In the lecture hall, Wei Chen was explaining the meaning of the scriptures with a group of scholars.
Wei Chen returned to Youyang after the provincial examination. He originally wanted to use this time to spend time with his family. However, since he was admitted to Xie Yuan, especially after the Qixia Mountain Society Fair, more and more scholars came to visit him.
Get up.
Wei Chen opened the door and saw that the Confucian shirts of these scholars were all patched, and they were shivering in the biting cold wind, but their eyes still showed the desire for knowledge.
Some of them are children, some are scholars, most of them are in their teens or 20s. As soon as they see Wei Chen, they respectfully treat Wei Chen as a disciple.
Seeing the respectful eyes of these scholars, Wei Chen couldn't bear to turn them away, so he explained the meaning of the scriptures to them at home.
Most of these scholars came to ask questions and ask for advice, and Wei Chen patiently answered their questions and solved their doubts. Sometimes he would talk for two or three hours at a time, and everyone listened so eagerly that they even forgot to eat.
Of course, there would occasionally be people who wanted to cause trouble, trying to use Xie Yuanlang's reputation to rise to power. Wei Chen would not refuse anyone who came, and would refute them one by one. After several times, these people no longer dared to come to talk to Wei Chen.
It’s hard to argue.
Come and try it soon.]
At the beginning, there were only three or four people seeking advice, but gradually more and more people came here. In addition to scholars from Jiangning Prefecture, scholars from Suzhou Prefecture, Yangzhou Prefecture, and even Zhejiang and Fujian Prefecture were also famous for coming here.
On weekdays, it is common for more than ten or twenty people to come, and on some days there will even be a swarm of nearly a hundred people, making it impossible to even stand in the courtyard.
In early December, two scholars from Fujian came to visit Wei Chen. Wei Chen was not at home when he was visiting friends. The two of them had nowhere to go, so they stood outside the door for a day.
It was a snowy day, and when Wei Chen came back, the two scholars were already covered in snow and their lips were purple from the cold.
Cheng Menlixue's spirit really shocked Wei Chen, and he quickly invited them into his home to keep them away from the cold.
Wei Chen was worried that the daily comings and goings at home would affect the lives of Wei Ruyi and the others, so he discussed it with Sheng Wei and set up a lecture hall in the Sheng Family Free School, where he would give lectures to the scholars who came to seek advice.
Over the past few months, relying on the good results of the imperial examination cram school, local scholars in Jiangnan have rushed to join the Jingxi Society, and many scholars from other places have joined the society.
Wei Chen has always been very careful about recruiting members based on the principle of preferring his mother to abuse. The Donglin Party has learned a lot from the restoration of the society in his previous life, so Wei Chen naturally cannot make the same mistake again.
Therefore, Jingxi She will not accept people with evil intentions, people with extreme political ideas, playboys, and stupid and rude people.
Jingxi Society only accepts those scholars who are down-to-earth, dedicated to studying, smart and diligent, and eager to change their destiny through the imperial examination.
Despite such harsh conditions, with Wei Chen's strong appeal, the membership of Jingxi Society quickly expanded to more than 80 people. Together with the seven founders of the society, there were 23 members alone. Seeing that Jingxi Society was prospering, Wei Chen gradually put aside the trivial matters and handed over the society's affairs to Sheng Changbai, Wang Yaochen and others. On weekdays, he would stay at home and study and practice essays behind closed doors. Occasionally, he would go to Sheng's charity school.
Give knowledge to the members of Jingxi Club.
In the blink of an eye, it’s the first month of the sixth year of Tianyou’s reign, and the day when Wei Chen will go to Beijing for spring is getting closer and closer.
On the eighteenth day of the first lunar month, Wei Chen packed his bags, said goodbye to the Zhang family of three, and met up with Sheng Changbai and others in Jiangning.
After staying in Jiangning for one night, Wei Chen went to bid farewell to Shen Du on the second day and went to the government office to pick up the road sign and fire sign.
With this fire card, candidates for the exam can be exchanged for a carriage at any inn. The carriage will also have a yellow flag of "Etiquette Examination", which is the so-called bus to Beijing.
Wei Chen and others are not short of money and do not need the carriage provided by the inn, but they still need to get the yellow flag of "Etiquette Examination".
