In fact, regarding the matter of entering the genealogy, when Ying Tian received the letter from the Chengguo family, Shen Yichen already had the answer when he was asked by his mother.

It can even be said that for today's dialogue between father and son about entering the genealogy, Shen Yichen has imagined it in his mind.

He thought that when the time came, when he faced Zhu Yong, the Duke of Chengguo, he could say the word "refusal" lightly, and he couldn't feel the slightest wave in his heart.

But at this moment, the anger, unwillingness, and disappointment in my heart still came to my heart.

This is the obsession that ran through Shen Yichen's entire life, and it was also in the subconscious of his mind, and he never let go of his desire for his father.

Even if the current Shen Yichen has tried his best to suppress it with rational thinking, he is still overwhelmed by emotional emotions in the end.

In addition, Shen Yichen also has a concern, that is, severing the relationship with Cheng Guogong means that his mother Shen will completely lose the opportunity to gain fame.

He can withstand the pressure and not submit to the secular etiquette of the scholar class, but he has no ability to challenge Cheng Zhu Lixue since the Song Dynasty, so that his mother Shen can gain an independent personality and no longer rely on her husband's family.

In addition, there is a more important point, that is, the mother Shen always has expectations for Cheng Guogong!

Shen Yichen doesn't know whether this expectation is the blind obedience of women to their husbands under the ancient etiquette, or the real emotional nostalgia of her mother Shen for Zhu Yong, the Duke of Chengguo.

Anyway, in Shen's heart, Zhu Yong, the Duke of Chengguo, has always been his "husband" and Shen Yichen's father, which has never been doubted.

The original obsession, the mother's nostalgia, and all kinds of complicated relationships are still messy if they are not cleaned up, which causes Shen Yichen to be caught in the middle and in a dilemma.

Now he also deeply understands what it means to have a scripture that is difficult to read.

In the inner hall of the Chengguo Mansion, looking at Shen Yichen's back disappearing from his sight, Zhu Yong, the Duke of Chengguo, who has always had a tough image, had mixed feelings in his heart at the moment, and slowly leaned on the seat.

This was the second time he had heard Shen Yichen call himself "father", and he was far more shocked than the first time.

Because of this "father", Zhu Yong suddenly realized that during this period of time, his attention to Shen Yichen seemed to be not only out of family interests, but also mixed with some other feelings.

I will be sincerely happy that Shen Yichen has obtained the achievement of Xie Yuan, and I will feel disappointed and angry when I hear his words of "falling off the list".

Even if he proposed to enter the genealogy today, Zhu Yong was vaguely aware of the expectation in his heart, expecting that Shen Yichen would agree to come down and change his surname to Zhu.

It stands to reason that there is no need to have so many complicated emotions in the simple exchange of interests, as long as Shen Yichen can shine on the lintel.

Even if it doesn't work, it's nothing more than being given up as before, an inconsequential servant child.

Why is he like this, is it really as Shen Yichen said, doesn't he care about the name on the genealogy?

Or is it because Cheng Guogong saw his former shadow in Shen Yichen.

The sound of "crackling" firecrackers sounded, interrupting Shen Yichen and Zhu Yong's complicated feelings, and the two sighed heavily in different courtyards, and then moved to the main hall of the mansion, because the preparations for the celebration banquet continued.

Book of Hundred Leagues

At this moment, the gongs and drums in the mansion were already noisy, and the officials of the Shuntian Mansion and guests from all walks of life came to the mansion to congratulate, which can be described as full of friends.

Shen Yichen and Chengguo Gong Zhu Yong appeared in the main hall, the two glanced at each other, and then greeted the guests as if nothing had happened.

I can't see it at all, just half an hour ago, the father and son had a fierce conflict and almost broke off the "father-son relationship".

Xie Yuan's celebration banquet was staggered, listening to the congratulations and compliments of people from all walks of life, especially many people also leaned on the father-son relationship intentionally or unintentionally, which made the two of them have mixed feelings, and they involuntarily drank two more glasses.

As night fell, the feast ended, Shen Yichen staggered to his feet, ready to return to his West Wing Courtyard, but heard Zhu Yong's voice behind him.

"Perhaps, you're right."

Suddenly hearing this, Zhu Ji, who had also drunk a few more glasses at the wine table because he was in a bad mood, asked in a daze: "Father, who are you right?" ”

"Nothing."

It may be Zhu Ji's rhetorical question that made Chengguo Duke Zhu Yong wake up a little drunk, he stood up and said no more, turned around and walked towards his room.

