Chapter 9: Poetry Gathering: Lord Lu, the Minister of Rites, one of the examiners for the Spring Examination...
Lord Lu, the Minister of Rites, was one of the examiners of the Spring Examination and also a subordinate of Xiao's father.
"I meet Mr. Lu."
Seeing that he was obedient, the Minister of Rites did not embarrass him any further, but just put his hands behind his back with a look of disdain:
"Let me give you some questions to test you and see if Mr. Xiao is truly worthy of the title of 'Jieyuan'."
"Lord Lu has been in the officialdom for a long time. You have seen dozens, if not hundreds, of "Jieyuan" like me. Why do you only focus on me?"
This was said politely, but Lord Lu felt that his face had been offended and his temper was out of control. What's more, Xiao Wangshu was the person his "immediate superior" had specifically instructed him to "take care of".
"Oh, that's ridiculous. You're just a commoner, and you say the title of 'Jieyuan' is nothing. If you really have the ability, why don't you accept it?"
After hearing what Lord Lu said, Xiao Wangshu felt even more suspicious. He was not the only one attending this poetry gathering today, so why did everyone want to "go against" him?
Pretending to think, he glanced at the second and third floors of the restaurant.
The box on the third floor facing the platform was covered with red gauze, and shadows of people were visible under the candlelight. It seemed that there was indeed an important person present, but no one knew which "important person" it was.
"Since you think so highly of me, I cannot refuse."
With his eyes slightly narrowed and the corners of his mouth raised, Xiao Wangshu wanted to make fun of him. He didn't mind letting this Lord Lu experience his "talent".
"Hahaha, okay, the previous couplet was quite amusing, so let's test it again." Lord Lu laughed and stepped forward. "Which of these bastards, rice, millet, beans, wheat, sorghum, and millet, is the master?"
The fact that they thought of it so quickly obviously meant they had made preparations in advance, not to mention that this couple was full of malice.
The students naturally looked unhappy, but no one wanted to offend the examiner at this juncture, not to mention that Lord Lu seemed to be a petty person.
"Lord Lu, this..."
The sudden sound startled everyone, and Xiao Wangshu didn't expect that someone would stand up for him.
"Yao Ce, right? Don't be ungrateful."
Yao Ce, who wanted to beg for mercy, changed his expression when he heard this, but he was now "powerless" and could only swallow it.
"Isn't the first line of this couplet by Lord Lu not elegant?"
He took a half step forward to block Yao Ce, and Xiao Wang spoke when he felt comfortable.
"Whether it's elegant or not is a matter of couplets. Sir, please don't take it seriously. It would be rather inconsiderate."
Previously, Xiao Wangshu moved into the Imperial College and worked as a teacher for a while to supplement his family income, but not many people knew about this. Now that Lord Lu specifically called him teacher, it was obvious who this "bastard" was referring to.
"Lord Lu has praised me, but I cannot bear the sir's praise. Lord, please listen to my next line."
Shaking his sleeves, Xiao Wangshu edited his notes with both hands and accepted the title of "Sir" regardless of being called a "bastard".
Without waiting for Lord Lu to refute, he continued to make a couplet.
"My second line is, 'There are so many classics and commentaries on the Book of Songs, the Book of Changes, the Book of Rites, and the Spring and Autumn Annals, why bother asking Laozi?'"
As he spoke, he patted himself, with a smile on his face the whole time. If Eunuch Wei was present, that curve would probably be quite familiar to him.
Besides, Lord Lu’s face turned as red as a pig’s liver. He pointed at Xiao Wangshu and kept saying “you, you” for a long time, but he was so angry that he couldn’t say anything.
But Xiao Wangshu kept talking:
"My Lord, it's just a couplet, why are you so angry? Look, you can't even speak. It would be bad if you get sick from anger."
His face and words were full of worry, but his actions did not show any concern, which showed that he was mocking me.
"You! You bastards! In the future,
He flicked his sleeves in anger, but was interrupted before he could finish his threat.
