nothing he could do; after all, Sheng Changfeng was already a successful candidate in the imperial examinations.

As for Sheng Changquan, he was the one Shen Shouzhen valued most.

After all, Sheng Changquan was the one with the best relationship and the deepest involvement with the Shen family. Moreover, among the three Sheng brothers, Sheng Changquan was the most talented, and Shen Shouzhen was the most optimistic about his future prospects!

"Uncle Shen, you flatter me. In fact, Brother Shendu is also very outstanding. Among all the peers that Changquan knows, Brother Shendu is the most self-disciplined and hardworking in his studies!"

"Even Changquan would be ashamed of himself in this respect!"

Sheng Changquan shook his head "guiltily" and praised Shen Li highly.

To be honest, Shen Li was not as hardworking as Sheng Changquan.

After all, Sheng Changquan had to study and practice martial arts in addition to studying, which made things more difficult for him than for Shen Li.

However, Shen Li was extremely serious about his studies. Given his aptitude, the fact that he was able to obtain the title of Xiucai (a scholar who passed the lowest level of the imperial examinations) already demonstrated his diligence.

"Ugh!"

Upon hearing Sheng Changquan's words, Shen Shouzhen sighed inwardly.

He glanced at Shen Li, who was blushing slightly, smiled, and said, "Li'er's aptitude is not good, so the only way to achieve something is to put in some effort in this area!"

"Yes!"

Shen Li blushed, feeling somewhat ashamed: "Your son has disappointed Father!"

Shen Shouzhen waved his hand and said to Shen Li, "Li'er, you don't need to blame yourself. I'm already very satisfied that you've come this far!"

After offering this reassuring remark, Shen Shouzhen didn't want to say anything more about it. He turned to Sheng Changquan and said, "Changquan, I heard from Li'er that you are planning to participate in this year's autumn imperial examination?"

Because he had a very good impression of Sheng Changquan, Shen Shouzhen couldn't help but change his way of addressing him to make the two of them seem closer.

"Yes, Uncle Shen!"

Sheng Changquan didn't hide anything; in fact, he was even more excited, thinking to himself with delight, "Finally, this topic has been brought up!"

He straightened his back, looked intently at Shen Shouzhen, and said sincerely, "Actually, Changquan's visit to you this time is not only to fulfill the proper etiquette between our two families, but also for some other ulterior motives!"

"hehe!"

Shen Shouzhen smiled and stroked his beard, seemingly unconcerned about Sheng Changquan's "confession." He even glanced at his son, who looked nervous beside him, and quietly shook his head.

"What's there to worry about, silly boy? Do you really think your father would refuse?"

Shen Shouzhen was somewhat helpless about Shen Li's thoughts.

In his view, Shen Li was always a bit dull and not smooth enough, and it was precisely because of this that Shen Shouzhen felt somewhat worried.

"Changquan, please feel free to speak your mind."

Shen Shouzhen turned around, looked at Sheng Changquan, and asked with a smile.

In fact, Shen Shouzhen had already seen through Sheng Changquan's thoughts. However, since it was necessary to consider repaying favors, it was better for Sheng Changquan to say it himself.

Sure enough, under Shen Li's tense gaze, Sheng Changquan voiced his thoughts.

"Uncle Yahan!"

Sheng Changquan, without revealing his expression, went a step further and addressed him directly as "Uncle": "Actually, the reason I came to visit this time is to ask Uncle for some guidance!"

As he spoke, Sheng Changquan pulled a stack of paper rolls from his pocket.

Above were all the answers that Sheng Changquan had written himself, based on the questions from previous years' provincial examinations. He held these documents in both hands and presented them to Shen Shouzhen, respectfully asking, "Uncle, these are my answers. Please take a look!"

……

While Sheng Changquan and the others were talking to each other in the front hall, a heart-to-heart talk between a mother and daughter was taking place in the boudoir on the other side of the Shen residence.

Madam Shen, Shen Li's mother, held her daughter's hand and said in a choked voice, "Jun'er!"

"These past three years have really been tough on you!"

In Shen Jun's boudoir, the eldest daughter-in-law of the Shen family and Shen Jun herself sat on a chaise longue, leaning against each other.

Whenever Madam Shen thought of the three years her daughter spent in the Sanqing Temple, she couldn't help but shed tears, feeling immense heartache for her daughter!

Even her resentment towards her husband would constantly arise.

In the eyes of Madam Shen, Shen Jun's three years of prayers were completely useless. As for the Emperor, he didn't care about this matter at all. It was Shen Shouzhen who insisted on doing things this way and insisted on sending Shen Jun to the Taoist temple.

At that time, among the entire Shen family, apart from Shen Li who stood on the same side as her and opposed sending Shen Jun away, Shen Shouzhen and Shen Jun herself both supported the matter. It was precisely because of this that the eldest daughter-in-law of the Shen family reluctantly agreed.

"Mother, please don't do this!"

