Ming Dynasty: I risked my life to teach the prince, the emperor begged me not to die

Chapter 64: The Four Talented Scholars of Wuzhong

Daxing County, Royal Palace.

Along the way, Tang Yin introduced Wang Wubi's life experience to Chen Ce. His ancestral home was Hangzhou, and his ancestors came to Daxing County to settle down for business. Wang Wubi took the imperial examinations four times in Hangzhou and Shuntian Prefecture respectively, and only passed last year, which was quite difficult.

Three years is the time it takes to become a juren once, and twelve years is wasted four times. How many twelve years can we waste in our life?

After hearing about Wang Wubi's life story, Chen Ce felt a sense of empathy. If he were not sick and if his parents were still alive, he would probably have taken part in the imperial examination, just like Wang Wubi.

The palace is not small, with four courtyards. The backyard is a large plum blossom courtyard. When the plum blossoms are in full bloom, the courtyard is magnificent and refreshing.

The pavilion is wrapped with cool mats on all sides, which are inlaid with cotton sheets. Only one corner is exposed, through which you can enjoy the view of plum blossoms in the garden.

These designs are all unique and ingenious, and would not be built in this way unless the house has cultural heritage.

After Tang Yin and Xu Jing arrived, Wang Wubi came to greet them with two other scholars.

"Bo Hu, Heng's father, come and take a seat."

Wang Wubi bowed to Chen Ce and said, "I guess this is Bo Hu's teacher?"

"I heard that Mr. Chen is also from Hangzhou. We are from the same hometown. Where is your ancestral home in Hangzhou?"

Wang Wubi was very talkative, and Chen Ce politely replied, "Hangzhou Prefecture."

"Let me introduce you to Master Chen. This is Zhu Yunming, and this is Wen Zhengming."

"Changgu has something to do today, I'm afraid he can't come."

The Changgu he mentioned is Xu Zhenqing.

The four great talents of Wuzhong are almost all here. No wonder Tang Yin said it was a gathering of fellow Zhejiang natives.

Zhu Yunming and Wen Zhengming came to greet Chen Ce. They learned that Tang Yin had found a teacher in Shuntian Prefecture, and they both wanted to get to know Chen Ce.

Not all those who teach Confucianism can be called teachers, they are not that pedantic.

As the sage once said, among three people walking together there must be one who can be my teacher.

"Let's go into the pavilion and talk. It's cold outside." Wang Wubi invited several people to sit in the pavilion.

Tang Yin was very familiar with Zhu Yunming and Wen Zhengming. As soon as they sat down, the three of them started chatting animatedly, speaking freely about everything from painting to calligraphy to the imperial examination.

Wang Wubi and Xu Jing occasionally interjected some witty remarks, and the atmosphere on the scene was extremely good.

Chen Ce had been drinking tea and eating snacks silently, occasionally smiling knowingly, as if he was participating in the fun.

Zhu Yunming looks a little... hard to describe. His right hand also has six fingers as in history. Perhaps because of his appearance, Chen Ce always thinks that there is some self-deprecating inferiority in the words of Zhu Yunming.

He took part in the provincial examinations five times before he passed. Unlike Tang Bohu, a gifted child of heaven who won the title of Jieyuan in one attempt, his road to the imperial examinations was very bumpy.

He failed the imperial examination twice again. Next year will be the third time, but it will not be the last, as he still has four more times to take. The nightmare of imperial examinations accompanied him almost throughout his life.

In fact, it is conceivable that the appearance of officials in the Ming Dynasty was related to one's status. If one was ugly, one might not be admitted. Chen Ce did not know whether Zhu Yunming was involved in this.

It is worth mentioning that Zhu Zhishan's calligraphy is very superb.

Wen Zhengming was not much better. Although he looked decent, his journey to the imperial examinations was very bumpy and he failed repeatedly. But now he is still cheerful.

This gathering was as relaxed and pleasant as Tang Yin had said. If Chen Ce didn't speak, no one would say anything and no one would force Chen Ce to join in the conversation. Occasionally, Xu Jing and Wang Wubi would talk to Chen Ce about painting because they were worried that Chen Ce would feel embarrassed.

For example, how did Tang Yin become Chen Ce's apprentice, why Chen Ce could make the arrogant Tang Yin willing to become his apprentice, etc. When Tang Yin took out the painting of winter snow in Peking that he brought with him for everyone to appreciate, everyone couldn't help but sigh at Chen Ce's superb painting skills.

After obtaining Chen Ce's consent, Tang Yin generously shared the relationship between the golden ratio and human aesthetics.

Everyone was enlightened and expressed gratitude to Tang Yin. Of course, they were even more grateful to Chen Ce for his contribution to the history of Ming Dynasty painting.

Time passed by unknowingly and it was almost noon.

Wang Wubi smiled and said to everyone, "Today I have invited the most outstanding singer and dancer from Shuntian Prefecture three years ago to perform dance and sing for us."

"If she was still the famous lady she was three years ago, I wouldn't be able to hire her."

"Before this, she would not sing unless she was a seventh-rank singer, and would not dance unless she was a sixth-rank singer. She has long been famous in Shuntian Prefecture."

"At lunch, we will enjoy the feast while we drink. Whoever can win the favor of this lady will be free to do as he pleases."

Everyone looked at Tang Yin. Tang Yin was not modest at all and said confidently: "I will definitely overwhelm them with my talent."

……

After Madam Wu's sedan chair arrived at the palace, it stopped in the backyard, and then a middle-aged woman helped Madam Wu out of the sedan chair.

Madam Wu looked cold and said to the middle-aged woman, "Just this once. If I had to repay a favor, I would never have come here to sing and dance."

The middle-aged woman looked unhappy and said, "I'm your mother! Can't you just call me that?"

Madam Wu sneered, "Mother? When did you raise me? You sold me out when I was 15 years old, and now you're talking about family affection with me? What a joke!"

"I am not qualified to be your daughter. I am not worthy of a mother like you."

Nie was too lazy to argue with her and just said, "The young master of the Wang family is a juren, and he may become a jinshi in the future. His family is also a wealthy family. The visitors today are all juren masters. If anyone likes you, would you still live a shabby life in the alley?"

"Isn't this for your own good?"

Madam Wu's expression became increasingly cold, and she emphasized, "I'm a singer! Not a prostitute!"

"I promised you that I would sing for you and you paid me one tael and thirty coins. Now you still owe me thirty coins. After the singing today, we will settle our grudges!"

Nie snorted and said, "Don't think I don't know. You might have taken a fancy to the tuberculosis boy next door, right?"

"I tell you, there is no possibility! He is a poor, sick man, how can he enter our house? Want to marry my daughter? Is he worthy?"

Madam Wu turned and left.

Nie was panicked and hurriedly stopped her, saying, "Okay, okay! I won't say anything about him. Let's finish singing today first."

Madam Wu followed Nie into the palace from the backyard. People of their status were not qualified to enter through the front door.

If it was Madam Wu three years ago, she would certainly be qualified, but not now.

The clothes and makeup were all provided by the palace, and the maids in the palace spent the whole morning dressing up Madam Wu.

After getting used to her plain face, Madam Wu felt sick from the bottom of her heart when she saw all these makeup. If it wasn't for the fact that she wanted to earn thirty cents to pay back the interest to Chen Ce, she would never come to such a place again.

After dressing up, she put on a light blue double-breasted coat that was below her knees, a shawl, and a purple skirt. She only put on a little makeup, but she looked gorgeous. When she left the courtyard, the plum blossoms in the yard were ashamed to fall.

(End of this chapter)