As soon as the man finished speaking, everyone's attention was on Zu An, mostly with the intention of watching him make a fool of himself.
This guy is good-for-nothing and yet he married the most beautiful woman in Mingyue City. I heard recently that he also had an affair with Qiu Honglei from Shenxianju. He's really cutting off men's livelihoods, so naturally everyone dislikes him.
Xie Daoyun looked at Zu An with some worry. She knew that these literati were all very proud and aloof, and they believed in not bowing to power. Zu An was probably in some trouble today.
However, she was also curious whether the man who could write such a piece could actually resolve the current crisis.
Wang Yuanlong was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. If he intervened, it would damage the reputation of Sifang Pavilion. If he didn't intervene, he would offend Zu'an and even the Chu family behind him.
Left with no other option, he gave his men a look, signaling them to find a way to get rid of the troublemakers.
Just as his men were about to step forward, Sang Qian stepped forward and blocked their way.
Zheng Dan glanced at him, a playful smile on her face. She had clearly figured it out too, but she wasn't worried about Zu An at all. That guy was cunning and sly; how could he be so easily taken advantage of?
As expected, Zu An smiled and said, "May I ask this talented scholar's esteemed name?"
There was absolutely no sign of nervousness in his tone of voice or expression.
The man with the triangular eyes shook his fan: "No problem, I am Xu Qinsong from Xinghuo City."
He spoke with a smug look on his face, as if the name represented glory.
These words immediately sparked a flurry of discussion among those around.
"Never heard of it, is it famous?" Zuan picked at his ear.
Xu Qinsong's breath hitched.
Anger level from Xu Qinsong +233!
At this moment, Xie Daoyun whispered a reminder: "This Xu Qinsong is a famous talented scholar from Xinghuo City in the neighboring county. You should be careful."
Xu Qinsong smiled slightly and cupped his hands in greeting: "Miss Xie is too kind. I have long admired Miss Xie as the most talented woman in Mingyue City and would like to exchange ideas and discuss poetry with her."
"Young Master Xu, you flatter me." Xie Daoyun nodded to him, her manners impeccable, but her eyes remained completely unmoved.
Seeing her lack of interest, Xu Qinsong's smile froze. He immediately realized that she was now a member of Zu'an's group, which was probably why she was not paying attention to him. So he glared at her fiercely again.
Anger level from Xu Qinsong +334!
Zu An thought to himself, "This guy failed in his pursuit of a beautiful girl, so why is he taking it out on me? Alright, alright, you just want to provoke me into a competition with you. Tell me, how do you want to compete, horizontally or vertically?"
What a joke! I was also educated through nine years of compulsory education and influenced by those trolls on the modern internet. Am I not as good as a native who traveled the world?
Hearing him agree so readily, Xie Daoyun was slightly startled, but it was too late to stop him.
I thought to myself, how could this guy be so reckless? Normally, if he just apologized at the beginning, the matter would be over. Did he expect the other party to follow him upstairs?
Xu Qinsong was overjoyed. He had come to Mingyue City to make a name for himself, and Zu'an was the perfect stepping stone.
I was worried that he would stay silent and not fight, but this guy actually jumped into the pit on his own initiative, so I hurriedly said: "It's very simple. I'll give you a few couplets. If you can match them, I'll recognize your qualification to go upstairs."
Zuan scoffed, "Who do you think you are? Do I need your approval to go upstairs? The only reason I agreed to the match was because you insisted on putting your face right in front of me to slap you, and I would feel embarrassed not to."
Of course, the most important reason is to not miss any opportunity to earn anger points.
Everyone was dumbfounded; this guy's arrogance was a bit too exaggerated.
Even Xie Daoyun frowned slightly. She had heard of Xu Qinsong's talent, but even she wasn't confident that she could defeat him. Where did this guy get his confidence?
Although he is good at composing music, that is a completely different thing from literary talent.
Anger level from Xu Qinsong +666!
He had never seen such an arrogant fellow before, and suppressing his anger, he said, "Since that's the case, then please accept my challenge."
"The general shoots the tiger; though the bow is strong, the stone is even harder."
Many self-proclaimed scholars in the room began to study the first line of the couplet upon hearing it, and even Xie Daoyun frowned and pondered it secretly.
This seemingly simple word-splitting couplet actually uses a classical allusion.
Historically, a general once saw a tiger in the distance while out in the wild. In a panic, he drew his bow and shot an arrow. After hitting the target, he looked closely and realized that there was no tiger at all, just a rock shaped like a tiger. Nevertheless, the arrow had penetrated deep into the rock, and people praised his great strength.
So it's quite troublesome if you really have to match them.
Only Zuan scoffed, thinking that the scholars in this world had some ability, but this was all they were capable of.
So he immediately replied, "The imperial concubine is drunk and still lying down; do not touch her."
Xie Daoyun silently recited the second line of the couplet. It was indeed a very well-matched couplet, but the meaning of the words was somewhat...
Zheng Dan smiled, thinking to himself, "This guy really does have some quirky talents."
Xu Qinsong pointed at Zu An, his finger trembling uncontrollably, his face flushed red: "This...this is an insult to civility!"
Anger from Xu Qinsong +145!
Zu An smiled slightly: "What do you mean by 'disrespectful to scholars'? This is clearly a word of advice. You've just misunderstood it, haven't you?"
Xu Qinsong snorted sullenly: "Fine, you've got it right. I have another couplet for you to listen to. I don't believe you can come up with it by such a trick."
"If we've matched up, we've matched up. What do you mean by 'I've matched up'? Show me what other skills you have. But judging from your level, I doubt you'll produce any legendary masterpieces." Zu'an said with a look of disdain.
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