After reading it, Zhao Shu whispered to Sun Yun, "The human heart is perilous, the moral heart is subtle; only through refinement and unity can one create such a couplet, and the one who composes it shall be a national hero."
However, Sun Liu did not take it seriously, saying, "Wrong. The first two characters of this couplet, 'Yu Ting,' are an insinuation that the current court is comparable to Shun and Yu, flattering your Zhao family."
“This couplet only has the first line, and it’s called the ‘List of Outstanding Scholars.’ Why don’t you, A-Yun, provide the second line?” Zhao Shu teased, without any intention of making things difficult. Having been raised in modern times and having experienced freedom of speech, she naturally wouldn’t mind what Sun Yun said. Nowadays, powerful families are rampant, so even if she spoke, Emperor Mingde couldn’t do anything to Sun Yun if he was really angry.
Sun Yun smiled confidently, "Watch." She took two steps forward and said loudly, "Shopkeeper, tell me, what will happen if I can come up with a matching couplet?"
Knowing that these must be nobles who had come with the Empress Dowager, the shopkeeper dared not be negligent and had been waiting. Upon hearing Sun Yun's words, he hurriedly said, "Young master, please take a look." The shopkeeper pointed to the wooden notice next to the counter, "If you can provide the matching line and it is also the first line, you will not only receive two hundred taels of silver, but you will also enjoy three days of free service at Yipinju."
After hearing the explanation, the others understood. Huo Baichuan crossed his arms and watched Zhao Shu and Sun Yun's interaction with great interest.
Sun Yun nodded. "Bring me a pen."
The shopkeeper was skeptical. How could such a young master possibly come up with a couplet that no one had been able to match for over a year? But these young masters were no ordinary people, so he instructed the waiter to prepare writing brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
With the brush, ink, paper, and inkstone in place, Sun Yun imitated the man's actions, adjusting his sleeves, picking up the brush, and writing a line of words with a rather elegant gesture: "Looking down on all scholars under heaven, only letting Nishan be one person."
Her handwriting was a rare example of wild cursive script. If Zhao Shuguang did not know that she was a woman, he would mistake her handwriting for that of a man. It was hard to imagine that a delicate hand could write such powerful and vigorous characters, as if a dragon were soaring in the wild.
If the words surprised her, then the phrase "looking down on all scholars under heaven, only respecting Nishan" made it seem normal. Sun Yun was an arrogant person, and such a boastful tone was just her nature.
"Hahaha, if Confucius knew this, I wonder if he would come back to life and glare at me, saying, 'Only petty men and women are difficult to deal with'?" Huo Baichuan looked at the couplet, smiled, and led Huo Guxian, who was full of admiration for Sun Yun, upstairs.
The shopkeeper hurriedly put away Sun Yun's couplet. "Young master, please go upstairs first. I will take your second line for evaluation and inform you of the result shortly."
Sun Yun didn't care about the two hundred taels of silver, but he was still very concerned about how his literary talent would be rated, so he cupped his hands and said, "Thank you for your trouble, shopkeeper."
After saying that, the two hurriedly followed Huo Baichuan upstairs. The Yipinju Restaurant in Lanxi Town could not compare with those in the capital, but it still had private rooms.
The two entered the private room that had been arranged in advance and found the environment to be very nice. Through the window, they could see lanterns hanging along the river, and the lights of thousands of homes made them feel very warm and cozy.
Unsurprisingly, Wei Tingsi was also there. Even at Yipinju, he was dressed in military uniform, expressionless, his face tense and extremely serious. Huo Guxian was so afraid of him that he hid behind Huo Baichuan, fearing that this armored Lord Wei might draw his sword and cause someone to bleed profusely.
After exchanging greetings, the group took their seats.
Although Zhao Shu and Sun Yun were dressed as men, Huo Baichuan and Wei Tingsi were still wary and had no intention of taking advantage of the situation. They ordered two portions of each dish, one for Zhao Shu and Sun Yun and one for the men.
Before they could even pick up their chopsticks, they heard a soft sobbing coming from under the window. "My family has suffered a drought, and we have no harvest this year. I wanted to go to the capital to seek refuge with my relatives, but my father fell seriously ill and has now passed away. I beg kind people to help me. I have no way to repay you but to serve you like a cow or a horse."
Below the window was the riverbank, where there were usually some small stalls. Sun Yun sat in the seat closest to the window. After listening to the sobbing, she leaned out to look and turned to Ban Shu, saying, "Go give them some money."
Across from him, Huo Baichuan raised his hand to stop Banshu, saying, "Since you're so rich, why don't you pay the bill later?"
Upon hearing this, Sun Yun was about to argue with Huo Baichuan, but Zhao Shu quickly stopped her, saying, "Mr. Huo is right. Let's switch places so I can take a look."
Sun Yun rolled her eyes at Huo Baichuan and said softly, "No compassion."
Huo Baichuan ignored her and switched places with Zhao Shu, sitting by the window. Zhao Shu peeked out and saw a frail woman dressed in mourning clothes kneeling below, with a straw mat spread out beside her. On the straw mat lay a burly man in his forties. Under the lamplight, the man's face was somewhat dark, his lips were deathly white, and his eyes were tightly closed. The woman in white, dressed in mourning clothes, was crying extremely miserably, but despite her distress, she was speaking very clearly.
Having witnessed the actress's performance, this woman seems far less impressive; my judgment is now final.
There were a few words written on the ground in white stone. They were quite far away, and the words on the ground were dark, so she couldn't see them clearly. However, they were nothing more than things like selling oneself to bury one's father.
Unexpectedly, she encountered such a dramatic situation in a place like Lanxi Town. She turned her head back and a plan formed in her mind.
He beckoned to Xiao Zhuzi, "Go ask the shopkeeper if he keeps dogs, preferably big wolfhounds. If he does, bring the dog downstairs."
Xiao Zhuzi accepted the order and left. As soon as he left, Huo Baichuan gave a fake laugh. For some reason, he felt extremely uncomfortable seeing Zhao Shu trying to scheme. He said coldly, "Be careful that your cleverness backfires and costs you your life."
"Mr. Huo, are you perhaps jealous of my daughter's intelligence? You are well-versed in literature, do you even know who Gan Luo is?" Although Sun Yun didn't know what Zhao Shu was trying to do, how could she tolerate others questioning her sister? She immediately spoke up for Zhao Shu, not wanting to be outdone.
"I'm jealous of her?" Huo Baichuan seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world. "Miss Sun, are you perhaps trying to compare Princess Jun to Gan Luo?"
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