"Brother...brother! We can't just keep our mouths shut!"
Xie Xiuyuan was trembling, and he could even hear the sounds of grinding teeth and cracking fingers around him...
However, this subtle emotion was directly interrupted by a smiling male voice.
"It's better to be incompetent and talentless than to be neither above nor below. You're only half as good as you are. You claim to be noble but you can't afford to be a high-ranking official and have a generous salary. You can't give up your figure and your face. What are you doing in this teahouse again? What a joke!"
The whole place was quiet for a moment, and then all eyes turned to the person who spoke.
Across a flower-carved screen, Xie Xiuyuan couldn't see the man's face clearly, but he always felt a little familiar.
When Lu Shenyan heard this, his face turned red almost instantly. He looked at the man with anger.
"What do you mean?!"
"Tell the truth! Isn't this the truth?" Xia Lishuang's folding fan cleverly blocked most of her face, leaving only a pair of eyes looking at Lu Shenyan with a smile but not a smile.
Lu Shenyan blushed with anger at these words, but he also had a bit of arrogance that refused to admit defeat.
"Dare I ask my brother's name?"
He has been in the circle of poor scholars in this capital for several years, and he is considered to be a veteran. This is the first person who dares to challenge him.
"Being nameless, it's not that I don't recognize you, I'm just not used to people deceiving themselves and others!" Xia Lishuang stared at the other party, there was no mockery in her eyes, only sincerity.
But this feeling of being sincere and even telling the truth became the deepest thorn in Lu Shenyan's heart.
"you--"
Lu Shenyan wanted to scold, but as a scholar for many years, he had scolded everyone in his mouth. Now facing the person in front of him, he didn't say anything.
Xie Xiuyuan followed, but the moment he saw the speaker, his legs almost gave out.
If it weren't for the threatening look from Wen Ranran behind him that made Xie Xiuyuan hold back, Xie Xiuyuan would have wanted to kneel down on the spot.
His heart trembled, and his eyes almost immediately turned to Wen Ranran for help.
You know, he is the most aware of Lu Shenyan's bad habits, and now, he is facing the Holy One!
If he says something nasty that he shouldn't say, his good friend who has been around forever will probably be in trouble.
Xie Xiuyuan took a deep breath, his pupils were trembling, and he wanted to wink at Lu Shenyan, but was stopped by Wen Ranran's eyes.
However, this time, to his surprise, Lu Shenyan did not get angry.
He just clenched his fists tightly. He was always wild and unruly and never cared about other people's opinions. He just stared at Xia Lishuang.
"Why do you say that?!"
Xia Lishuang smiled lightly, her eyes so clear that she could see through the wind and moon between heaven and earth.
"It's true that you bumped into a nobleman during the imperial examination, and it's not a sin to leave the palace in anger, but what happens after you leave the palace?"
"If I were you, if I was really disappointed with the officialdom... I would just go back to my hometown, or wander around the country and become an idler in the world, reciting poems and painting. Wouldn't it be beautiful? If not, give up the so-called ambition,
Return to your hometown, have a beautiful wife and concubine, and live a stable life."
"But, what are you doing?"
Xia Lishuang's tone was calm, like the calmest statement, but it ripped open the scars in Lu Shenyan's heart.
"Staying in this capital, you are complaining about the so-called injustice to the court, and at the same time you are stubborn about your own ridiculous face! In the end, you have nothing to rely on."
"If you really want to serve the people and the country, you will put down your face and go to the so-called court. If you are really unhappy with the court, you will work as an official and make people look at you with admiration... But now you are living in this capital and doing this resentment
You really shouldn't do this!"
The whole place was silent, and Lu Shenyan lowered his head, his ears filled with Xia Lishuang's words, but he couldn't say a word.
A grown man in his thirties, who was once famous as the number one cultural troll in the capital, was now made blushing and thick-necked by Xia Lishuang's calm and calm tone, unable to utter a word.