"Xu Tongpan, when will the West Lake Gathering be held?"

Shen Yichen asked, if time was not particularly urgent, he would really like to take a look.

"Just tomorrow."

tomorrow?

Shen Yichen estimated that with Xi Ning's character, he would never continue on his way in a hurry after sitting on the boat for so long.

In addition, the situation in Fujian is not less than a day's delay, so Shen Yichen nodded and said: "Can you trouble Xu Tongpan to take me to see it tomorrow?"

"Why did the Admiral say this? With your talent of three yuan, you are absolutely capable of defeating all the great masters!"

Listening to the compliments from Xu Donghai's mouth, Shen Yichen couldn't help but think of that arrogant young face in Yingtian Mansion.

"Xu Tongpan, you have also learned to be worldly."

Suddenly hearing these words, Xu Donghai was stunned for a moment, and instantly understood what Shen Yichen meant, with a wry smile on his face.

"People must learn to grow, and officialdom cannot tolerate things that happen without change."

"To be honest, I really envy the Admiral. You don't seem to have changed at all. You still feel the same as before."

"How come there has been no change?"

Shen Yichen asked back. He thought that he had changed a lot and was not the same young man before.

"My behavior has become mature, but my nature has not changed. I am still gentle and elegant, as if I have a plan for everything."

Even though he didn't like Shen Yichen at first, Xu Donghai had to admit that Shen Yichen always maintained a gentle and gentle gentleman's demeanor.

Today I see you again in a high position, and it is still the same.

"Yeah?"

Shen Yichen smiled.

He didn't know if what Xu Donghai said was true, or if it was a compliment.

However, Shen Yichen's goal has always been to make himself a truly powerful person.

A truly strong person is confident. Confidence will make you gentle, and gentleness will make you firm!

The Hangzhou government office was already filled with tables and chairs for banquets, with a dazzling array of delicacies placed on them.

The quality is high and the dishes are rich. It is worthy of the name of "Heaven above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below".

When local officials receive Shangguan's banquet, the basic procedures are the same, with all kinds of flattery and flattery.

Nowadays, although Shen Yichen's official rank is not high, his status can be said to be "in a high position". He is almost numb to these flattering words, while Xi Ning is even more immune and does not bother to pay attention to them.

It has to be said that sometimes Xi Ning's wild and unrestrained and vulgar behavior is very suitable to Shen Yichen. After all, how many people can do whatever they want in the officialdom?

The day passed in a hurry, and just as Shen Yichen guessed, Xi Ning finally had the opportunity to enjoy comfort and had no intention of setting off on the road.

After all, from his point of view, the turmoil in Fujian was just a bunch of fools messing around. No matter how violent the trouble was, once the imperial army arrived, they would scatter like chickens and dogs, and they would not miss a day or two's journey.

So early the next morning, Shen Yichen took Cang Huotou and several other personal guards to Xu Donghai's residence, preparing to attend the West Lake Gathering with him.

"Admiral, you are truly a lightning rod."

Seeing Shen Yichen coming so early, Xu Donghai said politely.

Under normal circumstances, Jiangnan Cultural Festival is often held in the afternoon or evening. How can anyone rush out so early in the morning?

But having said that, during his time in Yingtianfu, Shen Yichen was absent from all other literati gatherings except for participating in the Winter Solstice Poetry Society. He did not have much similar experience.

"Did I come early?

From Xu Donghai's look of just getting out of bed, Shen Yichen probably realized that the timing was wrong. The reason why it was so early was mainly because he was used to being a Beijing official, so he often had to take advantage of the darkness of night to enter the palace for duty.

In comparison, local officials do not have so many strict rules.

"It doesn't matter. The scenery of West Lake is famous all over the world. Admiral can just take this opportunity to visit it."

Xu Donghai quickly gave me a step up and told the truth at the same time.

There is paradise above and Suzhou and Hangzhou below. It is not an empty statement. As early as the Tang and Song Dynasties, the beautiful scenery of West Lake attracted countless literati and poets, leaving many famous poems throughout the ages.

According to the fact that Shen Yichen is at the peak of his official career, he probably won't have many opportunities to go out of town in the future, let alone visit Hangzhou. Naturally, it is worth the trip to appreciate it.

Shen Yichen was not very interested in visiting the beautiful scenery of the West Lake. After all, there were too many things in his heart that he could not let go of. But it was still early and he had nothing to do, so he nodded and agreed: "Well, I'd like to ask Xu Tongpan to lead the way."

"Admiral, please wait a moment. The subordinate will come after changing his clothes."

After saying that, Xu Donghai bowed his hands and returned to the house, changing into a green shirt worn by ordinary literati.

