Chapter 8 Yao Ce "Xiao Wangshu, I am Yao Ce of Wanzhou. I refuse to accept...
"Xiao Wangshu, I am Yao Ce of Wanzhou. I refuse to obey you. Do you dare to fight me?"
Even plain clothes cannot hide his dazzling charm. His eyes are bright and his brows are slightly raised, as if he is standing on the top of a mountain, overlooking the vast sea of smoke, and he is full of righteousness.
Three winners were selected, including Xiao Wangshu. The young man who came up from the side took the initiative without saying a word, leaving the third place aside, which was very embarrassing.
"Of course. Please ask the host a question, and the three of us will answer it naturally."
With a smile on his face, Xiao Wangshu emphasized the three people again and rescued the anxious student. The student was grateful and bowed secretly. Xiao Wangshu returned the bow.
Seeing him like this, Yao Ce seemed dissatisfied, but in public, he just curled his lips and didn't say anything else.
"Mr. Xiao is right. Since the end of the year is approaching, why not make some couplets today?"
The restaurant owner came out with a smile on his face, looking very happy, to smooth things over. The tense atmosphere on the stage was slightly alleviated, and the audience cheered.
"Please ask the host to give the questions."
This time the three of them spoke in unison.
"The first line of the couplet is, The east wind is blowing with the desire to make the fields green and lush~"
The shopkeeper put his hands behind his back and recited the first couplet he had prepared long ago.
The three people on the stage were lost in thought. Yao Ce paced for a moment and then chanted:
"The bright moon is ruthless and dark clouds are pressing down overhead."
The third student also hurriedly replied:
"The sunset is merciless and red like fire."
Then everyone's eyes fell on Xiao Wangshu, and he smiled and chanted:
"The east wind is full of green fields, and the spring rain is full of affection, bringing laughter to the world."
After the three of them finished speaking, the shopkeeper stroked his beard lightly:
Mr. Liu's "Xi" and "Xi" have the same pronunciation, so "red as fire" is matched with "green fields and lush green". It is quite clever, but also a step behind.
Mr. Yao’s literary inspiration is abundant, and the contrast between “heartless” and “intentional” and “dark clouds pressing down” and “lush green fields” are very wonderful.
The word "passionate" is more appropriate for Mr. Xiao, and "laughing in the world" is casual and unrestrained, which is very good, but he was the last one to answer.
So this time it's just a draw."
Everyone gave their comments. The shopkeeper wanted to treat everyone equally, but some people were not happy about it.
"No need, his answer is indeed more precise, let's just have another match."
Dissatisfied with the shopkeeper acting as a peacemaker, Yao Ce stepped forward and stood in front of Xiao Wangshu to prevent him from stepping down.
"I'm not good at this, so I won't get involved."
After saying this, Master Liu greeted everyone and left the stage. Only Xiao Wangshu returned the greeting. Master Liu didn't care much and walked out of the restaurant with a smile, holding the four treasures of the study he had just received.
He had no intention of competing with Yao Ce here, but Yao Ce would not give up until he achieved his goal. After a moment of thought, Xiao Wangshu continued:
"Brother Yao, if you are so interested, I, Xiao, will accompany you. However, there is no need to trouble the host. How about I come up with a couplet, and Brother Yao will come up with another, and we can each write the second line."
After saying this, he turned around and bowed to the students watching the excitement from a distance, and said with a smile:
“Please give us more comments.”
Everyone in the audience responded with greetings. As for Yao Ce, he didn't care who asked the question.
"In that case, you should come up with the first couplet first."
With one hand behind his back and the other hand forward, Yao Ce didn't mind being humble at this time.
I took a short walk and outside the window I could smell the fragrance of plum blossoms and the bright moonlight.
Then Xiao Wangshu smiled suddenly, and the candlelight dimmed, even the red plum blossoms in the corner of the wall lost their color.
"The first couplet is "People are drunk, the Plum Fragrance Tower is full of guests"~"
He looked at Yao Ce,
"Brother Yao?" Yao Ce seemed to be dazzled, and came back to his senses when he was called. His cheeks were slightly red, and he suddenly turned around, leaving everyone confused.
"Wait a moment..."
After saying that, Yao Ce began to mutter to himself.
After only a few steps, Yao Ce, who was deep in thought, clapped his hands, looked at Xiao Wangshu with a firm gaze, and said loudly:
"This second couplet is in line with 'The moon sets over the vast sea, and all the sails vanish'!"
As soon as these words were spoken, there was a burst of conversation below, and Xiao Wangshu also nodded and said:
"That's right. This time it's Brother Yao's turn to ask the questions."
Nodding, Yao Ce clutched his sleeves and wiped the sweat from his hands. He looked down and straight at Xiao Wangshu as if he had made some kind of decision.