"Lord Lu!" The owner of the voice sounded very familiar. Looking in the direction of the voice, it was indeed that prince.
"Four,"
Lord Lu reacted quickly and was stopped just as he was about to salute.
"No need. Lord Lu, as the examiner, there's no need to embarrass these students. At worst, for my sake, please forgive them this time."
The "young master" who came down the stairs was dressed in luxurious clothes, and the emerald green ring on his thumb was of excellent quality, reflecting a faint light under the candlelight.
"Of course, of course, this subordinate, oh, no, no, no, this subordinate, oh no, I'm withdrawing..."
As soon as this "young master" appeared, Lord Lu, who had just been showing off with his big belly, shrank his body and wished he could find a crack in the ground to crawl into.
After a while, he left incoherently.
The Fourth Prince hadn't spoken for him in the first place, so he didn't care if the person slipped away.
"Thank you so much, young master, for helping me out. I really don't know how to repay you. So, I wonder if you have ever had a simple meal?"
Xiao Wangshu did not reveal the identity of the Fourth Prince, although he felt that some smart people had already guessed it, such as Yao Ce who had behaved strangely before.
"No, but I have prepared the dishes a long time ago. I wonder if Master Xiao and Master Yao would be willing to do me the honor."
Yao Ce stood behind Xiao Wangshu. He knew that the elegantly dressed young man in front of him was the "noble man" he was waiting for, but he did not take the initiative to show himself. Instead, he took a step back and lowered his presence.
It was simply because he felt that he was no match for Xiao Wangshu, and felt ashamed of having used "dirty" means.
Therefore, he did not take the Fourth Prince's words to heart. It was not until Xiao Wangshu called him that he came to his senses. He was naturally surprised and would not refuse.
As people drank and chatted, the moon rose to the zenith. Most of the bustling crowd on the street had dispersed, leaving only a few people, mostly middle-aged men staggering home drunk.
Therefore, students like Xiao Wangshu, who were dressed in a hurry and walked in a hurry, were particularly conspicuous.
The Fourth Prince's ambition is not here, he is just a "foil" at the dinner table, so it is best to leave early and leave time and space to the "thousand-mile horse" and "Bo Le".
If that were the case, he wouldn't have to worry, because when he left the table, His Royal Highness the Fourth Prince gave him a task.
"My brother, the Crown Prince, is seriously ill. The doctors we sent all said they were helpless. He hasn't left the Eastern Palace for several days. You can go and investigate. This badge will allow you to enter and leave the palace. I'll give it to you once you succeed."
Outside the box, the Fourth Prince lowered his voice, took off the badge from his waist, patted him on the shoulder, turned around and walked into the room with a kind smile.
It was hard to tell whether Xiao Wangshu was more worried or afraid that things might change. He only took one stick of incense to travel the distance that usually took two sticks of incense.
The gate of the East Palace was wide open. As soon as I entered the inner courtyard, the smell of Chinese medicine hit my nose and the tip of my tongue was filled with bitterness.
There was no one in the yard, the plants were scorched yellow, the water in the pond was frozen, and under the cold moonlight, it looked like a graveyard, which made people feel uneasy.
He pushed the door open and before he could take a step inside, a long sword with a cold glow drew a sword shadow in the air and was placed on his neck. If he was even a little off, his life would be over.
"Your Highness."
He called out softly, and the long sword around his neck was casually thrown to the ground. His clothes swayed, bringing with them the smell of night-blooming jasmine. He looked down and saw that the purse he had given was tied around His Highness' waist.
"Your Highness..."
Just a whisper...
The author has something to say:
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"Which of these hybrids of rice, millet, beans, wheat, sorghum and millet is the master?
"There are so many classics like the Book of Songs, the Book of Changes, the Book of Rites, and the Spring and Autumn Annals, why bother asking Laozi?" This couplet also originated from the Internet and is said to be based on a story. It tells the story of a scholar who thought his talent was so impressive that he wrote the couplet to mock illiterate children. Later, when others matched his words, he felt ashamed.
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