Looking at the back of Cheng Guogong leaving, Shen Yichen was a little skeptical that he had heard it wrong.

Rong Ma has been strong for half his life, and Cheng Guogong, who has always been strong, will admit that I am right?

Just when Shen Yichen wanted to figure it out, the drunkenness came to his head again, and the whole person was in a daze, unable to think about it at all.

That's it, it's come to this, one step at a time.

Shaking his head, Shen Yichen didn't think about it anymore, and went back to his room to sleep well.

When he woke up, it was already three poles in the morning, and during this time, he had not slept so laxly for a long time in order to prepare for the township test.

Walking out of the room and seeing Ah Niu practicing boxing in the courtyard, Shen Yichen opened his mouth and asked, "Ah Niu, did Steward Wu come over today to say something?" ”

"No, what's wrong with Brother Chen?"

Ah Niu was a little confused, and he didn't know why Shen Yichen asked Steward Wu when he got up.

"It's nothing, just ask casually."

The reason why Shen Yichen asked Steward Wu was because he estimated that he had "disobeyed" Chengguo Gong like yesterday and should be kicked out of the house today.

Get out of the way when you get the news early, and you can pack your luggage and return to the Yingtian Hall before nightfall.

If it's late, with the traffic efficiency of ancient times, I'm afraid you will have to sleep on the streets.

"Oh."

Ah Niu didn't think much about it, and instead said, "Brother Chen, the maidservant also sent a sobering soup this morning, you can remember to drink it later." ”

And decanting soup?

Hearing this treatment, Shen Yichen was a little surprised, shouldn't he let himself drink the northwest wind?

No matter what, since Cheng Guogong is not accountable, there is no need for him to worry about the sky.

Just as Shen Yichen was about to return to the house for breakfast, a servant of the public mansion walked into the courtyard, looked at him and said, "Shen Gongzi, a guest has come to visit, saying that he is your friend." ”

Friends?

As soon as he heard this title, Shen Yichen was a little puzzled. In the past few months in Beijing, except for barely knowing Xu Fengyuan, I don't even have a few acquaintances, where are my friends?

However, he quickly reacted, didn't Zhao Hongjie, Li Da and others go to Beijing one step ahead of him?

Could it be that this friend is referring to them?

"Got it, I'll go over right away."

Thinking that it was Zhao Hongjie and others, Shen Yichen's mood also rose a little, after all, the ancients said that meeting old acquaintances in a foreign country can be described as a great joy in life.

After tidying up his clothes a little, Shen Yichen followed the servant to the door of the mansion, and then saw a brocade guard wearing a silver-white flying fish suit, with his back to him.

"Zhao Hongjie?"

Shen Yichen shouted tentatively, because the momentum that this person gave him was completely different from Zhao Hongjie when he was in Tianfu. Even in terms of body shape, there seems to be some slight changes.

However, among Ying Tianfu's classmates, only Zhao Hongjie joined the army and decided to take the path of Zhenfu Division, and Li Da and others took the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies.

So if nothing else, the brocade guard wearing a flying fish suit can only be Zhao Hongjie.

Sure enough, as soon as Shen Yichen's words fell, the brocade guard in front of the mansion turned around, revealing a face that was both familiar and unfamiliar.

Familiarity lies in Shen Yichen's guess that it was right, the person who came was indeed Zhao Hongjie.

The strangeness lies in Zhao Hongjie at this time, the lines on his face are much tougher than those of Ying Tianfu, and his skin has become much darker.

"Yichen!"

Unlike the literati who bowed their hands to each other, after Zhao Hongjie saw Shen Yichen, he directly opened his arms and hugged him, full of excitement of reunion after a long absence.

"Why didn't you come to Jingshi to inform me, if it wasn't for the inscription list that was submitted, I'm afraid I wouldn't know it now!"

Zhao Hongjie complained a little in his tone, Shen Yichen was his best friend, but he didn't know that he came to Beijing.

"It happened suddenly, and the time of the township test is urgent, so I planned to contact you in the next two days."

Shen Yichen explained with a smile, if he hadn't suddenly received a letter from Cheng Guogong, I'm afraid he wouldn't have come to Beijing to catch the township exam, but waited for the autumn and winter to set off to catch up with next year's spring exam.

After coming to Jingshi, there were less than two months left, and I had to prepare for the exam and operate the examiner's network, so I really didn't have the energy to contact Zhao Hongjie and Li Da.

