EBE Chapter 43 Shen Junru
Chapter 43 Shen Junru
The next morning, Xiao Siyue and her family of three had just finished breakfast when they were greeted by someone—Li Han, Shen Junru's bodyguard whom they had met the day before.
“Miss Xiao, our master invites you and your family to the Jade Pavilion for a chat.” Li Han bowed to Xiao Siyue with clasped hands.
Upon hearing this, Xiao Siyue glanced at Xiao Qinian and Lin Qin. Seeing that they agreed, she said to Li Han, "Okay, wait a moment."
After tidying up a bit, the three of them arrived at Yuyu Tower.
Yuyu Tower is the largest restaurant in Qinzhou Prefecture. It is said that the owner behind it is the Sheng family, known as the richest merchant family in the Great Zhou Dynasty. The Sheng family has shops all over the country and is so rich that they can rival the wealth of a country.
Led by Li Han, the group arrived at a private room on the second floor. Upon entering, they saw Shen Junru sitting upright in a chair.
Shen Junru looked much better today than yesterday, and his energy and spirit had greatly improved. When he saw them come in, he laughed heartily and said, "You've come. Please have a seat."
"Li Han, serve tea," Shen Junru instructed after Xiao Siyue and the others sat down.
"I am very grateful to the young girl for saving my life yesterday. I will always remember it. If you need anything from me, please don't hesitate to ask," Shen Junru said to Xiao Siyue politely.
Xiao Siyue was somewhat flattered. How could a young girl like her accept such a grand gesture from an elderly person? She quickly stepped forward to help him up.
“Yes, you don’t need to be so polite,” Xiao Qinian said.
"In that case, let's eat first. Li Han, have them serve the dishes." Shen Junru no longer stood on ceremony.
"Little girl, just tell Li Han what you want to eat," Shen Junru said to Xiao Siyue with a loving expression.
"Thank you, Grandpa Shen," Xiao Siyue said.
"Your name is Xiao Qinian, right? You're one of the students who came to Qinzhou to take the provincial examination?" Although Shen Junru asked this question, he had already confirmed it. When he inquired about their residences yesterday, Li Han had also found out their identities clearly.
“Yes,” Xiao Qinian was not surprised that Shen Junru knew. He was not an ignorant person. Looking at Shen Junru’s temperament, he knew that this person was probably not an ordinary person.
"So how do you think you did on the exam?" Shen Junru asked again.
The two talked for a while, asking and answering questions. Seeing Xiao Qinian's increasingly excited expression and Shen Junru's increasingly satisfied expression, Xiao Siyue felt a little helpless. The dishes had been served for a long time, and she was hungry.
Time passed slowly, and the two people's voices finally gradually stopped.
"Let's eat first, you must be hungry."
After the group finished eating, Shen Junru suddenly said, "Qinian, if you pass the imperial examination this time, how about I take you as my student?"
"Thank you, sir," Xiao Qinian said, his face beaming with joy at the unexpected good fortune. During their conversation, he had already witnessed the man's profound knowledge; many questions he hadn't fully grasped before were easily answered by him.
"Oh? You just agreed so casually? Aren't you afraid that I'm some nobody who might hold you back?" Shen Junru asked curiously.
“I have already seen your erudition, and you do not care about those external fame.”
"Hahaha, good, good!" Shen Junru laughed. He had only valued Xiao Qinian's knowledge before, but now he valued Xiao Qinian's character even more.
"My name is Shen Junru. I'm just waiting for you to become my disciple in a few days."
"Shen Junru?" Xiao Qinian suddenly stood up and shouted.
Xiao Siyue was startled by Xiao Qinian's voice. What, could this person be some important figure?
"Do you know me?" Shen Junru asked.
"I'm sorry, sir. I was out of line just now," Xiao Qinian said, somewhat embarrassed. He had been too shocked.
"It's alright, please sit down."
After sitting down, Xiao Qinian looked at Shen Junru with admiration: "We students have all heard about your deeds and admire you greatly. I never expected to meet you today."
"What have you heard?" Shen Junru wanted to know how he stood out among these students.
Xiao Siyue was also very curious and wanted to know what kind of person Xiao Qinian's idol was.
As Xiao Qinian slowly spoke, Xiao Siyue finally understood why he had been so agitated just now.
Shen Junru is the Grand Tutor of the current dynasty and the teacher of the current emperor. He has countless students, and most of the officials in the court were once his students, including the Minister Gao mentioned earlier, who was also a student of Shen Junru.
This Lord Shen passed the imperial examination at the age of 18 with top honors and rose through the ranks, becoming a first-rank official before the age of 40. Over the years, he has been honest and upright, making tremendous contributions to the Great Zhou Dynasty. It can be said that without him, the Great Zhou Dynasty might have been destroyed 10 years ago. Even now, in his sixties, he is still serving in the court and has cultivated many officials.
It was even rumored that he could enter the palace without dismounting from his sedan chair, and meet the emperor without kneeling. When court officials passed by the Shen residence, civil officials would dismount from their sedan chairs and military officials would dismount from their horses. These were all the special treatments the emperor bestowed upon Shen Junru.
After listening, Xiao Siyue looked at Shen Junru with sparkling eyes. Good heavens, no wonder her father had such an expression. He was simply a model of a scholar.
"Little girl, why are you looking at me like that?" Shen Junru found it somewhat amusing.
"Grandpa Shen, you're amazing!" Xiao Siyue said admiringly. Isn't he the epitome of a literary master?
"Can the little girl understand what your father is saying?" Shen Junru was surprised. This little girl was still young and probably hadn't even started learning yet. In particular, he knew that the Xiao family was an ordinary farming family, and the girls in the family might not even be able to read and write.
"Yes, that's fine. I've already started reading," Xiao Siyue said.
"So what books have you been reading?" Shen Junru asked with interest.
"He only studied the Three Character Classic, the Hundred Family Surnames, the Thousand Character Classic, and elementary school textbooks."
"Oh, you're really impressive, having read so many books at such a young age," Shen Junru said kindly.
"Haha, no, not at all." Xiao Siyue felt a little guilty. Could she say that she had lived two lives? Her combined age was even older than Xiao Qinian's. Of course, she couldn't say that, so she could only laugh awkwardly.
After saying goodbye to Shen Junru and returning to the inn, Xiao Qinian still couldn't suppress his excitement.
"Dad, if you keep going like this, we won't be able to sleep tonight." Xiao Siyue looked at Xiao Qinian with some exasperation, seeing him laughing one moment and looking dejected the next.
"Oh? I'm sorry, Yue'er," Xiao Qinian said apologetically to his wife and daughter.
"I am very happy that Lord Shen accepted me as his teacher, but I am also very worried that I will not pass the imperial examination this time and disappoint him." Xiao Qinian was very conflicted.
"Dad, don't worry. Didn't we say before that you would definitely pass the imperial examination? We all believe in you, Mom, right?" Xiao Siyue understood that her father was a little anxious. The idol effect was still quite strong.
"Yes, I have thought about it. You have to believe in yourself," Lin Qin comforted her.
"Yes, you're right," Xiao Qinian finally fell asleep.