"Young Master Yu, you don't look like a refugee. How did you end up like this?”Zhu Gaochen was curious.
Logically speaking, Yu Qian was also a talented scholar of his generation.
Although he was still two years away from the Jinshi examination, with his talent, even if he were to sell poems and paintings on the streets or help others write articles, he would not end up in such a sorry state!
"Young Master" Yu Qian was about to answer, but his stomach was the first to 'voice' his objection, singing the empty city stratagem.
Seeing this, Zhu Gaochen turned to the waiter and instructed,""Waiter, give this Young Master Yu a bowl of Yang Chun noodles.”
"No, no, no way.”
When Yu Qian heard that Zhu Gaochen wanted to treat him to noodles, he immediately shook his head and waved his hand.""Young Master, I won't accept a reward without merit. I'm already very grateful that you invited me in, but you can't treat me to noodles.”
"Young Master Yu, don't push it away." Zhu Gaochen tried to persuade him patiently.
No wonder the civil officials of the Ming Dynasty were so stubborn. It was fine if there was a pedantic scholar Fang Xiaoru in front.
He did not expect Yu Qian to be the same.
Even when he was starving, he still had the arrogance of a scholar.
Soon, a large bowl of Yang Chun noodles was served in front of Yu Qian, but the other party still did not move his chopsticks.
Zhu Gaochen looked at Yu Qian, who was swallowing his saliva but refused to eat his noodles. He smiled and said,""Young Master Yu, I admire your arrogance as a scholar, but being too arrogant is equivalent to being conceited. I hope you can understand that we should eat noodles first and talk while eating.”
Yu Qian hesitated for a while, then finally gritted his teeth, took out the chopsticks from the bamboo tube, and began to wolf down the noodles.
In the blink of an eye, he had finished a large bowl of Yang Chun noodles.
Seeing this, Zhu Gaochen gave a glance to the waiter at the side. The latter understood and turned to enter the kitchen.
Soon, the waiter came out with a bowl of steaming Yang Chun noodles.
Yu Qian didn't bother to thank him this time. He pushed the empty bowl he had just finished to the side and continued to wolf down the noodles.
After eating five bowls of Yang Chun noodles in a row, Yu Qian patted his stomach and let out a satisfied sigh.
Obviously, he was full.
"Thank you for your kindness. I still don't know your name. In the future, if I can obtain some fame, I can repay your kindness.”Yu Qian stood up with a respectful expression and bowed to Zhu Gaochen.
"My surname is Gao, and my name is Chen." Zhu Gaochen replied with a smile.
He did not want to reveal his real name. After all, in the Ying Tian Prefecture, the surname Zhu was the imperial surname. This surname was basically related to the imperial family.
Zhu Gaochen was afraid that he would scare the other party if he told them his real name.
"Young Master Gao." Yu Qian cupped his fists and bowed.
Zhu Gaochen was still not used to Yu Qian's overly polite behavior, so he asked again,""Now that Young Master Yu is full, can you tell me why you are in such a sorry state?”
Yu Qian was silent for a moment, then looked up and said,""The village is very desolate, suffering from drought and locust plague every year. The old man pays his debts as a servant, and the young man sells his food. The wall is broken and the house is blown by the wind. The beam is broken and the moon falls from the bed. Who knew that the herdsmen would not report the disaster?”
As soon as he finished speaking, Zhu Gaochen frowned. Did Yu Qian escape from famine and end up in such a state?
It was easy to understand that the other party had described his encounter in a poem.
The meaning of the whole poem was: The village was desolate and poor. Every year, there was a drought and locusts. They sold their sons to pay taxes. The old man paid his debts as a helper. The house collapsed and the moon shone on the bed. The four walls were broken and could not block the wind. How could they be known as parents and not report the disaster to the court?
Yu Qian's appearance was most likely to escape from famine.
"Young Master Yu, your words are a little serious. As far as I know, Great Ming is now strong and powerful.”
Zhu Gaochen narrowed his eyes. Fortunately, he did not recite this poem in front of Zhu Di. Otherwise, even ten Yu Qians would not be enough.
Behind Yu Qian's poem, there was the meaning of criticizing the imperial court and the current ruler, Zhu Di.
It was a classic case of scolding someone surnamed Zhu in front of him.
"Young Master Gao may not know this, but in recent years, there have been droughts and locusts everywhere. The current emperor has been fighting every year. In order to raise military pay, the local officials have increased taxes, and the people are suffering.”
"I was born into a poor family. My only kin is my mother.”
"She put in so much effort to support me in my studies and even had to pay taxes. In order not to burden her, I could only come to the Heaven Ying Prefecture.”
"I wanted to find a job and work while waiting for the imperial examinations to start. I didn't expect that after being here for so long, I couldn't find a job and ended up living on the streets."
Yu Qian smiled bitterly and shook his head.
Zhu Gaochen nodded to himself.
Indeed, in the past few years, Zhu Di had been fighting everywhere. The national treasury was empty and taxes were increased. The people were the ones who suffered.
"Since Young Master Yu thinks that the officials of the imperial court are so incompetent, why do you want to take the exam?”Zhu Gaochen asked.
"It's precisely because the officials of the imperial court are not doing anything that I want to take the imperial examination to enter the official position. If there's a day in my high school, I will definitely report to the Emperor to stop the war, reduce taxes, punish evil officials, let the people cultivate, and return the world to peace!”
Yu Qian's expression was firm. As he spoke, he clenched his fists.
Zhu Gaochen didn't say anything. He started to admire Yu Qian from the bottom of his heart.
No wonder the later generations had such high praise for him, and even the history books recorded him as a hero of a famous clan.
It was not difficult to tell from his words.
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