Last time we talked about Zhou Tianyou commenting on Fu Xiaoguan.
At this moment, a woman's voice suddenly rang out from outside the wooden pavilion: "How can you be so idle? How dare you spread those rumors and believe them? They are tarnishing people's innocence and ruining their reputation!"
Everyone looked up, only to see that the woman had a frosty face and a cold brow. It was the Ninth Princess Yu Wenjun.
Zhou Tianyou's heart skipped a beat. Yan Xiwen and the others all stood up and bowed to Yu Wenyun.
Yu Wenjun snorted and walked in, sitting down next to Dong Shulan. His originally frosty face suddenly melted and he began to smile.
"When did you come back?" Dong Shulan asked.
"Twelve, we were supposed to be back in late July or early August, but there was a heavy rainstorm along the Yangtze River, and the river flooded and was impassable, so we were delayed."
After explaining to Dong Shulan, Yu Wenjun looked at the others and said, "This time, I am accompanying my mother on a visit to my hometown and staying in Linjiang. That night, my mother hosted a banquet for Linjiang's notables at Shanglinzhou in Linjiang, and Fu was in attendance. My mother asked me to write a couplet for the newly built small building in the Prince Xian's mansion on Shanglinzhou. This is easy, right? Let me test you."
Dong Shulan looked at Yu Wenjun in surprise. Fu Xiaoguan talked about Shanglinzhou in the letter, but did not mention the couplet - it seemed that he thought this matter was not important, so he listened to what Yu Wenjun had to say.
"Official Fu wrote that couplet right away, and no one dared to refute a single word. I'll tell you the first line, and can you come up with the second line?"
"Your Highness, please give the first couplet!" Yan Xiwen said with a bow.
Couplets are much simpler than poems, and Yan Xiwen doesn't think it's that difficult. From what the Ninth Princess said, she admires Fu Xiaoguan very much, so I will come up with a better second couplet to embarrass Fu Xiaoguan.
"Listen carefully, the first line of the couplet is: Wangjiang Tower, looking at the river flow. From Wangjiang Tower, I look at the river flow. The river tower lasts forever, the river flow lasts forever. That's right, I'll give you one stick of incense. Mr. Fu has only taken seven steps to complete the first and second lines. If you can come up with the answer in that time, I'll admit that Mr. Fu is unlearned. If you can't, you! And all of you who just talked behind my back! Apologize to Mr. Fu."
Yu Wenjun pointed at Zhou Tianyou, causing him to shudder. "What the hell! I can't figure out this couplet!"
Dong Shulan glanced at Yu Wenjun intentionally or unintentionally. She knew that Yu Wenjun wanted to recruit Fu Xiaoguan as his son-in-law. This was definitely not possible. If Fu Xiaoguan became his son-in-law, he wouldn't even be able to marry a concubine. What would she do?
Fortunately, Fu Xiaoguan likes me, but how should I match this couple?
Yan Xiwen was also confused.
He was dumbfounded when he heard the first couplet. It had a total of twenty-one characters, all written around the building and the river. It seemed that the name of the small building was Wangjiang Tower, and standing on the building one could just see the flowing river.
And "the river tower lasts forever, the river flows forever" means that this tower will last forever, just like the water of the Yangtze River.
It's a scene of both stillness and movement, of both scenery and emotion, and it even uses repeated words. Did that guy really write this couplet in just seven steps? And how did he write the second line?
You could hear a pin drop in the wooden pavilion. Except for Yu Wenjun, everyone else was frowning in thought.
Zhang Wenhan, however, was thinking of this guy, a monster. He should have kept this person away earlier. He had intended to use Yan Xiwen and the others to humiliate Fu Xiaoguan, but he hadn't expected the Ninth Princess to show up midway.
A stick of incense passed in a flash, and no one could figure it out.
"Now, you, apologize to Fu Xiaoguan in front of all of us!"
Zhou Tianyou lowered his head and stood up, his face flushed with shame.