This move of Xu Donghai just reminded Shen Yichen, and he started to discuss: "Xu Tongpan, I am on military duty when I go out to Fujian this time. It is inconvenient for me to expose my official status at the West Lake Gathering. How about I be regarded as a scholar?" "

"How dare you be rude when you are a subordinate?"

"It doesn't matter, you can call me Xiangbei and I'll call you Donghai."

Faced with Shen Yichen's insistence, Xu Donghai also realized that it was indeed inconvenient to expose his official status, so he nodded and said, "Then it would be an overstep of the rules to serve as an official."

"Um?"

"I'm sorry, brother Xiang Bei, but Donghai has gone beyond the rules."

"polite."

After crossing their hands, the two of them walked out of the government office and headed towards the West Lake.

As an ancient city with a rich history in the south of the Yangtze River, Hangzhou's streets are as bustling and lively as those in the capital.

The vendors on both sides were selling their goods and the bustling crowds were surging, giving Shen Yichen a real illusion of a peaceful and prosperous age.

Who would have thought that just outside of one province, Fujian is indeed experiencing wars and wars, and the people are living in dire straits.

Due to the holding of the West Lake Gathering, there are already some government officers and soldiers in West Lake to maintain order and restrict the entry of ordinary people.

Of course, this was not a problem for Shen Yichen. After Xu Donghai revealed his identity, the military officer in charge nodded and let him go.

The West Lake, without the hustle and bustle of tourists from later generations, is indeed a unique experience with the white snow that has not melted yet.

After walking along Su Causeway for a while, Xu Donghai found a small pavilion by the lake, then asked his servants to take out the wine prepared by the stove, and sat down with Shen Yichen while admiring the remaining snow on the broken bridge, and toasting to each other. .

"Brother Xiangbei, I never thought that one day I would be able to sit down and have a drink with you like this."

Maybe he is gradually letting go, or maybe Xu Donghai still retains some youthful and frivolous nature in his heart. His words lack the official hierarchy and are more like a sigh.

"Everything in the world is unpredictable, and no one can predict what will happen in the future."

Shen Yichen was responding to Xu Donghai, and at the same time he was responding to himself.

With the sudden change in the situation in Fujian, the historical direction of the Ming Dynasty became increasingly beyond Shen Yichen's control, and he was no longer sure what the future would be like.

"Do you still remember Feng Zichu?"

Feng Zichu?

Hearing this name, Shen Yichen only had some vague memories left in his mind, as if there was no sound after that day when he complained about injustice.

"I don't really remember."

"Brother Xiangbei of the capital, you angrily denounced him as a local chicken and a dog, which made the world's scholars laugh at him. You also suffered from the failure of the imperial examination. Now you have gone crazy."

"oh……"

Shen Yichen casually agreed. He could have a good time with Xu Donghai because there was no deep hatred between the two parties back then.

But it was different for Feng Zichu. This person took advantage of the general situation to make it difficult for him to get off, and he had to offend Wang Zhen. If he had not occupied the advantage of being a prophet of history, maybe the seal of Shangshu would have become a "sacrifice".

Magnanimity is not the same as the Holy Mother. Shen Yichen has no sympathy for such a person.

"Fortunately, I'm self-aware, otherwise I wouldn't have the chance to sit down and have a drink with Brother Xiangbei today."

Xu Donghai laughed at himself, saying that the Little Three Yuan Celebration Banquet really convinced him.

"By the way, Brother Xiangbei, do you know how your husband is doing?"

Originally, Shen Yichen was just a listener, listening to Xu Donghai recall some past events.

But after hearing the word "sir", he immediately became serious.

At that time, Lin Zhen was teaching at Zhaowen College. Although Xu Donghai and others did not formally worship him as their teacher, they still respected Lin Zhen as their teacher. The two sides had a teacher-student relationship.

Why did Xu Donghai suddenly mention how his husband is doing?

"Are you feeling well, sir?"

"That's right, brother Xiangbei, don't you know?"

Faced with Shen Yichen's rhetorical question, Xu Donghai was very surprised. They were just Lin Zhen's disciples, while Shen Yichen was an official disciple who had gone through the apprenticeship ceremony.

You don’t even know the teacher’s physical condition, shouldn’t you?

"I don't know. Sir has never told me. Can you tell me in detail what happened?"

Shen Yichen immediately became nervous.

Maybe the teacher-student friendship between industry teacher Lin Zhen is not as good as that of private school teacher Li Tingxiu, but without his teaching and teaching back then, Shen Yichen would not be able to achieve the heights and achievements he has today.

The ancients said that once you are a teacher, you will always be a father. These feelings will not dissipate with time and distance.

"My husband's health has never been very good. When he was an official in the capital, he often had nosebleeds, so he reported illness and retired to the official position."
To be continued...