So Shen Yichen thought about it later, and then have a good time drinking and talking after the township test, but he didn't expect Zhao Hongjie to come to the door so quickly after learning the news, and he was worthy of being a staff member of the Ming Dynasty intelligence agency.

"Yichen, I'm really happy for you to learn that you won the middle and solve the yuan, no matter what you say today, I have to have a good drink!"

"No problem."

Shen Yichen happily agreed, although the so-called celebration banquet yesterday seemed to be very lively, it was actually more of a friendship party between Chengguo Gong and Jingshi officials, and his own Xie Yuan was not quite like the protagonist.

Even if you drink it in the end, it can only be called bitter wine in your throat and heartache, which is completely different from today's feeling of "drinking a thousand glasses of confidants".

"By the way, where does Li Da serve in the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, why don't you call him along."

"He ......"

Hearing Li Da's name, a look of hesitation appeared on Zhao Hongjie's face.

"Why, you shouldn't still be thinking about those things back then?"

Shen Yichen joked, in fact, in the later period of Yingtianfu, Zhao Hongjie and Li Da had already been "embarrassed" together. Now they are both strangers in Beijing, and the value of classmates for many years is even more prominent.

"Of course not."

Zhao Hongjie had a strange expression on his face, and then replied with a forced smile: "Li Da is not in the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies, but in the Jingwei Commanding Embassy. ”

"Oh, that's fine, let's go."

Shen Yichen didn't care, the so-called Jingwei Command Envoy can be understood as the Praetorian Guard in simple terms.

There are a total of 26 guards in the Jingwei Command Embassy, except for the guards placed in Yingtian, the capital of Fengyang, in fact, the Beijing Division only has the establishment of 12 guards on the pro-army, which is used to be responsible for escorting the left and right, guarding the palace and so on.

However, the Jingwei command envoy could not fully command the twenty-six guards, because this was the right of the emperor. Even many powerful guards have formed their own independent systems, and they only obey the command of their own guards, such as Jinyi Guards and Banner Guards.

In particular, the commander of the Jinyi Guard is the third grade, and the commander of the Jingwei Command Department is also the third grade, and he can't even open the gap between the grades, and the order is not a bird.

Therefore, the Jingwei Command Department is more like a coordinating organization than a higher-level command department. After the change of Tumubao, the Jingwei command envoy became an empty shelf, and only the Jinyi Guard continued to be commanded by the emperor himself.

The rest of the guards were either directly under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of War, or merged into the Beijing camp, anyway, the Son of Heaven's personal guards existed in name only.

"Let's go."

In the end, Zhao Hongjie didn't say anything, the two called a carriage, and went to the Beijing Health Office together, so that the official in front of the door could pass on Li Da.

didn't wait for a few minutes, and saw Li Da wearing a military uniform, rushing out of the official office vigorously, and when he saw Shen Yichen, he came directly to a bear hug.

When Li Da was in the outer courtyard of the public mansion, he belonged to the kind with a simple mind and well-developed limbs. Now that he has been trained in the army for several months, his arm strength is extremely strong, and he almost didn't overwhelm Shen Yichen.

It's just that when Li Da saw Zhao Hongjie, the expression on his face was a little unnatural, and the two of them just nodded.

This scene completely stunned Shen Yichen, even when the relationship between the two of them was at the worst in Yingtian, they would not greet each other so lightly, at least they had to say sarcastic.

Later, the grievances were lifted, and it was even more nonsense, so that it would not be so indifferent.

Just when Shen Yichen was about to ask a question, Li Da was the first to speak: "Big brother, when did you arrive in Jingshi, why didn't you notify me, otherwise I would have to hold a reception banquet for you for my brother!" ”

"No, can you change the title of your eldest brother and brother, others still think that the two of us have an outrageous relationship after hearing it."

Ying Tian's group of half-college boys bragged and farted, it didn't matter if they were chaotic, they were all enlisted as officers in the Beijing Division, Li Da was still full of train posture, and he was not afraid of being laughed at by others.

"It's okay, it's not critical!"

Li Da still looked very grinning, put his arm around Shen Yichen's shoulder, and dragged him as he walked and said: "Big brother, for my brother, I know that a restaurant has excellent dishes, and it is said that it was the imperial chef in the palace who made it, so I will take you to taste it today!" ”

"No need to be so polite."

Shen Yichen said, generally trying to break Li Da's wrist, but found that he didn't move.