Shen Jun was quite reasonable and knew the real reason why the Shen family did this.

Although the emperor is benevolent and may not hold this matter against him, the Shen family, as his subjects, cannot remain indifferent. Therefore, this move is justified.

However, Shen Jun was speechless at the sight of Madam Shen's loving motherly heart. Therefore, she could only offer her comfort without saying anything else.

After all, Madam Shen really couldn't understand it. In her simple mind, the Emperor was a magnanimous person who wouldn't hold such trivial matters against him. What she saw and believed was always the outward appearance of others.

Shen Jun took out a handkerchief and gently wiped Shen's eldest daughter's face. At the same time, she said, "Mother, actually, I haven't been without any gains in these three years."

"Mother, look, this is what I've accomplished over the past three years!"

As she smiled, Shen Jun took out an embroidered handkerchief from behind her back and showed it to Madam Shen: "Mother, look, this double-sided embroidery is a skill that I have learned over the years."

"This embroidery technique was something my daughter figured out herself by studying the works of master embroiderers!"

Madam Shen took the embroidered handkerchief handed to her by her daughter and stared at it intently.

On this pristine white silk scarf, a vibrant and colorful floral pattern was embroidered.

Among them, red, yellow, blue, green, purple... dozens of colorful and stunning flowers are all vividly blooming on the silk surface. All kinds of flowers, branches, leaves and everything else that should be there are also realistically embroidered on it, making people think it is real.

At the same time, needless to say, all those flowers had their own unique shapes and forms.

"Oh! Jun'er, did you embroider this?"

Madam Shen turned the embroidered handkerchief in her hand in shock, her face filled with astonishment!
It should be noted that this embroidery technique is a closely guarded secret of the Su family, a renowned family of Suzhou embroidery in Jiangnan. Their embroiderers are all adopted from childhood and then trained for many years. Only after extensive practice can they barely cultivate one master embroiderer out of a hundred people.

As for the Grandmaster Embroiderers, they are one in ten thousand, and only by sheer chance can one appear among the Grandmaster Embroiderers of a certain generation.

At present, the Grandmaster Shen Jun mentioned refers to the current generation of Su family embroiderers, the Grandmaster embroiderer named "Chanjuan".

To be honest, the Su family was originally a cloth merchant in Jiangning City, Jiangnan Road. However, because of their great spirit of research, they invented many unique things in cloth and embroidery. Therefore, after nearly a hundred years of development, they are now a major cloth merchant in the Jiangnan region.

Even some of the works of the Su family of Jiangning are in the imperial palace, and their products are expected to become tribute items in recent years, making the Su family a royal merchant.

Once they obtain the status of imperial merchants, their family will experience a qualitative leap, which could potentially allow the Su family to develop even faster!

However, according to rumors, the Su family seems to be facing a generational gap, and there seems to be some problem with their next generation of heirs, making it seem somewhat uncertain.

However, to get back to the main point, the Grandmaster Shen Jun mentioned refers to the Su family's "Chanjuan" Grandmaster.

"Yes, Mother!"

Seeing that Madam Shen had returned to normal, Shen Jun quickly continued the topic to prevent her from recalling the previous events again.

"Actually, this embroidered handkerchief is just a test piece I made earlier. Right now, I'm embroidering a double-sided screen, which I'll give to my younger brother for his wedding in the future!"

Shen Jun pointed to a screen in the room and began to explain to Madam Shen.

"Li'er is getting married?"

Upon hearing this, Madam Shen's expression shifted, as she suddenly recalled the words Shen Li had spoken to her the previous day.

"Oh, right, Jun'er!"

Madam Shen reached out and stopped Shen Jun, who was about to show her her work, and asked, "What are your thoughts on your marriage?"

"Have you ever considered your future husband?"

Speaking of which, Madam Shen is quite an open-minded person. Regarding Shen Jun's marriage, she didn't say it was a matter of parental arrangement, but instead communicated with Shen Jun first to see what she thought.

"what?"

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

Shen Jun had not expected that the eldest daughter-in-law of the Shen family would have such a lively mind, jumping to this point in an instant.

Her face flushed, and she stammered, "Daughter...daughter...I haven't thought about...thought about these things yet..."

Shen Jun had lost her usual composure. She stood there awkwardly and shyly, too stunned to move. Her face was flushed red, as if covered in rouge, like a fiery sunset.

For a time, it was quite pretty.

"hehe!"

Seeing her daughter like this, Madam Shen couldn't help but laugh.

"Jun'er, what are you still embarrassed about in front of your mother?"

Madam Shen pulled Shen Jun back and helped her sit back on the chaise longue, smiling as she said, "Jun'er, I've been through this before. How could we young ladies not have thought about these things?"

My expression has been a bit off lately. I try to explain things clearly but always get stuck in the water. I need to take a day off on October 10.8th to think carefully about how to express myself. I'm coming ashore, not swimming anymore!

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(End of this chapter)