"I, Zhou Tianyou, would be...disrespectful if I were to talk about Mr. Fu behind his back. Mr. Fu is a man of great talent, and Zhou Tianyou is ashamed of himself!"
"You are quite honest. I will forgive you this matter. But remember this in the future."
Yu Wenjun was very proud. Yan Xiwen asked, "May I ask, Your Highness, how did he write the second couplet?"
"I want to go."
"Shulan, let's go."
"Where are you going?"
"Go read the poems of those talented scholars."
Upon hearing this, Yan Xiwen said, "The poems we've been waiting for have already been uploaded to the second floor. I think they can be uploaded to the third floor."
"Forget about your poetry. I won't criticize you. It's only because Fu Xiaoguan isn't here, otherwise you wouldn't have the chance to show off!"
This is a bit hurtful, especially to intellectuals.
Only the Ninth Princess dared to speak so bluntly. If it were someone else, they would probably be beaten to death by these literati.
Since ancient times, scholars have looked down on each other, but this young official Fu was lifted up by the Ninth Princess. Who can accept this?
"If Mr. Fu dares to come to the capital, we would like to meet him!" The speaker was another talented scholar, Fang Wenxing.
"What if he wins?" Dong Shulan suddenly asked.
"If he wins, we will follow his lead. If he loses, he will not be allowed to set foot in Shangjing!" Fang Wenxing said this in a loud and clear voice, standing proudly.
"Really?" Dong Shulan suddenly laughed, and Yu Wenjun felt confused.
"Seriously!" Even Yan Xiwen stood up.
"I have a lyric he just sent me. If you keep your word, I'll hand it over. If you change your mind now, I'll keep it."
"Alright, I, Yan Xiwen, swear. If the poems he writes are better than ours, we will treat him as a disciple from now on. If the poems he writes are worse than ours, then he will never set foot in Shangjing!"
Yu Wenjun's heart skipped a beat. What a bunch of idiots! They're bound to lose. She bit her lip and glared at Yan Xiwen fiercely.
She had originally planned to go to the Yan Mansion tomorrow and ask Yan Xiwen to work harder to take down Dong Shulan so that Fu Xiaoguan would be hers. But this guy was so stupid! He fell into Dong Shulan's trap and buried himself on his own initiative. It really pissed me off!
She had not seen the poem in Dong Shulan's hand, but she firmly believed that the poem would definitely amaze the world.
It’s nothing, just because it was written by Fu Xiaoguan!
"Alright, I also swear that this poem was written by Fu Xiaoguan himself. If it's false, I will be struck by lightning!"
This is a poisonous oath, this is a knot that cannot be untied. Yu Wenyun looked up at the moon. The moon was full and the watery moonlight sprinkled on her face.
Dong Shulan walked to the desk, picked up the pen and wrote the song "Water Melody", then handed it in.
The teachers on the first floor read through the poems as if they were chewing wax. By this time the moon was at its zenith and the poetry gathering was almost over, only 500 poems could be sent to the second floor - but you have to know that there were tens of thousands of talented scholars and writers in the Lanting Collection at that moment.
Until a page of beautiful handwriting caught Teacher Fei's eye. Then he read the poem, was suddenly shocked, and stood up immediately.
"A word that will last through the ages, a word that will last through the ages!"
Seeing how excited he was, the other teachers gathered around him. After a while, everyone was in an uproar.
"Hurry, hurry, send it up."
When this poem reached the second floor, the teachers on the first floor were still unable to calm down. They did not even look at the poems handed in, but gathered inside and whispered to each other.
"The signature is Dong Shulan, who wrote on behalf of Fu Xiaoguan—so this poem was written by Fu Xiaoguan."
"Fu Xiaoguan? Why does this name sound so familiar?"
"Could it be the Fu Xiaoguan who wrote A Dream of the Red Chamber?"
"It must be him!"
"Do you think this word can be engraved on a thousand stone tablets?"
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