My sister became the empress, but I'm still growing vegetables and raising chickens

But there were also some people who showed disdain in their eyes when they saw that there were only two women coming.

"How can you talk like that, girl? It's obvious that this kid was the one who caused the trouble first."

"That's right. We're here to attend the Lotus Banquet hosted by Master Dongli. Why is he here to cause trouble?"

Song Chunbo was protected by someone, and he became much bolder. He pulled Si Muyan's sleeve and said, "Sister Yan, I didn't cause any trouble. Master Cen lied. Those two books belong to the master, not him..."

Si Muyan patted his hand, looked up at everyone, and asked, "He said he came here to expose the hypocrisy of others. How is he causing trouble? Or are you all preconceived, not considering the facts, and only thinking about how to whitewash the situation?"

Of course they didn't dare to say that, so someone pushed Cen Cheng.

"Cen Cheng, what this girl said makes sense. You gave the two books to Mr. Dongli, and you said they were made by your uncle, but this child says the books are his. Can't you explain it?"

Cen Cheng was angry and worried, shouting, "What explanation do you need? What do you want to explain? Those books belong to my uncle. My uncle is the teacher in the school, and he taught so many students. He's a country boy who knows nothing. Where else can he find a teacher besides my uncle? Or do you think people from the countryside are more capable than my uncle?"

Si Muyan sneered: "If I remember correctly, Master Cen has been teaching in the countryside for twenty years, right? In these twenty years, he hasn't even taught a single candidate."

Master Cen, who was sitting next to Dongli Jushi, had a very grim expression on his face, but he could only stammer, "That's because... because there aren't many good seedlings in the countryside... but there are two good ones..."

But the two good ones only received their first education from him and then went to study in the county town.

Si Muyan ignored what Master Cen and Cen Cheng were saying and brought Song Chunbo directly to Master Dongli. Her calm demeanor and aura made everyone present subconsciously make way for her, not daring to stop her.

Arriving before Master Cen, Si Muyan pushed Song Chunbo forward and said, "They say there are no good talents in the countryside. Song Chunbo is far from a child prodigy. After studying under Master Cen for several years, his brain has become a little corrupted. But my father said that he is a promising talent, but he was just delayed by Master Cen. Since you are here and an authoritative person, why not test him?"

Everyone says that Mr. Dongli is a good person. Today, Si Muyan also wants to see whether he is a hypocritical person or really worthy of respect.

From the beginning of this farce until now, Mr. Dongli has not said a word.

He flipped through the two books in his hands. One was an ordinary policy essay, available in the county bookstore, but it had many annotations, showing the reader's care and insight. The other was compiled by the person himself, and it could be used for the provincial examination, not to mention the imperial examination. It was quite insightful on national affairs and current politics, and also included many things related to people's livelihood.

When he first received two books from Mr. Cen, he was amazed. He had never imagined such a remote county could produce such a talent. Later, when he learned that they were written by Mr. Cen's uncle, who was also a teacher, he was even more astonished. How could such a talented teacher be so neglected and only taught in the school?

Dongli Jushi was disappointed when he met Mr. Cen today. This person's conversation is far from his writings.

and so……

Seeing that he didn't say anything, Si Muyan called out again, "Layman?"

Dongli Jushi finally came to his senses, stood up, nodded at Si Muyan, and said to the crowd, "It is because I am fond of these two books that such a dispute has arisen. Therefore, it is time for me to settle this matter. Let me test this child in public. You said your name is Song Chunbo?"

Song Chunbo nodded obediently.

Mr. Dongli first asked a few questions about poetry. He could answer the simple ones at the beginning, but he could not answer the more difficult ones at the end.

Most of the students present covered their mouths and laughed.

"If you can't even memorize the poem, how can you write an article?"

"A child like this, yet you still say he's a promising talent?"

Dongli Jushi's face was solemn, but he turned back to look at Master Cen and asked, "He is your student. Haven't you taught him these poems before?"

Everyone then realized that the child wasn't just hesitating and reciting the poems, but rather had a bewildered look on his face. It was clear that he had never heard of these poems before.

Is it that the child himself is not making progress, or is it that the teacher has never taught him?

Master Cen's face flushed. "I... Layman, I have taught him, but he doesn't like to be taught and likes to be lazy."

Song Chunbo was about to retort, but Si Muyan stopped him and said, "Layman, you can ask something else."

Mr. Dongli then asked a few more questions, some of which Song Chunbo could answer, but some he could not.

This time, no one laughed at him for not being able to answer, but just looked at Dongli Jushi curiously.

Dongli Jushi reached out and touched Song Chunbo's head. "This child is very smart. Such talent should not be wasted. Go back and cultivate him well. You said these books belonged to your teacher. Who is your teacher?"

"My husband is Sister Yan's father. He is from Songji Village."

Upon hearing this, Cen Cheng scoffed and said, "Layman, Songji Village is a very poor village. How could someone from such a poor place possibly compile such a book?"

Dongli Jushi looked at Si Muyan: "Your father?"

Si Muyan nodded: "Yes, the book was compiled by my father and given to Chunbo by my father. It has nothing to do with Master Cen."

Master Cen was not in a hurry at this time because he didn't care about what was happening outside the window. He was only thinking about recruiting more students and earning more tuition. So he didn't pay any attention to the affairs of Songji Village and didn't know who Si Xingzhi was.

In his opinion, how could a country boy have talent? Even if it was Si Xingzhi, so what? Perhaps Si Xingzhi had just happened to get something from someone else.

"This is clearly mine. Doesn't this woman even think before she lies?" Master Cen said contemptuously.

Si Muyan smiled and said, "Isn't it easy to prove whether it's my father's thing? It's compiled, not printed, so just check the handwriting. Master Cen said it was compiled by you, so just write a piece of calligraphy and have someone compare the handwriting!"

Master Cen's face turned pale, but he quickly calmed down. "I wrote this book a long time ago. Coincidentally, an old friend of mine was traveling to Fenghuang County at that time. He loved my books and copied them while reading them. This book was copied by him."

Song Chunbo immediately asked, "The policy essay that my teacher annotated was also copied by your old friend after you annotated it?"

It is normal to copy books, but the credibility of copied annotations is not very high.

Everyone originally stood on Master Cen's side, but after hearing what Song Chunbo said, they couldn't help but show a look of confusion.