Walking on the street that is not very lively but never deserted, Shen Kan always has an awkward sense of distance, and it is still difficult to adapt after so many days.

Almost all the locals in the street market are dressed in scribe shirts, whether they are really scholars or not, and the boundaries between classes have long been blurred, just as the merchants can't help but satin, and their children can't help the imperial examinations.

On one side of the river, there are one or two covered bridges at intervals, rows of cable boat stones, and the boatman passes the cable through the stone hole to catch the boat.

On the stone steps facing the river, women can walk directly from the house to the river to wash and work. The river was rippling with green waves, and the women across the river called out to this side, following the sound and shadow, and the vast majority of women did not work.

The peasant boats full of goods came one by one, and the hostess of the riverside house propped up the window panel, hung a bamboo basket down, and traded with the boatwoman.

There were more and more boats, and faint cooking smoke began to float above the houses. Suddenly, I don't know whose cat stumbled and fell into the river, struggling to swim to the other side, meowing and meowing.

Its owner chased out the bamboo basket containing cat food with a bamboo pole, and the cat just didn't dare to climb up. The children at home are reluctant to let go of their beloved cats, wiping their eyes and crying, calling cats for a while, scolding children, being blocked to go to the boat house to ask, crying and screaming.

Shen Kan looked interesting, and suddenly saw a little girl by the window opposite, looking forward to himself with bright eyes.

In the end, the boatman helped to pick up the cat, and the adults thanked him and gave him a bowl of bean curd to thank the boatman for saving the cat out of danger. Shen Kan looked at the window again, and his eyes were gone.

On the side of the bluestone paved roadside, you can occasionally hear people on the other side of the wall telling that the parents are short, every house, and the doors and windows are basically open. The sound of children reading can also be heard in the dwellings, which can be seen in the rich literary style of southern Jiangsu.

I remember that the day before yesterday in the ancestral hall of my hometown, the old patriarch explained the literary style of Suzhou in public, and proudly said that the literary style of Suzhou can be traced back to the late Spring and Autumn period. At that time, Chang Shuyan, who was known as the "Southern Master", went north, joined Confucius, and became the eldest disciple of Confucius Sage.

Wen Yan returned from his studies and began to vigorously spread Confucianism in his hometown. In this way, the land of Jingman, which was degraded by the Central Plains, was influenced by the way of Confucius, and later the Lu culture gradually spread to Wudi, and the local customs changed greatly, and there were more scholars.

Since the Qin and Han dynasties, Confucian customs have been deeply rooted in Jiangnan. During the Yongyuan period of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Zhang Ba, the Taishou of Huiji, vigorously advocated the study of scriptures, which further promoted the development of Confucianism.

Since the Sui and Tang dynasties, Suzhou has become a famous Xiongzhou, and its economy has made great strides forward.

The old patriarch also said that after entering the Song Dynasty, Suzhou not only had government schools and county schools, but also academies and righteous schools, and the most famous one at that time was the county school founded by Fan Zhongyan, which was praised by the people.

Today, the influence of Confucianism is still far-reaching after thousands of years, and the style of learning and literature in Suzhou has long been deeply rooted in the bone marrow.

The scale of education in the Song Dynasty was extremely amazing, and when it came to history, the older generation of the Shen family was all gushing endlessly, and all kinds of past events were at their fingertips. Shen Kan knew that his ancestors had produced twenty or thirty Song Jinshi, and the Shen family was one of the famous families in southern Jiangsu at that time, but unfortunately he was beaten into yesterday's yellow flower by Yuanmeng, and he has not yet recovered his vitality.

Disembark from the small pier and walk the main street in less than half an hour, and you will come to the town's landmark, the County College. Probably in the whole of Jiangnan, even the temples and Taoist temples where incense is flourishing are not as good as the architectural grandeur of the college.

The planning of the county school is said to be exactly the same as the school of the government, the school as early as the third year of Hongwu, the prefect of Suzhou, Wei Guan presided over the repair of the Minglun Hall, and the county was only two years late.

At first, a total of Minxing, Yude, Longli, Zhongli, Yangzheng, and Zhidao Liuzhai were built, and later they occupied 320 zhang of private houses, which were enclosed by courtyard walls, and the back door led to the street.

In the year of Xuande, the county spent a large sum of money to rebuild the Dacheng Palace, and the scope of the college was tripled, and there were as many as three or four hundred houses alone.

Shen Kan stopped, silently staring at the two big stone lions under the stone steps in front of him, as well as the layers of continuous roofs, this is a road that can lead to the soaring green clouds, and the difficulty is basically equivalent to the blue sky.

He straightened his hair in a bun politely, looked down to see if the placket was neat, and then waved the dust on his sleeve and walked over.

The four cross-knife soaps on the standing class did not squint, and the two Tsing Yi men habitually judged people by their appearance, and naturally regarded Shen Kan, who was good-looking, as a student, and did not stop him, but smiled at him kindly and arched his hand.

Shen Kan didn't react, and walked up the steps step by step with a reserved attitude, and entered the gate in a dignified manner.

When he entered, the two Tsing Yi men pouted slightly dissatisfied, but they were helpless.

It is difficult to enter the yamen, and even if the academy will be blocked, as a member of the Shen clan, it is naturally a pass.

