Sitting in the center of the arena, holding his sword, the cold and ruthless Xiao Ziwu suddenly felt a slight itch on the tip of his nose.
He always felt a burning gaze fixed on him.
He must have missed his baby so much that he seemed to have hallucinated, hearing his baby's soft, complaining voice accusing him.
Thinking of her, Xiao Ziwu's face cleared up like snow after a storm.
But how could that be?
This is a den of iniquity, a place where men seek pleasure. How could my precious child possibly be here?
Xiao Ziwu pursed his lips self-deprecatingly.
This little incident was quickly forgotten by everyone.
The frozen scene gradually returned to its lively state.
Looking at Liu Shui'er on the round platform, many self-confident young men with exceptional literary talent became eager to try their hand at writing.
A tall, thin man behind Hu Yanhongxue stood up first, and the woman he was holding was thrown away without any mercy.
"I'll go first!"
The tall, thin man with puffy, dark circles under his eyes looked at Liu Shui'er on the round platform with a pair of unfocused eyes. He smiled slyly and said, "Parrot Island, a boat on the island, the water pushes the boat but the island doesn't flow. Please enlighten me, Miss Shui'er."
"This young master's couplet is truly ingenious." Liu Shui'er praised him half-jokingly, but quickly came up with the matching line: "Luoyang Bridge, buckwheat under the bridge, the wind blows the buckwheat but the bridge does not move."
The tall, thin man sat down, his face ashen.
Each person only has one chance. If they fail to make a decisive move, they will miss out on the chance to meet Miss Shui'er today.
"Miss Shui'er is indeed a talented writer!" The admiration in the tall, thin man's eyes was evident, but he could only sit down reluctantly.
Liu Shui'er said, "Young master, you are too kind. Then let the lady beside you drink the wine with her mouth."
She pointed to the woman who had been left behind by the tall, thin man.
The tall, thin man wasn't coy at all. He poured a sip of wine for the woman beside him, then pounced on her like a hungry wolf and kissed her, taking the wine back into his own mouth.
The two kissed passionately, and amidst the ambiguous sighs of the crowd, the atmosphere reached its peak.
After the tall, thin man sat down with a slightly improved expression, another person stood up to Hu Yanhongxue's right rear.
This man was pot-bellied, and his face was flushed abnormally from excessive drinking. He was old enough to be Liu Shui'er's father.
Instead of asking questions, he, emboldened by the alcohol, put one leg on the table and lewdly thrust his hips towards Liu Shui'er on the round platform, chuckling wickedly.
His extremely ugly face, coupled with his shameless and obscene actions, was simply unbearable to look at!
One of the people present, unable to bear it any longer, shouted: "If you want to be horny, go to the private room! Don't embarrass yourself in front of everyone."
The old man ignored them, let out a burp, and slowly said, "Golden willows by the Golden Water River, golden willows piercing the mouths of goldfish. Please, Miss Water?"
This question was much harder than the previous couplet. Tianyun was secretly sweating for Liu Shuier. If she couldn't come up with a matching couplet, she would be taken advantage of by a pig tonight.
This time, Liu Shui'er took longer to think about it than before and did not give an answer immediately.
Seeing Liu Shui'er frown, Hu Yan Hongxue turned to Xiao Ziwu and asked, "I don't understand these literary things from your Great Liang. Tell me, do you know the answer to this question?"
Xiao Ziwu shook his head. He only read books like "Essential Strategies for Governing the Country" and "Sun Xu's Art of War," and wasn't particularly interested in such romantic and frivolous things.
When the incense stick had burned halfway, Liu Shui'er finally managed to finish the poem, "Jade hairpin flowers outside the jade railing, jade hairpin flowers adorning the head of a jade beauty."
She was able to respond, and everyone seemed even more excited than she was.
"That's right!"
A cheer erupted from the crowd, with everyone clapping and applauding her, as no one wanted to see a beautiful woman humiliated.
Liu Shui'er bowed gracefully, her watery eyes shimmering, "Thank you all."
Then he said to the wicked old man, "Young master, please use your mouth to remove the outer veil of the woman beside you."
This is the method that causes the least harm to the woman.
After the portly man finished following the rules, he spat on the ground and staggered out the door drunkenly, not forgetting to utter some harsh words to Liu Shui'er before leaving.
"I'll come again tomorrow, and I refuse to believe I can't stump you then...!"
Liu Shui'er curtsied without changing her expression, "Shui'er is always at your service."
Having seen it all, she wasn't frightened by such a small threat. On the contrary, his daily visits to support her were a good thing for Liu Shui'er.
The illiterate Hu Yanhongxue urged, "Hurry up and give me a couplet, I want to play with her too."
The punishments were so interesting that he was completely captivated and couldn't wait to try out this novel way of playing!
He was getting annoyed by her pestering. Xiao Ziwu said calmly, "Then ask her, 'Because of the lotus, one obtains the lotus root.'"
Hu Yanhongxue's eyes lit up: "Is this couplet impressive?" It feels a bit short, only five characters.
Xiao Ziwu replied perfunctorily, "Impressive."
Such a simple couplet, even a child could come up with a matching one... but—
Lianxiang and Xiyu, sitting on Huyan Hongxue's laps, exchanged a glance.
They both sensed from each other's eyes that it was better to remain silent.
Hu Yanhongxue believed Xiao Ziwu's words without a doubt. He then released the two beauties, stood up, and spoke confidently.
"Would the Water Maiden like to do this to me? Because of the lotus, I obtained the lotus root."
With such a smug tone, anyone who didn't know better would think it was some incredibly difficult, timeless couplet!
Liu Shui'er on the round platform had a complicated expression: "..."
She originally planned to go easy on Hu Yanhongxue. As long as he gave her a couplet of moderate difficulty, she would pretend to have a mental block and let him win!
But right now...
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