Chapter 56 Cheating in the Question Bank
After releasing the Kongming lantern, Jiang Mianmian's mood quickly switched from "romantic and touching" to "eating, drinking and having fun" mode.
Although Shen Jin promised to buy her sweet lotus root with osmanthus, the two were attracted by a loud gong and drum sound before they even reached the stall.
At the end of Zhuque Avenue, a three-story-high platform had been erected, surrounded by layers of people, with cheers and sighs rising and falling.
That's the 'Thousand Lanterns Tower'.
Shen Jin glanced at it and then began his explanation: "Every year on Qixi Festival, a lantern riddle competition is held here. Whoever can guess all the lantern riddles on the top floor in one go will win this year's 'Lantern King'."
"The King of Lights?"
Jiang Mianmian stood on tiptoe and looked in the direction Chen Jin was pointing.
At the very top of the platform hung an enormous, dazzling lantern. The lantern was exquisitely crafted, with eight scenes depicting "spring, summer, autumn, winter, wind, flowers, snow, and moon" on its six sides. As the hot air circulated, the scenes on the lantern seemed to come alive and move: spring flowers bloomed, summer rain tapped on the window, autumn leaves fell, and winter snow covered everything.
What's even more amazing is that the lamp frame was actually made from a single piece of crystal, which refracted a rainbow of colors under the candlelight.
Holy crap! This is so beautiful!
Jiang Mianmian's eyes instantly turned into searchlights.
If this were placed at the entrance of my future hot pot restaurant, it would instantly elevate the ambiance! It would definitely be the star attraction!
I want it! I really want it!
She tugged at Chen Jin's sleeve and pointed at the lamp: "Your Highness! That one! I want that one!"
Shen Jin glanced at the lamp and frowned slightly.
"That lamp... is not for sale."
"Not for sale?"
"We can only win," Shen Jin said. "This is a joint event organized by several major academies in the capital to test the students' talents. The riddles cover astronomy, geography, poetry, and prose, and are extremely difficult. In previous years, those who won the title of 'King of the Lanterns' were all learned scholars."
As he spoke, he glanced at Jiang Mianmian, his meaning clear: You should just give up.
Jiang Mianmian felt insulted.
Whom do you look down on?
[A learned scholar? A great Confucian scholar?]
[Hmph, although I was illiterate in ancient times, I'm a modern person who received nine years of compulsory education and went through the hellish college entrance exam!]
[You can recite the Three Hundred Tang Poems backwards, and you've been practicing brain teasers since childhood! Trying to compete with me on a question bank? You're just humiliating yourselves!]
"Your Highness!"
Jiang Mianmian patted her chest, exuding confidence, "Just wait and see, I'm taking the lantern tonight!"
After saying that, she lifted her skirt and, like a female warrior going to fight in a boxing ring, strode confidently into the crowd.
"Make way! Make way! An expert is coming!"
Shen Jin looked at her arrogant back and shook his head helplessly. He then followed her, releasing a chilling aura that instantly created a "VIP passage" for her.
On the high platform.
At this moment, a scholar dressed in a blue robe was standing there, sweating profusely, scratching his head at a riddle.
That was the last question on the second level.
The riddle is: "From afar, the mountains are colorful; up close, the water is silent. Spring has gone, but the flowers remain; people come, but the birds are not startled." (Guess what it is)
After thinking for a long time, the scholar finally managed to stammer out, "Is...is it a fairyland?"
"wrong!"
The old scholar in charge of setting the questions shook his head and ruthlessly struck the gong, "Next!"
The scholar, ashamed, covered his face and left.
The crowd below murmured amongst themselves: "This question is way too difficult! How could there possibly be such a place?"
Jiang Mianmian stood below the stage, listening to this question that even kindergarten children in modern times could answer, and almost burst out laughing.
That's it? That's it?
[Is this what they call extremely difficult? Isn't this just a freebie?]
Without hesitation, she raised her hand, her voice clear and bright: "I can!"
Everyone turned around and saw a woman dressed in luxurious clothes but wearing a mask, and they all cast suspicious glances at her.
"Young lady, this is no joke." The old scholar stroked his beard.
Jiang Mianmian strode onto the stage, smiling confidently: "The answer to this riddle is—a painting!"
The entire room fell silent.
The old scholar's eyes lit up: "Wonderful! The mountains are colorful, but the water is silent—just like a scene from a painting! Young lady, you are truly talented! Please go to the third floor!"
Jiang Mianmian turned around triumphantly and gave Shen Jin a "V" sign below the stage.
Although Shen Jin couldn't understand the gestures, a smile appeared in his eyes as he looked at her smug little face.
painting?
That's truly ingenious. She can be quite clever at times.
Next, Jiang Mianmian started the "level-clearing mode".
The questions on the third level start to get more elaborate, including word puzzles and fill-in-the-blank questions about poems.
Riddle: "Half hairy, half smooth; half flavorful, half fragrant; half eats mountain grass, half hides in water."
The talented scholars below were still racking their brains over Yin and Yang and the Five Elements.