The first half of the college is the Confucian Temple, Shen Kan looked curiously while walking, and the first building was hung with three big black characters of "Zhuangyuanfang". It is said that the plaque of Fuxue is a glittering gold letter, showing the glory of the champion.

There is no one here, Shen Kan stopped to watch for a while, and then hit the alley on one side through the arch, and there was a large color gate of the archway in front of him, called the Lingxing Gate, and the two painted and carved beams of the painting brocade square arch guard were on the left and right.

Everything here has historical allusions, but unfortunately there is no guide around, so Shen Kan walked straight over.

Behind the Lingxing Gate is the Horse Washing Pool, and then behind it is the Halberd Gate with a bit of slaughter, and at the end of the road is the splendid Dacheng Palace.

From time to time, there were messengers walking around, Shen Kan didn't want to be questioned, and sped up through the Dacheng Hall and the huge courtyard group attached to it, and what was enshrined in front of him was the fireworks of the Chongsheng Temple.

At a distance, Shen Kan pretended to bow deeply to the sages in the hall to show his respect.

When he first arrived, he didn't know that the destination should be the courtyard where the students lived behind, so he rushed straight into the county school, but fortunately he was not stopped by anyone.

This part is the scope of the county school, from Xuanmen into Panchi, and then to Xiuye Pond, which is full of willows, but is blocked by a red wall.

"Hey! Stop, this is Minglun Hall, and you are not allowed to enter without being summoned by the grandmaster. The man at the door said in a deep voice.

"Oh." Shen Kan was slightly taken aback in his heart, it turned out that this was Minglun Hall, the heart of the government-run college.

"Excuse me, Elder."

Shen Kan hurriedly raised his hands and shook his hands, "Shen Shi and Shen Hua can live here?"

"Shen Daoxian, Shen Daoliang Kunzhong?"

The middle-aged man, who was not very polite, raised his eyebrows, his tone revealed two points of kindness, and immediately asked with a smile, "You are the descendant of the Shen family, right?" Look at this wind bone is the queen of the big clan, not bad!"

Shen Kan pretended to smile shyly, and nodded when he saw that this person was dressed as an ordinary person.

"The Shen family is amazing! All of them are full of knowledge, and their appearance is also top-notch. ”

The middle-aged man cocked his thumb as he spoke, and opened the conversation box like a few family treasures, "Daoxian Daoliang is the son of Mr. Dafang Weishan, right?" Your eldest brother Shen Daoxian is worthy of being the grandson of the head of the Shen family, he is talented and famous at a young age, smart and natural, and he is among the top three in the annual examination in our school, and he is deeply respected by the grandmaster and the county master. ”

"Yes." When Shen Kan saw him mention his eldest brother Shen Shi, he had to lower his eyebrows and replied, "Big brother has always been a role model for brothers. ”

"That's certain, give birth to a son should give birth to Shen Daoxian!" The middle-aged man sighed and said, "Your second brother is not bad, he has a good temperament, he is well-read, he is not smiling, he has a straight face all day long, unlike your eldest brother with a broad temperament, everyone is vying to make friends with him, and there is nothing wrong with him." According to me, his future achievements are limited, and it will be difficult to get ahead!"

"Why?" Shen Kan couldn't help but be interested.

"Why?"

The middle-aged man raised his hand and brushed a few sparse rat whiskers, with a confident expression, "The old man has been on an errand in school for 20 years, and he has watched countless people. Judging from your second brother's temperament, he is not good at sociability, and like the ancestors of your Shen family, economic governance is not his strength, he is a sour Confucian who is immersed in the study of sage books, his literary talent is not flying, and his reputation is not obvious, even if he is a talent in the examination, he will be a teacher at most. If you don't believe me, we'll see. ”

"The elder has a point."

Shen Kan nodded frequently when he listened, what he said did make sense, although he was not familiar with his second brother Shen Hua, but no one in the family knew that he had been holding a book all day since he was a child, reading and reciting constantly, and he didn't like to talk to people, so he knew that he read books, and people gave him the nickname "Xiaodaoxue", and he was completely a nerd.

"Huh!" The middle-aged man didn't expect to make a casual comment, and he regretted it a little, not wanting that the young descendant of the Shen family in front of him not only did not defend his brother, but nodded in agreement, which was very surprised.

"The old man's surname is Li." The middle-aged man rose a little favorable.

Shen Kan hurriedly introduced himself: "I have seen Senior Li, Shen Kan was born later, the words are ancient, the son does not dare to speak of his father, and the father has three rooms."

"Dao Gu Dao Gu?" The middle-aged man pretended to taste it, "Well, you are Shen Weixun's son?" Haha!"

Li Charen suddenly laughed and said: "Your father is also not arrogant, and your temperament is also calm, and he speaks clearly, unlike your second brother, but he has a bit of your eldest brother's charm."

"Thank you seniors for praise, but juniors dare not be ashamed." Shen Kan couldn't help but smile bitterly in his heart, in the eyes of the family, I am afraid that he and his eldest brother Shen Shi are one in the sky and one in the ground.

"Your father is known for his filial piety, and the tiger father has no dogs." The middle-aged man casually praised again.

Shen Kan smiled more and more bitterly...