Hou Fangyu was sprayed all over the floor by Chen Shuren, and everyone from Meixiang Tower came forward to persuade him.
Shen Shuren took advantage of the situation and restrained himself a little. After all, he still needs to pay attention to his image in Nanjing's literary world - after all, it was only the fourteenth year of Chongzhen. If it takes two or three years, this false image will be completely irrelevant. It's the knife that speaks.
However, even without those degrading attacks, Shen Shuren still had many ways to ruin Hou Fangyu's reputation on his own.
He pretended to give Li Zhenli some face, sat down to drink tea, and stopped pestering him. Then he suddenly turned to Yang Wencong behind Hou Fangyu, pointed at him with a folding fan and halberd and scolded him:
"If you want others to know, you have to do it yourself. Hou Fangyu is the name of his father. He tried to sell his official position and ask for bribes but failed. He has been unable to get the money. Today, he suddenly has money. You gave it to him, right?"
As soon as these words came out, Hou Fangyu was only slightly surprised, but Yang Wencong's expression changed drastically.
There were dozens of other literati in the venue, but they were just a little confused.
"It turns out that Young Master Hou borrowed his money tonight. He is really trying to make a fool of himself."
"But so what? It's not shameful to be poor and happy, and it's okay to borrow money. Maybe he is infatuated with Miss Li."
The first reaction of most people who don't know is that they don't feel ashamed of being poor and sentimental, but rather feel a little disgust towards Shen Shusheng.
Maoxiang, who was Hou Fangyu's friend and one of the most talented people in the Jinling circle, couldn't help but step forward after hearing this:
"Shen Futai! Although you have been named on the gold medal list, you have achieved success at a young age, and you have the capital to look down on poor students like me. But isn't it too much to ridicule other people's poverty? A gentleman talks about justice but not profit! It's great to have money!"
Chen Shuren folded his hands on his chest and waited quietly for the other party to finish speaking. He was like a tiger listening to a small animal barking at him, not anxious or angry at all.
He was also a principled person. When it came to the literati in Nanjing, he did not regard anyone as someone who would bully others, or he felt that "the friends of the enemy are also enemies."
For those beings who are too weak to pose a threat, Shen Shu people have one criterion for whether they should be trampled to death: What is the person's character in history, and whether he has been a traitor.
Although Maoxiang had a close relationship with Hou Fangyu, he had historically lived in seclusion and refused to be an official. Based on this, Chen Shuren did not want to directly embarrass him, so he could give him a chance.
After the other party finished speaking completely and had nothing to say, Shen Shuren still stared at the other party sharply, making the other party feel guilty. Then Shen Shuren shook his finger and said:
"Young scholar, how come you think I'm talking about profit and making fun of Hou Fangyu's poverty? You can't understand people's words. No wonder he failed the five tests. Ask Yang Wencong. He borrowed the six thousand taels from Hou Fangyu. Where did it come from?"
As he spoke, Shen Shuren suddenly became more intense in his gaze, turned to Yang Wencong, and said with a stern voice: "As a man, you must dare to do what you do! If you dare to lie, I will be sure to expose you! Don't underestimate the intelligence of our Shen family's goods all over the world!"
This last sentence is pure blackmail.
Chen Shuren actually had no hard evidence. He just reported the answer directly because he had watched "The Peach Blossom Fan".
But when Yang Wencong saw that he had always controlled the rhythm of the entire venue tonight, he was already frightened and had an unfathomable fear of the power of the Shen family. Now that he was deceived like this again, he was immediately speechless.
Chen Shuren took advantage of the victory and pursued it: "This money belongs to your brother-in-law's friend, Ruan Dacheng!"
As soon as these words came out, all the literati in the circle subconsciously leaned away, as if a shock wave was emitted from Yang Wencong and Hou Fangyu.
Maoxiang looked in disbelief: "Hou...Xiandi! Is this true?!"
Hou Fangyu and Yang Wencong did not dare to speak. Qiqi Ai Ai, Mao Xiang and others also roughly understood what was going on.
"From now on, we are no longer friends with each other!" Maoxiang left with a bitter voice, feeling that he could not afford to lose this person.
That's Ruan Dacheng! Back then, people in the society jointly signed the "Remain in the Capital to Prevent Rebellion Public Exposure" and everyone shouted at Ruan Dacheng to beat him up. Now his old friend actually accepts Ruan Dacheng's benefits. Isn't this collusion with the eunuch party? Who can lose it? You deserve this person!
Originally, Hou Fangyu and Yang Wencong did it secretly in stealing the money. Others still had room for maneuver and could privately persuade Hou Fangyu to pay back the money and settle the matter.
Now the butterfly effect of Shen Shuren has emerged, directly revealing the truth in public. Hou Fangyu and Yang Wencong have no way to avoid it. They openly make a fool of themselves in front of the guests of tonight's literary event. From then on, his reputation has become so bad that there is no way to recover it.
The guests left one after another, no longer wanting to watch the showgirl perform, drink and chat, and shook their heads and sighed as they left.
Such a change made the people in Meixianglou very passive. Li Zhenli complained in her heart, but she did not dare to offend Chen Shuren. She just secretly hated herself for recruiting Hou Fangyu, a boneless man, to take Ruan Dacheng's money.
After this incident, how many of those literati who claim to be noble will avoid Meixiang Tower in the future? This business will have to be worse.
After everyone had dispersed, Shen Shuren had some free time and asked Li Zhenli: "Can I take Xiang Jun away?"