Jiang Mianmian answered instantly: "Fresh! Fish and lamb are the freshest!"
[I want to eat fish, I want to eat lamb, this question is practically tailor-made for me!]
Old Master: "Correct! Next question!"
Riddle: "Birds vanish from a thousand mountains, human tracks disappear from ten thousand paths. A lone boat, an old man in a straw hat and raincoat, ____?"
This question is a fill-in-the-blank question.
For people in ancient times, this might be an obscure masterpiece by a poet from a previous dynasty. But for Jiang Mianmian…
[This is supposed to be a question? Isn't this a classical poem we had to memorize in elementary school? It's Liu Zongyuan's "River Snow"!]
She immediately recited: "Fishing alone on a snowy river!"
"Excellent!" The old scholar was so excited that his beard trembled. "What a wonderful poem! What a beautiful imagery! Young lady, you truly have a remarkable memory!"
Jiang Mianmian: [I'm so ashamed, I thank my Chinese teacher for the spanking back then.]
As she solved each question in seconds, the cheers from the audience grew louder and louder, even surprising Shen Jin.
Some of these poems were ones he had never even heard of before. How did she know them?
Could it be that... she not only learned medicine in her dream, but also became the top scholar in the imperial examination?
Finally, we've reached the last hurdle.
This is also the final question that will determine who wins the title of "King of Lights".
This question isn't about rote memorization, but rather—matching couplets.
The old scholar took out a long scroll and unfurled the first line of the couplet:
"Smoke shrouds the willows by the pond."
The moment those five words were uttered, the audience erupted in uproar.
"This...this is absolutely true!"
"Five characters, each with radicals representing metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, and the overall meaning must be beautiful—how can this be right?"
"It's over, this girl's journey ends here."
Shen Jin frowned slightly. The first line was indeed ingenious; even he couldn't think of a perfect second line for the time being.
Jiang Mianmian looked at those five words, but a wicked smile, as if she had seen through everything, curled up at the corner of her mouth.
[Is the willow by the pond shrouded in mist?]
This is an absolute masterpiece! It's been thoroughly parodied on modern forums!
Want something neat and orderly? We have it! Want something evocative? We have it! Want something funny? We have even more!
She cleared her throat, scanned the room, and finally fixed her gaze on Shen Jin, when a mischievous thought suddenly crossed her mind.
My second line is—
Jiang Mianmian said loudly:
"Shenzhen Teppanyaki!"
The entire audience: ? ? ?
The old scholar dropped the gong he was holding: "Wh...what?"
Shenzhen? Teppanyaki?
The characters match up, and the radicals for metal, wood, water, fire, and earth are all there, but... what about the artistic conception? What about the literary talent?
"Ahem, just kidding."
Seeing the expressions on everyone's faces, as if they had swallowed a fly, Jiang Mianmian quickly waved her hand, "That one doesn't count, I'll do another one."
She composed herself and searched her mind for the most classic answer.
Listen carefully, my second line is—
"Cannons guard the sea fortress!"
"Fire against fire, metal against metal, water against water, earth against earth, wood against wood! The tones are perfect, and the momentum is magnificent! Master, what do you think?"
The old scholar stood there, muttering to himself, "Smoke locks the willows by the pond... Cannons guard the city tower by the sea... Wonderful! Wonderful indeed! Although the artistic conception is different, the level of craftsmanship is simply flawless!"
"Congratulations, young lady! This King of Lamps... is yours!"
"Wow--!"
The audience erupted in applause.
Jiang Mianmian stood on the high platform, enjoying the moment of glory for the top student.
Although it's a bit of an unfair victory, this feeling... is so exhilarating!
[It's not scary to be uneducated, what's scary is having Baidu's question bank!]
She took the huge revolving lantern, carried it carefully, and walked off the stage like a proud peacock.
"Your Highness!"
She thrust the lamp in front of Chen Jin, "How about that? Aren't I amazing? I told you I could be the King of Lamps!"
Shen Jin took the lamp and looked at her eyes, which were shining brightly behind the mask.
He didn't ask about the origin of those poems, nor did he ask what "Shenzhen Teppanyaki" was.
He simply reached out and removed the mask from her head, revealing her bright smiling face.
"sharp."
Shen Jin said in a low voice, his eyes full of affection, "My queen is indeed... both scholarly and martial."
"That's right!" Jiang Mianmian's tail practically wagging in the air.
"but……"
Shen Jin changed the subject, "That teppanyaki... was it good?"
Jiang Mianmian was stunned for a moment, then swallowed hard.
"Delicious! Absolutely delicious! That's squid and beef grilled on a hot plate... sizzling and dripping with oil..."
"good."
Shen Jin held a lantern in one hand and took her hand in the other. "Then let's go back and have the Divine Physician Princess make me... a portion."
"Huh? I don't know how to do it!"
"You have a prescription. I trust you."
Under the moonlight, Shen Jin carried the radiant lantern and led his princess, who was always talking nonsense and whose mind was full of whimsical ideas, slowly back home.
That night, they not only won the lights, but also won hearts.
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