The worst way to kill someone is to destroy their heart.
Zhang Yinian experienced this feeling at this moment.
Despair, it's really so desperate.
But he couldn't figure out how Xu Yan knew that the poem wasn't his. Could it be that Xu Yan had opened his clairvoyance?
This is impossible, Xu Yan must be tricking him!
Zhang Yinian forced himself to cheer up and sneered, "Mr. Xu is really slandering me. How can you be so sure that I didn't write this poem?"
"It's simple. You're just a dandy young man. What do you know about growing crops? How do you know about growing vegetables? Not to mention cooking them or picking vegetables. Master Zhang, you'd better use your brain before you write a poem. Don't think others are so easy to fool."
Xu Yanyun calmly pointed out Zhang Yinian's flaw.
Zhang Yinian blushed but refused to admit it.
"You're just speculating. Why can't I cook rice or pick vegetables? If you say so, I can also say that the poem I just wrote wasn't yours!"
Faced with Zhang Yinian's pale and powerless counterattack, Xu Yan almost laughed out loud.
Finished? That's it? This guy has already started to go into impotent rage mode.
Xu Yan spread his hands and said, "Where's the evidence? Without evidence, you're slandering me."
Xu Yan's poem was flawless, so Zhang Yinian certainly couldn't produce any evidence, and he was furious.
After holding it in for a long time, he gritted his teeth and said, "You are just a shabby, unrefined person! Do you dare to compete with me in poetry again?"
His words immediately aroused public outrage, and the students from Dinghai County protested on the spot.
"What do you mean by that? What do you mean by a ragtag county?"
"Speak clearly, did the people of Dinghai County provoke you?"
"You have such a strong sense of superiority, thinking that Yin County is superior to others just because it is the seat of government. Who the hell do you think you are?"
"Yes, why did you scold us too?"
"You are the unpresentable rough guy!"
Zhang Yinian was in the wrong, so he naturally didn't dare to talk back. Otherwise, the angry people in Dinghai County would have wanted to tear him apart.
Xu Yan was delighted to see what he saw, and then he delivered another fierce blow.
"Don't compare the white jade flower to a pale makeup, who can compare to the white rainbow dress? It is uniquely pure and quiet, naturally elegant, so don't go near the east wall.
"The icy skin and jade-like bones were gifted by nature, and also given to melancholy. Pity the long night, the cold smoke and moon, the sparse shadows across the window."
Everyone present was captivated by this poem, and a clever one immediately began to explain: "Mr. Xu is using the plum blossom poem to express his pure and innocent nature, his innocence of struggling for spring."
"Mr. Xu is truly magnanimous. Someone like Zhang Yinian really doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Mr. Xu."
"Competing with him would be a devaluation for Case Master Xu."
"How can the difference between people be so huge? It's like heaven and earth."
"This is incredible! This is incredible! The Ming Dynasty is about to produce another child prodigy."
"Mr. Xu is truly the poet and lyricist of the Ming Dynasty."
Xu Yan glanced at Chen Maoli beside him, and seeing his admiring expression, he smiled faintly: "Brother Lu Qing, let's go."
Seeing that Xu Yan ran away after winning and never gave him a chance to turn the tables, Zhang Yinian fainted from anger.
......
......
As soon as Xu Yan and Chen Maoli returned to the Tailai Inn, Chen Maoli exclaimed in praise, "Brother Yishi is truly a poetic talent. The line 'Talented men emerge in every generation, each leading the charge for hundreds of years' is truly stunning. And the line 'Don't compare the white jade flower to her pale makeup, who can compare to her white rainbow dress' is truly wonderful!"
Xu Yan smiled and said, "Brother Lu Qing, please don't praise me. I just got it by accident. I may not be able to do it next time."
"Zhang Yinian didn't get the first place in the provincial examination, and he was furious. He thought he could win back some face by defeating his younger brother with a poem, but he never expected that he would be so defeated that he couldn't even lift his head."
"People should be kind-hearted. People like him who are so arrogant and domineering need to learn a lesson."
"Brother Yishi is absolutely right. Judging from Zhang Yinian's expression, he must be pissed off."
The two were chatting happily when suddenly someone knocked on the door.
Shuangxi went to open the door, and seeing it was the waiter, he turned around and asked, "Did the master ask him to come in?"
Xu Yan was in a good mood, so he nodded.
Xiao Er walked up to Xu Yan in two steps, smiling broadly, and said, "Congratulations, Master Xu, for winning the first place in the provincial examination."
Xu Yan thought that the news spread quickly.
"You have served me wholeheartedly over the past ten days."
The waiter quickly said, "This is all my duty. The shopkeeper just said that our inn has a top scorer in the provincial examination, which is a great blessing. Mr. Xu's room fee will be waived for the time being. I only ask that Mr. Xu give me a piece of calligraphy to leave for our inn."
Xu Yan pondered for a moment and realized that the cost of the ten-day room was quite high. Since there was an opportunity for a free meal, he naturally couldn't miss it.
However, his handwriting is really mediocre, so it would be inappropriate for him to write the inscription.
"My dear brother is very good at calligraphy. How about I write the couplet and he writes it?"
The waiter thought about it and decided that no one had ever seen Mr. Xu's calligraphy, so as long as the couplet was written by Mr. Xu, it would be fine.
"sure."
"However, if this is the case, Brother Chen will definitely have to take a fee. I can't pay for it myself, so how about waiving Brother Chen's rent as well?"
Xu Yan smiled slightly.
The waiter looked embarrassed and said, "This...I can't make the decision. Please ask the shopkeeper."
After saying that, he turned and left.
The little servant Shuangxi looked at Xu Yan with great admiration, thinking that although the young master was a spendthrift, he was also good at making money.
"My brother Yishi is truly a wonderful person."
Chen Maoli admired Xu Yan more and more.
"Thank you so much."
About half a cup of tea later, the waiter came back with writing brush, ink, paper and inkstone.
He panted and said, "Mr. Xu...Mr. Xu, my shopkeeper has agreed. Please give me the couplet."
Xu Yan nodded and said, "Shuangxi, why don't you help Brother Luqing spread the paper and grind the ink?"
Shuangxi thought to himself, I have always served the young master, but this person is the young master's good friend, so I'll just have to make do with him.
When Shuangxi was ready, Xu Yan greeted Chen Maoli and said, "Brother Luqing, please do it for me."
After that, he cleared his throat and chanted:
"First couplet: For thirty years, I have not been named in the county examination, nor in the prefectural examination, nor in the academy examination. Human eyes cannot see with the eyes of heaven.
Second line: On the eighty days, he got first place in the provincial examination, first place in the imperial examination, and first place again in the palace examination. He took off his white clothes and returned with his scarlet robe.
Horizontal banner: "Good times will come after bad times"
Xu Yan was afraid that Chen Maoli would not remember it, so he read it slowly and then repeated it again.
After Chen Maoli finished writing the couplet, Xu Yan took it and looked at it. Sure enough, his handwriting was much better than his.
Chen Maoli thought Xu Yan's couplet was brilliantly written. The upper and lower lines captured the bittersweet sorrow of a scholar who endured ten years of study without a single ray of appreciation, only to achieve instant fame and recognition. The horizontal scroll, while not only emphasizing the theme, also incorporated the name of Tailai Inn—truly a brilliant stroke of genius.
Although the waiter didn't understand much, he knew that Xu Yan's couplet was good. He took it and thanked him profusely, "Thank you, Master Xu and Master Chen. I'll take this to the shopkeeper."
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ps: It has that flavor, right?
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