Chapter 189: There are apricots but no plums
Baozhu gently pulled Lin Hao's sleeve and whispered, "Miss, it's Master Han."
Lin Hao looked at Han Baocheng with a smile in his eyes.
She likes anyone who is willing to be sincere to her sister even in her sister's situation.
If Young Master Han is here too, then - Lin Haohan looked in the direction where Han Baocheng came out, and sure enough, he saw his cousin Wen Feng in the crowd.
Could it be that the friend Mr. Han was talking about was his cousin?
The thought flashed through my mind but was quickly rejected.
Based on her understanding of her cousin, this is a matter concerning the dignity of the scholars in the Great Zhou Dynasty. If her cousin could speak out, he would have stood up long ago instead of remaining indifferent.
That friend should be Yang Zhe, the top scholar.
Lin Hao looked in that direction a few more times, but did not see Yang Zhe. Instead, he was seen by Wen Feng.
Wen Feng looked surprised and squeezed through the crowd to come to Lin Hao.
"Oh well, you're here too."
"I came out to buy some things, and when I saw the excitement here, I came over to take a look. Are you Eleventh Brother and Young Master Han?"
Wen Feng said helplessly, "Yes, but Brother Han has already sent the servant to call Yang Zhuangyuan."
Lin Hao couldn't help but smile: "That's what Mr. Han would do."
Wen Feng's heart moved.
It seems that Ah Hao has a good impression of Brother Han. This means that Brother Han is likely to get what he wants.
Wen Feng wanted to ask about Lin Chan's health, but was drawn away by the laughter of the Yu Liu people.
Like the onlookers, several Yuliu people thought Han Baocheng was bragging. One of them asked with a smile, "Where is your friend?"
"My friend will be here soon."
"No one is here?" The Yu Liu people looked at each other and laughed even louder.
The onlookers couldn't help but complain.
"How can this person be so unreliable? His friends aren't even here, yet he's still blowing his own trumpet on their behalf."
"That's right, isn't this just asking for trouble in front of the Yuliu people?"
Amidst the accusations, a young man became excited and said, "I've seen him before. He was a newly-appointed Jinshi last year!"
Newly minted scholar?
As soon as the discussion stopped, someone quickly retorted: "Newly minted scholars are useless. Just now, several newly minted scholars competed with the Yu Liu people and were defeated."
The young man clenched his fists to control his excitement: "His friend is Yang Zhuangyuan!"
Everyone who heard it became excited.
Last year, when the Imperial Street was celebrating the success of the top scholar, they had all witnessed his majestic appearance on a majestic horse. It was the image of the God of Literature descending to earth, and they still remembered the roaring gongs and drums and the hoisted banners that read "Three consecutive top prizes."
It was a scene rarely seen in decades.
"That's right, the arrival of the top scholar will definitely make the Yuliu people embarrassed!"
People suddenly gained confidence, swept away their previous anger and embarrassment, and looked forward to the arrival of the top scholar.
"Tianming, what are you doing?"
The laughing Yu Liu people bowed to the visitor when they saw him.
Prince Yu Liu walked over, his tone full of curiosity: "Can anyone tell me what happened and why there are so many people?"
One of them said with a smug smile, "Prince, we competed with the talented scholars of the Great Zhou in making couplets, but they were so mediocre that not a single one of them could get it right."
When he said this, the others laughed again.
Prince Yu Liu showed a look of disapproval: "You can't do that. We are guests, we should be polite to the host."
"I'm not being rude. They just think Yu Liu can't compare to me. He's the best writer in the world."
"Okay, stop talking so much and follow me back to the guesthouse."
A few people looked regretful and agreed reluctantly.
When they saw them leaving, the onlookers stopped working.
"Don't go, the person who matched the pair will be here soon."
"Did you hear that our number one scholar was coming, so you didn't dare to stay?"
I can't blame the onlookers for fanning the flames. If these Yu Liu people were to leave today, the Great Zhou would be humiliated. But when the top scholar arrives, there will be another chance to show off.