"Slowly go to Chenfutai," Li Zhenli smiled more ugly than crying. While asking her daughters to send Li Xiangjun out, she seemed to have thought of something, and begged Chen Shuren in a pleading tone.
"Shen Futai, I have something to ask of you. If you want to come to Meixiang Mansion to redeem someone in the future, can you say hello in advance? We don't dare to hold another banquet and invite guests to bid. Just give us the number. Don't let us It’s okay if you suffer too much.”
She was completely frightened by Chen Shuren's commotion, and she didn't dare to engage in any more ploys with Chen Shuren to raise prices, for fear that if there was another commotion, she would be completely unable to do business.
Chen Shuren didn't care at all. He casually said a word of agreement and took Li Xiangjun away.
…
On the way back to the Shen family's foreign residence, the carriage Li Xiangjun rode belonged to her. To be precise, it was given to her daughter by Li Zhenli.
After collecting eight thousand taels of silver, it is appropriate to take some carriages and horses when sending your daughter off. This was also the custom in the late Ming Dynasty, leaving some dignity for the oiran's wife, like a dowry from her mother's family.
The interior decoration of the car is also very gorgeous and soft, smoked with countless precious spices.
Shen Shuren would not ride with her until she entered the mansion. This was also the custom at the time. However, Li Xiangjun's car could not go through the front door, but had to go through the side door or the back door.
The carriage stopped at the entrance of the garden inside the side door. Shen Shucai came to help him personally. Chen Yuanyuan, who had been staying at home all day, also came. When Li Xiangjun saw the two of them, he was still a little ashamed.
She and Shen Shuren had no relationship at all. She had only had some fantasies at most, knowing that Mr. Shen was an existence that she could not reach. He was also a person with a well-known reputation in the world and a man who could take on the role of a hero.
But admiration and admiration cannot replace the relationship between men and women. Everything happened so fast that she was at a loss.
Fortunately, Shen Shuren is not an impatient person. Chen Yuanyuan is still feeling well these days. She will not be inconvenient until the beginning of next month, at least for another seven or eight days.
He took the initiative to extend an olive branch very compassionately: "Miss Li, don't be nervous, we have agreed, I will rescue you from the fire pit to prevent you from falling into the claws of beasts like Zuo Liangyu. You listen to my arrangements and act according to the situation."
I have always been true to my word and will not force a woman to commit herself to me. You can just stay here and get used to it. If there are any shortcomings or inconveniences, just tell your sister Yuanyuan."
Li Xiangjun is still dizzy. She is still a little nervous when Shen Shuren talks about business:
"Is the young master going to deal with Zuo Liangyu soon? Please excuse the bluntness of the Nu family. I heard that Zuo Liangyu is cruel and domineering and has more than 100,000 troops. The young master now only has one house as his foundation, so he won't get into trouble, right?"
Chen Shuren patted her shoulder gently. This was also the first time that Chen Shuren took the initiative and consciously touched the other person's body, and gave her an encouraging smile:
"You and Miss Bian are both well-educated, but you're still a little short of a master. This kind of thing is of course in my own hands. I can fall out whenever I want.
When I tried to bully Hou Fangyu today, did he dare to say in public that he wanted to ransom you in order to give it to Zuo Liangyu? He didn't dare! So, whoever takes the initiative to point this matter out and stir up trouble at this time is the one who is slapping you. Zuo Liangyu’s slap—just live your life peacefully.”
Shen Shuren himself was very satisfied with today's handling, and forced Hou Fangyu to dare not speak nonsense. This was equivalent to turning the time bomb into a remote-controlled bomb, and the detonator was still in Shen Shuren's own hand.
After listening to this, Li Xiangjun's mood could not be said to be good or bad, but more complicated.
She could see that Mr. Shen was very loyal to his friends and very principled. But what happened today was not because of love after all.
In such a short period of time, no one believes that true love can occur. At most, it is just enough time to get interested.
…
There was no talking all night, and Li Xiangjun had the whole hospital to himself. He had no sleep until dawn, and then fell into a deep sleep.
Chen Shuren didn't touch her, he just went back to rest with Chen Yuanyuan.
For the next day or two, several people read books in the garden every day, chatting with each other to improve their understanding. Shen Shuren also gave Li Xiangjun some fine jewelry and precious incense.
Shen Shuren is not a pretentious person. He has a stunning beauty who comes to his residence for some reason. Even if he doesn't sleep, it is very satisfying to talk about ancient and modern times, Chinese and foreign experiences, and show off his knowledge as a man.
Even for ambitious men, this kind of convincing others with knowledge is more fulfilling than pure physical communication.
Li Xiangjun's understanding of literature and history is not as good as Bian Yujing's, but she can barely cope with it. Shen Shuren will not say that an ancient person taught her a lesson, but she doesn't even know who that ancient person is.
The day came to the twenty-eighth of the first lunar month in a blink of an eye, and Li Xiangjun had almost adapted to the daily life of the Shen family's house outside.
Early that morning, the housekeeper Shen Fu found the young master and reported some news:
"Young Master, the Imperial College Superintendent Wu Shanchang and the Ministry of Civil Affairs Xu Shilang have all sent letters. Wu Shanchang said that the latest evaluation has been completed for Zheng Chenggong, the imperial eunuch student, and his academic performance is outstanding.
Mr. Xu said that the few petty officials you told us about last time have been recruited to Nanjing and their performance in the past two years has been assessed. If you have free time in the past two days, you can go to the Libu Yamen and interview them. Let’s see if they are willing to contribute to the country and go to dangerous places to receive new jobs.”
Chen Shuren stood up immediately: "Prepare your horse!"