"My first couplet is, 'Smoke locks the willows in the pond.'"
As soon as he finished speaking, the students in the audience were all in an uproar.
"Smoke locks the pond willow, how could it be Smoke locks the pond willow, that is an eternal absolute, Yao Ce using this pairing at this time, it is shameful."
"But the rules set by Master Xiao before didn't specify that this pairing shouldn't be used."
"I'm afraid Master Xiao is about to admit defeat..."
"Who says it's not? That's an eternal truth. Even Master Xiao, with his immense talent and profound knowledge, might not be able to come up with a correct answer, not to mention they're competing in speed."
"What a pity..." Many students couldn't bear to watch any longer.
Xiao Wangshu on the stage was also stunned for a moment. In his previous life, he and Yao Ce knew each other and had a small personal relationship in the court, but he knew that Yao Ce was not the kind of person who would do anything to compete with other students.
This competition is more of an entertainment purpose. What made Yao Ce panic and make such a bad move?
"This couplet is a classic quatrain through the ages. I dare to give it a try."
Such courage made everyone on and off the stage look at him with admiration. What Yao Ce wanted was nothing more than for him to admit defeat, but now he did the opposite, thus creating a way out. Of course, if he was too bad at it, the way out would turn into a dead end.
"Smoke shrouds the pond's willows. The five radicals of this sentence represent metal, wood, water, fire, and earth, representing all five elements. It also forms a scene in itself. The imagery of the willows growing over the pond and the lingering smoke is extremely beautiful."
"Brother Xiao's analysis is very logical. I wonder what you would think of this sentence."
Without looking at the audience, Yao Ce put one hand behind his back and the other in front of his abdomen with a fist, just frowning and looking at Xiao Wangshu.
"I then responded to the poem 'Smoke locks the willows in the pond, and the lights gild the owls in the brook'."
Looking back, unlike Yao Ce who was anxious, Xiao Wangshu was neither hurried nor slow.
After a moment of silence, a very heated discussion suddenly broke out in the audience.
"We have truly underestimated Master Xiao. The five characters, 'Deng Liu Xi He Xiao', have all five elements and radicals. The two characters 'Deng Liu' don't fit the background, but the 'greedy owl' makes it more reasonable. Although it lacks some artistic conception, it's still quite good!"
This statement was recognized by most people.
"So..." The students below the stage looked up at the stage.
Yao Ce knew that his skills were not as good as his opponent's, but he still used the Eternal Absolute Challenge to challenge him. This move had already led to a failure. If Young Master Xiao admitted defeat, or was just angry, he could still be called the winner.
But when Xiao Wangshu opened his mouth, he lost, not to mention that Xiao Wangshu was quite right.
So he didn't act pretentiously, but clasped his hands together and bowed to Xiao Wangshu:
"I admit defeat."
As soon as the sun shone, Xiao Wangshu stepped forward to help Yao Ce up. Just as he was about to speak, he was interrupted by a rough and loud male voice.
"Wait a minute!"
At the northwest staircase on the second floor, there was a middle-aged man wearing a dark green robe and with a large belly. He walked down the stairs. When he got closer, a student saw his face clearly and said in a hushed voice:
"Lord Lu, the Minister of Rites!"
Before everyone could react, the middle-aged man had already walked to the front of the stage. The students were about to salute when Lord Lu waved his hand to stop them. He rushed straight towards Xiao Wangshu with an aggressive look and looked malicious.
"Why don't you greet me, Master Xiao?"
The author has something to say:
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1. The earliest historical reference to this phrase is from Chen Zisheng's "Zhongzhou Caotang Yiji" (The Collection of the Leftovers from the Zhongzhou Caotang) in the Ming Dynasty. Chen Zisheng composed three couplets, which are incorporated into four poems titled "Song of the Willow Waves." Each uses five elements in contrast to five elements. One of them is: "The lantern hangs down over the brocade railings." The poem in question reads: "Mist shrouds the pond's willows, lanterns hang down over the brocade railings. The echoing waves dance for the first time, and when the willows are broken, a song is heard."
This is the poem I borrowed here as a couplet. I originally planned to use the original poem directly, but I felt it was a bit awkward, especially since the plot here isn't one where Gongjun can really come up with a brilliant couplet. My writing isn't great, but it works well for the plot, so I didn't use the original poem.
2. "The east wind blows with eagerness, and the green fields spread out in lush green; the spring rain is full of affection, and the world of mortals smiles." This couplet comes from the Internet. I haven't found the source yet. As for the other couplets, they are my own. Any similarities are purely coincidental (although there probably won't be any similarities, after all, I feel that my couplets are rubbish) ~
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