Section 8: Shen Family Mansion (Middle)

  That Fourth Master suddenly felt that this youth, who was three or four years younger than himself, was indeed a wonderful person.

  He pinched his cheeks and thought for a moment before saying in a low voice, "Why don't you apologize to Seventh Young Lady and settle this matter privately?"

  Before Shen could say anything, Qiuniang, who had been listening with her ears perked up all along, suddenly spoke up in a shrill voice: "No way! He's gotten me into this state, he can't just get away with it like that."

  Fourth Master also felt that so many people had seen it, and if they let it go, they would be gossiping, and might even get themselves into trouble. Thinking of this, he winked at Shen Mo: "Don't worry, as long as it's not your fault, I'll speak up for you."

  "Fourth Uncle..." Seventh Girl said with a pout.

  The fourth young master looked at the sky outside the corridor and dryly laughed, saying: "Today's weather is really refreshing." Then he lowered his head and walked forward, no longer speaking.

  After passing through several archways, the group arrived outside the "Zhonghe Hall" in the third courtyard. The Fourth Master had them wait outside the door while he went in to report first.

  This hall is obviously a very important place in the mansion, and on the twelve south-facing doors, there are hollow carvings of 'Spring Summer Autumn Winter', 'Fishing Woodcutting Farming Reading', 'Qin Qi Shu Hua' (zither, chess, calligraphy, painting), with ancient and simple human figures, exquisite craftsmanship that makes Shen Mo almost unable to move his eyes away.

  After a while, the fourth young master came out and said: "The old master is calling you in."

  The man then helped the seventh daughter down from the cart and supported her as she walked to the gate. He let go of his hand, allowing her to limp and hobble into the house by herself, not taking another step inside.

  Jian Shen saw that Mo was a bit curious, so the fourth young master leaned in close and whispered: "The son-in-law is not worthy of being on stage." He then kindly reminded him: "The old master is very formidable, you must be careful."

  Chen Mo smiled silently at him and said, "Thank you, Young Master." He straightened his white shirt that had been washed clean, then walked in with his head held high.

  As soon as you enter, you see a wooden plaque hanging above the flower hall with four ancient and powerful characters "Zhong He Wei Yu". The wall decoration under the plaque is elegant, with the family precepts of Zhu Xi written in running script. The couplets on both sides are "Li Xiu Qi Zhi, Du Sheng Xian Shu" in eight golden regular scripts.

  A horizontal inscribed board stood in front of the couplet and family rules, on which a statue of Confucius was properly placed. At the right end of the table sat a middle-aged man with a black hat, wearing a brown robe similar to a Taoist robe, with three long beards, and a clear and elegant face.

  The seventh girl knelt in front of him and was crying to him.

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  This middle-aged man was the master of the Shen family, Mr. Shen. He shouldn't be dealing with such trivial matters, but in order to maintain strict family rules and uphold the dignity of the main gate, from his grandfather's time onwards, any fighting or brawling within the clan was considered a shameful behavior that brought dishonor to the family, and was strictly prohibited by order. Once discovered, it would be handled personally by the head of the household, and if verified, the perpetrator would be expelled from the house, with great severity.

  If this right were to be taken away by others, wouldn't the Shen family's door be thrown into chaos? Therefore, despite being quite impatient, he still had to hold back his temper and ask about the ins and outs of the conflict.

  He was being driven dizzy by the "Seventh Girl" who spoke in a topsy-turvy manner and with a strong Yongchang accent, when he saw a young man with clear eyebrows and bright eyes, white teeth and red lips coming in from outside. He looked like he was only thirteen or fourteen years old, his clothes were patched but clean and tidy, making him look more and more refreshing to behold.

  What's even more precious is that this child walks with dignity and composure, with every move showing refinement, clearly a person of great learning and reason, undoubtedly from a family of scholars.

  Compare that to the seventh daughter, who is kneeling on the ground and as clumsy as a pig. It's like heaven and earth, white snow and mud. Unconsciously, the old master had already fallen into the habit of judging people by their appearance, and his heart first inclined towards this young man.

  After entering quietly, he lifted the hem of his robe and bowed respectfully to the statue of Confucius on the table. This move made Old Master Shen feel even more pleased. After paying respects to Confucius, Shen Mo turned to Old Master Shen and said loudly: "Student Shen Mo has seen Old Master Shen."

  Mr. Shen hastily chuckled and said, "Quickly get up, no need to be polite." This was not because Mr. Shen was approachable and didn't want Shěn Mò to kneel... In this era, the kneeling ritual was a necessary etiquette to distinguish between superior and inferior, establish the dignity of superiors, especially in large families like the Shens, where it couldn't be taken lightly at all.

  The reason he didn't accept the silent bow is because of the two words "tong sheng" in Silent's mouth. What are tong sheng? It doesn't mean saying that one is young and asking for care, but rather indicating a kind of identity... Those who have participated in county exams, prefectural exams, and imperial exams but haven't obtained the status of shengyuan, regardless of whether they have yellow hair or white hair, are all called tong sheng.

  This often gives people a misconception that "Tongsheng" is synonymous with losers and unlucky people, whose social status is not much better than beggars. However, in reality, as long as they can participate in the imperial examination, it means that Tongshengs are of good family background, with no ancestors who have committed crimes for three generations, no remarried women, and having received regular education, being genuine scholars.

  In the Ming Dynasty, among the four classes of scholars, farmers, artisans and merchants, 'scholars' were highly respected and belonged to the ruling class. Although 'tongsheng' was only the lowest level of this class, their living conditions might not be as good as those of farmers, but it did not hinder their superior political status.

  It's not hard to understand... although he's down on his luck now, who knows if he'll make a comeback in the next act? So everyone tacitly kept their distance, and it was good for future encounters. Over time, a kind of unspoken rule formed around Tong Sheng: except in formal situations, they would avoid kneeling whenever possible.

  He was silent, having taken the imperial examination as a child prodigy in the previous year, but had to abandon it halfway due to his mother's serious illness... This is not something shameful, on the contrary, it is very glorious and is praised by everyone as a filial act.

  But he had taken a county school exam and participated in the Tongsheng test, so he naturally had the qualifications to call himself a Tongsheng, which was still not embarrassing.

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  Shen Mo heard the voice and stood up with a satisfied expression. He bowed deeply and said: "I am Shen Mo, a junior scholar, at your service, Master Shen."

  "It's nothing." Old Master Shen chuckled and said: "You must be Young Master Shen, aren't you?"

  "In response to Master's words, the student is indeed. Shen Mo said politely: 'My father often says that when my father and son were in trouble, Master took us in, and we have no way to repay him, but only to be grateful in our hearts...'"

  Mr. Shen waved his hand, pretending to be displeased: "Aren't you the descendants of the Shen family? This is what it means to be seen as outsiders." From Shen He's father's generation, they had already split up and were no longer considered one family, but if they wanted to put on a show of closeness, there was nothing wrong with that.

  Seeing how lively they were talking, Seventh Girl felt that this matter was going to go wrong and couldn't help but interrupt: "Grandfather, it's him who harmed your granddaughter like this."

  Division line

  Alright alright, from now on there will be three chapters every day