It seems that I haven't seen him for a few months, but this kid's muscles are getting more and more developed, and his brain seems to be simpler......

Since he was powerless to resist, he could only choose to obey, so Shen Yichen was half-pulled and half-walked to a restaurant that looked magnificent.

Li Da is obviously a regular customer here, and the shopkeeper came over and reported a long list of dish names, so that Shen Yichen couldn't help but dissuade him again and again.

After the wine and food were served, Li Da remembered that there was something important and didn't ask, so he said, "Big brother, why did you come to Jingshi?" ”

"Rush to take the township exam."

"Township test? Didn't Yingtian have Jiangnan Gongyuan, how did he run to Shuntian to take the exam. ”

"Anyway, I'm going to come over next year to try, so it's better to leave early and see you soon."

Li Da did not doubt Shen Yichen's words at all, on the contrary, he was very satisfied with his righteous actions.

"What are the results of the township test?"

"Xie Yuan."

"Not bad."

Li Da nodded casually, but quickly reacted, and said with wide eyes: "Shen Yichen, you say it again, how are the results!" ”

"Xie Yuan."

After getting the confirmation, the wine glass slipped from his hand with a "bang", and Li Da couldn't close his mouth in surprise.

He never expected that Shen Yichen would be able to obtain the title of the first solution in the township examination!

Shocked by half a salary, Li Dacai raised his glass and said: "Big brother, on the road to the imperial examination, you have finally opened up the gap with Brother Wei, I would like to give you a glass!" ”

This sentence almost didn't make the chopsticks in Shen Yichen's hand fall to the ground, good guy really dare to say, you are a big smart person who can't even pass the test as a child, is this called finally opening the gap?

I don't know, I thought that the two of them had been evenly matched on the road to the imperial examination.

But thinking about it, it seems that he has been on the road to the imperial examination for a long time, and he is in a state of parity with Li Da.

Alas, that's really a piece of black history of life......

After a long absence, I was happy to reunite, and with a glass of wine, Shen Yichen and Li Da chatted about some experiences in Beijing during this time.

At the same time, he also learned that when Li Da came to Beijing, he originally wanted to rely on Shen Yichen's letter of recommendation to Cheng Guogong, as well as his father, who served as the governor, and there was no problem in joining the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army.

As a result, I never expected that Li Da's father, Li Zheng, would not agree to him joining the Governor's Mansion of the Five Armies.

The reason is very simple, that is, the Orthodox Dynasty has to fight with Mongolia from time to time, and the Governor's Office of the Five Armies is the main force of the expedition, and the danger factor is very high.

Li Dake is the son-in-law of the family, and the "mine" of the family is waiting for him to inherit in the future, what if there is an accident on the battlefield?

So to put it mildly, I thought of a compromise way to enlist in the army, that is, to join the Jingwei Command Envoy and become a Praetorian Guard to guard the palace in Beijing.

It not only satisfies Li Da's desire to enlist in the army, but also can be placed close to the Beijing Division, and theoretically there is no risk, which can be described as killing multiple birds with one stone.

This is why Li Da, who originally wanted to enter the bloody battlefield of the Governor's Mansion of the Fifth Army, finally commanded the envoy in Jingwei.

After listening to Li Da's experience, Shen Yichen expressed his understanding in his heart that by the time of the Orthodox Dynasty, the northern Mongolian tribes had actually gradually risen, and the risk of expeditions out of the fortress was getting higher and higher.

As the son-in-law of the family, it is not an exaggeration for Li to have this arrangement.

But at this moment, Shen Yichen suddenly realized a problem, that is, he and Li Da were basically talking at the dinner table. Zhao Hongjie mostly avoided talking about it except for the occasional two calls.

This is very different from Zhao Hongjie's personality in Yingtian, can such a big change occur in just a few months after joining the army?

Coupled with the unnaturalness between him and Li Da, it made Shen Yichen feel even more strange, could it be that something had happened?

"Zhao Hongjie, don't just eat and drink, tell me how you are doing in Nanzhen Fusi."

Shen Yichen originally wanted to pull Zhao Hongjie into the topic, if there was really any gap between him and Li Da, he could be a peacemaker by taking advantage of this meal.

As a result, Li Da helped answer his question, and the answer was unexpected.

"Hmph, he didn't enter the South Town Fu Division, but entered the famous North Town Fu Division."

What?

Shen Yichen was a little surprised at this time, he never expected that the original plan when he left Yingtian, and the three of them all deviated from the trajectory!