Hearing these shouts, the Yuliu people who were about to leave stopped still: "Listen, Prince, they say we don't have the courage to stay."
Prince Yu Liu frowned, his expression darkening. "In that case, let's wait a while."
“Here it comes, here it comes!”
Someone shouted, and the crowd consciously made way for a path, and a young man in a moon-white robe walked over.
The young man had beautiful eyebrows and eyes, and his figure was as straight as a pine tree. Although he was accompanied by others, people only saw him.
"The number one scholar, it's the number one scholar!" people shouted excitedly.
Princess Lingque, wearing a veil, stood quietly among Yu Liu and her group, her beautiful eyes gazing at the newcomers through the veil.
It turns out that he is the top scholar of the Great Zhou Dynasty.
It turns out that Princess Yi'an's husband is like this.
She raised her hand to adjust the veil covering her pointed chin and smiled slightly.
"Brother Yang, you are here." Han Baocheng breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Yang Zhe coming.
He had been genuinely worried that these shameless Yu Liu people would just leave. He knew his friend's talent all too well, and it would be a shame not to let the Yu Liu people broaden their horizons.
Prince Yu Liu looked at the approaching young man, and a thought inevitably flashed through his mind: Could it be that the princess is simply attracted to the number one scholar?
No, no, Wang Mei has never seen this Yang Zhuangyuan before.
Prince Yu Liu didn't want to admit that even a grown man like him was nearly overwhelmed by the charisma of the Great Zhou's top scholar, so he quickly dismissed his thoughts and said, "I saw you at the banquet that day."
Yang Zhe introduced himself calmly and looked at the Yu Liu people. "I heard there's an interesting couplet contest going on here. I wonder if I could join in?"
When the talented Yu Liu heard this, he was secretly annoyed.
It was clearly a literary duel between two countries, but how did this person turn it into something amusing? In one sentence, he reduced today's dispute to a low-brow prank. This Zhou Dynasty champion was truly despicable.
They became even more angry when they thought of the prince's previous instructions to let this person win in the end.
"Of course you can." A Yu Liu scholar said in a deep voice.
Yang Zhe smiled and bowed, "Please tell me the first couplet."
"Listen carefully, the first line of the couplet is 'Nan Tong Zhou, Bei Tong Zhou', the Nan Tong Zhou connects the north and the south."
"East pawnshop, west pawnshop, pawning things at the east and west pawnshops." Yang Zhe came up with the second line without hesitation.
It was right! The crowd cheered immediately.
Yu Liucaizi's expression was somewhat solemn.
For a dignified Zhou Dynasty champion, it is not scary if he cannot match his opponent; what is scary is the opponent's speed.
"Wangjiang Tower, looking at the river flow, looking at the river flow from under the Wangjiang Tower, the river tower is eternal, the river flow is eternal."
"The Yinyue Well, the Yinyue shadow. The Yinyue shadow is in the Yinyue Well. The Yinyue Well lasts for ten thousand years, and the Yinyue shadow lasts for ten thousand years."
"good!"
Amidst the deafening cheers, the Yu Liu scholars' foreheads were covered in sweat, and they finally realized how quick-witted the young man in front of them was.
At this moment, a girl wearing a veil stepped out from the crowd, and her gentle voice rang out: "I also have a couplet. Please give me the second line, Mr. Zhuangyuan."
Yang Zhe bowed politely and said in a gentle tone: "Miss, please tell me the first couplet."
Princess Lingque stared at the young man and said softly, "The first couplet is: lotus roots come from lotus flowers."
Yang Zhe said without hesitation: "If you have apricots, you don't need plums."
Princess Lingque raised her lips and smiled: "The champion is right."
Wen Feng, who was standing next to Lin Hao, murmured, "Lotus roots come from lotus, and plums are unnecessary when there are apricots—"
His expression suddenly changed.
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