When the time comes, Jingxi Society will put more than twenty small yellow flags on the bow of the ship. Not to mention the government's tax card, even the water bandits and road bullies will not dare to provoke them.
On the twentieth day of the first lunar month, it was the day when Wei Chen and others were heading north. All members of the Jingxi Club gathered at the official boat dock outside Jiangning City and sent the twenty-three seniors onto a passenger ship filled with small yellow flags.
This is an auspicious day in the zodiac. Not only are new imperial examination candidates like Wei Chen going north, there are also more previous candidates who have come to Beijing to take the exam.
The pier was crowded with people, and the carriages and horses that came to see him off were lined up from Jiangdong Gate to Bailuzhou.
On the passenger ships with yellow flags hoisted one after another, the high-spirited people smiled and waved goodbye to the teachers, relatives and friends who were seeing them off. This scene of thousands of people seeing off each other was really a sight to behold.
But the more glorious things are yet to come.
The people standing on the boat were suddenly stunned by a group of colorful oil-walled incense carts, struggling to pass through the farewell carriages and horses and approaching the dock.
Before the carriage even approached, all kinds of aromas like orchid and musk were already blown by the river wind to the tips of people's noses.
The people sniffed hard and felt refreshed. They patted each other's shoulders vigorously and said with great surprise: "It's the famous Qinhuai prostitute who came to see us off!"
Everyone is so excited that the beauty is taking the exam. Today will definitely become a great story!
"Dong Lihua, Zhao Yunjiao, Chen Xiangyun, Gu Xiaohan... Oh my God, there are four oirans over the years, and there are thirty or forty famous beauties!"
Seeing a crowd of orioles getting off the carriage, the nobles on the boat were overjoyed. Many of them saw the oiran for the first time and wanted to get off the boat on the spot to get a closer look.
However, the beauty's gaze passed them, as if she was looking for someone.
"Where is Jie Yuanlang!" Dong Lihua, who was still the leader, pointed to the Jingxishe passenger ship with the most flags, and loudly reminded her companions.
"What's going on?"
On the passenger ship, Wei Chen saw a group of female goblins walking toward him, swaying every step of the way. He subconsciously covered his waist and was about to retreat into the cabin.
Tao Dazhi on the side had a narrow smile on his face, and Weng Dingfan held Wei Chen on the left and right: "Xingyun, how many times can life be so beautiful? Others can't ask for it, so what are you hiding from?" Tang Henian also said with a smile: "Yes, Xingyun, if you are proud of life, you must have all the joy, and don't let the beauty shed tears in vain."
"But I'm only fourteen years old!"
Wei Chen was about to cry but had no tears, so he quickly looked at Sheng Changbai and Wang Yaochen, looking at them for help.
Sheng Changbai was about to step forward, but was stopped by Wang Yaochen: "Zecheng, you have to get used to this kind of scene. The scene after my master won the first prize was even crazier than this..."
While they were talking, the Qinhuai beauties headed by Dong Lihua had already arrived at the pier. Dong Lihua bent her knees slightly, nodded and lowered her eyebrows, bowed slightly, and said a blessing to Wei Chen.
"My little daughter Dong Lihua, thanks to the recommendation of all the sisters in Qinhuai, came to see Mr. Xie Yuan off."
Wei Chen looked at Dong Lihua's pair of loving, peach-blossom eyes that were about to speak, and his eyelids twitched involuntarily, and he avoided the other's gaze with a guilty conscience.
In order to punish Sun Zhigao, he sent someone to steal Dong Lihua's personal handkerchief. More than two years have passed since this incident. Dong Lihua may not have cared about the whereabouts of the handkerchief, but Wei Chen will not forget it.
Wei Chen's evasive eyes when he saw Dong Lihua were all caught by Tao Dazhi who was standing beside him. Tao Dazhi's eyes suddenly lit up with excitement.
"There's something going on between these two!"
Looking at Wei Chen and then at Dong Lihua, Tao Dazhi quickly imagined a classic drama in which Wei Chen was in trouble and finally gave up, while Dong Lihua was deeply in love and pursued her lover.
Immediately, he smashed his lips and sighed: "Tsk, tsk, tsk, I didn't expect that Xingyun is not very old, but he owes a lot of romantic debts. He is really..., he is really a role model for our generation!"